Every heard of this...

[CatDad]

As most of you know Joey got really sick on Thanksgiving and had to go to the kitty hosptal for a couple of days. Well, she seemed fine until Christmas. Then got sick for a few days. I fed her pepcid for a couple of days and she was fine again.

Well, another month has passed and she got sick on Sunday after eating, then again on Monday. I finally remembered to give her pepcid on tuesday (I felt really stupid) and she seemed Ok. Well, she hasn't been eating alot, and I gave her another pepcid tonight and she just got sick again. I mixed a very small amount of her normal food in with the I/D tonight so she would eat, but the pepcid should have countered that.

I guess my question is has anybody heard of a stomach/digestive health problem that hits once a month. My vet is stumped, I am going to call her again tomorrow. I am just scared that it is something serious that they are missing.

Any Ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I am also going to make a post in General to see if I can get recomendations for another vet to see. My normal vet let the practice about 5 months ago and while I like the vet that I have, I just haven't 'bonded' (for lack of a better word) with her. I had a great relatioship with the vet that left.

Well that is about it.

Thanks.

[Craftlady]

Sorry I can't help you on the health issue. I would sure find out where your old vet went and give him a call. Finding another vet is trial and error. I read allot of ads in the phone book luckly found a wonderful vet that solved Skinny's problems. I switched everyone over to him. :)
Ask co-workers and friends thats the ideal way to find a good vet. Call your local human society see if they have a "recommended list".
Good luck.. Give rubs and kisses to Joey :)

[CatDad]

Thanks, I would drive to see her if I could but she went to work for a new shelter that it about 40 miles north of me, and it is not an open practice. Otherwise, I would be really tempted to make the trip.

I have started to ask around and I will hopefully find one that I can trust soon.

Thank you for the ideas though, I will take anything that I can get. I am starting to get really worried about her. I was worried before, now we are going to really worried.;)

[Tonya]

I don't have any advice, but best wishes. I hope that everything works out. Keep us posted. I'll be praying fro her.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Bryan, I'm sorry to hear that Joey is still having health problems.:( I can't give you any advice either but I sure hope that you can find another great vet and that he/she will be able to find the solution to her problem. Prayers and positive thoughts are being sent your way. Please take care and keep us updated.

[tomkatzid]

Maybe, see if your vet will give you a referral to the Critical Care Office in Ballard (there isn't one in Bellevue) or to an internist. Both places won't take patients without a referral. We went to Tacoma for an internist.. But you do cut out the middle guy, your vet, and get right to the specialist. If you end up at a specialist anyway, they will repeat all the test your vet did . so pay twice. This is the route I'd take if your vets can't tell you whats going on.
Katz

[CatDad]

Thanks for the prayers and positive thoughts.:D

Just for a short update on her current bout. She still is not keeping her food down, even with the pepcid. I feed her the I/D food last night and about an hour or so later she was sick again. However, she is not acting sick this time, she is out and running around, which I guess is good. She is still drinking at this time, so dehydration is not a serious issue, thank god.

I would be really happy if my vet could come up with something, but I have a feeling that our next stop will be an internist or a different vet. Time will tell.

[anna_66]

Oh Bryan, I'm sorry to hear that your sweet Joey girl is not feeling well again. I wish I could be of a little help, but unfortunatly I can't:(
The both of you will be in my thoughts. I hope she starts feeling better soon.
Anna

[micki76]

Sorry I can't help either, but I wanted to offer my best wishes and prayers for lil Joey Girl.

Have you ever thought of feeding her a bland, home cooked food instead of the Science Diet I/D? I personally would never feed Science Diet to my dogs (or cats when I had them) and I especially wouldn't when they're already sick. JMO.

Hope you get some answers soon! :(

[leslie flenner]

There's a web site called Vetinfo.com and there's another one called Askthevet but not sure of the exact address. And Jan recently found a good one when her newly acquired iguana stopped eating. (Jan if you see this- let CatDad know ok?).
I use a ridiculously expensive vet but she specializes in cats and is up on all newest everything so I trust her. (The Feline Hospital- in Salem MA). Our vet visits aren't for just a few minutes, they are half an hour or more for just routine- I suppose I get my money's worth!
Maybe you could locate a vet that specializes in felines or call the Feline Hosp. for a connection- or I will if you want to go this route!!!
Does your cat vomit immediatly after eating? Is there a chance of eating too fast? (I get that here a lot). Or furballs? What are stools like? I know youv'e already checked for these things but I can't help but ask, I guess because it's not in your post. Did they check for lung worm (well, that causes coughing and vomitting so if no coughing then maybe not..). Eye worm?- known to the west coast but not the east coast and I can't remember the symptoms..Argh!! Keep us posted!

[kimlovescats]

I'm sorry I didn't see this yesterday, Bryan! Poor Joey!!! :(
I suppose you are sure that it's not hairballs. I just don't know what to tell you, sounds like you are doing everything that has already been suggested for you. All I can do for you is say a prayer for sweet Joey, and leave it in God's hands!

Please keep us updated!!!

(((HUGS)))

[CatDad]

Just another post to say thank you to all. I really appreciate it, and I know that Joey does.

I am worried but I think that at this point I am beyond the panic stage.:D We will get through this.

I have been watching her and she is acting completely normal now, except for throwing up 2 - 4 times a night. usuaully with ina 2 or 3 hour period. She is drinking, and using the litter box, all looks normal. Both types. I have been checking her for dehydration and no signs of that.

I will also want to answer a few of the questions. I know that the original was a little sketchy. I forget that I have been dealing with this for 3 months.

First, she ate really well tonight, and I will find out if she throws up again in about the next hour or so. However, so far, so good at this point.

I took the advice about the Hill's food to heart and I am going to see if I can find another wet food for her. I stopped by a small pet food store that carries alot of the high end foods and picked up a brand called Wellness they are out of MA. It is not specific to sensitive, but it does not have any grains in it, which may help. I started mixing it with her I/D food tonight. So we shall see.

Now to answer a few of the questions:
It is not hairballs. this pure food. It is also what ever she ate last wihich is generally wet food so I could see hair. Sorry to be so frank with that.

I don't think she is not eating too fast. In fact the last 2 or 3 nights she has hardly eaten at all. So if she is eating too fast it was a very small amount. Although it is a possiblity I guess.

Since I mentioned eating, she did eat all of her food tonight, which is a switch from the past 3 nights. So maybe she is feeling better and we are done for this month.

I mention the litter box, and she using it fine. She is peeing about the normal amout for her. Also, we had a little of her stool stick to her fur tonight that fell off in the hallway. It is completely normal shape and size for her. It may have been a little soft, but it was not much if it was. So no apparent problems there.


As for all the questions on worms and other types of dieses. With all of the money that I spent on Xrays, blood tests and a unltrsound I would hope that would have caught worms and such. Although I will ask my vet if that was covered.

Leslie I appreciate the offer to call your clinic, but I got a really good recommendation for a vet that is pretty close to my house and I am going to try them first. It came from someone who worked there for 4 years and the vets that she worked with are still there.

Also, if you will allow me to vent a little. I am a little upset with my current vet. I was supposed to hear back from her today and I called and found out she was not there. I will give her a call tomorrow and see if she has come up with anything. If she say more test, she better have real good reasons. Because the only way I am sticking Joey back in that carrier at this point is for a real good reason.

If they have nothing I will asked them to copy her records and I will go and talk to the other vet.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.;)

OK, have I written enough.:eek::)

Once again I appreciate everything. I can't say this enough, so I hope you know how much it means to me to have you all here.:)

[leslie flenner]

you're being a wonderful parent- joey will get the best care from you! Use those websites when you can- they often will trigger questions to pose the vet and then trigger the vet to change their line of thinking (they're human and get stuck too but can be helpful if we jog them in various directions). God knows I wouldn't have known about the lung worm in my feral kittens if not for an intern vet who had just read up on worms- she said it never would have been a possible test with another vet...too uncommon...

[micki76]

Originally posted by CatDad
I took the advice about the Hill's food to heart and I am going to see if I can find another wet food for her. I stopped by a small pet food store that carries alot of the high end foods and picked up a brand called Wellness they are out of MA. It is not specific to sensitive, but it does not have any grains in it, which may help. I started mixing it with her I/D food tonight. So we shall see.

Bryan, Wellness is an excellent food and hopefully it will do good for Joey. We feed our dogs Wellness and all three LOVE it.

I'd be pretty mad at no call from the vet when one was promised, too. :mad:

At this point, I think another opinion is probably your best bet and it will definitely make you feel like you've done your very best for her, even if you still don't get a solid answer. Jeanine's vet friend sounds wonderful. :)

Keep us updated and I'm sending good thoughts and prayers for an answer. And I'll give you some advice that I can't ever take - don't worry too much and try to relax. :)

Everything WILL be ok.

[jenluckenbach]

Bryan, I can't believe I missed this! I am so sorry that Joey is not well. It is so frustrating to not have an answer. Good luck in your serch and hugs and prayers to you and to Joey.

[CatDad]

I just wanted to give a quick update for everyone.

We may be over the getting sick period for the month, actually I hope it is forever. She ate all her wet food that I gave her and she is also eating the dry food that they have. She did not get sick once yesterday, so I have hope that we will go back to normal for the moment.

I think that I am going to feed her one more quater pepcid today just to be sure. Then stop that again too.

I will continue to switch her over to the Wellness food and hopefully that will go well(no pun intended).:)

I will talk to my vet today, the receptionist promised me that she would make sure that happened. I love the staff at my vet, they are so good to me.:D

That is about it for now. Thank you again to everyone.:D

[anna_66]

I'm glad to hear that she's doing well, and continues that way!

[Cataholic]

Bryan,
Positive thoughts for Joey and you that you find out what is ailing our little princess!

[Killearn Kitties]

I'm glad to hear that she seems to be settling down. Poor girl. I really hope it doesn't come back.

[Barbara]

Bryan, I'm sorry I missed this. I send my best thoughts to Joey -that everything may stay ok:)

[CatDad]

Update

Well, I talked to my vet today, and they want me to take her to the hospital up north and do an endoscopy to check for IBD. I am not sure how I feel about her answer, it makes sense but I was not convinced that she really went back and looked at all the records. I know she is a good person, I talked to one of the vet techs about her. I am just not convinced at this point.

I think that what I am going to do is some more research on my own. I am also going to get a copy of her medical records and talk to the vet that Jeanine recomemded, see what they have to say. I often find that doctors(vet and human) can often have very different opinions and it is usually worth the a office or consultation fee to get a couple of them.

Of course, this will all be determined by how Joey is feeling. At the moment she is doing fine and hopefully will stay that way. However if she takes a turn for the worse, I will need to make a decision quicker.

I will let you know what happens when I know more.

Thanks for being there for my little girl and me.:D

[tomkatzid]

Who did they want you to see? What kind of Dr.? Just wondering?
I think your plan is a good one, and see what the new vets say.
Katz

[CatDad]

Hi again, just what you wanted from me more information. Well Katz asked, talk to her.;)

From everything that I can tell, even though I am no vet, it is the next thing to do. I really don't want it to be but I have done a fair amount of reading tonight. I just don't want to rush into it and find out later that we could have avoided it. Especially since Joey is feeling better. I think that I have a little time to get some answers. Plus if I can put a little time inbetween vet visits it will reduce her stress factor(and mine) a little. She did just get her teeth cleaned and she has gotten over that visit in record time. She is my lovey girl again. I don't want to push my luck.:)

My vet wants me to go to the hospital in Lynnwood. It is all part of a conglamerate of vets offices and hospitals called Pet's Choice. They are based in Bellevue. It is the same hospital that we went to last Thanksgiving. They seemed pretty good and they treated Joey well. I can't remember the name of the doctor that my vet wants me to see, however. I remember her saying that they were a specialist in this area.

I still like the idea of a second opinion. I would also like to see what it may cost at another vet, at least another one that I would take Joey to. Low cost provider is not exactly what I am after, but if I have two that I trust. I will see if I like one over the other, then I will compare prices.

So at this point, time will tell. I will call up my vet tomorrow and ask that they copy off Joey's records. That will take some time, I know that there is alot. I will also check and see if they have all of the hospital records if not I will get those too.

On the good news front Joey ate all her food again and has not thrown up yet, I am hoping for not at all. However, if she was going to it would usually be by now.

OK, well I just realized that you asked two questions and I gave you a short story.:eek: Guess I was just forming up my plan in writting.:)

Thanks for letting me think 'out loud', so to speak.

[leslie flenner]

What is IBD? Some kind of intestinal blockage disease/disorder? I made it up!

[CatDad]

Oops, sorry.

I have been reading so much about it that I just started to use the acroynm. IBD is Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Here is a brief description of it:

IBD is actually a group of gastrointestinal disorders, usually chronic in nature, which are characterized by an increase in the number of inflammatory cells found in the lining of the stomach or intestinal tract. These changes can affect the function of the organ involved. The causes of IBD are variable, and often no single cause can be identified in a given patient. The symptoms include chronic vomiting, diarrhea, or both, and in some cases, weight loss and change in appetite. Some patients may defecate outside their litter box, especially if diarrhea is present. The symptoms may be cyclical in nature, with the cat appearing to be normal at times. It is not unusual for these patients to be misdiagnosed as having hairballs.

I also found out that my vet is on the right track in trying to diagnose it. Here is something else I found:

A definitive diagnosis of IBD is only possible by intestinal biopsy, which is best accomplished using fibreoptic endoscopy. This technology allows veterinarians to diagnose and treat many gastrointestinal disorders more easily than in the past. The endoscope is an instrument that allows visualization of the stomach and intestinal tract through a flexible tube that is passed into either the patient's stomach or colon. The tube contains fibreoptic bundles that deliver bright light to its tip and transmit the images back into an eyepiece. Small, but adequate biopsies (about the size of this capital letter "O") can be taken using this instrument, thus avoiding surgery. The procedure is performed under a short general anesthesia with most patients able to return home the same day. Since endoscopic procedures are minimally invasive (there are no surgical wounds to heal) and short in duration, they are less traumatic to the patient and recovery time is quicker.

I know just a simple question, and see what I give you.:eek::D

[rg_girlca]

Oh dear sweet precious Joey, what are you doing upsetting your daddy like that for? Come on sweetpea, you can't keep doing this to him, or to us either. I hope and pray that this is the last time you have tummy upsets.

Bryan, I would definitely, without question, get a second opinion on the situation with your sweetheart. Only then, IMO, you could make the decision to go ahead, if necessary, on the endoscopy.
You're such a good cat daddy.

Also, all updates and any kind of venting, rambling, or whatever, is a requirement on PT, so don't worry about it okay.:D

Take care and give Joey a hug and kiss for me please.:)

[smokey the elder]

IBD is tough to diagnose in animals or humans. It's what's called an autoimmune disease, in which one's own cells come under "friendly fire" from the immune system.

I hope that once Joey is properly diagnosed with whatever she has, then she can get the right therapy. Hang in there!

[Laura's Babies]

Sorry I missed this thread before Catdad. Here we go again with another helpless baby having problems. I hope they find out Joey's problem soon and things can settle down for you and you baby. Nothing worse that a sick or injured baby. Good thought for you and Joey!

[sqwelch]

I also apologise for seeing this thread late. I'm glad Joey is feeling better for the moment and I really hope they manage to suss out whats wrong with the wee sweetheart. Just one more thing to add, thought I'd say what a great Dad you are, she is obviously well cared for !!!

[rpcathouse]

Catdad just came to Cat Health for the first time. My you have your hands full. I hope Joey is doing better. Did they do x-rays to see if there is a blockage. When is the procedure being done. Is it in the stomach or intestines? Sorry I am full of questions. I can't stand when a cat is not doing good and I know you have done all that you can. I am sending lots of GLOWS for you and Joey. My Prayes are with you also. Please keep us up to date.

Stella

P.S. Again I am sorry I didn't see this before. I will, also get more gray hairs worring about Joey for you. (So you don't have toooo!)