Leo update after todays vet visit, x-ray

Avatar for rhawk4
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-30-2001
Leo update after todays vet visit, x-ray
8
Tue, 03-01-2005 - 12:31am

Well, we went to the vet today with Leo. The news is not the greatest.


In a nutshell (because I am tired and it is late, mostly because I just do not feel like going over it more) his kidneys have continued to shrink and build more mineral deposit. He may have some stones now which is causing him discomfort. That’s about the least of the issues. He is badly packed again with very large and very dry poop. There is a good chance we are entering the early stages of mega-colon. Worse, his kidneys are not functioning as well as they should be. He is entering early renal failure. For now we are going to start giving him sub-q fluids every other day to ease the function of the kidneys and try to moisten the stool so he can go. He is not feeling well again today and for the first time ever in the entire time I have had Leo, he threw-up. I know that sounds like nothing, and it may have been the stress of the tests today, but he has never, ever, ever thrown-up. Not even a hair ball (because he is a shedder I comb him out daily to reduce the amount of fur shed).


David and the CoolCyberCats


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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-01-2003
Tue, 03-01-2005 - 10:03am
Oh David. He can live a lomng time with kidney failure,as for the poop the vet told me to give fresh pumpkin as a very good laxative to keep the bowels moving and most seem to like it. Even the hairball treatment helps.Mine have always thrown up when they have to poop so maybe that is why he did. I am always thinking of you and donna and the clan!


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Rachael and Jordan‘s Mom
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Avatar for rhawk4
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Registered: 09-30-2001
Tue, 03-01-2005 - 11:02am

It is not that simple for Leo. He has many issues and slight brain damage. He cannot (because of nerve damage or the mind) eat small kibble and will not eat pumpkin. We have to treat his meals very special as it is because of the types of food he can/will eat. He has also on 2 stool softeners and they are not doing the job they once did. :(


David and the CoolCyberCats


Forever in my heart


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Cats nap, only humans put them to sleep: Sterilize, don't euthanize.

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Registered: 12-01-2003
Tue, 03-01-2005 - 11:09am
I do not want you to lose another and hate to see you go through this


^Dusty^,^Tiger^,^Ellie^and Scooby,Elvis and Maggie’s Mom,
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Avatar for cl_lcni
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Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 03-01-2005 - 11:16am

{{{{David}}}} I'm so sorry.


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Avatar for rhawk4
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Registered: 09-30-2001
Tue, 03-01-2005 - 12:25pm

Thanks Leslie,


Leo is going to prove hard to manage. Remember he has all the conditions and problems to start with. The Phenobarb does not help because as I am sure you know it can affect the liver and kidneys, and we cannot take him off it. We tried other meds once and even lowering him off the pheno over a 6 month period. Nope.


He has a problem with his mouth and has a hard time with tongue/mouth motor control. We are fairly sure that is why he dislikes small kibble. He struggles to get the food in his mouth and can take 10 minutes to get 1 piece of K/D fry down. So he get mad and gives up. He can handle T/D sized foods, but we need to start him on K/D. He does like canned food, but has problems with it also. The difference is he likes it enough that he will spend 2 hours trying to eat canned food, and sadly will end up pushing much of it around as he tried to lick it up. Much of it just ends up sucked dry and on the floor. Again it has to do with motor control. We have tried different bowl sized, depths and wall steepness over the years. We found the best raised height for him as well and we use the optimum dish and platform for him.


We will be meeting with the vet a few more times over the week to go over the issues with him and how we can attempt to do diet and lifestyle changes to support his kidneys function without harming his liver or aggravating his seizures or worsen the starting mega-colon. (God, flashbacks of Electra’s problems fill my head).


I did have the idea of grinding the K/D dry in a food processor, adding a bit of water and then molding them into T/D sized kibble and drying it out in the oven. Seems like a ton of work, but if that works and helps…


David and the CoolCyberCats


Forever in my heart


Enter YOUR Cool Cat! A winner each month! 

Cats nap, only humans put them to sleep: Sterilize, don't euthanize.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 03-01-2005 - 4:20pm
I'm so sorry David :(
Cat =^..^=
Avatar for cl_lcni
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 03-01-2005 - 4:32pm

I know you will do to help Leo no matter what it takes, even if you have to grind the k/d down and make bigger kibbles.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-23-2002
Tue, 03-01-2005 - 10:49pm

David my heart breaks reading about Leo. I know you will never give up on your sweet baby and I am sure he will be blessed with lots of love and quality of life for some time to come. Just know I will pray for you and Leo every day and that you can always find support and understanding here. Leo is such a special kitty.

((((Hugs))))