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Post by tonib on Aug 7, 2020 17:52:08 GMT
Update 122nd June needed a written 6 month repeat prescription for Roman’s Metacam so contacted the vet & found that they were now doing annual vaccinations & check-ups so booked both Roman & Lexie in for 24th morning. I’d prepared a sheet for the vet for both Lexie & Roman, listing all the issues I could think of, including Roman’s voracious appetite, mucky ears & shaking head. Also how his left hind was getting weaker, fine walking, but dangles more when jumping although can still climb trees & fences. The vet collected each cat in turn (Lexie was first) & then came back with any relevant answers & their vaccination cards. Lexie was fine at 3.6Kg but Roman was a little overweight 5.9Kg (I must admit I’d weighed him at 6.2 & was a little concerned). However he had got an ear infection so antibiotic ear drops for a week! He agreed the leg was weaker but as I expected it is a on-going result of the Achilles tendon problem he got in 2016. No mention of his voracious appetite causes & with everything else I forgot to ask.  At least one thing about Roman is that he's very good to treat & the drops seemed to do the trick.
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Post by tonib on Aug 7, 2020 18:24:32 GMT
Update 21st July I came downstairs first thing & found Roman attacking something. In fact he was tearing into the soft rubbery slightly luminous plastic cover for his tracker. It had obviously come off during the night/early morning & I think he was trying to eat it no sign of the missing bits so I presume he had eaten those bits. I did consult with a vet over the phone as I was aware that plastic could cause a blockage but it was a case of keep an eye on him & if all is normal then not to worry, vomiting would a bad sign. Never found any sign of any plastic or vomiting, although his solid output wasn’t all that solid for a few days but improved! Here's a couple of pictures showing an undamaged one against the damaged one  20200701_191024[1] by osiriscat, on Flickr and (taken from the trackers website) showing it what it should look like fitted which gives a better idea of how much was missing as the curve over doesn't really show up in the 1st one.  tractive-sleeve-glow-in-the-dark by osiriscat, on Flickr and yes it was also glow in the dark so had something in the plastic to enable this to be done!
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Post by tonib on Aug 7, 2020 19:05:27 GMT
update 3Roman’s need for food has been getting worse, he’s been very vocal about it and the final cause for concern was when he jumped up on the worktop by the hob (its induction so doesn’t get hot except where there’s a pan) & stuck his head into the pan of milk I was heating for a chocolate drink & started lapping it up! He’s never been a greedy cat – well pork might be his failing - but recently he stole a M&S marmite twist that was still in its bag & chewed up about a third of it! So took him to the vets on 28th July. He’d had no food since 10:30 pm the night before or water from 7:30 am in case he needed sedation if they took bloods. The head vet discussed any other symptoms such as drinking & urinating a lot. He’s always drunk well & has started drinking more if Lexie pesters him which I’ve taken to be a stress reaction. So he was kept in for blood tests, including the T4 (thyroid parameters). He did need sedation, but not full anaesthetic, to take the bloods so had to wait for him to recover from that. The vet rang to say that his kidney values were fine (phew!) but his glucose was high but that has been put down to stress. However the T4 test showed he has hyperthyroidism. So they prescribed Felimazole 5mg tablets twice a day to control the thyroid & to be seen in 4 weeks. I was able to collect him around 3:45 pm. He’s taken his tablets like the good boy he is – they are only small. But he started drinking & urinating even more and his stools have been getting increasing softer and he’s also been much more lethargic, often sprawling by the water bowl. So yesterday I contacted the vet and we had a phone conversation late yesterday & Roman is now having just 1 tablet a day starting today. He’d used the litter tray for faeces twice overnight – I’d woken & cleared one by 6 am (his are stinky!) & there was another one very runny when I got up. We are going to give it a week to see if he improves on the reduced dose. Oddly last night & today he's been off his food a bit but when I remind him its there he's eaten it. He's oddly quiet in his voice especially after I'd got used to his quite raucous demands for food NOW! over the last few months. He really doesn't feel right in his self. It doesn't help that his leg is definitely weaker in the Achilles tendon & as a result he's jumping ability isn't good. At lest he's (mainly) accepting that I'm right in suggesting he doesn't jump up o to the worktop when I'm preparing his food & waits for it to go in his feeder on the floor!
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Post by tonib on Aug 9, 2020 12:03:50 GMT
He definitely wasn't well that one day in particular but now he's much better, jumping up on the worktop, albeit not brilliantly, rather than waiting on the floor. He's still drinking a lot but I'd say not as much as on the high dose. Still less active, sprawling by the water bowl, at the moment he's on the sofa, of course as I typed that he moved to the floor! However I haven't seen a stool since that very runny one but then he does go out but normally does come back to the litter tray for that. Although not seeing anything for a few days has happened before so not worried yet. Just hope that wherever he goes its not that consistence still, it wouldn't be pleasant for others to find! He's eating well again but not so demanding as he was before he started the meds so I hope that's a promising sign for the meds, but still early days. I've been investigating the options long term. - Continue with the meds for the rest of his life - at least he takes tablets well.
- dietary control - apparently Hills do a food that has very low iodine in it but that would be his only food allowed for the rest of his life - somehow I don't think that's an option for him especially as he goes out & could catch prey or steal another cat's food. He has been known to visit the cat owning house behind us!
- An operation to remove the thyroid (apparently a cat, unlike a human, has a divided thyroid, so it is possible for just one half to be removed if the other is not affected). However there is a risk as there is something called the para-thyroid, on each part, which needs to stay as if removed then there is a big risk of calcium deficiency but that can be managed with calcium supplements. Also Roman is thought to be 16 this year so age could be a risk to any op.
- Radioiodine treatment, which is the most effective & least invasive as all it is an injection of radioactive iodine into the skin at the back of the neck which destroys the thyroid tumour tissue only, including any elsewhere in the body (apparently it is only available at specialist treatment centres as they have to be licenced for dealing with radioactive substances. Downside Roman would be too radioactive to come home for a while, minimum 4 days to 14 days. However even when this level was reached he would have to be kept in for another 2 weeks & advisedly for another 2 weeks after that. If allowed out must be on a lead & harness & not allowed to toilet outside. Plus no close human contact (other cats are OK) except for very short periods & this includes sleeping on the bed & food preparation surfaces etc. Care also to be taken with the litter as that is where the radioactivity is released from the cat & litter must be disposed of down the toilet so choice of litter is important. Staying longer at the centre may be preferable, for up to 6 weeks, even though I couldn't visit him! Some centres insist on them staying for the whole period anyway.
I think its a waiting game to see what the meds do as hyperthyroidism as getting the thyroid under control can highlight other issues such as kidney disease but his bloods don't imply that's likely.  |
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Post by lotsofcats on Aug 10, 2020 8:50:13 GMT
OMG tonib, Roman doesn't do things by halves! I'm glad he's feeling a bit better. What choices you have - I think I would wait to see how he fares with the meds he's on at present. My vet thought Kai Ruki had hyperthyroidism when I took him to the surgery last year and he did a blood test, which was negative! Kai Ruki is always very vocal and demands more food. He will eat 3 pouches in a row. |
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Post by tonib on Aug 17, 2020 11:15:09 GMT
update 4Roman has been drinking a lot more, very recently often just having a drink & then lying by the water bowl/fountain. Yesterday (16th) I weighed him & he was 4.5kg, that's 1 kilo below his normal weight. He was 5.9 when he was weighed at his vaccinations on 24th June which the vet said was slightly overweight. As a result I did cut his food down a bit & on 22nd July he was 5.7 & 2nd August 5.5. However on 7th August he was 4.9 which was quite a drop but was stable at that on 13th. On Friday (14th) I'd phoned the vet to book Roman's 4 week review with the head vet only to find he'd just started 2 weeks leave so I booked that appointment for 1st September. However nearly another half kilo loss in 3 days was a shock especially as I'd put his food levels back to what they were before. So this morning I phoned the vet & got an appointment for 10:10 today (17th). I mentioned the high glucose level (20 when the normal is 2.9 to 8.3!) that the vet had put down to possibly being due to stress when the bloods were tested on 28th July & he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. This vet thought that Roman was quite calm in his carrier so did a simple glucose test with a drop of blood from Roman's ear (rather like the human finger prick self test) & it was 27, even higher. Also he was dehydrated. Admittedly Roman had no food since 11:30 pm last night & no water since 7:30 am in case he need sedation for more blood tests. However the diagnosis is that he also has diabetes He is currently in the hospital having IV fluids & they will be working out what insulin treatment he should be having. They may also do another T4 test to check the thyroid levels. He maybe out today but could be in for a few days while they work out the right levels They will be ringing me later with an update. I'm not looking forward to having to give daily insulin injections but out of the 3 cats at least Roman is most amenable (currently) to treatment, not sure what he'll be like after his hospital stay!
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Post by scallywag on Aug 17, 2020 11:55:15 GMT
Oh blimey , what a worry for you tonib hope everything goes well and that theres no underline problem not yet found ? Hugs to you xx |
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Post by lotsofcats on Aug 17, 2020 11:56:42 GMT
Poor roman and poor you tonib. What horrible news. I'm afraid to even look at a needle so I'd be no good at giving an injection. Let us know if he comes home today. If not, can you visit him? |
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Post by chantel on Aug 17, 2020 13:58:32 GMT
Oh no tonib so sorry 😐 to hear about Roman bless him. I’m with you I don’t know how I would be able to inject him . It’s a shame Roman’s diabetes couldn’t be treated with medication I can’t imagine he will be pleased having a daily injection. |
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Post by tonib on Aug 17, 2020 16:31:15 GMT
Thanks for the support everyone. I just checked with the vets & he is definitely being kept in overnight but they will update me after 6pm when the consultations finish. As to visiting him lotsofcats I doubt it, particularly as they will be monitoring him & rechecking glucose levels etc. & with the Covid-19 situation as well, the least number of people in the building the better I suspect. I seem to remember from picking up Osiris once when they couldn't get him out of his pen (I think he was trying to tell them they'd got the wrong carrier - too small!) I was taken down to the cat ward & it is quite a small area. As to any underlying condition scallywag I suspect it is advancing years He is probably 16 as he was thought to be 3 when we got him from the rescue in 2007 and both diabetes & hyperT can be more prevalent in older cats. |
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Post by cazypops on Aug 17, 2020 20:51:47 GMT
Poor Roman, hope he's not too stressed with his overnight stay. Let's hope they can get him stabilized quickly.
With a bit of luck if he's to have an injection daily it will be a pen rather than a needle. {{HUGS}}
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Post by lotsofcats on Aug 18, 2020 11:58:46 GMT
Kiba-Khan & Co send their love to you Roman. You will be home soon.
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Post by tonib on Aug 18, 2020 12:46:23 GMT
sorry thought I'd posted this yesterday but have left it as it was as no further news (yet) today. The vet rang me around 6:45 pm. Roman is fine & doing well. They checked his blood glucose after his IV fluids & it was still 27 so they gave him 3 units of insulin and when tested again it was sown to 14 which is real improvement. They will continue with the glucose test & insulin tomorrow. One really good piece of news is that they did the T4 test again & the level is down to 69 from 99 when the range is 10.2 to 60.49 so it looks like the thyroid meds are working. They also weighed him & he was 4.8kg on their scales. They are hopeful that he will ab able to come home tomorrow evening. the bad news from Roman's perspective is that he will be on insulin twice a day 12 hours apart and to be given after food to make sure that he doesn't get insulin & then not have his meal for any reason, which would land him up in an insulin overdose! It also means that as you can't alter the insulin dosing regime it means that he's got to come down from 3 meals a day to 2. He normally gets breakfast (kibble & a pouch of moist), tea ( a pouch of moist) & then some at bedtime (kibble & some cooked chicken). This supper comes about from the days that they used to be able to come & go all might so we used to leave kibble down overnight. When we decided to keep them in overnight they got some cooked chicken to encourage them to come in & stay in. Think I'll have to become more organised with mealtimes as well. cazypops I suspect its going to be a needle rather than a pen from what I've read & interpreting the vets comment of how much a bottle of insulin will cost but I'll fin out more on his discharge when I'll also be told how to inject him etc. He's probably going to have to change his diet as well to a low carb high protein one. Still got to sort out what they will consist of but doubt Felix ASGAIL will come under that category, not sure about his RC ageing 12+ kibble (just bought a new bag of that ) as kibble isn't ideal due to them usually having high carbs. He really likes his kibble I'll have see what they say about how to continue. I suspect getting a glucose testing meter will be the order of the day, especially as I can't control what he eats out (if any) I must have a word with the neighbour behind me who has cats, & told me years ago that they'd seen Roman in their kitchen/utility one night nicking their cats food! to see if he's been seen as I suspect with hos drive to eat as a result of his illnesses that he may well have been having an extra snack if he can.. Of course there is also the issue of he can hunt but I don't know if he still does, well except one night last week when he brought in prey which he wanted to exchange for more cat food! |
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Post by tonib on Aug 18, 2020 12:49:03 GMT
lotsofcats I'll pass on Kiba-Khan & co's love to Roman when I see him
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Post by lotsofcats on Aug 18, 2020 14:24:29 GMT
You'll certainly have your hands full trying to keep track of it all tonib. I suspect the meals will be your biggest challenge. |
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