Pneumonia and Heart Disease

[EzriDax]

Dax has gone to the vet today and they think he may have pneumonia or heart disease. The other alternative is that he is overweight. He eats everything in sight but we only put 3 pouches down a day for him so we think that he catches prey or getting fed by someone else

[booktigger]

Fingers crossed for him

[EzriDax]

They have taken him in for Xrays, because when they listened to his chest they thought they could hear/feel fluid on the lungs

Does anyone have experience of this, e.g. recovery, cost of meds etc

[EzriDax]

The vet rang me back and says that he has mild asthma and it has kicked off because he has been stressed because of Ezri's arrival and the vet has suggested that I should rehome Ezri if he gets any worse. They are also doing blood tests for this thyroid because he constantly eats but hasn't got worms.

They are trialing him on some meds that are capsules and he gets half a capsule a day on food to see if it will help him. She also suggested feliway friends which I have on order but its seeming to take ages. Gonna see how much it is in vets (no doubt need a mortgage) or see how much it is in P@H

[booktigger]

Fingers crossed the meds work - I'm surprised they are testing his thyroid, it's rare in cats under the age of 10, and they generally lose weight. 3 pouches a day isn't excessive.

[EzriDax]

He does have dreamies as well, but we have started limiting him. He seems to have put a ton of weight on this week and I'm not sure how I can get him to lose weight because we aren't feeding him tons, like he doesn't have tidbits or anything he shouldn't eat. They think it could be an underactive thyroid, but as you say he is only 4 so it shouldn't be an issue

He has been eating plants too - we have spider plants at home (we don't have anything like lillies) and he constantly eats them as if we aren't feeding him. He has been deflead and wormed using Stronghold, and usually with worms they eat tons but lose weight, vomit, and can have a distended abdomen

[booktigger]

I'm surprised the vet didn't suggest Milbemax first, as Stronghold doesn't treat all kinds of worms.

[EzriDax]

I have just always used Stronghold and have never been told that there are better ones out there.

They have put him on Corvental D. Does anyone have any experiences with this?

[Lilith]

Hi there - I haven't been around for a day or 5 but just wanted to say, though I've no experience of asthma or heart failure, I'm so sorry to read about this, and hope Dax recovers soon; that his asthma is manageable, and also that you don't have to rehome Ezri. You've made such a good beginning with them and so have they

How's it going now?

All the very best!

[EzriDax]

I think things are getting better. Dax has had some blood test results that show higher than normal liver enzyme levels so I need to ring them tomorrow. He has eaten less today and his breathing is getting better on meds but possibly needs a full tab instead of half. He hasn't been up much today

[Lilith]

Paws crossed for him and hope the vet can help tomorrow. He's a young strong cat; he's every chance of fighting it off.

All the best and give him a fuss from me x

[EzriDax]

He is a lot better with me when I don't smell of Ezri, e.g had a shower and been to bed cos I must smell of me! He has always been good with meds too, with these as they are capsules I can open them and sprinkle on food and he eats them fine in the morning. I'm wondering if they reduce appetite because he only ate 2 pouches yesterday and slept a lot. I'm really worried about him tbh because he has changed in the last week. I listened to his breathing when I got up and he was still a bit wheezy and he had his meds late yesterday cos I didn't get up till 11am. Now back at work he will get them at around 5:30am but they aren't lasting through the whole day.

He weighs 7kg (15lbs) which is a lot over the 4.5kg (10lbs) max and I want to get his weight down but no idea how since he doesn't want to play, the only thing I can think of is to reduce food and have the window open all day so he can go for walks when he wants.

[MarySkater]

Have you solved the problem of him eating Ezri's food?

[EzriDax]

He doesn't seem to be eating much at all after starting his tablets, I have to feed at different times to ensure he doesn't eat both

[Lilith]

Oops sorry, Ezridax, despite the thread heading I seem to have got the idea he's got asthma on top of everything else!

Which heaven forbid. Hope the lad goes on ok at the vet's today, everything crossed here

[EzriDax]

Yeah they said asthma but it could be because he is overweight. The Xrays showed parts of his lung as showing asthma. I want to get him to lose weight but he is so fussy. He has vets on 28th Jan, phoned them today but they wouldn't let me speak to a vet, I want to know if the Corvental is causing him to be tired and loss of appetite or is it something else like obesity? He seems to have ballooned since Ezri arrived

[Kay]

Has he definitely put on weight? Or are you judging on appearance alone? Because heart problems could mean he is retaining fluid, which would also make him lethargic

This would need immediate veterinary intervention

[MarySkater]

Is Ezri old enough to go into a cattery for a week? Or do you have a friend who could look after her for a few days? I'm just wondering if it would de-stress Dax if she was gone for a while. But I don't know if that would undo the work you've already done in getting them together - maybe someone else here could advise on that.

[EzriDax]

Ezri has had her vacs and she will be 10 weeks old on Friday. They haven't met each other for 2 days roughly because of schedules, like she has been in her room when he comes in. My boyfriend said he was lovely this morning. So maybe taking slower is good, he doesn't seem remotely interested in going to the door of Ezri's room.

Has anyone got experience of weight loss food for cats? Do they get all nutrients required?

[Lilith]

Hi, i'm surprised they couldn't give him an appointment earlier than that; thought they'd probably see him today. And they should have answered your question; a nurse ought to know even if you couldn't speak to a vet.

Also, without wanting to worry you, I agree with Kay; if he's ballooned suddenly this needs checking out. Worst case scenario of course, a trip to the out of hours surgery.

He's been eating quite well up till now so it's a bit early to be thinking about weight loss supplements, but I can recommend two; Nurish-Um and Nutrivit Plus. These look exactly the same as to packaging; I suspect Nutrivit is an updated version. A plastic tube of gunk which you squeeze on to a finger and wipe round the cat's lips, cat licks it off.

There's also a powder which you put in drinking water, 'Critical Care', which can be used for anything from reptiles to birds to mammals.

These supply calories and nutrients to tide an animal over during illness/convalescence; I've found that the Nutrivet Plus does stimulate appetite - in some cases - I'm not claiming it to be a miracle kick-start to appetite.

But I'd be inclined to insist on a bit more vet input/info.

(Sorry I've been so long in posting this; had to break off as Mouse was screaming like a banshee that her tea was 'late'. Not on your life, Mousey! Doing my head in she was and I couldn't hear myself think. I was getting frazzled The gingers will be along soon but they like to wake up slowly, surprised they could sleep! Then I thought, how lucky I am, to have a cat with a healthy appetite!)

Hope Dax and everyone else's cats on here with wonky appetites become the same soon, paws crossed.

[EzriDax]

They have seen him since he started to put weight on and done Xrays on the area and I think that it was because he has been eating for two cos he was taking her food. I need him to lose weight, roughly 5lbs for him to be normal weight. I think the meds for asthma have curbed his appetite.

They have basically given me that appointment because the vet wants to see him in a month due to the raised liver levels and to see how he is doing. What I didn't remember is I am going on on the Friday for my birthday and have to be in vet at 9am next day...

[EzriDax]

He had Xrays last week on heart and lungs as they thought it could be pneumonia or heart disease