Bette Davis Develops New Issues Leg Lameness/Gastro Motility// Update on Cats

 I have been remiss in writing the blog. My last post was 2021 although the Facebook page has been updated as things happened. 

We continued to have issues with Jimmy's eyes and ears but instead of Horners (2021) it was in the summer of 2021, 2022 more of an allergy. He took Tobramycin eye drops, and Quadruple Topical Ointment for his ears. His litter box issues come and go. He might not go out of the box for two months then suddenly go against a chair, or on the floor, or counter, etc. We have increased his Prozac to .42. He has been taking that since about 2011. It is compounded into a liquid by a local compounding pharmacy so that we can titrate the medication as needed. The pill is too difficult-impossible really-to cut into small doses. He does not have HCM but he might have a liver issue developing for which we monitor.

Katharine continues to take Mirtazapine for inappetence -not wanting to eat well. She has lost over a pound of weight since late 2021. She had been just over 11 pounds and is now 9.13. We give her 1/8 every four or so days, monitoring her intake, and weighing her weekly. If she takes more than 1/8, she gets hyper and cannot settle down to eat.  Katharine-a sibling of Myrna Loy (our original HCM cat that died in 2015 of HCM)-now has mild HCM and is taking Atenolol. This was discovered in September by the cardiologist that she has been seeing annually since 2010 because she has a murmur AND because she's Myrna's sibling. All the siblings see the cardio before dental cleanings (anesthesia) and have seen her annually since they turned 10 years old because the heart changes as cats age. Katharine will now see the cardio every 6 months or more as needed and we monitor her breathing rate for signs of CHF. Katharine ALSO has seizures since 2018 and had a new serious one January 2022 which required an extra dose of phenobarbital and would have resulted in a trip to the ER had she passed out or not responded to the extra dose (not grand mal-she never has had grand mal. Her seizures include acting spacey, unable to walk.) She did go to the vet the next day to get updated blood work CBC/chem panel, and had her PLI/cobalamine/folate updated, as well as her vitamin D levels checked (all necessary for any cat and especially any ill cat.) Her pheno dose is now 3/4 tab BID (twice a day.) We also do a blood test for her pheno levels and that tells us if the level is sufficient or not. If not, or if too low, we need to increase the dose.

Roxanne, Elizabeth have had minor issues these past two years but nothing significant. No new meds. Neither has HCM. Elizabeth's last gastro ultrasound did detect splenic myelolipoma  a small mass on her spleen that does not yet appear to be intrusive or cancerous. We will monitor.

Bette Davis: Bette has idiopathic cystitis  for which she takes Valium daily to help her relax, to help her bladder relax. She has been taking this since 2010. She still receives 2mg per day, 1/2 tab BID. She also developed in the summer of 2021 and in 2022 an allergic reaction in the eyes similar to Jimmy's but with the skin around the eyes inflamed. She has been on chlorpheniramine from Kroger 1/4 tab once a day since 2021; and takes the same Tobramycin and Quadruple Ointment as needed, mostly during the summer when the infection is worse. We do not know a cause since only these two cats are effected. She also has chronic pancreatitis but the test results this fall, and the gastro scan in December showed it was not active.

BUT then it was. The new issue for Bette began around Christmas or just before. Some cat began to drop small hard fecal matter on the floor near the litter boxes. And Bette began vomiting almost daily, either after her morning meds or after breakfast, or sometimes after dinner. And she was not eating well. I was using Miralax in her food, and trying to get her to eat without using Mirtazapine. Then this past week, after New Year, she began struggling to defecate. I took her to the vet on Wednesday and the outcome was:

-she has active pancreas flareup that was the cause of the vomiting; not eating; not eating led to...

-dehydration which led to...

-kidney stones in the bladder but she is female and will pass them easily, unlike male cats. And dehydration also led to...

-severe constipation, inability to pass bowel movement which led to...

-impacted anal glands and an infected gland and both had to be expressed. And now she's taking Zenequin antibiotic which led to.

An xray also showed she has rear spine arthritis, a vertebrae is swollen. Not uncommon in older cats but she is the only with it so far. She may need a pain med in the future. Currently we are to monitor her and not let her jump around. She's not able to jump up-something I noticed around Christmas. 

She is to take Cerenia daily, Zenequin, and her Valium and allergy med daily; we are giving Miralax in water by mouth with a 3ml plastic syringe (I give 9ml at a time, 3 times a day.) And we add Miralax to her food but she still isn't eating enough. We are giving her Methigel too. She still has trouble defecating and the fecal matter has been getting stuck in her rectum and we must pull it out. She did have a normal BM this morning without assistance. To help her pass things, we will give her Laxatone. 

BUT then today-Sunday 1/8/23-she developed rear leg weakness. Her paws are warm-not cold which would indicate a blood clot but I will monitor. I will call the vet Monday. She is not able to raise her tail either, which we thought was part of the anal gland issue and might be. But it could indicate more serious nerve damage. It could heal in time or lead to inability to control her urine/defecation. All of this is quite sudden. As far as we know, she had no accidents in the house, hadn't fallen, was doing well until after Christmas.

Because My Cat's Can't Have Normal Issues-Now Horner's Syndrome Appears

 Jimmy Stewart has seemed to have issues lately with his left eye. I began to notice that it seemed to be sinking or receding and not as out there as the right eye. Then Monday he presented with both eyes being watery and runny and he was squinting. He went to the vet Tuesday and there are no ulcers, scratches, and his eye pressure-checked for glaucoma-was normal. The vet said the eye is receding, the pupils do not match, and the furry skin around it is beginning to droop over it. She thinks this might be due to Horner's Syndrome an issue that has many causes but presents with the symptoms of receding eye, droopy lids, constricted pupils; can also lead to color changes in the ears, increased warmth feeling of the ears. 

These are caused by damage to the nervous system that controls the head, the SYMPATHETIC nervous system. There are two branches or trunks of nerves-sympathetic and parasympathetic. They push/pull the eyes and eyelids. The path of the nerves travels from the brain along the spine to the back of the body. Any damage to the body along the way, or in the brain, or in the head, ears or eyes, can damage the sympathetic nerves. This damage can be caused by tumors, cancer, diseases, even physical injury in the legs or hitting the head against something. For dogs, pulling on a collar when being walked on a leash can damage the area around the neck. 

You must treat the underlying cause of Horner's Syndrome if one can be found. Most causes or problems will clear up without intervention depending on cause, and the eyes will improve. If symptoms get worse or doesn't respond to treatment, an MRI or ultrasound may be next to look further into the body. 

The vet thinks Jimmy might have an ear infection because of his reaction to having his ears checked. She gave us an antibiotic ear cream to use for ten days. If the infection clears up, his eyes should improve. If the eyes do not, then maybe the MRI or try a new medication. It's one of those confounding "keep an eye on it" (no pun) and hope for the best. 

But of course my cats can't have something normal. How often does one hear or read about Horner's Syndrome? 

Here's an article the vet game me to read:

https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951369

Jimmy Has An Eye Issue but No Infection Detected

Earlier in April, Jimmy was at the vet because his left eye was acting up. He was favoring it by closing it. It was also watery, goopy, but no blood or other eyelid closing over it was present. Unlike a few months ago, he had no cornea scratch this time. But given that there was swelling under the eye, and how it was leaking, they gave him antibiotic drops for a possible infection. Since he was exposed to the herpes virus as a kitten, he has been prone to getting related complications-gastro upsets, eye infections, lethargy. So, I have been giving him extra lysine daily. We use lysine gel by Vetoquinol. 

It is wise to always take a cat into the vet when you see any of these symptoms: goopy eye, blood in the eye, a closing of an inner eyelid over the eye, or when the cat favors the eye by closing the regular lid, or paws at it. The eye could be damaged, scratched, infected, etc. The doctor will put drops in the eye and shine a UV light into the eye to check for scratches and internal issues. Medications and lysine might be recommended. Sometimes steroid drops are needed. These should be used cautiously with HCM cats as steroids are typically avoided for HCM cats. It's rare that steroid drops are needed unless there is a serious infection, such as conjunctivitis or injury to the eye. 

Feline Medical Emergencies-Thankful to Have Meds On Hand: Buprenex and Metronidazole

Facebook post from June 29 when Bette became ill:

Thank goodness for our little in home pharmacy. Bette threw up last night about 6 p.m. and seemed fine until about 7 p.m. when she became lethargic and presented with eye goop running out of both and both eyes were blood shot suddenly. Her temp was 102.9-high normal but I thought since she's vomiting and has running eyes, that means she has a fever. I gave her 9ml water by mouth; some bicarb (club soda) by mouth (all helps to replenish lost fluids and build up electrolyte of needed bicarb and calm stomach acid); .25 ml of buprenex as pain and fever reducer; and one tab of metronidazole antibiotic left over from May's bout of issues with three other cats (just diarrhea and fever.) By 11 p.m., .15 of buprenex, one more metro and she was more alert and eating dry food. Less goop by 2 a.m. No goop by 7:30 a.m. Gave one metro. She ate dry food. She will need more meds and I'm hoping I can get them from the vet without taking her in so that I have a supply for the others. I had enough to give one Metro to Myrna and one to Katharine. I have one spare for any other cat. I gave to Myrna because she's vulnerable as the HCM cat; and one to Katharine just because she seemed run down last night and today. I didn't give one to Cooper only because he's not a sibling, he's older, and perhaps immuned from what the siblings give each other. But we will keep an eye on all of them. Unfortunately, the first sign is sudden onset of vomiting-which all cats do when tossing up those hairballs. But the next thing that suddenly happens is the eye goop. Runny eyes are a sign of an eye infection-uveitis, conjunctivitis; or a virus of some sort. Runny eyes can be combined with diarrhea and/or vomiting and usually a fever of some sort.

Jimmy Stewart Has Eye Infection February 6; Not Serious, Not Due to Disease; Requires Drops

Jimmy Stewart went to the vet today with an eye infection. Luckily, it's not a virus and there's no damage to the eye. We think the scratch on the outside corner of the left eye-from a swipe of a claw from another cat no doubt-caused an irritation to the eye. He's had green goopy discharge since yesterday. Antibiotic eye drops for a week and he should be fine-barring any more swipes by other clawed furry pals.