Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

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Catfan5
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Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Catfan5 »

Alfie has been diagnosed with severe ibd by a specialist vet, not lymphoma as he expected it to be thank goodness. After 3 days of tests he was allowed home with some appetite stimulants but no steroids yet. These worked well for a few days and the diarrhoea stopped as he ate almost normally- never a big eater. But now his appetite has lessened again and he’s seems uncomfortable again. He refuses any more pills. The vet said to try him with hydrolysed food if he improved but I haven’t done that yet. He’s very picky and not sure what to get. I’ve read that novel protein food is better (I’m on a learning curve at the moment!) that don’t have fish, chicken or beef. Help! Can anyone tell me which foods are best for ibd? His weight has dropped again, it’s such a worry.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by booktigger »

Am glad it is IBD, I've only used steroids for it unfortunately but believe venison can be good
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Kay »

james Wellbeloved do pouches of lamb or turkey in sauce, for cats who need a hypoallergenic diet
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Catfan5 »

Hi booktigger, yes a huge relief. I was surprised that steroids weren’t prescribed but the vet wanted to see if he improved at home with the stimulants. He’ll only start steroids if he doesn’t put on weight and appetite drops back again. I’ve not dealt with IBD before so I’m a bit nervous about what he should be eating. He actually ate the pill this evening which was mostly disintegrated from earlier attempts!
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Catfan5 »

Hi Kay, Alfie quite likes the JWB lamb but I’m wondering about more unusual meat like venison etc.. although while his appetite is not good I give him what he will eat, like the JWB or wainwrights, cooked fish which he loves.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

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Catfan5 wrote:Hi booktigger, yes a huge relief. I was surprised that steroids weren’t prescribed but the vet wanted to see if he improved at home with the stimulants. He’ll only start steroids if he doesn’t put on weight and appetite drops back again. I’ve not dealt with IBD before so I’m a bit nervous about what he should be eating. He actually ate the pill this evening which was mostly disintegrated from earlier attempts!
I would have thought that as it was severe IBD, steroids would have been used to help with the inflammation
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

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Yes so would I, even our usual vet was surprised. It seems the specialist vet wants to wait a couple of weeks before resorting to steroids. I’m to report back next week on Alfie’s progress, then he will decide whether to prescribe them or not.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

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Alfie is now taking steroids. He had seemed to be feeling a bit better after he came home from the vet hospital and was eating more. But over the past week he has been spending his days mostly on a pile of blankets in the kitchen when he wasn’t mooching around slowly. His appetite dropped again despite the pills. After he was sick again on Thursday I took him to the vet as I couldn’t stand to see him feeling unwell any more. She examined him and gave him an anti sickness shot and prescribed prednicare. She gave him the first one and had the second in lickelix at home later. She said to call her after a week to see how he’s doing. Yesterday morning he was much the same, laying on the blankets not eating much but the lickelix with the tablet in! But by the afternoon he was up and about and has been much more his old self since, still not eating much though.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by booktigger »

Aww, hope they kick in soon.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Lilith »

Good luck Alfie, purrs and fusses :)
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Mayday21 »

Hi there ditto for Alfie from me as Lilith posted. And being on prendisone know how Alfie must be feeling. Keep us posted.Vivian & the Famous Five from Oz.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

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Thank you for your best wishes for Alfie. He’s enjoying the sunshine on a slightly cooler day today. Not his usual self yet, not eating much still. Don’t know how long the steroids take to have an affect.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

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Alfie has been taking steroids for just over a week and he seems to have become worse again. His appetite is almost non existant again which I think is unusual- steroids are meant to increase appetite? and more lethargic. I gave him an appetite stimulant on Sunday to try and get him eating again. He had a checkup at the vet on Thursday and he had lost the little bit of weight he had gained. His steroid dose has been reduced to one a day instead of two. The specialist vet had recommended trying chlorambucil if Alfie wasn’t responding to the steroids but I’m worried about the side effects. I looked up information about this and it’s a chemo drug used when a cat has lymphoma and side effects sound awful. Has anyone on here been prescribed this for their cat with ibd?
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by booktigger »

I'm sorry the steroids haven't worked. I've not heard of that drug sorry
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Lilith »

I'm so sorry to hear.

I've always thought of steroids as a 'quick fix' and personally I wouldn't bother with them as the cat soon relapses - but this is just my personal view and there may well be more efficient drugs these days.

With all very best wishes and fusses to Alfie - do hope you find a solution and good luck x
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

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The specialist vet was against using steroids unless Alfie didn’t improve but the local vet was all for them and was certain they would help the inflammation and make Alfie feel better. But it hasn’t made a difference so he’ll be weaned off them. The appetite stimulants helped in the beginning a few weeks ago but now not so much. He appears to be hungry but still hardly eats anything, even the favourite white fish. Not sure if he’s feeling nauseous or uncomfortable in his gut and the sp vet was against any form of force feeding. I’m at a loss as to what else I can do to help him. I’m very reluctant to start him on the alternative drug mentioned before as it sounds rather extreme.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

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Sounds a very tricky situation - wonder if he needs some anti-nausea meds rather than an appetite stimulant. I thought he would have responded well to steroids (even though I have mixed opinions of them). Just had a quick google of that, I'm not sure I'd use it either.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

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Thanks Lilith and booktigger. Ive not dealt with ibd before, it’s hard to watch this little cat feeling so poorly. :(
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Janey »

Poor Alfie feel so sorry for him bless. What happens when he eats normal cat food?
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Catfan5 »

Hi, he is having normal cat food as his appetite is poor, trying different ones. Grain free wet and a little dry jwb. He has a couple of licks and nibbles then goes and lays down looking miserable.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Janey »

Have you tried Gourmet pates to tempt him to eat, mine love those, always help encourage them to eat. I wouldn’t want to make his tummy worse, but there’s nothing worse than not having an appetite as we know ourselves. Give him a snuggle from me xx
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by booktigger »

Would he eat something like lick-e-lix?
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Mayday21 »

Hi Catfan thinking of you & Alfie...unfortunately I can’t provide any advice. Such a worry when they’re not eating. Keep us posted. Vivian
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Catfan5 »

He likes gourmet solitaire chicken but only licks the sauce. He doesn’t usually like pate but could try a tin and see if he eats it as his appetite is all over the place. Up until a few days ago he loved lickelix, I was hiding his atenolol in it twice a day, but now he won’t touch it :( At the moment I give him wainwrights, Sheba tuna domes, jwb wet as he’ll eat a tiny amount or just lick. He won’t touch Lily’s kitchen, nature’s menu or bozita.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Catfan5 »

Alfie has just done something unusual for him- a normal looking poo on the floor, then tried to bury it. He was near litter trays so not sure if he couldn’t make it in time? The only other time was when he was passing mucous frequently back in March/April. OH said he looked disorientated.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Lilith »

I've known elderly cats become absent-minded about this, but I too had one on Atenolol who, one evening was lying asleep - and she passed an enormous motion, not diarrohea, even though she was the cleanest of cats. On another occasion I was cuddlling her and she began to fart ... it was like holding a little lilac-pointed bagpipes, so undignified for the girl! But these were one-offs - she never repeated them and I never did know precisely what was wrong with her; something was, but blood tests showed nothing and she was on Atenolol for abnormal heart rate; whether that was making her feel a bit dopey; beta-blockers can do this, I know.

Poor Alfie, so undignified for him too - hope it was a temporary thing and hope he starts eating better. I find Encore, not a complete food (available in supermarkets but expensive) and Thrive (available from Zooplus etc and even more expensive) is tempting for a faddy or poorly cat; my 17 year old Emily (now passed on, sadly) used to love these (she was ckd but I just wanted to keep her going and enjoying something) and I think they bought her a little extra time ... the others, finishing up after her, approved too but now they're only getting stuff like that as a treat, bless them.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Catfan5 »

‘Little lilac- pointed bagpipes’! made me laugh :lol: I didn’t know that about atenolol. He hasn’t been taking them for long so maybe he’s affected by them. This morning he has eaten half a pouch of wainwrights! It’s been weeks since he ate that much, then had a nibble at Harry’s food. Followed by a good wash :) my ‘cat cupboard’ is stocked with all sorts of food hoping he will like something out of it, encore is in there too :)
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Lilith »

Hey congrats - long may his appetite last, good lad :D
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by Catfan5 »

Sadly tonight we had to let Alfie go :( He had been deteriorating since I last posted and on Tuesday morning I found him hiding away in our wardrobe. The vet found he had a high temperature, severe anaemia and enlarged kidneys. They kept him in and gave him fluids, abs and anti inflammatory meds apart from his heart and ibd meds. They vet said all his symptoms pointed to lymphoma but we didn’t want to put him through any more tests and as he didn’t respond to the treatment, we had to make the hardest decision. Our hearts are broken.
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Re: Update on Alfie with colitis and heart issue.

Post by booktigger »

I'm so sorry to hear this, RIP little one
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