(no subject)

[madbaker]

We took Galen in for his yearly checkup last week. The results were not good.
He's lost two pounds in the last 12 months. Since that's a 15% decline, it's a serious worry. Possibly related are recent bouts of vomiting - mostly food, sometimes bile. The food hasn't changed since he was a kitten (IAMS dry, MaxCat wet) although we did try changing brands to no effect. We took him off dry food entirely for a while, and that seemed to help. But he doesn't eat as much wet food alone.

The vet sold us some expensive "low-impact" dry food which is supposed to be the equivalent of Melba toast. Galen is willing to eat it, surprisingly (it has no corners) but he threw up three times yesterday.

The vet quizzed us about possible causes and didn't come up with anything obvious. We're going back in six weeks for a weigh-in, and if he's lost more weight we'll get blood tests and things.

Galen's only five+ years old. He's supposed to be in the prime of health, dammit.

Comments

[etaine-pommier.livejournal.com]

**hugs**

Will Galen eat Petromalt? Dewey started being a terribly throw-up-y cat at 3 years, and it was because he was starting to get massive hairballs from grooming Taj. Apparently, his system could handle it for a year or so, but then couldn't for some reason.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

Most of the vomit isn't hairball, but we have been feeding him Petromalt regularly anyway. As well as more-regular polishing, which he doesn't mind.

[dame-cordelia.livejournal.com]

My vet recently handed me an article that talks about the comparative bio-availability of protein in pet foods and emphasizes that cats need meat.
It indicates that dry food isn't very good for our furry babies.

My elderly cat has thrown up a lot in recent years, but does much better when I feed him human food - like boiled chicken meat.

Good luck with Galen.

[lifeofglamour.livejournal.com]

Poor Galen! I hope it gets sorted out soon.

[scendan.livejournal.com]

I am hoping that you find out what is wrong and that it is very VERY fixable. *HUG*

[mad-duchess.livejournal.com]

Oh dear--I hope it's nothing serious, though that is quite a bit of weight loss. :-( My kitty Wendigo is facing some blood tests in her future too (I'm letting her off the hook til she adjusts to the new house). Apparently her liver isn't processing fat very well and is turning itself into feline foie gras. :-b I hope they both get better soon.

[helblonde.livejournal.com]

Poor kitty :(

Weighing in...

[farmount.livejournal.com]

(yes, bad pun)

Labwork -- look at kidney values, make sure there is no problems there. Ditto with liver. Early for hyperthyroid, but still possible. Consider pancreatic issues.

Radiographs -- with or without barium. Look for foreign bodies, masses, changes in size/shape of organs. Barium series would catch foreign bodies that look like soft tissue, but costs more.

Ultrasound -- LOT of information about how things look inside the organs. Nice tool, but expensive.

Endoscopy -- looking inside the GI tract, very expensive but if there is a foreign body or hairball can possibly be used to retrieve things. Can get biopsy samples as well.

A couple of things to consider: bland cat food is good. Talk to your veterinarian about Pepsid (famotidine) for possible gastric acid issues. Cats can get bacterial ulcer type thingies as well; consider antibiotics. Fortiflora is a good probiotic in case he gets the runs from antibiotics.

Most of all: talk to your veterinarian. See how concerned they are. Let me know if you need more feedback.

Re: Weighing in...

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Our vet wants to see if he continues to lose weight in the face of determined feeding and bland food. We're bringing him back in six weeks; if he's lighter, blood work is probably the first step.

[callistotoni.livejournal.com]

Hugs to Galen! Sending healthy thoughts his way...

[xrian.livejournal.com]

Not much to add -- Blackberry and I send hugs.

[aastg.livejournal.com]

I hope the little mental case hasn't got anything more serious than a fussy digestive tract.

[colletteshorses.livejournal.com]

A lot of brands have a "sensitive stomach" cat food. I found this helped a lot with Damascus, who vomited due to heart trouble. It also helped Capo who also seems to have a sensitive stomach but is otherwise fine.