Took Richard to the vet today. Possibilites: 1. kidney disease; 2. thyroid

[bertha katzenengel]

disease. I'll know tomorrow or Wednesday, when the bloodwork is in. He's also being tested for FeLV. If he has that, we are screwed. :scared:

But I'm trying not to worry before there's something to worry about.

Here's Richard, shot a couple of weeks ago, giving exploring kittens the fisheye.

[In_The_Wind]

1. I'll wish Richard the best test results.

What are his symptoms?

[bertha katzenengel]

2. Diarrhea (not in the box), vomiting, peroidic listlessness.

:( My poor boy. He's 12 years old.

[In_The_Wind]

3. Another option is Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Has he had any recent vaccinations? Rabies vaccine?
Do you feed him dry food?



I'm sorry he is sick!

Is he isolated him from the other cats?

[bertha katzenengel]

4. No. No. Yes. No.

I have been remiss in keeping them up on their vaccinations. One of the problems with having too many cats.

Thank you for your good wishes. :hug:

[In_The_Wind]

5. If they aren't outside cats DON'T vaccinate them!

Try changing his diet to Wellness canned food.
No dry food at all!
No prescription food from the vet!

Is there a homeopathic vet in your area?

[bertha katzenengel]

11. homeopathic vet - don't know, but I seriously doubt it

I'd have to isolate Richard to feed him a special diet, and I fear the isolation alone would cause a decline in his health. He's very social, and he loves to go outside.

[bluethruandthru]

6. Sending good thoughts out to your Richard!

I have a Richard too... He's had vomiting and diarrhea problems off and on forever. I just found out he was allergic to the beef (or beef fat) in his food. He's doing wonderfully now. Here he is showing a bit of attitude for the camera!

[bertha katzenengel]

10. oh, my goodness, your Richard is so sweet

Dig that tongue. When my cats do that, I can't help but use an acronym I made up when I was a kid. It pops into my mind unbidden. "PYTIYM." Pronounce it "pitty-im." Put Your Tongue In Your Mouth.

:hi:

[AirmensMom]

7. Could be a food allergy.

We had a lot of diarrhea/vomiting/lethargy problems with the Abys. Prescription food almost did them in and we switched them to mostly raw, some canned. We had two almost-dead cats last June and they're the picture of health now ... FWIW. They were allergic to the grains that are found in most commercial foods. Satchmo almost died from combination of IBD/kidney failure.

I hope Richard gets better soon. How is his appetite?

BTW, he's beautiful. :loveya:

[bertha katzenengel]

12. could be, but . . .

see my last reply to Joan.

What to do . . .

His appetite is unchanged, but he's drinking less.

:hug: thank you

[AirmensMom]

15. Well, if there's any possibility at all,

I would give it a try. You could isolate them only at meal times. Don't leave the dry food out. Cats don't need to have food available 24/7.

:hug:

Edit ... Check your PMs. :hug:

[devilgrrl]

8. Sending good vibes to your Richard.

I hope everything will be okay. :hug:

[bertha katzenengel]

13. thank you, sweetie

:hug:

[SoyCat]

9. Best wishes to your beautiful kittiebaby!

[bertha katzenengel]

14. thanks, SoyCat, and welcome to DU

:hi: (you're still something of a newb)

[SoyCat]

25. Thanks for the welcome!

[MissMillie]

16. He's a very handsome boy... I hope he feels better soon

:hug:

[miss_american_pie]

17. He's beautiful

And I hope he feels better soon. :hug:

[xchrom]

18. vibing health and wellness for richard!

[auntAgonist]

19. Gosh Bertha

Richard looks so much like my Rogue. I'll keep a good thought for him and for the whole Katzenengel family.

Good luck, best wishes and I'm gonna swing that rubber chicken again.




:hug: :loveya: :hug:

aA
kesha

[Kajsa]

20. Here's sending positive, good vibes to you and Richard.

Please keep us updated on his health.

He is beautiful.
But I see that annoyed look on his face,
kittens have that effect on many adult cats.

:hug:

[LaurenG]

21. I hope whatever it is

He gets well soon.

[bettyellen]

22. beautiful cat, bertha. my cat survived 8 years after kidney failure

on prescription food (KD) so it's not necessarily the evil some make it out to be.
my cat bounced back and was acting like a kitten again. it was just miraculous.
good luck, sweetie. it's hard because they seem so helpless, i know.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

23. My best hopes for Richard...

and you too!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>

[spinbaby]

24. Aw, he looks so much like our Matilda

She was a brown tabby, too. I hate to say it, but she died of thyroid AND kidney disease.

[Mrs. Venation]

26. UPDATE (Bertha here, using Mrs. V.'s profile because I forgot to

log her out. :dunce:)

Dr. Terry called this morning to say there were no signs of disease. He gave two other possibilities for the diarrhea & vomiting: 1. could be intestinal parasites, but he doubts that because the fecal sample was clear; 2. could be stress.

Also, Dr. Terry said that if his belly gets any bigger, to take Richard in for an x-ray. Richard's skinny at the shoulders and hips, and his belly is the horizontal version of a beer belly. He looks like a football on legs.

I'm certain it IS stress. Too many cats plus a litter of foster kittens? Jesus. Just look at the fisheye in that picture! He hates 'em.

No more foster kittens at Katzenengel. Strictly TNR from now on.

Oh -- Mrs. V. just came in to say that there was poo again in the designated place. But it wasn't runny! As if Richard heard my conversation with Dr. Terry and thought, "uh-oh, busted . . ."

Happy news that will get happier once the kits are adopted.

Thank you for the concern you have all shown. :grouphug:

[auntAgonist]

27. Good news indeed. Thanks for the update. nt

[southpaw]

28. Sounds like a situation we dealt with recently...

Our oldest kitter, Abbie, exhibited the same symptoms your Richard is showing. It started with the death of Abbie's house mate, Gracie. About a month later, we adopted a kitten (Sophie), then we moved. In the course of a couple of months, Abbie had to adapt to several changes, and she took none of them in stride.

It took about two months for her to get back to normal. We just made sure to give her plenty of love and understanding as she got used to the changes. Here's hoping Richard comes around soon!

Abbie with her favorite 9 year old (Alexis)

[In_The_Wind]

29. Thank you for letting us know how Richard is doing.

I hope he'll continue to improve.