Jasper, diarrhea, an odd update 9-28-08

[jenluckenbach]

You might remember how last year we went through a bout of extremely persistant diarrhea with Jasper. And how he insisited on using our bed as his potty.

Well, 2 weeks ago it started again.

Found 1 soft poop on our bed (which immediately prompted me to cover the bed in plastic every day, as I had last year). Good thing too, because the next day, poop again.....same place.

So we started Jasper on the prednisone (one of the things that seemed to help last time.) But unfortunately, it is still not helping 100%.

So I left an update for my vet (she was out of the office today). Hopefully she'll have some idea of what else we can try to control this.

At least his appetite is still good (last year he lost 2 pounds before he began to recover) and I know that he is drinking well.

SIGH.......

Added 2-26-09 : Jasper's diarrhea has returned. And on the bed, of course. so here we go again.

The vet felt he'd have flare ups. See more post 21.

[Catty1]

Jen - this has likely been mentioned to you before, but Starr had bad problems, and the holistic vet that krazyaboutkatz used for him did use prednisone, but also some other things that really helped him!

You might want to PM her for the details.

Get well {{{hugs}}} to Jasper.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Jen, I'm so sorry to hear this. Yes, like Candace has said, my holistic vet has helped Starr quiet a bit but he had severe problems and hopefully Jasper's aren't as bad.

Starr is still eating a grain free diet and is now taking 1/2 of a pred pill once a week. I really don't even think this is doing that much for him at this point. He has to have his herbal supplements every day or else he'll have diarrhea almost right away. I mix half of them with his wet and a little dry food mixture in the morning and then the other half in the evening. He's on Primal Defense Powder by Garden Of Life and he gets 1 scoop full a day. He'll need to be on this for the rest of his life.

He's also still on GI-Encap capsules by Thorne Research. He gets one capsule a day which I pull apart and then add the powder inside to the Primal Defense Powder. I don't know if he'll need to be on this for the rest of his life but my holistic vet said to keep giving him this for quite a while before and after we eventually wean him off of the pred completely. You can buy both of these herbal supplements online or through a holistic vet.

My main problem right now with him is that he isn't as hungry now as he was when he was on a higher dosage of pred so now he's pickier about what he eats. He doesn't like eating his herbal supplement mixture so I have to sit with him and hold the bowl to make sure he eats at least most of it.

He still has some bouts of diarrhea from time to time and occasional accidents on my carpet but nothing like he used to. He also received acupunture treatments from my holistic vet and these really helped him a lot. He goes back to see her in Sept. and will most likely receive another one then. We may also decide that it's time to stop the pred too.

Sorry for rambling so much about him. I sure hope that your vet will be able to help Jasper and that his is an easy case to figure out and to treat. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way. Please continue to keep us updated about him.

[catmandu]

POOR JASPER, I THINK THAT HES THE LAST KITTY WHO WOULD WANT TO MAKE HIS MEEOWMIE CROSS WITH HIM.
JASPERS LUCKY THAT YOU ARE UNDERSTANDING JEN, AS MANY CATS WOULD BE DISCIPLINED HARSHLY FOR THIS.
WE PRAY THE WHITE COATS CAN HELP.

[jenluckenbach]

Today we will try Jasper on a new medication. Cyclosporine (Like Mr Meow has been taking). It is something we had not tried last year when he had this problem. So, wish us luck.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Jen, I sure hope that his new medicine will help him. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being his way.

[jazzcat]

Oh no! I hope the new med does the trick. Poor Jasper!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Jen, how is Jasper doing? I sure hope that this new medication is helping him.

[Medusa]

Hoping that Jasper is feeling better this morning.....

[jenluckenbach]

So far, so good, but it is too early to tell for certain.

[kb2yjx]

We are all sending prayers that the new med will help Jasper(and you, too!!).

[jenluckenbach]

Sorry that I forgot to update earlier.

So far, very good. But he is still getting the medicine EVERY day. The real test will be when we start to decrease it.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for the update. Hopefully things will continue to go well for him.

I'm having to change Starr's diet a bit because he's also been having issues again.

[jazzcat]

Fingers crossed everything stays "firm" when the meds decrease.

KAK - sorry to hear Starr's having issues again.

[jenluckenbach]

Thanks for the update. Hopefully things will continue to go well for him.

I'm having to change Starr's diet a bit because he's also been having issues again.

How much pred is Starr on now?? I know your hope is to get him OFF the pred, but in reality, that may never be possible.

You could also ask about cyclosporine as an option. Less damaging side effects as I understand it.