HoneyBun --- Is he eating TOO much???

[jennielynn1970]

My FIV+ boy has a vet appointment next Thursday. He's looking very shabby lately, and I'm not sure what is going on with him. He sits hunched up a lot of the time, he's skin and bones (even with extra servings of yummy food bought especially for him), and his fur is dry and brittle. I'm thinking thyroid, at least I hope that's all it is. I dunno. If he's not sitting hunched up, he's on my lap in front of the computer giving me lovies. :love::)

Please say a prayer for my dear old man, that there's nothing seriously wrong with him (other than the FIV) and that he'll be ok with a few meds and maybe another suggestion for him to put some weight on. Right now I'm feeding him Science Diet Kitten and Sensitive stomach formulas (kitten because Sebastian is still under a year old), plus every day he gets the Pet Selects raw/refrigerated food that you can get in the supermarket in the pet aisle, but it's in a refrigerator. I thought it might have some extra good stuff in it for him. He loves it soooo much!

[katladyd]

Sending good thoughts and prayers HoneyBun's way.:love::love:

[Freedom]

If it is thyroid, he may need some fluids just now as well. Can you tell if he is dehydrated at all? I thin kyou know how to check this right? Pinch the skin on his back and see if it goes right back in place or just hangs there in the pinched up shape.

I found a good canned food at PetCo, Soulistic Sunrise Harvest, which has a LOT of fluid in it. I am using that for my Sparkle just now, who is early stage CRF, and so far so good she is not needing the sub q fluids.

You may want to add some canned to up his fluid intake until the vet visit. Just a thought.

[jennielynn1970]

Pinched his skin, and it went right back into place, so don't think fluids are an issue. He drinks a lot too. Pees a lot too. He's one of my out of the box pee-ers and poopers, unfortunately. I thought maybe the box was too high, so I got lower ones, that didn't alleviate anything. He does it a lot to be spiteful, never thought a cat would do that, but he does!!

He's just so bone thin. If I give him canned food, it goes right through him and he has really nasty, messy, and unformed poops. These pet select things have been working really well for him, and keeping the poops normal.

I just hate seeing him go down hill. I know he's not going to be with me much longer, he's old and his FIV status is against him. I just think he has a few more months if not years left in him. I just want to make them the best for him, no matter how long he will be with me. He's my HoneyBun!!

Oh, there's something going on with his mouth too... so that may be part of the losing weight deal. Either there is something wrong with the teeth he has left, or there is a lump in his mouth. Not sure which he won't let me get anywhere near his mouth, but something is going on in there.

[TommyCat]

You mentioned he's peeing and drinking a lot. My kitty had been drinking and peeing alot, and she was diagnosed with feline diabetes. Cats do tend to lose weight with this condition before diagnosed. I do hope it's not feline diabetes. Good luck at the Vet, and hope it's nothing serious.

[phesina]

Prayers for HoneyBun and you too, Jenn.

[Medusa]

Oh dear, let's hope his weight loss is just that HoneyBun is getting older. We'll send up good prayers just in case, though. Keep the faythe, Jen. :love:

[jennielynn1970]

He really looks skeletal, Mary. It's so sad. It just seemed to happen so quickly. Dave calls him "Pet Cemetary", and it's so mean. :mad: I know he's not the healthiest cat, but he is a sweetie and I don't want to see him suffer.

[Freedom]

Now you've got ME worried! No chance thee vet can see him sooner?!

Prayers for HoneyBun!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear about your HoneyBun.:( Hopefully whatever is causing this can be easily treated. I sure hope that he doesn't have any kind of lump in his mouth because if he does this makes me think of cancer.:( I'll keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

[jennielynn1970]

I'm so sorry to hear about your HoneyBun.:( Hopefully whatever is causing this can be easily treated. I sure hope that he doesn't have any kind of lump in his mouth because if he does this makes me think of cancer.:( I'll keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

Not sure what is going on with his mouth. He is having issues eating a little bit with the dry food. And I see a lot of bright red when he meows or yawns. I can't even get him to sit on me to look into his mouth, so it's really annoying me, and worrying me because I don't know if it's a lump, or if it's just a lot of swelling of his gums. His bottom lip looks swollen??

I'd go to the vet earlier, but I just have no money for it until payday next Thursday. Since Honey isn't Dave's, I'm not going to ask him to pay for it either. I don't think it's dire, cause if it were, I'd make payment arrangements with the vet, he's just so damn skinny.:(

[mrspunkysmom]

Not to scare you , but it sounds like the same issue Sam had in the Fall of 2009. It was some sort of infection. Sam has chronic stomatitis so he gets infections easily.

Sam's mouth was bright red, too, and he had difficulty eating, drinking, and crying.

This Fall Sam had a lump in his mouth and it turns out it was a broken tooth, broken under the gum line, which is preferable to the tumor the vet thought it might be.

Did you tell the vet (not the techs) all that you have said here?

Last Fall both Sam and Spunky got sick the same month I found Jane. It was an expensive month.

I do hope it turns out well for HoneyBun and you. I hope you can get answers for his other issues. It's horrible when you know they don't feel well, but can't tell you why.

[jennielynn1970]

I didn't get to go into all the details to the techs, but I will make sure that I do when I take him in next thursday. Unfortunately, with the finances the way they are, I have to wait for my next paycheck to come in to take him in. IF he does seem to get progressively worse in a short amount of time, I'll have to ask Dave to borrow cash, I really don't want to do that. Right now I'm out of my own medications (some of them, I mean), and I have to wait to get them filled as well. Being broke right now sucks.:(

[mrspunkysmom]

... Right now I'm out of my own medications (some of them, I mean), and I have to wait to get them filled as well. Being broke right now sucks.:(

Yeah, bummer in the least. I remember those days and hopefully they will stay behind me.

Both of y'all are in my thoughts.

[catmandu]

Best of luck Honey bun we are praying that you are well soon.
You are such a Great Cat and we are praying that all is well soon.:love::love::love:

[Taz_Zoee]

Oh no, I just saw this. I do hope HoneyBun will be okay. I know how much he means to you (as do all of your kitties, of course).

I will be thinking of you and Honey on Thursday. :)

[jennielynn1970]

Our appt. is for tomorrow night at 6:45pm. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I'm hoping for the best for my old man, but also keeping in mind it could be really bad knowing his FIV status and all he has working against him.

[Catty1]

Prayers for you and for dear HoneyBun.:love::love:

[Medusa]

Pumping up the prayer volume here. Keep the faythe, Jen.

[mrspunkysmom]

Keeping the warm Pawsitive thoughts coming.

[phesina]

Prayers and healing energies for HoneyBun. :love::love::love::love::love::love:

[jennielynn1970]

Back from the vet....

Where to begin, lol. He's lost a lot of weight, only weigh 8lbs at this point. Not good. He's slightly dehydrated, but not too bad. His temp is really low, not sure why that is. He's got a really infected mouth, but not from the FIV, just that he's really infected.

Sooooooooo... he's on clindimycin (spelling??) for the infection because there were others she can't give him because of his FIV status (steriods etc...), he got a shot, and has pills to take. I need to set him up for surgery for his mouth. He needs most of what teeth he has left (thanks to FIV) taken out. Price won't be too bad, $25.00 per tooth, and $60 for the anesthesia bloodwork. Not sure what the anesthesia costs... Will have to do this NEXT payday, told the vet that as well. I just can't swing it this payday. Already have too much I need to pay and things that won't be paid because I was docked for sick days. :(

At least I know that he's not dying.... I was so scared I wouldn't come home with him. He just looks soooooo bad. Skeletal and all that. Hopefully the surgery will help, he'll eat more, and he'll gain back some weight. Gotta give him more of the Pet Selects too I guess, cause he can eat that better than the dry food. My poor old man. I hate that he has to wait to have his dental surgery done, but I just don't have the cash, or won't have it on Monday when she wanted to do the surgery. :(:(

Thanks for all the prayers and good thoughts. He still needs them, so keep them going, lol.

[Freedom]

You may want to check out that Soulistic food I mentioned, to get more fluids in him.

Poor boy, he must feel awful with those bad teeth; I know one tooth makes me miserable! Thos emeds will help the infection start to heal up.

Good luck getting the pills in him!!!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that he has an infected mouth:( but at least now you know why he's lost weight. Too bad your vet won't let you set up a payment plan so you could pay her at a later date. I hope that the medicine will help him feel better. I'll continue to keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

[jennielynn1970]

I was finally able to schedule an appt for Honeybun to get his dental surgery done. He will be going to the vet on the evening of the 18th, because I go to work so early and can't drop him off in the AM before school. He will have surgery on the 19th and get at least 5 teeth removed. I'm nervous about his reaction to the anesthesia due to his age, and hoping he will recover well after the surgery. He's been heck to pill, and hasn't gotten much of his anti-biotic because he hides most of the time when I am at home (I'm the evil one who pills him...).

Please keep my boy in your thoughts, and I'll update more as we get nearer to the date. I'm hoping also that with the anesthesia blood work we get some other answers as to why he is losing so much weight, and whether he has a thyroid problem.

[Medusa]

Of course, more prayers on the way for HoneyBun and you, Jen. Keep the faythe. :love:

[Catty1]

More prayers for HoneyBun! I hope they can give him a Convenia injection so you don't have to pill him afterwards.

I am sure he will feel much better after surgery. And maybe he will eat more and gain some weight back too.:love::love:

[lvpets2002]

:( Awee poor baby boy Honeybun.. I sure hope your surgery goes good & well.. Sending Lots of Prayers & Huggss.. Keep us posted ok..

[phesina]

More prayers for HoneyBun and for you all who love him, Jenn.

:love::love::love::love::love::love:

[jennielynn1970]

Well, I just dropped my YOWLING old man off at the vet for his surgery tomorrow. They were very nice about allowing me to drop off the night before because they don't open till 9am, and I'm at work by 7:30am.

The estimate for the entire shebang is $385.00. They had a breakdown, but I didn't look at it very closely. $125.00 for the cleaning, $90 for the extractions. I totally forgot that they "clean" the teeth when they do extractions, so I wasn't expecting that amount in there. Oh well. I guess it is only right to do it, lol. Silly me just doesn't think sometimes.

There was an option to not do bloodwork, but I want to know how he's doing, so they're doing a senior blood panel on him. There was also an option to NOT give post surgical pain meds. How could anyone refuse their animal pain meds after surgery is beyond me!! I can't even imagine the poor creatures wondering what they did so wrong that they have to hurt so badly. It should be mandatory, not an option. That's just my opinion.

So, say a prayer for my boy, that he comes through this ok. I know he's old and frail, I just want to hold him again and know he'll be feeling better.

Just want to thank Honey's special angel for her generous donation toward his surgery. I won't say her name, but she's one in a million.

[phesina]

Prayers that HoneyBun's surgery goes well tomorrow!

[Freedom]

Prayers for Honeybun! Sure hope he feels better after this (and a reasonable recovery time of a day or 2).


There was also an option to NOT give post surgical pain meds. How could anyone refuse their animal pain meds after surgery is beyond me!! I can't even imagine the poor creatures wondering what they did so wrong that they have to hurt so badly. It should be mandatory, not an option. That's just my opinion.

:confused: Don't think I've EVER seen that! UGH! I have seen the option of them giving a pain med injection, for folks /pets who don't do pills well. I'm with you, should NOT be optional!

[Catty1]

More prayers for Honeybun! I hope he heals quickly and is healthy soon.:love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

I think that the price that you're paying is great. When I had Storm's teeth cleaned with extractions I think the minimum quote was about $650 and up. I've seen the pain medication options before for several different types of surgeries but I always check yes. I'm glad that you're also doing the bloodwork because I think it's very important especially for older cats. I actually think that it was required in Storm's case and I know my vet hospital also charges more for senior cats.

I hope that everything goes smoothly. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent HoneyBuns way.:love:

[Medusa]

My old vet told me that he knows other vets who truly believe that cats cannot feel pain. I honestly wonder how they ever graduated. Dr. Lee gave Specs a painkiller as soon as he was up and over the anesthesia and he sent him home w/many more syringes if Specs needed them. After a couple of days, though, I stopped them b/c he was healing just fine and the meds made him too unambitious to even eat. I'm sure Honeybun will be just fine under your watchful eye, Jen. :)

[jennielynn1970]

Well, we're back from the vet, surgery went well. They only took out his upper canines, but there's more to that story.

Apparently, there are 2 masses that they found in his mouth. One is in the upper maxillary area where the other infected teeth were. The xray of this one makes the bone look moth eaten. Not good. They are unsure at this point what it is, if it's infection that made it look like this, or if it truly is a mass.

The 2nd area is his chin. HUGE looking mass there. They showed me xrays of a normal kitty chin, and his looks nothing like it. You can't even see the two areas where the bone comes up to the front. It looks really bad. Again, they said they want to see what happens with steroids and maybe it's just an infection. I think they wanted to make me feel better, cause the vet looked very grim.

So, we are home, we have antibiotics (Clindimicin or however it's spelled), and Pred for the swelling. Sigh. Recheck in one week, to see how the Pred worked, hopefully it's just infection and the swelling will go down. The vet recheck and the next xrays are included in my bill for today. The vet is being very generous. She knows I do rescue and that I'm really strapped for cash.

On the bright side, the bill was only $245.00. but that was because they didn't take out the rest of the teeth.

Honey is in a room by himself right now. He's howling like a banshee to be let out. They said at the vet he was just really scared, and he didn't make a peep until he saw me there to pick him up. That's when he started in yowling again, lol. It was a good sign they said, lol.

So, more prayers please, he needs a lot of good to come out of this.

[phesina]

MANY more prayers coming for dearest HoneyBun! :love::love::love::love::love::love:

[pomtzu]

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[pomtzu]

Paws crossed, and prayers coming from here in DE, that HoneyBun is headed for nothing but the best possible outcome! :love:

[Taz_Zoee]

Honeybun will remain in my thoughts until this is resolved. I'm just so glad he is home with you now. :)

[Medusa]

Having had several jaw surgeries, I was so swollen on the inside of my mouth that it probably looked pretty bad for me, too, and it was all due, believe it or not, to bone loss. I had a raging infection and, just as w/Honeybun, antibiotics and Pred brought the inflammation down. Let's hope this the case w/him, too. Of course, prayers never cease here. Still keep the faythe, Jen. :love:

[Freedom]

Honeybun, stop that howling! :D

Prayers from RI for the meds to help lots.

[cassiesmom]

Paws crossed, and prayers coming from here in DE, that HoneyBun is headed for nothing but the best possible outcome! :love:

Same for me in CHicago :love:

[gini]

I am going to be praying very hard for HoneyBun. I haven't posted anything about Rascal, but he is going through similar events.

[jennielynn1970]

Thank you all for the well wishes for Honey. He needs the desperately.

Gini.... hope that Rascal will be well. Thoughts and prayers going out for him from here.

[Catty1]

More and more prayers for HoneyBun! I hope the meds start working quickly and he feels better soon.:love::love:

[Laura's Babies]

Poor baby! Get Well Soon Honey Baby! Take your meds and we will be praying for you!

[katladyd]

I'm praying with all my might that there is no mass, just infection. Get well soon, HoneyBun!!!:love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

Jenn, I sure hope that it's only an infection and not cancer.:( This brings back bad memories of my RB Sunny and he had a lump on his lower jaw.:( Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent HoneyBun's way.

Gini, I sure hope that Rascal will be okay too. I'll keep him in my thoughts and prayers as well.:love:

[Medusa]

How's Honeybun doing today, Jen? Better, I hope.

[jennielynn1970]

Honey seems to be doing just fine, lol. He's up and around and meowing at me for MORE chicken babyfood! He is acting like my old Honeybun, and is being a total sweetheart. He's taking his meds like a champ (disguised in the chicken babyfood). Right now he's sleeping on the loveseat, and hopefully he'll come up with me and take a nap soon!

[cassiesmom]

Saying prayers for this sweet orangey! Keep it up, Honey Bun! *gentle kiss for you*

http://petoftheday.com/talk/attachment.php?attachmentid=46557&d=1293058043

[smokey the elder]

Get well soon, Honeybun! I'm glad you're nomming down your food.

[Cataholic]

Thinking good thoughts for HoneyBun!

[jennielynn1970]

Honey says HI!! And says "I'm an eating machine the past couple of days! Mom can hardly keep up to me. I LOVE my babyfood chicken, maybe I'll get this all the time now?!"

He's such a good boy. Although the meowing at me every 2hrs to be fed is getting a bit annoying, lol.


Thanks for all the well wishes!

[kaycountrygal]

Hello, I just read the entire thread. I do hope your HoneyBun continues to improve and stays that way for a long time. Both of you have been through a lot. Good Wishes. Kay in NC

[BarbPond]

Jenn...
I just saw this and I wanted to wish you and Honeybun lots of good luck! I hope he continues to get better! I was glad to hear he was driving you nuts for food. My Gabby is doing that to me now also. :)

I know how it is with the money situation as we always seem to need more just to get by. And Wayne (aka Kittyfoot) needs to have 6 teeth out on Tuesday! Not sure when he will get back to work.

Anyhow thankfully your special angel has helped with the cost of the vet care! God bless her, and you and Honeybun! Will be saying prayers for you and for him! :love:

[jennielynn1970]

BarbPond.... OUCHIES for your Wayne!!! I'd be cowering in a corner if I needed to have my teeth pulled. I remember getting my wisdom teeth done a few years ago, and the crunch and crumble still makes me tremble! Big prayers going out to Wayne from me!!!

I hope your sweetie (your kitty, lol) keeps you company for a long long time. I know I want my Honeybun with me forever, but I know that's not realistic. He's old and grumpy and FIV+ so he's got a lot going against him.

I have to make an appt. for him to go back to the vet this week to see if he's improved any in the inflammation department. i hope so!! I think his little chin looks less swollen, but maybe that's just me wishing.... I dunno. I do hope it's gone down some though.

[jennielynn1970]

Ok, he is seriously driving me nuts. He's eating like a HORSE!!! This boy is eating 4-6 jars of babyfood a day! I don't want him to be hungry, but gosh, it seems like a lot of food. Is it too much?? He's so skinny, and I don't think he's eating any hard food at all because his little mouth still hurts where they didn't pull the teeth that were still bad (didn't want to compromise the bone that looked moth eaten).

So.. I ask you, is this too much food, or maybe this is exactly what a cat can eat in one day. It has made his poops a bit softer, which is annoying because he doesn't always use the litter box.:rolleyes: Gotta love soft poop on carpet. Yay me.

[Freedom]

Can you start mixing in a bit of canned cat food?

I am going to ty this baby food for my Chestnut, he has 2 pills he has to take and . . . uh uh, NO WAY. We fight twice a day.

[jennielynn1970]

He is getting Pet Selects Naturals once or twice a day as well. It's like raw but processed I think. It's like chopped up meat. He loves it too. So he's eating more than just the babyfood, but it's still A LOT of babyfood.

I can add in canned food. I guess that would add in some bulk to stave off his hunger. I want him to be healthy and happy.

[smokey the elder]

My opinion is let him eat as much as he wants, as long as he doesn't bolt and barf. When I've had underweight cats that recovered from being sick they were ravenous!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Jenn, He's most likely eating a lot because of the pred. This causes an increase in appetite as well as an increase in his drinking. When my RB Starr was on it he gained so much weight due to water weight gain more than food because I don't free feed. Storm is on a low dose of pred daily and he can get very cranky if I don't feed him on time. I'd let him eat to his hearts content especially since he's so thin. Good luck.:)

When I give Storm his pred pills, I wrap them up in chicken flavored pill pockets and he just thinks that he's getting a treat.:) I also cut the pill pockets into four pieces first and I roll them up into balls and then I can just wrap them around the pills.;)

[jennielynn1970]

So, I made my own babyfood chicken! And Honeybun seemed to love it! I had a package of 3 really large boneless breasts, they were about $6, and that is what 6 bottles of babyfood would cost me. I think I have WAY more than that with the babyfood I made. I have a large container that I filled, and I'm hoping it lasts me most of the week. It's not as thin as babyfood, but it's gotta be more substantial than babyfood. Honeybun ate it and went upstairs to sleep on my bed, so he was full and happy, and didn't come yelling at me for more, lol.

My one friend did mention that Big Lots has babyfood for 2 or 3 bottles for a $1, but I think if I can make my own every week, that will be better, not just financially but also better quality for Honeybun.

[Freedom]

So, I made my own babyfood chicken!
. . . . .
that will be better, not just financially but also better quality for Honeybun.

Good job! I was thinking the baby food probably has a high fluid content, so that's why it didn't "stick" with him and 2 hours later he was hungry again. So getting him food with some substance like what you've made should do it!

[BarbPond]

Hope Honey Bun continues to improver Jenn! :love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

I think that this is a wonderful idea and I hope this will help fill him up and put some weight on him too.:)

[jennielynn1970]

Just had to update....

My fussy Honeybun decided that he HAS to have his homemade babyfood HEATED UP. Heaven forbid it be cold or room temp. OH NO!!! It must be warmed in the microwave for about 20 seconds and THEN he'll eat it. :rolleyes:

[gini]

That they can so clearly communicate exactly what they want - and they know you know what they want - makes me love them all the more.

Rascal not only likes his special food warm - he now will only eat from a dish on a box in my computer room. I put it there so I can keep an eye on what he eats and keep Annie and Emma away from it - vacuum cleaner girls that they are!!

HoneyBun you've got her exactly where you want her - good job!~!!

[moosmom]

Jen,

Thyroid was my very first thought. Bart is looking ragged but I attribute this to old age (14).

Since he's been on Methamizole, his fur is nice and soft, he seems to be putting weight on (he's on a holistic appetite stimulant). HoneyBun is a sweet cat. ALL orangies are!

I hope the vet can find out what's going on. A complete blood work-up should have answers.

Love and hugs to you both!!

Donna

[jennielynn1970]

We go back to the vet tomorrow for a recheck and to get word on what his geriatric blood work up showed. I hope things are ok. I was too thinking that his thyroid might be not working well, with the roughness of his coat.

Will update more tomorrow after the vet visit at 5pm.

Wish us luck!

[phesina]

Luck and good wishes and prayers for HoneyBun and you.

[gini]

Any updates on Honeybun?

[jennielynn1970]

Honey is doing ok. His lower lip/jaw looks puffy, but that is just the tumor or whatever that is in there. He doesn't seem to be in pain, which is a good thing. I pray that I have him for a long time to come, but if he ends up in pain, then I know I will have to let him go.

He's eating like a champ. He gets 4-5 servings of pure'ed (spelling??) chicken or turkey a day. He loves it and is keeping weight on. I think his coat feels much better since he's eating it. He's also eating a little bit of dry kibble. I picked up Sensitive Stomach formula from Royal Canin because the kibble pieces seemed smaller and easier to manage than the round kibbles from Science Diet, and I have other cats with sensitive digestion. They all seem to like it, and hopefully we'll have less barfing with it than with other foods. The science diet was working well, but the size of the kibble worried me with Honey.

Thanks for asking!! Hope your kitties are doing well too!

[Karen]

Prayers on the way for comfort for the old dude.