Hagrid is gone. Update #40

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/IMG_0259.jpg

The vet thinks my big tuxie has allergies of some sort. He's been shaking his head and scratching his ears, and he lost his appetite, which is unheard of for Hagrid.

He had a Depo-Medrol shot on Tuesday, and I resorted to Fancy Feast to get him to eat. He's been inhaling the Fancy Feast, and his ears do seem a bit less itchy, but otherwise he hasn't been at all perky. He's got a follow-up vet visit Monday.

No clue so far what he might be allergic to. Up until he decided he didn't want to eat it anymore, he's been chowing down on good quality food. I haven't used any new cleaning products lately, and I avoid harsh chemicals.

I'm worried about my handsome fella. I don't know why he'd suddenly develop allergies at age 9. I just hope to find some way to make him feel better very soon.

If it's any help, chlorpheniramine (generic Chlor-Trimeton, often available as generic "allergy relief" pills) has been proven safe for cats. 1/4 of a 4 mg table ground up & dissolved in water, then mushed up in smelly canned food, twice a day, can really take the edge off of an itch until you identify the culprit. Just make sure chlorpheniramine is the ONLY ingredient.

Kicking all the grains out of Smudge's food was a big help to him, but all this rainy weather might be responsible for the remainder of his itchies, as mold is another common feline allergen.

Good luck, Hagrid! If your human wants to rub something soothing on your ouchies, emu oil is totally safe, and doesn't taste too bad either.

Love, Columbine

Columbine, thank you for the info! June was an extremely rainy month around here, and mold counts have been high or very high all summer, so perhaps that's the culprit.

I'm hoping it's not food allergies. Regulating his diet will be tough because (once his appetite returns to normal) it won't be easy to keep him out of the other cats' food.

I'll look into the chlorpheniramine and the emu oil. Thanks again!

Is Hagrid losing hair, especially at the sites where he's itching the most? My Creamsicle has allergies and we don't know what she's allergic to either, most likely food but what? As soon as I take her off the Prednisolone, she loses hair by the handfuls. If it's an environmental allergy, you'll have fun trying to find out what it is that Hagrid's allergic to. In the meantime, I sure hope that he feels better soon. He's such a big, handsome tuxie boy! :love:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Medusa

Is Hagrid losing hair, especially at the sites where he's itching the most? My Creamsicle has allergies and we don't know what she's allergic to either, most likely food but what? As soon as I take her off the Prednisolone, she loses hair by the handfuls. If it's an environmental allergy, you'll have fun trying to find out what it is that Hagrid's allergic to. In the meantime, I sure hope that he feels better soon. He's such a big, handsome tuxie boy! :love:

---

His ears have taken the brunt of it, although there's one sore spot on his head where he's lost some fur. His coat is much duller than usual, though. It's usually so soft and glossy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Prairie Purrs

His ears have taken the brunt of it, although there's one sore spot on his head where he's lost some fur. His coat is much duller than usual, though. It's usually so soft and glossy.

---

That's where it started w/Creamsicle. Then she lost almost all her hair on her tail; it looked like a rat's tail. When you pet him, lightly tug on his fur and see if it easily comes out in what my vet called "paint brush" clumps. If so, it's important that you get some meds for the itching. My vet said that it's like having poison ivy and it's very uncomfortable for them. :( C's coat was always soft, too, but it felt lifeless and lacked sheen once the allergy took hold.

A skin/coat supplement might help too, to strengthen the skin so it heals faster. Ask your vet about 3V Caps. (Don't ask Hagrid - it's fish oil, he'll insist on it!)

Love, Columbine

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Medusa

When you pet him, lightly tug on his fur and see if it easily comes out in what my vet called "paint brush" clumps. If so, it's important that you get some meds for the itching.

---

No clumps of fur coming out, thank goodness. I'll be asking my vet about itch remedies, though, because I don't want things to reach that point if at all possible.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by columbine

A skin/coat supplement might help too, to strengthen the skin so it heals faster. Ask your vet about 3V Caps. (Don't ask Hagrid - it's fish oil, he'll insist on it!)

Love, Columbine

---

I'll add 3V Caps to the list. Thanks!

I'm really worried about my big boy. He's taking prednisolone but he's getting worse instead of better. His ears are raw and scaly, and his paws are itchy, too. He keeps shaking his paws as if he's stepped in something. And he's not eating enough--he'll take a few bites and that's it. I've been offering him food every couple of hours to try to get enough in him to at least keep him from dropping a lot more weight.

He had blood work done yesterday, but the results most likely won't be back until tomorrow. I'm scared that there might be something much worse than allergies going on here.

Please send Hagrid some healing thoughts. He's a sad and miserable kitty cat right now.

Aw, poor boy. He does really sound miserable. Of course, we'll keep the prayers going. :love:

Prayers for dear Hagrid. He is SUCH a handsome boy.

9 isn't old at all...I hope a solution is found quickly!

Prayers for Hagrid.

Sending lots of love and healing prayers for that gorgeous tuxie boy, Hagrid. Feel better soon!!!

:love: Sending Lots of Prayers & Huggss for Hagrid.. Your such a Adorable baby.. Get well real soon..

Thanks for your prayers.

Hagrid's bloodwork showed an elevated white cell count, but not extreme. The vet is stumped, so he referred me to a clinic about an hour away from here for a second opinion and maybe an ultrasound.

I'm so afraid at this point that some form of cancer might be involved. I'll fight it tooth and nail, whatever it is. I need my happy, goofy Hagrid back.

If you look for the thread on Haggis here, Transfer Factor seems to have eliminated his cancer. He was told he had 2 months....and he is thriving some 8 months later. Exam and blood tests showed no cancer! (The vet had also approved the Transfer Factor).

Here is info (for humans): http://www.transferfactorinstitute.com/Home/Faq

This web page is a little cluttered, but you should be able to ferret out what you need.

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/tf/s/pets.htm

Prayers for Hagrid!

Hagrid had an ultrasound today and a skin biopsy. The ultrasound showed nodules on his liver, but no way to determine whether it's cancer without a biopsy. The skin biopsy results won't be back for at least a week.

The vet (not my regular vet) wants to dose him with Revolution just in case he has mites of some kind, even though no mites showed up on skin scrapings. I'm going to do some research on that, because I'm not sure it's a good idea to keep loading him up with meds if his liver is in trouble.

He's still coming out of the anesthesia (they had to put him under to do the biopsy), so I'll pick him up in the morning. Still no recommendations on how to relieve his itching--the poor guy just itches all over at this point.

I'm so scared for my sweet boy.

Poor Hagrid. :( I pray that he can get some relief.
Is he the type of cat you could bathe? Maybe an anit itch shampoo could help give him some relief until this can be solved.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jenluckenbach

Poor Hagrid. :( I pray that he can get some relief.
Is he the type of cat you could bathe? Maybe an anit itch shampoo could help give him some relief until this can be solved.

---

I keep asking the vets whether there's something I can do--something that could be applied to the skin or whatever--and they don't have any suggestions. I don't think Hagrid would be easy to bathe (and I'd have to wait until my water heater gets fixed, because it went out today :rolleyes:), but I'd sure try it if it would help.

Oh, I am so sorry to hear that he is so itchy, poor baby. I know that in humans one of the signs of liver toxicity manifests as rashes, itching etc since the toxins are eliminated through the skin. I wonder if this is the reason. Prayers that he will feel better soon.

I'm sorry to hear this.:( I'll keep him in my thoughts and prayers.

It doesn't look good at all for Hagrid. I'm completely at a loss.

My poor boy continues to lose weight (another half pound since Sunday). His skin is a mess. He's been back and forth all week to a clinic that my local vet referred me to because they have better testing facilities. So far the clinic has charged me over $ 1,000 without a diagnosis. Today Hagrid couldn't even stand up, so I rushed him to my local vet.

My vet is pretty sure that this is liver related. Hagrid is in obvious pain in the area of his liver. The vet recommended that I get the other clinic to perform a needle biopsy to find out whether there's any possibility that this is a treatable problem.

The other clinic doesn't want to do a needle biopsy. They want to go in surgically. My vet doesn't think Hagrid would survive that, and I don't have the $ 2,000 that the clinic would charge me for the procedure. I'll come up with the money somehow if there's any hope that they might discover a way to treat this, but what's the point if he's not likely to make it through the surgery?

As my vet put it, poor Hagrid looks like he's aged 10 years in the past two weeks. It will damn near kill me to lose him. He's the heart of my feline family, especially now that Kacey's gone. But he's miserable, and nothing is helping. Every vet visit leaves him in worse shape than before.

I'm so sorry to hear this.:( I'm sure you'll do what's best for him. I'll continue to keep you both in my thoughts and prayers. Please take care. (((HUGS)))

Hi,
I just read about Hagrid. What a beautiful kitty! I'm wondering why the Clinic with the advanced technology cannot go in and do a guided needle biopsy first before doing a surgery. Do you have a Specialty Hospital nearby, or is this a clinic where they treat critical care animals? A Board Certified Vet would be able to do a needle biopsy and diagnosis. It may be more difficult in a rural area with being near one of the Specialty Hospitals. I know you've spent a lot of money, and I had to do the same before finding the right clinic and Vet. Hugs to Hagrid and you.

My Mac was sent to a Specialty Clinic years ago for a mystery ailment that had him losing weight, not eating or drinking, and my vet wanted his liver checked, also. They, too, wanted to do nothing but an invasive procedure, which I beleived would kill him. They refused to do a needle biopsy, so I left their office with some sub-q fluids and antibiotics. I started force feeding and watering him as well as giving him the meds. Two days later he started eating and drinking on his own and within 4 days he was back to normal! I hate those Specialty Cinics!:mad:

This is so sad to read. :(

Is there a 3rd place to consult with, and possibly do a needle biopsy?

Has the skin biopsy results come back yet?

Praying for an answer to Hagrid's problems.

Hi,
I am sorry to hear of both your experiences with a Specialty Hospital and the Vets wanting to do a surgery before a needle biopsy is done. It's hard to think they would do surgery without knowing the diagnosis and before a biopsy. Fortunately, my cat had exceptional care at the Animal Internal Medicine where he finally got treatment, but a second Vet where I took him wanted also to do surgery on him w/out a diagnosis.

To make a long story short, my beautiful 16 year old boy kitty, Tommy, went in for a Senior check-up, and the regular Vet felt a mass in his abdominal area. She unfortunately went in and did a needle biopsy thinking she could get a good specimen. Well, she accidentally got some of his bowel fecal matter mixed in and caused an infection. I think she punctured his bowel, but she told me she did not. He came home terribly ill. I went to a second Vet, and he wanted to do kind of an exploratory surgery which I know would have killed him, as he was so weak and thin. Finally, the thrid place was the Animal Internal Medicine hospital, and it was there a Surgical Vet did an ultrasound and then a needle biopsy and diagnosed it as intestinal lymphoma. Tommy never needed surgery, as it turned out, but did okay for seven months on Prednisolone and some oral chemo. He also had some kidney deficiency and bad arthritis and in the end the cancer just took over.

This sounds so much like what is going on w/my Boo. It's frightening to watch and maddening to try to figure out. Please know that as I pray for Boo I pray for Hagrid and you. (((HUGS))) :love:

Hi
It is so upsetting to hear they would not do a biopsy. Did they say why? I agree with the other posts, is there a way you can get another opinion? Hang in there and kisses to your sweet little boy.
Marina

Thanks, everyone, for your concern for my tuxie boy.

After I flat refused to put Hagrid through exploratory surgery, the vet at the clinic did the needle biopsy. I hope to know the results Monday, but I'm still waiting for the skin biopsy results, so who knows.

The clinic vet also suggested that Hagrid spend tomorrow at my local vet's office hooked up to an IV to get some B vitamins and something else--I'm too exhausted to remember what--into him. Maybe that will keep him going while the diagnostic process goes on.

The one encouraging thing is that he's eating. Small amounts, but pretty frequently. And he's drinking. He seems to be resting fairly comfortably tonight.

He's such a good, brave boy. I love that cat so much.

I'm saying prayers and sending positive thoughts your way for Hagrid. Good for you for sticking to your guns!!! Sometimes vets can make you so angry!

Praying for an answer to Hagrid's problem. Hang in there, buddy!!

Prayers are continuing for Hagrid and you. :love:

Continuing prayers from MD, too....I'm sorry I don't have a magical solution...:(

Good for you insisting on a needle biopsy first vs. surgery. Prayers and positive thoughts for Hagrid and you.

The fluids and B vitamins may work a few wonders! Prayers for that handsome boy!

I'm stilll pulling for Hagrid! Come on, Boy, you can do it!:love:

I'm just now catching up on this thread. Dear poor boy and you.....you both have been through so much and without a diagnosis - must be so frustrating.

Sending mega prayers and {{{hugs}}}

Hagrid left for the RB yesterday. He took a sudden turn for the worse, and I had no choice but to let him go.

The best guess (because the liver biopsy tests haven't come back yet) is that he had liver cancer. It was definitely a liver problem, which apparently crashed his immune system.

The skin issue, incredibly, was ringworm. Or, possibly, ringworm plus complications. It took the skin biopsy results to diagnose ringworm (it didn't show up on the light test). Obviously, Hagrid's compromised immune system allowed the ringworm to take hold and get very bad. I've no clue how he got it, though--no new cats here for over two years.

In any event, I'll have to have all the other cats checked and/or treated, plus a lot of cleaning. Nobody else appears to be affected, but of course I'll take all the precautions.

I'll post a memorial to my sweet boy later today, when I'm functioning a little better. It's impossible to believe that he won't be coming home.