Fish Based Food Allergy Might Be What Affects Jimmy Stewart Again-or Idiopathic Illness?

Last week, on Saturday, Jimmy wasn't eating well. So, I put fish Fancy Feast on top of his chicken pate for two meals. By Sunday night, he wasn't eating at all. Then he vomited.  I gave him 1/4 tab of Cerenia (anti nausea medication.) By Monday, I had to hand feed using Hills AD mixed with water, fed with a plastic syringe.  He vomited twice on Monday. I have Cerenia once again and on Tuesday.  Tuesday we saw the vet.

We ran full CBC/chem panel, PLI, and urine. NO signs of illness or infection appeared. His glucose and other electrolytes were normal so he's not pre-diabetic again. His liver and kidney values were great and the liver continues to respond to Denamarin (a supplement to improve liver function; his blood values had gone up last year.) He also had no signs of a fever. I thought he wasn't able to use the litter box but the vet said there were no signs of a blockage (which can happen with male cats), he wasn't showing signs of pain on exam, and the bladder wasn't hard from an inability to pass urine. Vomiting and not eating would contribute to not having produced enough urine to excrete.

Without signs of an illness, inflammation, or infection, there were no other medications prescribed. Meanwhile, the vet gave a B12 shot, sub q fluids as he was dehydrated; and I used Cerenia for the next two days (1/4 tab once a day.) By Wednesday he was better and eating enough on his own. By Thursday, he was eating normally again.  He continues to do well.

Was the illness created from eating the fish? Or the herpes virus for which he receives daily lysine? About three years, he began to lose weight and was always hungry. Various tests were run to no avail. He had also had bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. The vet said to try non-fish based foods and the problem was resolved and didn't return. Because he can become finicky, I've given a smidgen of fish food from time to time without issue. But not last week. Was it the fish? The only way to tell is to not give it ever again; give him time to make sure he's fully recovered. If this happens again, we will need to do further tests such as a gastro ultrasound, etc.

Sometimes cats do this. An issue will arise, tests will be done and it will turn out to be idiopathic-no known cause; and that home remedies and things such as having Cerenia on hand, and hand feeding the cat food and water, go a long way to help the cat recover. Sometimes all we can do is treat the symptoms and never find a cause. Of course, the symptoms can also be related to any variety of serious illnesses-cancer, FVP/FIP, heart disease, pancreatitis, food allergy, etc. And that is why we go to the vet to rule out/find a cause. We don't want to take chances.

Good home remedies for sick cats are feeding Hills AD mixed with water by hand using a plastic syringe; adding 1/8 tsp of corn syrup to the mix (if the cat isn't diabetic) for energy; giving rice water to stop diarrhea (poured off of boiling rice) via plastic syringe by hand, and giving regular water via plastic syringe by hand, and-when the cat isn't allergic to it-giving tuna juice for protein via a plastic syringe by hand. You can also boil chicken or beef and use that water (without adding salt or onion or garlic or spices) as a protein source to give by hand. Medications that help cats are Cerenia (anti nausea med-get from the vet); and in some cases of illness, you may use Pepcid, 1/4 tab (for antacid and inflammatory inhibitor.) Use under vet supervision and not long term.

NEVER let a cat go a day without eating. Cats may be finicky but not eating is not normal, is dangerous as it leads to dehydration, and dehydration leads to a whole set of health issues-weakness, further not eating, and death. And never let a cat have a severe bout of vomiting and diarrhea without trying home remedies to ease it and without seeing the vet.

Katharine Struggles to Eat with Phenobarbital-Trip to Vet for Scan and Meds

Katharine update since 7/11: she had been eating well enough once I cut a small amount off of the phenobarbital pill half that she received in the morning. She ate well enough for a week. We had to hand feed in the evening but she did eat some in the evening. She had not lost weight during this time. But then 7/13, we switched to liquid pheno. Since I couldn't accurately cut the pills in half (not scored, easily fell apart) I never knew how much more or less of 7.5mg per dose she actually received. The liquid version was supposed to help us figure this out, titrate down as needed, and track efficacy. But she immediately lost her appetite. The script was 7.5mg/1ml-one dose was one ML liquid pheno. To decrease the dose, I began giving her .95, then .90, then .85, then .80. She would not eat. We had to keep hand feeding her. The goal was 150 calories a day which was difficult to do just because it required multiple feedings of 21 ml or more per feeding. Each ml was approx. one calorie.

Her gastro scan was already scheduled and that was this past Thursday. She's fine. No liver damage or disease; still no pancreatitis. But her small intestine, the mucosa, is a bit more thickened since May's scan. They suspect IBD-irritable bowel syndrome-because all blood work is normal, and there are no signs of disease or cancer. She is to ONLY eat hypo food-rabbit, venison, duck-and NO fish based foods. She is on steroids for a few weeks (which are tapered down over time.) She received a B12 shot and will receive them every 2 weeks until late August. (They sent the supplies home, expecting me to administer the shot since I learned how to give shots sub q when I had to inject lasix into Myrna. I declined to do this with KH and will take her back to the vet for each shot. I'm not up to it frankly and since it's not life saving such as lasix, it's not something I MUST do.) While she could take by mouth, vitamin B12, since she has IBD, she may not absorb the needed amount, so hence the shots. They also tested her vitamin D levels which-just like with humans-if low, creates all sorts of issues (I have been low on iron and vitamin D and both caused the same symptoms for me: muscle aches and weakness, inability to breathe/move, feeling as if a major disease is attacking your nerves, etc. I take supplements for both.)

I also switched back to pheno pills in case the liquid version has put off her appetite. By shaving a bit off the end, she returned to eating-but after beginning steroids (which can increase appetite) and receiving the B12 shot. She's not eating enough and we continue to hand feed as necessary. She has lost 3 oz. since last week and is down to a bony 10 lbs. So, we must make sure she reaches her caloric daily goals. We will try the pills for a few days, then switch back to the liquid version and see how she responds. If she looses her appetite again, then I'll have the pharmacy redo the formula.