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Post by Pawsforthought on May 30, 2013 10:50:03 GMT
Mickey (is about 15 and) has lost a lot of weight recently, is physically weak (can't jump onto the counter) and has been being sick and having very runny diarrhoea. I posted a while back about him because he was ill. Since then he seemed to be recovering and doing so well, he was much livelier than he had been for ages and now he's gone downhill again The main thing is him being so ill all the time, because I think that's what is causing the weight loss and the weakness. We've got Prokolin left from last time and have started giving that to him again because it helped a lot before. We've also looked into changing his food. He LOVES Burns' ocean fish food so might stick him on that? Anyone have anything to suggest? Taking him to the vet stresses him out so much (and the car!) that we're trying to put that off if possible, but do you guys think we need to just take him and see what vet says? Last time we went, which wasn't all that long ago, vet said he was a very healthy old cat. But now all his bones stick out so much and it's upsetting to see him like it.
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Post by judypops on May 30, 2013 12:58:44 GMT
How did the raw meat go for him? I saw the videos and he looked to be having fun What do you think feeding kitten food would do for him,it does tend to contain quite a lot of protein and fat that could give him a helping hand. Or perhaps just wet food . I think burns cat food,like the dog food might be just a bag of rice. I have no experience with older cats so I'm sure other members could offer better ideas.
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Post by Pawsforthought on May 30, 2013 13:43:22 GMT
We did consider giving him kitten food, and still might. We're going to the vet tomorrow without him to ask them what they think.
The only reason why Burns is because he seems to really like it. He's quite picky and has just not been eating his food! :/
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Post by Avansa on May 30, 2013 13:49:16 GMT
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Post by tonib on May 30, 2013 15:36:19 GMT
I've not met Burns as a brand so can't comment on that. However if Mickey is being sick & having diarrhoea then you need to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated. Either by giving him wet food or making water attractive. puddycats on the old YC forum described how she gets her Molly to drink. She posted it here as well see this post yourpetforums.co.uk/post/6691/thread . If he's not eating & losing weight I would suggest giving him anything he'll eat unless that's what making him sick! Mind you the vets usually suggest giving them a bland diet when being sick or having diarrhoea, such as plain cooked chicken & rice. Just cook a piece of chicken, remove any skin or fat, chop up small (about 1/4 of a breast is normal for a 4Kg cat) mix with some cooked rice. When our elderly cat was not eating (no other problems) we were told to try pilchards/sardines in tomato sauce (mashed up) & if that doesn't work to slightly warm it so that it smells well However I really think he needs to see a vet. Perhaps ringing the vet for advice might help & if they suggest bringing him in you already have an appointment booked (or are you just popping in to the vets with out an appointment tomorrow). Good luck
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Post by Pawsforthought on May 30, 2013 16:06:24 GMT
tonib - we are popping in without him tomorrow and will make an appointment to see a vet if they're too busy. We're reluctant to take him in because, without x-rays and other things that involve anaesthetising him (which we don't think he'd be able to recover from) we don't think the vet will be able to do anything. We're going to go in, describe how he is and if the vet wants to see him them so be it. We'll tell the vet we don't want him anaesthetised for anything so they know how it is. He drinks a LOT of water so I think that's fine, Was thinking maybe chicken and rice would be a good idea, but not sure if that's all that great indefinitely?
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Post by tonib on May 30, 2013 16:35:50 GMT
tonib - we are popping in without him tomorrow and will make an appointment to see a vet if they're too busy. We're reluctant to take him in because, without x-rays and other things that involve anaesthetising him (which we don't think he'd be able to recover from) we don't think the vet will be able to do anything. We're going to go in, describe how he is and if the vet wants to see him them so be it. We'll tell the vet we don't want him anaesthetised for anything so they know how it is. He drinks a LOT of water so I think that's fine, Was thinking maybe chicken and rice would be a good idea, but not sure if that's all that great indefinitely? I was only thinking about ringing the vets in the day (when they might be quieter or they could arrange to ring you back) so you didn't need to pop in for the advice. The chicken & rice was only really to try & settle his stomach and would not be permanent. I can understand your concerns about the anaesthetic. Our Chloe was 17 when she started going through patches of not eating but no illness. The vet could find nothing obviously wrong and never suggested x-rays or the like (maybe already diagnosing old age but she never said) but was able to give her injections which perked her up & she'd start eating again but gradually these became more often & eventually the vet suggested that maybe it was best to let her go. The strong smelling food was another idea of that time and worked. could be different for Mickey with the diarrhoea etc. Good luck tomorrow.
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Post by heartpawprints on May 30, 2013 19:27:33 GMT
To be honest with you this sounds very much like what happened to Monty our Burmese blue. He became almost fragile and in his case it was his kidneys that had failed. I'm sorry to even put this in writing but perhaps if the vet can't suggest an improvement, now is the time to let Mickey go.
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Post by Pawsforthought on May 30, 2013 20:03:14 GMT
heartpawprints - it's not his Kidneys, he's had a blood test not long ago and everything came back extremely fine. We're worrying now that, being a bit older and weaker, he's managed to cause injury to his back/hind legs? But we are aware that he is old and that it might be age degeneration, we're just making sure it's not something else that could be causing him unneeded discomfort.
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Post by heartpawprints on May 30, 2013 20:33:49 GMT
I'm pleased that is the case then. Perhaps some hydrotherapy to strengthen his legs? I can certainly send him some Reiki if you wish. If you would like me to do that, can you send me a photo of him so I can connect? It's ok if you don't believe in Reiki.
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Post by Pawsforthought on May 30, 2013 21:38:55 GMT
Why not?
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Post by cazypops on May 30, 2013 21:57:16 GMT
Pawsforthought when you say he drinks a LOT, do you mean more than normal? only last year our 14 year old dog started drinking a lot more and it turned out she'd developed diabetes and liver failure, and this was one of the symptoms. If he is drinking more than normal I certainly mention this to the vet when you speak to them tomorrow.
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Post by Pawsforthought on May 30, 2013 22:04:57 GMT
Pawsforthought when you say he drinks a LOT, do you mean more than normal? only last year our 14 year old dog started drinking a lot more and it turned out she'd developed diabetes and liver failure, and this was one of the symptoms. If he is drinking more than normal I certainly mention this to the vet when you speak to them tomorrow. We mentioned it last time we went and they did a blood test for several things but literally everything was fine! Only way we could detect other things would probably involve anaesthesia :/ he's just too weak for that really! I'll mention it again though, in fact I'm making a list so I don't forget to mention anything. Looks like we're going to be taking him with us though. Will phone in the morning for an appointment. He needs to be seen
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Post by cazypops on May 30, 2013 22:11:02 GMT
I'm glad you've make that decision, It's really easy to give advice but not so easy to take it. At least talking about it has helped you come to a decision yourself. Let us know how you get on.
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Post by scallywag on May 30, 2013 22:13:38 GMT
:-/Good luck Paws sending lots of healing thoughts to you and Mickey hope you get to the bottom of all this
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