Kelcee's vet visit today

[tomkatzid]

We went in to get a urine sample drawn out with a needle. I told them I needed to be reconvinced that we should do this. So in talking with the vet, a new one , I decided we should. He took her in back and wasn’t there long. They said her bladder was too 'tiny' and didn't do it. So, now it's on to something else. Leave the kidneys alone for now and go for the IBD that she 'may' have. Prednazone for 2 weeks, twice a day. No tapering off or starting slowly, just on then off after 2 wks. And changed her from Waltham, low ph to Hills duck and green peas. So far she hasn't tried it at all. She is not one for change, so we'll see on the food part, if she hasn't eaten any by Sunday I don't know what we'll do. So they are doing a stool test also. He said if that comes back ok, and she eats and seems fine with the meds, increased appetite and thirst then redo the blood work in 3 mths to see where the kidneys have gone since not being on a low ph food. Poor poor Kelcee. She is getting so little, down to 7 pounds. No more treats till at least Monday, that’s if she eat. No more treats at all ever again if she eats the Hills. They want her off the Waltham protein, chicken, and on duck. All her treats have chicken in them.
I'll keep you posted and let you know if she eats anything.
Katz

[slick]

Prayers continuing for Kelcee. This must be so worrysome for you. Now see here Kelcee, you must eat the new food if you are going to get better. I know change is hard, but you'll get used to it and grow to love it. Please do what the whitecoats and Meowmie wants you to do.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I sure hope that Kelcee will learn to like her new food and that her health will also improve. Prayers and positive thoughts are on the way.:)
How old is she?

[smokey the elder]

You might want to try by "spiking" some of her old food in with the new food, and mixing it really well. Duck and peas?! She eats better than I do! :D Get better, Kelcee!

[RedHedd]

My vet had me try that "duck and peas" food on my cats. None of them would touch it. A sudden change in diet or feeding is too much of a shock to their system and they will protest. Smokey had a good idea - mix it in with her old food - the one she will eat - and gradually increase the amount. Cats are smart, she will probably figure it out and pick out the stuff she wants and leave the rest, but maybe she'll get enough of a taste of the new stuff. Good luck and keep us posted!

[tomkatzid]

Well the vet told me to switch the old for the new and not give her any of the old. That she needs to get started on a new proein right away. And the prednazone will make her hungry. guess I'd better get a pill in her. I'm dreading that too. I know she won't eat this stuff, Hills, so I'll call them before they close and see what else I can offer her. My sister-in-law feeds IVD from her vet and the cats love it. I may try to get a little sample of it for Kelcee to try. He just wants her off chicken right away. No treats with chicken either. But she has to eat something, chicken or not. I'll post again later today and let you know if she is eating anything. Thanks for all your advice. Like I said in another thread, it's been 17 years since I had an older cat, and things have changed a lot since then, so I need all the help I can get.
Katz

[Cataholic]

Katz
First, good luck to Kelcee. I know when my vet told me to switch Tex to a low protein food, we had a long discussion about, "what if he won't eat it?" The stress on the kidneys done by not eating anything was too great for Tex. He is 13. We elected to go with having him eat a lower protein food than what I had been feeding him- essentially chicken only. Please watch that Kelcee doesn't flat out refuse to eat! Tex only weighs 7.6...so, I know how you feel. Hang in there.

[tomkatzid]

I went and got a 2nd type of food today too. The 1st one was IVD not what they first told me. no chicken and the 2nd is Hill's with some chicken, but he said the formula is that it will be fine for to have that amount. I left her 20 peices of each in a bowl and we left for a few hours, it was "ALL" gone when we came back. So now back to just the IVD, which I think is better, but really dont know. He said if she didnt eat to feed her one meal of her old food, which she wasn't likeing that much any way. but for now she has some in her and she has 3 bowls to choose from. In both bedrooms and the laundry room. Poor Kelcee, she really hates change.
We were going to go to my Dad's for 4 days, but can't now because she needs her Prednisone twice a day. So maybe I'll drive there and get him (6 hrs one way) and bring him back here the next day, to spend the wk with us. Kelcee wouldn't want a car ride with the other 'monsters'.
I will keep you posted on her eating, thanks for your input, I need all the help I can get with this one.
Katz

[NoahsMommy]

I feed my cats IVD mixed with their Royal Canin (dry) or Innova (wet) and it seems to be helping Hermoine greatly with her fur/skin allergy thing and Micah with his IBD.

They are concerned with her kidneys. Is she on Hills K/D? Or now just the IVD?

[tomkatzid]

Oringinally ( for a couple of yrs) she was on Waltham low PH for her kidneys. Now they think she has IBD and that's why the diet change. She sure isn't eating much. We have been gone for 3 hrs and I was hoping to find the bowl empty, but doesn't look like she touched it while we were gone. The IVD she is on is duck and green peas so maybe I'll need to change to rabbit and peas. Yesterday the gave me, or I should say I had to buy for $20 Hills Z/D. She doesn't like it any better. I really thought the prednisone would make her eat a lot, but maybe it takes more than the 3 pills she's had. She has it for 3 wks. I don't know. I'll have to call them again tomorrow and see if there are others I can try. Walthm makes one, but they didn't have it. I'll have them call the vet across the st. from us, they carry it. She eats 'only' dry, doesn't like the canned. Now that's strange for a cat......
Katz

[NoahsMommy]

My cats preferred the rabbit over the duck...and they like the lamb too. Can she have lamb?

Royal Canin just joined with Waltham to formulate a new Prescription Food line. Maybe you can ask your vet about that?
http://www.walthamusa.com/Learning%20Center/RD30.html

Micah has IBD too and does pretty well on the IVD/Royal Canin/Innova mixture. Our vet is also watching his kidney function because of his last test results. We didn't have any luck on any Hills product, in fact, they made him worse. :(

[tomkatzid]

Well now I've got all 3 kinds of food out for her, the 3rd being her old stuff and she IS NOT eating anything . I feel bad because like Tom said there wasn't a eating problem before I took her to the vet and started messing with her food. So I'll be calling them again in the morn. I want to get the rabbit IVD and the Waltham too. Now I am getting a little scared. No poop since Saturday and no pee since 1pm today and its 11:30pm now.
Katz

[NoahsMommy]

Was she constipated before all this?

If your vet is unable to get the RC/Waltham food, and you decide to try it. Have them call VetCentric. If they aren't already carrying the food, its hard to get just one bag for a client.

http://www.vetcentric.com/index.cfm

They are a veterinary pharmacy and will deliver whatever you need (food and meds) straight to your home. I just used them last week to order a special high calorie food for one of our clients.

Its really hard and worrisome with IBD...its always up and down, but eventually, she'll become stable. It just takes finding the right combination for her body.

Do you have any access to a more natural diet? I have IBD as well (Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis) and I'm supposed to eat a diet that is more natural (no artificials, no preservatives, etc). When I do, I feel sooo much better. That's what it took to get Micah where he is at right now.

If these foods don't work, I'd be happy to share with you what we did for Micah, if you want. I'm hoping that something your vet can offer will help her.

Take care. :) Let us know how it goes tomorrow.

[tomkatzid]

Thank you so much. We'll see what they have to say tomorrow. No, she had no problem going potty, but blood in it sometimes, maybe once a month or less often, then if she ate the milk off my cereal whe would have the runs. Poor Kelcee. I haven't given any milk since I figured out it happens the next day after she has it. Ohhhhhhhhhh, she is in her box now. I'll peek as soon as she's done. well, just a pee. I was afraid of that, she hasn't eaten enough to do anything else.
What did you do for Micha?
Katz

[NoahsMommy]

Originally posted by tomkatzid
What did you do for Micha?
Katz
We put him on the raw diet....that was after trying Hills Z/D, I/D, W/D, Chicken Soup, Wellness and a few others. He was on it for a few months and then I began mixing it with Innova Wet and feeding him dry Royal Canin Special. (He loved the raw, but really, really missed the crunchy food)

Now, he eats his Royal Canin & IVD crunchies and gets Innova wet and IVD wet mixed together.

Why does your vet think Kelcee has IBD? Especially if she didn't have any sort of digestion problems before? Blood in feces isn't automatically IBD, nor is adversion to milk because all cats are lactose intolerant.

My Micah was so sick from the second we saw him. He almost lived in his litterbox at the shelter and at home. He'd cry in the litterbox and you could hear his diarrhea from the next room (sorry to be gross). He little butt was always red and raw from him continually going...and he wieghed 5 pounds. :(

I'm confused as to why they are looking for IBD vs. her kidney problems. Hmmm...are the two linked? I wonder if they are, as Micah's levels were a bit low.

Does Kelcee seem like her tummy hurts? You mentioned she doesn't eat much lately and she's losing weight. Has she always had a small appetite?

[tomkatzid]

She used to eat a lot and was 13 pounds, now 7. Used to when she was younger, she ate Iams, then I changed her to Wellness when she had blood work done and the kidneys didn't look perfect, then the #'s improved. A different vet, same place, said to put her on low ph food and I mixed it, the Waltham and Wellness for a couple years. Then the #'s moved up a tiny bit and she said to do just Waltham. And she has been on it for about a yr. With each change of food she ate less, but also getting older.The vet also thought it might be hyperthyroid. He originally said 4 things could be wrong the others were cancer or linfoma and kidney. So I guess with her symtoms he thought that IBD might be the one she had. H-thyroid they eat more and pee more, and she doesn't. so I don't really know what to think. 'As I said before, her thyroid # was 2.3, the high side, for old cats 2.5 is the highest.
The vet called this morn, (Dr. Curt) to check on her. Since she ate 'some' of the Hills he said let her go one more day and call him first thing in the morn. She hasn't pooped since Saturday, and I told him that, but she hasn't eaten enough to make her. I'm getting more scared now.
I got the ingredients of Wellness Salmon, and it does have chicken liver, but I may fax it to Dr. Curt and see if I can try that too.
This does have me upset, I look at that cat bowl 1000 times a day to see if any is missing.
Poor Kelcee, she has to take pills and that freaks her out too. And me too. And no ice cream at night and no treats when the pups are getting theirs, everything is changed and she hates it.

[NoahsMommy]

Sounds like you are all having a hard time with this. :( I'm sorry, I know its really nerve wracking not knowing exactly what is wrong and how to fix her. :(

I'll be praying for your little one. Let me know what the doctor says tomorrow. :)