(no subject)

[ksmith]

Back from the vet's.

Bloodwork didn't show an elevation in eosinophils. In fact, the number had dropped since October. It's possible that there was an allergic reaction that hasn't been around long enough to elevate said eosinophils, but at this point, vet is leaning toward a dietary misadventure that hit Gaby like a ton of bricks.

That being said...vet recommends trying to feed her hypoallergenic food, given her history. As a back-up, we may try rabbit since Gaby has to our knowledge never been exposed to that particular protein. I don't believe she would have been, unless she killed and ate a wabbit. Possible, but.

Another possibility is irritable bowel syndrome. If this doesn't resolve, or if it happens again, we will likely go the biopsy route to confirm/rule out once and for all. It's a manageable disease. Vet told me that she treats a cat that flares once or twice a year, and needs to be treated with a steroid to quell the inflammation. Then it's fine for months.

Vet and I are also wondering whether this food/GI issue is the reason her previous people gave her up. She kept getting sick and not eating, and they didn't have the wherewithal or the patience to figure out what was wrong with her. There had to be a reason why she was almost 10 pounds underweight when she was turned in to the vet's office when she was apparently not a stray.

Anyway. Gaby had sub-q fluids and a shot for nausea and a couple more shots to quiet her tum. Later, I will give her a tablet for the diarrhea--she'll be on those for about a week. Hopefully, she'll eat and keep it down. If she had another bout of the runs, I'll deal.

She's sleeping now. Poor thing tries to bounce a little, then lies down and dozes. She's had a rough couple of days. I came home today to find that she had been sick again--more vomiting and diarrhea. Took a sample of the d-word in just in case the issue was a parasite, but it wasn't. We'll work on getting an answer one way or another.

Comments

[slave2tehtink.livejournal.com]

Bless her heart, I hope y'all figure something out for her. If you need to do food elimination trials, Wellness makes "Simple Solutions" food that has one protein and one starch.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Well, the first stab at the hypoallergenic food was a bust. It's soft, and granted it has a weird consistency because all the proteins have been broken down. She rolled a few bits around in her mouth, then deposited them on the floor next to her bowl.

I was able to snag a can of rabbit dog food from the local feed store. Tried a little of that in the hypo food. Nope. Tried it by itself. Nope. Tried her old venison-sweet potato food, both wet and dry. Nope.

The nausea shot should have worked by now. I will try feeding her every hour or so, but if she doesn't eat by tomorrow morning, I'm calling the vet again. Gaby was interested around feeding time, and she trotted over to the bowl when I put it on the floor. Then something switched off, and I couldn't get her interested in anything else.

[(Anonymous)]

Good luck to you and Gaby. That's a tough one. Do you have probiotics in your house? I used to offer it to my dog when he had diarrhea, and he would gulp it down and beg for seconds. It was the one pill that didn't have to be shoved down his throat.

I also cooked for my dog. He did very well on a home cooked diet, and in the end I was sorry I didn't do it for him all his life. He didn't do well with grains, but he was fine on any kind of meat, seaweed, most veggies, and raw bones.

My cat can't handle the vitamins they add to pre-prepared food.

A

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

We may need to determine whether it's allergies or IBD, because the list of proteins we can try with her is dwindling rapidly.

[(Anonymous)]

I think the best way to determine if it's allergies or IBS is through the biopsy. It's not that invasive a procedure, and after the results you will know for sure, and can treat it as such instead of trying this food or that, and putting Gaby and yourself through this frustration. Not knowing is the worst. We went through the same thing with our cat, and if our vet had offered the biopsy route in the beginning, we would have taken it, so we could have treated his condition and not just his symptoms.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Vet and I are leaning in that direction. She said yesterday that she knew that I wanted to know what's going on. So does she--she's pondering everything from allergies to IBS to an enzyme deficiency.

[(Anonymous)]

Enzyme deficiency? See if the vet will prescribe whatever Jani was on.

We had Max the Yorkie on a canned hypoallergenic diet for a while. A short while. It gave him the most incredible gas.

Jody in PA