Pulaski

So I got home and Mrs P reported that our "last remaining cat", above, had had both diarrhea and had thrown up, .... and then he had walked through the vomit and spread it around! This is why he is permanently banished to the garage.

BEVS

No doubt you have done all of this but perhaps the pusscat needs a visit to the vet or a change of diet.
Is it elderly? Maybe it's 'Time'

Pulaski

We changed his diet dramatically when the crisis first occurred. It recurred 9 months later and we are struggling to find anything that he wants to eat. The problem is apparently protein allergy so we are trying different special cat foods. He likes venison, but that caused his problem after nine months, now he mostly wants turkey, but we know it's only a matter of time before he reacts to that. He hates lamb, and the pork isn't much better. A tub of beef is thawing in the fridge for him to try next.

Another part of the problem is that, at 12 years old, he has kidney problems, and the special kidney diet (food) caused him the original diarrhea problem. I believe he will last another year, I doubt he will last two.

We take him to the vet, but the general opinion is that "he's a cat"; and he has an inflamed bowel - switching meats helped, but only temporarily. The tip on the protein allergy came from a friend of Mrs P who is a vet.

BEVS

Good job doctors don't just say that to people with irritable bowel and the like.


Soz all for going a bit off topic for a moment.

Ah! My Ty is 18 and is on the renal diet which I smear in a little wet renal cat food to try to hide the drabness. Lucky for me , he will eat it as long as I encourage or surprise him with it.

What about a raw food diet? Same?

Y'know. Stick a new thread somewhere so all of us cat people can pool in . You never know.

Pulaski

It's funny you mention that, that's what he's been on for the past 11 months, since the kidney diet started to give him diarrhea. It's called Rad Cat, and they do six flavours - venison (which caused the same problem after 9 months), pork and lamb (which he doesn't like), turkey (which he likes), chicken (which he tolerates), and beef (which he is trying tomorrow for the first time). .... The bloody stuff costs us an arm and a leg!

Stinkypup

Oh God, what are you going to call that, The unspeakable unspeakable things Owned by mad cat Ladies and honorary ladies?-You may need to ban me from that one day one on that one!

It is very interesting be it cats dogs horses rabbits iguanas tarantulas etc, what you feed them is crucially important. We were sick and tired of Stinkie's horrible bowels and as a consequence thought that it was his diet. He did like his cheese which probably wasn't contributing to the situation but we changed him to quite rich food, described as "Natural"All sorts of yummy stuff like elk, bison, Salmon, and probably quite tasty, indeed very expensive but after having this for a couple of weeks, he ended up with severe pancreatitis which nearly killed him. We ended up with a large vet bill and thankfully, God knows how, they managed to revive him but it was indeed touch and go.

Just because it says it's natural, doesn't mean it is good for them. In the end, he ended up on even more expensive cans of food and kibble bought solely from the Vet which was basically super low-fat-it actually cost us around $120 per month just for the cans and then probably another $240 every 6-8 weeks for the kibble that we added to it. He was worth it..

I have to say though cleaning carpet which had previously been soaked with incredibly sloppy ploppies on a regular basis became a virtually nonexistent occurrence which certainly made our lives more bearable and I'm sure it did wonders for him and his bum hole as well. It is very important that you give yourselves, your children and indeed your pets the right nutrition. He did like cheese, in fact he loved the damn stuff-he also ate chocolate and managed to survive-indeed every day he received his advent-calendar chocolate from his own calendar! He wasn't spoiled one little bit..

moneypenny20

Find another vet It's like a doctor saying 'you're just a human, shit happens'. It hurts to say it but I think it's time to say goodbye. His issues sound like they're causing him distress and in turn distressing you guys.

BEVS

I just try to make sure I'm up on everything after what happened to our other cat. Ty is very elderly now so I s'pose I am being a bit like I was for m'Dad. Ensure I know as much as I can so I understand the choices. Same as you .

Didn't your vet suggest anything . Something to help the gut bacteria or something? Would mixing a bit of natural yoghurt help sometimes. Does he drink OK?

Can you tell I LOVE pusscats.

BEVS

Errmm.
It is right annoying. Painful. Achy. Embarrassing. Uncontrollable sometimes but I never ,ever have let it stop my life or travels.
Keep an eye though as m'Dad went on to have bowel cancer.


I wondered if Pul's pusscat has an issue here. Also dehydration.
That went through my mind.

Pulaski

Not really, but then our vet knows that we aren't going to spend a fortune on on-going medication or expensive interventions - and despite saying that he has had a couple of hospital stays because of crystals in his urine causing a blockage, which cost $1,000 a pop! Our cats are family pets, we love then and take care of them, but their life is limited and we aren't going to fight the inevitable, especially as he's already 12 and has always been a fragile cat. $150+/mth on raw diet food is pushing it. That's an interesting suggestion - I will look into it. Excessively, that's how we know he has a kidney problem.

Pulaski

No, not a chance, we like our vet, .... and we like our animals, but not enough to write blank cheques to a vet to extend our pets' lives to very last minute. Our pets get regular check-ups and vaccinations, treatment when they are sick, and boarding when we are out of town, and an honest opinion when their time has come*. We couldn't ask for any more.

* In March of last year one of our cats developed a lump on his rib cage, and even I could tell it was deep, attached to the ribs. Our vet confirmed our fears for a $35 consultation fee, and explained the options and likely outcomes. One option was highly invasive surgery removing pieces of two ribs, and that such surgery was unlikely to get all the cancerous cells. The best case scenario in any case was a life expectancy of a year. The question was quality of life. We took him home and pampered him, and the lump grew steadily but he seemed oblivious to it for more than five months, during which time I would say his quality of life was entirely undiminished. He got slow during the last two weeks, then he stopped eating and his time had come.

I would defend our decision to anyone that we gave him the best quality of life and that major surgery which might have extended his life by six months, but at a possible price of discomfort and pain, would not have been in his best interests.
No, seems quite happy and just about his usual self at the moment.

Hawkmoon77

We have a cat susceptible to crystals. Prescribed diet : Hills c/d (not cheap) but (touch wood) he's never had a problem since.

Good luck with your moggy.

Pulaski

That's what our cat was on, until nearly a year ago when he developed a severe reaction to it. He had been on it for about eight years

Pulaski

Mrs P took Milton (our above mentioned cat) to the vet for his annual rabies shot and check-up, .... and the vet discovered that he has cancer, pretty badly - backed up by second and third opinions from two other vets in the practice. The prognosis is a life expectancy measured in days, likely less than a month, maybe less than a week.

caretaker

Too bad, but at least you know now. My condolences.