The mystery of Oliver the cat

[Emeraldgreen]

Thanks for the responses.

I took Oliver to the vet this morning (and George rode along in the cage with him for moral support). The vet asked me to take away his litter box first thing this morning because she wanted him to have a full bladder. When we got to the clinic they rolled him onto his back and used a needle to get some urine out but at the same time poor Ollie started peeing. It was kind of a race for the vet to collect urine with the syringe before Ollie peed it all out! They also drew some blood to send off to the lab and results are supposed to be in on Saturday. I'm praying it's something we can manage and that he will have a good long time ahead with us. George needs him too. George was a semi-feral cat when we adopted him. He was going to be euthanized because no home could be found for him so we offered to take him. We adore hm and he is such a character but for some reason, he hates every single one of our other cats but he LOVES Oliver. He dislikes the other cats so much that he attacks them very aggressively and we have to keep him separate from them for their safety. But with us and with Oliver, he is a sweetheart. Oliver mixes with everybody and likes to visit with all our cats but he spends the majority of his time with his buddy George. So I'm also praying that all will be well because I don't want George to have to be alone without a feline companion.

Karen, thanks for the info. It's good to know more about allergies. I'm sorry to hear that you are dealing with them. Sounds like I can rule it out for a cause for losing weight because he is still eating many meals a day and quite hungry.

Pomtzu, if Oliver has kidney issues, I hope that like your dog, it will be 'kidney ageing' related issues and not kidney failure. I found your post really encouraging. I remember feeding my RB cat Jade Hills K/D dry kibble and she loved it. She too had kidney issues but not failure when first diagnosed. She was diagnosed at about 17 years old and lived until 21. The last 2 years I had to give her sub-q fluids once a week to keep her hydrated and it made a big difference along with the K/D food.

Taz Zoee, thanks for that. I think they are very handsome too with their stripes and spots. I think George might be part bengal. Both cats were tossed away by somebody- don't know how anyone wouldn't want them, they are wondeful and we are so blessed to have them in our family. I'll post a funny photo of George below playing with his catnip mouse.

I'll post an update about Ollie once I have one. Thanks again for your responses.

[phesina]

Sending you all our prayers and good wishes for Oliver, and for George too, that they will both be with you (and with each other) for a long time.

My Sydney had kidney disease, and he kept going for years with subcutaneous fluid and kidney prescription diet food (Purina NF was the one he liked best).

{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}} and ~~~~~~~PURRS~~~~~~~ and ,
Pat and cats

[Emeraldgreen]

The vet called yesterday to say that Oliver is not diabetic but he is showing some renal insufficiency. His urine specific gravity was 1.011 but she said it should be around 1.045 and 1.050. I don't know alot about this so I'll have to do some online reading. I've had a cat who was diagnosed with this who seemed fine but it was picked up on some pre-dental bloodwork, otherwise we would not have known. She went on to live for many more years until she got progressively worse and stopped eating but she was 21. But this was 10 years ago so maybe there is more info to learn these days.

The vet said his BUN was slightly elevated and his creatinine was creeping up but still in a normal-ish range. His white blood cell count was normal but his monocytes were a little higher than should be indicating some 'inflammation' somewhere.

It seems so surprising that he could lose so much weight just from kidney issues. His hip points are sticking out and I can feel his spine. The vet felt that this could be the reason though and we can't seem to find any other reason. I'm supposed to limit his protein but it seems like a catch 22 because he needs to also gain weight. The vet said I should focus on a high quality protein and to give him some probiotics. I asked her about giving him Hills K/D for kidney issues and she said he wasn't there yet and didn't need that diet as of now.

I'm relieved that he does not have diabetes and relieved that he doesn't have serious renal problems yet but I'm still very worried about how skinny he is and he eats so much! She said that is one of the problems with kidney issues like this because the body doesn't use the protein the way it should.

Well, I'd better get researching here and find out what high quality proteins are out there so I can help get Oliver straightened out. I want to check out the CRF site felinecrf.com. It has quite a bit of info available.

Just wanted to post a quick update about Oliver.

[Randi]

Oliver and George are such gorgeous boys and I hope they can be together for years to come! I can see how it's a catch 22, since Oliver needs to gain weight, but I hope you will find a perfect diet for him, or possibly some medicine that will help.

Sending you hugs - and kisses for George and Oliver.

[Moesha]

Hopefully you've found the problem for Oliver. I do hope that he and George can spend many more years together. I know how hard it is when there is one cat that doesn't get along with anyone else. I'm glad they have each other and you.

[pomtzu]

Can't go wrong with fresh chicken and eggs, Lara. I don't know if you'll find what you're looking for in a commercial cat food - you just might have to start cooking for Oliver.

[Emeraldgreen]

Thanks everybody for your posts and kind words. I'm hoping to find out some good information from the petstore when I go there in a few days to see what different types of quality protein foods they have available. And if I don't find anything suitable, chicken and eggs it is! But hopefully I can find some canned and dry food that will work well for him. And I'm going to see if Oliver's cough subsides with Lysine. He just coughs every now and again but it bothers him. All this time, I never knew coughing was a symptom of the upper respiratory herpes virus in cats! I knew he had this virus but didn't make the connection about the coughing. So I'll keep on with the Lysine and see if that helps.

For now, Oliver has a huge appetite which to me, seems like a symptom but the bloodwork and urinalysis and exam didn't show anything else going on. But he is so ravenous, it is odd. But at least he is eating rather than not eating. So I'm grateful for that.

As long as my stripey boys can have more time together and with us, that will be a blessing. Thanks again everybody.