The Forum Chit-Chat Thread

Faith

I'm really sorry to hear that, Molly, that must be really hard. Was the red blood cell count the only thing that was out of range on the bloods, or were there others? Does she have a fever or anything?

Did the vets prescribe anything for the anaemia?

Mollyb60

Thanks Faith. White blood cell count was abnormal too (can't remember if it was too high or too low) but that seems to have gone back to normal now. Which is why we initially thought it was an injury or infection she was fighting. But that was mid November so I don't know why she's still anemic. He hasn't prescribed anything specifically for the anaemia only steroids.

She's having a good day today after 2 bad days. She ate barely nothing for the past 2 days but is eating everything today.

Faith

It's great to hear she's eating again. Hopefully it continues now! Now's a good time to give her whatever she likes to eat, even if it's kitty McDonalds or human food!

But just in case it reverts - has FIP been ruled out? It's uncommon in older cats, but not unheard of. Some vets might not think of it when the cat is older though. If you have access to the blood test results, a common marker is a low albumin:globulin ratio (less than 0.6; you may have to work it out yourself if it's not done on the results). Clinically, you tend to see lethargy, loss of appetite, maybe diarrhoea and a persistent fever. You may see neurological issues like falling, difficulty walking or jumping, tremors. Bloods tend to show high protein, low albumin, high globulins (hence the low A:G ratio), anaemia, high white blood cells, low red blood cells. In the very unlikely event that it was FIP, then don't believe any vet who tells you there's no treatment available because there certainly is!

Otherwise, you could ask about Vitamin B12 shots? My cat had anaemia due to FIP and B12 shots weekly helped a lot. You can also request appetite stimulants such as Mirataz which is a topical cream, or try an anti-nausea medication like Cerenia in case that's playing a role.

Mollyb60

Faith, thanks so much for all this info I really appreciate it. She's an indoor cat so I'm not sure how she could've picked up FIP (had to look it up lol). There's been no other symptoms apart from lethargy and the low blood count. Definitely no diarrhoea, fever or tremors. There's a slight hitch in the breathing that we noticed but the chest xray didn't show up anything obvious in her lungs. The vet did a full geriatric blood panel so I'm hoping he would've noticed any other abnormal results like you mention. I might ask for a copy of them to see if I can check that albumin/globulin ratio.

We've been giving her tuna (her high value treat) and chicken too on the bad days and that's all that she'll go for. Fingers crossed she's turned a corner and will just improve now. 1st Breakfast went down well this morning, 2nd breakfast has been picked at but at least she has something in her belly.

Faith

No worries! I went through the mill with my kitty when he had FIP (it was an atypical presentation) so I developed a lot of knowledge about cat well-being 😅.

There’s a Royal Canin “recovery” food that we found amazing when our cat wasn’t eating. He’s a fussy eater that only grazes at the best of times, but he ate this really well. It comes in both liquid and powder form and is high in calories and highly palatable. Might be worth a shot to get calories in? It’s typically available through vets, but you can get the liquid on Zooplus too: https://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/canned_dog_food/royal_canin_veterinary_diet/recovery/1019889?variantid=1019889.0&gbraid=0AAAAAD9Xn6X4_6nAquYmwjIlR_gAwfQIQ&gclid=CjwKCAiA2fmdBhBpEiwA4CcHzZxlSt4qJ9OBlZfNvWXCCKcSqWW_03KyxHf5Z_BdYoBvbFgdP_oSQhoCuxsQAvD_BwE

mymo

Hi everyone, it's been a while, got very busy and didn't try login after the big crash.

Hope to pop in more often, i see some familiar names.

Sybil had to have her knee fixed 2 weeks ago. Luxating patella, wouldn't go back in. Has spent 2 weeks in puppy jail (she's heading for 5 but still the baby), not happy with the prison snacks. Prison is a child's playpen.

But healing well. We can walk to the end of the road tomorrow it'll be a slow and steady build up, but back to walkies soon.

Oliver doesn't walk far now, he's heading for 15, blind and arthritic. Librela working well at the moment and still wants to go walkies

Tiffi still wants to walk, but tires faster, at almost 14 she's losing some sight too now.

Graces7

Abed and wakeful here. Oliver is on my pillow. His favourite place. Dominic is on my feet. And not sure where number 3 is. What IS his name!

This one...

Outside somewhere curled up asleep.. Hunger will bring him in. They are all good peckers!

Mollyb60

Poor little Sionna has been shaved to within an inch of her life for a bone marrow biopsy. Results are inconclusive for a cause but it appears like it's immune mediated disease so we'll move forward with that and treat the anaemia. (hopefully the image works - the damn site has been blocking random images for me lately)

VonVix

Since I was last here I adopted my fourth dog, a Chihuahua! I have always liked Chihuahuas, but this little girl is something else entirely. She has been the most incredible addition and is doing so well with my three boys. Even though she was kept in a crate for 6 years of her life, the way she is so sweet with everyone is just unbelievable. I am so happy we rescued her, because when I saw her I had zero intent of looking for a fourth dog, but she found me. We love her to bits.

sunbeam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120210627#Comment_120210627

What a sweet girl. Hope she's feeling better Mollyb60.

Graces7

Two new ( to me) needy cats arriving soon. I am so looking forward to them. From a rescue in Dublin.

My current two and the lad belonging to my neighbour who spends his nights on my bed when they eject him are well settled

Graces7

Oh the wee lad in the photo actually "belongs" at the farm way up the lane. But he got lonely so Oliver brought him home for r and r and he prefers my bed at night to the cowshed as they do not let him into the house. He is very chatty!

apache

Just love seeing that Naturo ad. The dogs are all lovely and the song is very catchy. Every time it comes on I smile.

apache

Didn't really want to start a new thread about this. Walking along with the dog on a lead and a man comes over and starts patting her. She's moving away from him very uncomfortable. It's lucky she's not reactive or she would have bit him.

You should really ask permission before you go and pat a dog. It mightn't end well. And then where would we be??!

apache

Watched Virgin news earlier and there was a piece on a hen sanctuary in Kildare. All battery hens rescued from confined dark cages living now in the sanctuary looking for new homes. They had never been outside before. I often think about battery hens and the horrible life they have.

Anyway it was lovely seeing them in open spaces.

zedhead

Our little Milo is heading in for surgery on Thursday. A few months ago he stopped wanted to go for walks unless both my husband and I went and we went in the car first. The vet ruled out pain and first (Milo hates being touched so is very difficult to examine, and at home is was a full of energy as ever) so we got a behaviourist in to help. After the 2 hour consultation she had noticed issues in his gait and said that there probably was some pain. We got some xrays done and its grade 3 luxating patella in both back legs.

I'm very nervous, particularly of the recovery. I've read a few of the older threads on here which have been helpful but I am so nervous of trying to keep him calm. We have baby gates for the stairs but no pen or crate. And he reacts any time someone comes onto our road, and goes crazy if someone comes up the drive. I want to get a pen before thursday but my husband thinks it will be ok. We have loads of enrichment ideas to keep his mind occupied, but its the running around when he is agitated i am worried abut.

tk123

I put a sign on the gate when Bailey was recovering from one of the surgeries - basically post/parcels only and no election/sales with a picture of Snoopy on crutches 🤣 If he’s not used to being in a pen/restricted he may freak out and do more damage. Last time we restricted Bailey to one room at a time with baby gates and room dividers. If you have a local FB ask if anyone has baby gates they’re not using - you’re bound to get a few offers. You can tie/stick them together with tape etc to make a pen (I did this when Rory was a baby with the gates etc we already had rather than buy a pen) and it worked fine.

Everything will be ok!

dashoonage

I did one room at a time with Jessie as well.

I put a sign on my gate as well cause tk123 told me too and it was a great idea !

zedhead

Thanks @tk123 and @dashoonage We dont really get many callers other than post and parcels but it would be just our luck for it to start next week so will put a sign up.

The surgery got moved to Monday so a whole weekend of additional worry but a little more time to plan. I think a crate will def be too restrictive and he'll hate that but I want a larger pen area so we can keep him off the slippy laminate floors - we've hardly any carpet in the house but can put a rug in a penned area. So at least if he does react to something he won't slip/slide on his legs. It will also keep him from trying to jump on the couch if we have him in the sitting room. He doesnt love being picked up and i dont trust him to not jump up/down even if we are watching him.

Along with the blocks on walking, his extreme reactions to noise/people outside was one of the things we were looking for guidance from the behaviourist for so we really struggle to keep him calm no matter what we try. Its going to be a tough couple of months but worth it if he won't be in pain anymore.

tk123

I got cheap yoga mats in tesco last time and lined the sitting room floor to make it non-slip... this was in the old days though - everything is covered with mats and rugs these days lol! I barricaded the couches with backpacks, stools, laundry baskets - anything I could find. Bold Bailey waited until I was on a work call and managed to sneak up and sit on the arms of the couches lol!

dashoonage

Yup I picked up some non slip mats in homestore and more or whatever it's called. Thought I'd only use them for a few weeks. Now all strategically placed arud the house 🤣

You will be fine Zed, that fact you're going to all this effort show doggo is in good hands.

tk123

@zedhead did the surgery go ahead?

zedhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120863541#Comment_120863541

It did. He's there at the moment and we are waiting to hear how it went - they said it would be sometime after 5 we would get a call. Getting anxious waiting to hear now and looking forward to collecting him tomorrow.

dashoonage

Keep us posted Zed

tk123

Ah fingers crossed for him 🤞🏻 Try not to worry too much!

zedhead

Just got the call, surgery went well. No complications and he's awake about to have his dinner. We can collect him in the morning 😊

dashoonage

Zeeeeeeeddd..... hows doggo ?

zedhead

He's doing well. We ended up getting him an extra large crate on the advice of the behaviourist and vet and he's taken to it pretty well. He's definitely a little depressed but he's not kicking off in the crate and he's happy for me to lift him up and down the stairs for the moment.

He absolutely hates the cone! Can't wait to be able to take it off him. But he's doing so well.

dashoonage

Excellent news! None of them like the cone of shame 🤣

zedhead

Oh yeh, and we took the advice of a note at the end of our drive, not thinking we'd need it. But sure enough this week is the first time in months any door to door seller has called, and we have had 2 of them. And didn't they completely ignore the sign and come knocking anyway! 😡 Hate sales callers at the best of times, but did they really think they were gonna get a sale ignoring our sign?!