We had 2 brothers. Angus & Malcolm.
Angus is 5 and Malcolm passed away at age 2 ½ from some sort of Auto Immune Disease.
Malcolm's brief history: He lost a couple lbs very quickly which led to blood tests revealing high white blood cell counts. Our regular vet tried many treatments that didn't help and referred us to a Metropolitan Vet Hospital in Akron, Ohio. They specialize in advanced treatment options for pets with cancer and other heavy duty diseases for lack of a better word.
They did extensive testing and the quick diagnosis (while we waited) was Feline Leukemia. We were devastated, but they sent out for a more thorough test that took 7-10 days to confirm and it came back NEGATIVE for Feline Leukemia. They gave him a blood transfusion which immediately returned him to his normal self, but after a few weeks (as they told us) he started feeling poorly again.
They identified he was producing enough red blood cells, but something was preventing them from getting out into his body. They identified this through a bone marrow test.
He wouldn't respond to any treatment and didn't last very long and had some sort of seizure that he never came back from and we had to let him go. He was one of the nicest, kindest cats we've ever owned and we were all very sad to lose him so suddenly and so young.
In the meantime, his brother Angus showed no signs of anything and was tested twice and both were negative. He was also vaccinated for Feline Leukemia then and all was well.
Fast forward about a year and Angus started exhibiting signs of difficulty walking with his back legs. Kind of a limping type gait that worsened quickly over time.
Our vet thought he had some issues with his back legs, but after we we checked him out again at the specialist Malcolm went to, there were no physical reasons for this.
They ran blood tests and he had a slightly elevated white blood cell count. By now he could barely walk and spent most of the time lying down. He also developed Parkinson's like tremors in his front paws when laying down and a bit of a slow surge in his upper body from say the shoulders up. You could tell he couldn't control this movement and was having hard time getting and staying comfortable when lying still or sleeping. We moved litter boxes and food close by, as well as adding soft stairs for him to come into bed with us as he couldn't jump.
Our vet started treatment of Prednisolone 5 MG twice a day. Immediately Angus started getting better and was able to start walking, then running and jumping and most other symptoms disappeared. Blood tests showed his levels were pretty much back to normal.
So our vet guessed that based on the response, Angus had some sort of Auto Immune Disease, although he was responding to treatment, where his brother didn't. Angus also had no weight loss, but through this ordeal, he looked smaller or like sagging in the hips area. My doctor said to feed him as much as we can and hopefully make that area fill in a bit and get more robust. So that we did. He started looking good and “fat” around that area.
In the meantime, our vet suggested trying to back off to once daily for the Prednisolone, but once we did that, immediately he started showing the lameness in his back legs again, so we went back to twice a day.
Over time, with the suppressed immune system, he would get infection after infection and our vet would treat with various types of antibiotics and it would knock out whatever he had quickly.
So our vet then added in Atopica 25 mg daily. He has some issues with not feeling well/nausea so we back off to 4 times a week for Atopica.
After that, he was pretty much symptom free for around 6 months and we were very happy.
Then this winter, every once in while we would see a twitch, surge or a tremor, but no issues with running or jumping. Then some appetite issues would pop up every once in while. He would have regular blood work done and occasionally he would have issues pop up. I can't list them all, but one was a high Pancreas reading. Our vet changed his food and those levels returned to normal, including a 2nd follow up test.
Now this spring, he would have some more frequent tremors and such, but our vet wasn't too concerned as long as he had no infections, fever (we check him regularly at home), etc. but I've been complaining about a general downward spiral. He also seems to have lost volume in his hips again and an overall trimmer look, but his weight remains the same.
The only thing I'll add to the equation is he has blood in his urine. He's been checked for kidney stones and other issues that could cause this and our vet says it's probably due to his weakened immune system as they have many cats who have this and there is never a cause determined and cats live with it.
So a couple weeks ago, he kind of stopped climbing up high, but I didn't recognize it at the time. Then the last few days, he's been staying put in one spot except to eat and use the litter box and the extreme lameness in his rear legs has returned. We took him in today and the blood work was all good, except for a slightly elevated Glucose level that our vet said could be from stress of coming to the office (he does not like to travel to the vet in a carrier).
As the owner, I feel we have regressed back to square one as I see him daily and know all his routines, etc. and I KNOW MY CAT, but am not a doctor.
One weird thing I noticed and read about online, but might mean nothing was his fur growth. When we started the Pred treatment and suppression of his immune system, I noticed I wouldn't get much hair during his weekly brushings. I read about this online as a possible side effect of Pred. Then lately, I noticed he's been shedding hair like he used to and thought maybe that signified that his immune system wasn't being suppressed like it was, hence the return of the bad symptoms?
Our vet says to watch him for a few days and has reduced Pred dosage to once daily and added in Cerenia (thought maybe nausea where he puked once yesterday was adding to his issues) daily as she says the blood test doesn't really give us anything to go after or point us in any direction. Right now, I feel this might hurt Angus even more and am looking for some opinions and where to go from here.
It's not that I feel our vet doesn't care. I know she does a lot, but as the Cat-Dad, I feel I have to do something or we may lose him!
I am hoping to hear some opinions or suggestions or maybe even something I can tell our vet to try that she hasn't thought of. In the beginning when this started, she tested for every possible cause, including some tests for parasites and other things she thought we may have overlooked, so she has been very thorough. I also know there are peaks and valleys if he has a immune system disease, but this is a huge valley right now.
Thank you,
John
Angus is 5 and Malcolm passed away at age 2 ½ from some sort of Auto Immune Disease.
Malcolm's brief history: He lost a couple lbs very quickly which led to blood tests revealing high white blood cell counts. Our regular vet tried many treatments that didn't help and referred us to a Metropolitan Vet Hospital in Akron, Ohio. They specialize in advanced treatment options for pets with cancer and other heavy duty diseases for lack of a better word.
They did extensive testing and the quick diagnosis (while we waited) was Feline Leukemia. We were devastated, but they sent out for a more thorough test that took 7-10 days to confirm and it came back NEGATIVE for Feline Leukemia. They gave him a blood transfusion which immediately returned him to his normal self, but after a few weeks (as they told us) he started feeling poorly again.
They identified he was producing enough red blood cells, but something was preventing them from getting out into his body. They identified this through a bone marrow test.
He wouldn't respond to any treatment and didn't last very long and had some sort of seizure that he never came back from and we had to let him go. He was one of the nicest, kindest cats we've ever owned and we were all very sad to lose him so suddenly and so young.
In the meantime, his brother Angus showed no signs of anything and was tested twice and both were negative. He was also vaccinated for Feline Leukemia then and all was well.
Fast forward about a year and Angus started exhibiting signs of difficulty walking with his back legs. Kind of a limping type gait that worsened quickly over time.
Our vet thought he had some issues with his back legs, but after we we checked him out again at the specialist Malcolm went to, there were no physical reasons for this.
They ran blood tests and he had a slightly elevated white blood cell count. By now he could barely walk and spent most of the time lying down. He also developed Parkinson's like tremors in his front paws when laying down and a bit of a slow surge in his upper body from say the shoulders up. You could tell he couldn't control this movement and was having hard time getting and staying comfortable when lying still or sleeping. We moved litter boxes and food close by, as well as adding soft stairs for him to come into bed with us as he couldn't jump.
Our vet started treatment of Prednisolone 5 MG twice a day. Immediately Angus started getting better and was able to start walking, then running and jumping and most other symptoms disappeared. Blood tests showed his levels were pretty much back to normal.
So our vet guessed that based on the response, Angus had some sort of Auto Immune Disease, although he was responding to treatment, where his brother didn't. Angus also had no weight loss, but through this ordeal, he looked smaller or like sagging in the hips area. My doctor said to feed him as much as we can and hopefully make that area fill in a bit and get more robust. So that we did. He started looking good and “fat” around that area.
In the meantime, our vet suggested trying to back off to once daily for the Prednisolone, but once we did that, immediately he started showing the lameness in his back legs again, so we went back to twice a day.
Over time, with the suppressed immune system, he would get infection after infection and our vet would treat with various types of antibiotics and it would knock out whatever he had quickly.
So our vet then added in Atopica 25 mg daily. He has some issues with not feeling well/nausea so we back off to 4 times a week for Atopica.
After that, he was pretty much symptom free for around 6 months and we were very happy.
Then this winter, every once in while we would see a twitch, surge or a tremor, but no issues with running or jumping. Then some appetite issues would pop up every once in while. He would have regular blood work done and occasionally he would have issues pop up. I can't list them all, but one was a high Pancreas reading. Our vet changed his food and those levels returned to normal, including a 2nd follow up test.
Now this spring, he would have some more frequent tremors and such, but our vet wasn't too concerned as long as he had no infections, fever (we check him regularly at home), etc. but I've been complaining about a general downward spiral. He also seems to have lost volume in his hips again and an overall trimmer look, but his weight remains the same.
The only thing I'll add to the equation is he has blood in his urine. He's been checked for kidney stones and other issues that could cause this and our vet says it's probably due to his weakened immune system as they have many cats who have this and there is never a cause determined and cats live with it.
So a couple weeks ago, he kind of stopped climbing up high, but I didn't recognize it at the time. Then the last few days, he's been staying put in one spot except to eat and use the litter box and the extreme lameness in his rear legs has returned. We took him in today and the blood work was all good, except for a slightly elevated Glucose level that our vet said could be from stress of coming to the office (he does not like to travel to the vet in a carrier).
As the owner, I feel we have regressed back to square one as I see him daily and know all his routines, etc. and I KNOW MY CAT, but am not a doctor.
One weird thing I noticed and read about online, but might mean nothing was his fur growth. When we started the Pred treatment and suppression of his immune system, I noticed I wouldn't get much hair during his weekly brushings. I read about this online as a possible side effect of Pred. Then lately, I noticed he's been shedding hair like he used to and thought maybe that signified that his immune system wasn't being suppressed like it was, hence the return of the bad symptoms?
Our vet says to watch him for a few days and has reduced Pred dosage to once daily and added in Cerenia (thought maybe nausea where he puked once yesterday was adding to his issues) daily as she says the blood test doesn't really give us anything to go after or point us in any direction. Right now, I feel this might hurt Angus even more and am looking for some opinions and where to go from here.
It's not that I feel our vet doesn't care. I know she does a lot, but as the Cat-Dad, I feel I have to do something or we may lose him!
I am hoping to hear some opinions or suggestions or maybe even something I can tell our vet to try that she hasn't thought of. In the beginning when this started, she tested for every possible cause, including some tests for parasites and other things she thought we may have overlooked, so she has been very thorough. I also know there are peaks and valleys if he has a immune system disease, but this is a huge valley right now.
Thank you,
John