Pepper May Have Allergies or Something Worse

[Kater]

I'll be praying for sweet Pepper.

[emily_the_spoiled]

Hi, if Pepper is still taking the Baytril it is quite possible that it has caused the nausea, vomiting and loose stools. Those are all potential side effects for this particular type of antibiotic. Hopefully he now has enough in his system that it will take care of the infection and maybe you will be able to stop it...

[krazyaboutkatz]

Here's another update on Pepper. I talked to his vet this morning and he told me to stop giving him the Baytril and I started giving him his lactulose again this morning. The problem is that I haven't seen Pepper use the litterbox since Sat. morning. I don't think that he's eating either. I'm afraid that he's become constipated again. The vet said to bring him in if I didn't see any change in him. Unless he suddenly improves tonight or early tomorrow morning, I'm going to take him to the vet tomorrow. The vet said that if he's constipated again that he must be seen within 72 hours. I tried to give him some cat treats tonight to see if he'd eat. He begged and became excited but he wouldn't eat anything. My roommate also said that he hasn't moved much all day and she never saw him use the litterbox. He may need another kitty enema. Yuck! It always seems that whenever Pepper gets sick that he always has complications and so it takes so long for him to recover.

[jenluckenbach]

Tracey, I do not want to scare you, but talk to the vet about whether Pepper should have a CBC (blood work). I have had the unfortunate experience that constiation can be a sign of kidney failure (or other things). So even though the congestion may not be a sign of this, he may be having other problems. Better to know for sure than to not know at all. Best of luck. Huge {{{{HUGS}}}} to you

[tatsxxx11]

I'm so sorry to hear about Pepper's illness As Emily says, Baytril, like many antibiotics, can cause havoc with the G.I. system. Has the vet ever suggested keeping him at the hospital for a few days to watch him??? I'm sure you're getting very discouraged by now. But keep your chin up. Sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error, searching for the proper medic., especially considering Pepper's history with G.I. problems. We're sending you our prayers that within the next few days Pepper will be well on the road to recovery. {{{hugs}}}

[Miss Meow]

Good luck Tracey, I hope they can find whatever it is quickly so Pepper can get back on his feet. Poor boy, give him a big hug for me.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I took Pepper to the vet this morning and he wasn't constipated after all. Since he's been throwing up lately and not eating normally and he had lost some weight, the vet recommended that he do an upper gi series with barium to make sure that he doesn't have any blockage. He had to stay at the vets all day. I also decided to have a food allergy test done on him. The vet thinks that he might have irritable bowel syndrome. The good news is that Pepper doesn't have any blockage and I won't get the food allergy test back for about 2 weeks. Pepper was also given a cortizone injection. In about 2 days Pepper will eliminate the rest of the barium and I have to look through it to make sure that it doesn't have anything in it that he may have swallowed. When I picked up Pepper, he was so happy to see me that he wanted to get out of his cat carrier and jump up on my lap. This was while I was still at the vets. He's never done this before. If he does have irritable bowel syndrome he'll have to take a low dosage of cortizone daily or every other day and some other medicine that starts with an m (I forgot the name). The allergy test will also tell if he's allergic to the food that I'm feeding him now. If he is then I'll have to change food and all 3 cats will have to eat it too. I also started a payment plan with my vet because all of this was just too expensive for me to pay all at once. I'm not the only one either. There was a lady who came in this afternoon with one of her cats and she wanted to know how much she still owes the vet. She found out that she owes about $1,200 dollars. I guess with the economy the way it is the vet has to help his clients out with their bills. I just want to find out what the problem is so Pepper can be happy and healthy again.

[AmberLee]

Yow. Fingers crossed and prayers being said for your darling.

[NoahsMommy]

What type of food do you feel them?

The reason I'm asking is becuase I was looking at the back of the Nutro bag last night and saw that in place of corn (hard to digest) they added wheat and rice (GOOD for digestion, rice is gentle and wheat has fiber...GOOD).

I have IBS and have to take fiber suppliments and I feel MUCH better.

Do you think that could help?

I'm sending prayers your way....poor Pepper.

[tatsxxx11]

So glad to hear that Pepper does not have a blockage! Hopefully the new course of meds. will have Pepper feeling better very soon. Food allergies can wreck havoc with pets! I know you're anxious to get those results. Pepper, you were SO brave!! Hope your resting up after your big day at the white coats Paws remain crossed for a complete recovery!

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I sure hope they find something with poor Pepper real soon. It's good to know he doesn't have any blockage.

Keeping our fingers and paws crossed that he gets better real quick now.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Pepper is doing much better today. He's eating, drinking, and using the litterbox. I think that the cortizone shot has helped him a lot. I currently feed all 3 cats Natural Choice Complete Care Weight Management Formula by Nutro. It says that it's supposed to be easy to digest for sensitive stomachs and also prevents less shedding and fewer hairballs. Hopefully the food allergy test will tell me something. Thanks for all of the prayers.

[Cataholic]

Poor Pepper. While it is good that he doesn't have any blockage, it is scary that he still isn't back to his peppery self.

The vet thought Tex had/has a food allergy, and put him on ZD- which he doesn't care for...

[krazyaboutkatz]

Pepper is back to his old self today. He's eating much more,he loves to eat, drinking a lot, and has much more energy. I've also tried to ZD diet before and didn't seem to notice any big difference. For now though, Pepper's doing great.

[jenluckenbach]

That is such great news!!!!

So do we know what it is yet that caused the problem and do we know what is helping? (just curious, the bottom line is that he is feeling himself again!)