Cat Forum banner

help with bloodwork

1K views 12 replies 4 participants last post by  spirite 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
help with bloodwork, troubling behavior

Hello, I would really appreciate if I could get opinions on my cats blood work. I'm very nervous that time is a big issue with figuring out what is wrong with my cat, and the vets seem much less urgent about it. 2 months ago Mikey was lethargic, stopped eating as much, wanted to be alone, stopped going out as much, etc. so we took him in got blood work, his ggt was high and that was the alarming info on the blood work so we kept him overnight on fluids for 2 days then got a recheck and it went back to normal. Over the past 2 month hes been acting the same, eating a little more but obviously not normal, so more blood work today, he has lost weight from 11.49 lbs to 10.1 lbs. his ggt is higher and now his glu is double the norm. This time his liver wasn't an issue according to the vet, I don't understand why, but he may have diabetes suddenly, which makes sense with his super high glu level, but I have the feeling his glu is not the primary issue, and instead is a secondary issue. Problem is I'm limited in my understanding on how these different levels in his blood work correlate and what they could mean. Please please, if someone could help read these, I can figure out fast what more tests need to be done, and how to make him healthy again. Not asking for a diagnosis, but opinions on what you think is going on/what it could be leaning towards so I know what to bring up when he goes in for a recheck next week.

I've posted three tests, the left is his first test on the 28th of Sept., the middle is after the 2 days of fluids, the right is from today.
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#2 ·
Hi jayfry, I've found this site extremely helpful when trying to figure out what low or high bloodwork values mean: Normal Dog and Cat Blood And Urine Chemistry Test Results

If you click on the value, you'll get a list of possible causes for low and high readings.

I know that GGT and ALKP relate to liver function. If the lab results on the right are the most recent ones, I don't see how the vet can rule out liver issues, since both values are still off. ?

How old is Mikey?
 
#4 ·
I'm so sorry you're going through this with Mikey. I'm not great at reading blood work values either--but the fact that Mikey is still lethargic, has elevated GGT levels AND is losing weight is alarming. And if your vet doesn't think it is then it may be time to get a second opinion from a different vet with your bloodwork in hand. In my experience, a second opinion from a good vet has answered a lot of questions regarding my pets health. My previous dog, Max, had been misdiagnosed by our vet for months. We took him to the emergency vet and the vet knew immediately that he had cancer--from looking at the same x-rays and test results that our regular vet had looked at for months. Ever since that experience, I now trust my gut and get a second opinion if I don't feel like my questions and concerns are being addressed.

Mikey is still a young guy at 8 years old. I hope you can figure out what's going on so he can start feeling better soon!
 
#5 ·
I cant help you with your numbers because im guessing youre american and in the uk we use different numbers. However, I use to have liver disease with high ggt and thankfully for you the liver can repair itself...providing its not too far gone. After stopping drinking and e ating right it was b ack to normal. Probably not now since ive non stopped drinking since my cat passed. Still, if your vets weren't too concerned I wouldn't be either but they should run you through it. Also if one number is high it doesnt always mean much as its usually when two are elevated. Again, different systems though
 
#6 ·
unusual troubling behavior, help

Hi all,
I am concerned about my poor kitty, Baby.. About three days ago my kitty started contorting his face and sticking his tongue out as far he can and twisting it, like an extreme gagging. At the time, he stopped eating because of this reaction, he would get nervous and scared every time he ate that this would happen and therefore he stopped eating. I assumed it was either something in his throat or his teeth that were bothering him. I scheduled a dental immediately, to check his teeth in case that was the issue, and check his mouth for anything abnormal. He also got an x-ray of his throat and abdomen. Everything came out good.. nothing was in his throat or abdomen, the vet said his teeth were great, no obstructions, nothing unusual, and we got his blood work done with no abnormalities. The day we brought him home (yesterday) he ate a full meal, though slowly, and started acting as normal as he could considering he was just put under. Then today he started doing the face contortion tongue gagging thing again and he is randomly throwing up little chunks of food covered in saliva, which he was also doing before as well. He is at least eating now, but very hesitantly.
Please help! Any advice on possible tests I can do, or things I can try, I'd appreciate it greatly.
Thanks
P.S. he is 8 years old and 11 pounds, on a mostly raw diet (the past few days I've been offering raw and several cans just to get him to eat) and he has no fever, and the vet gave him cerenia for 4 days, mirtazipine if we need (though I haven't used it, his appetite is normal, he just can't eat normally which is whats stopping him) and we are giving him 2ml twice a day of slippery elm bark syrup.
 
#8 ·
That is what the vet said, that the ggt was higher but something else was low which essentially canceled out a belief that the liver was affected. I hope it can be reversed, he has a blood recheck last week, has lost even more weight, now down to 9 lbs., but his glu was down now, I've greatly stressed to my parents the importance of diet so with a scare of the potential of twice daily insulin shots, they've finally listened and started being stricter on better food and no kibble in the house, hes a picky eater which makes things hard but for now he likes the prescription diabetes food (I've not too keen on prescription diets but for now until he gets his weight up and I find a more appropriate food for him, I'm just happy hes eating). He has a dental scheduled for Monday to get rid of any pain in his mouth to increase his eating, hes getting mirtazipine every 4ish days depending on how hes eating, and hopefully by the time he has his next recheck things will have calmed down with him.
 
#9 ·
Oh, I see. The ALKP was low, not high. That explains why the vet ruled out the liver.

I'm glad to hear that he's eating! Don't tell me the diabetes food is kibble...? It's so crazy that cat food manufacturers would make a prescription diabetic food in a kibble...but if he's eating it, that's the important thing for now.

If the issue is pain in his mouth or teeth, hopefully the dental will take care of the issue, and then you can get him onto a different wet food. Wet food would be easier on his teeth too, if he still has sensitivity after the dental.
 
#10 · (Edited by Moderator)
When I first got my cat she could only eat biscuits. Had no clue how to eat meat. Normal human food (Chicken, steak, lamb etc) she would just lick, try to chew, spit it out and lick..But picking up and chewing biscuits was fine. Kinda strange, I guess all the years before me she had never had meat so didn't know how. For normal cat wet food she would just lick at it until she pushed it all off the plate, without actually having any.

What I did was get a hand whisk thing, a cermramic pot (Plastic isn't good since over time it can give off toxins, get scratched and hold bacteria etc)...something like a tea/coffee jar, and put two packets of wet food. Then I'd give it a good whisk until it was almost liquid (for some reason, if she ever came across jelly in it she'd get put off and walk away). I also added 3-4 teaspoons of water in it (I wouldn't recommend you to right off the bat, start normally and if you so desire add a little bit over time so she gets use to it) which made it far easier to whisk and gave her more moisture.

That would last the whole day then, and I'd feed her a heaped teaspoon every couple hours. She could just lick it down. She did like it warmed up in the microwave for 7 seconds. It's got to be exact to the amount you do though as a second too long can turn it into a nasty runny substance and a little too less doesn't warm it up - since i kept it in the fridge it's a good idea to warm it up because I believe giving them cold food like that can give them a little tummy upset (not sure how true that is but that's what the vet said and I just did it as it was only 7 seconds longer to do)

You could try that, it would be easier to digest. Just make sure it's whisked up to a smooth consistency.
 
#11 ·
Oh, I noticed you're giving Mirtazapine as well. It's not a whole tablet is it? 1 15MG tablet should be broken into 4 and given every 2-3 days as needed. Personally, I hated giving my cat that as the side effects weren't great (fast breathing and very vocal which in itself isn't a problem, just made me question why) all the vets assured it's safe (so long as it's not too much as cats can overdose on this)

Also, being prescribed this myself after my cat passed, it makes me foggy and gives me a headache if I take it before going to bed.
 
#12 ·
No he has no access to kibble any more, only wet food, if he would cooperate with raw I would feed him that like all my other cats, but him growing up with my parent's he was not fed the best food and refuses to touch anything even with a tiny amount of raw in it, but now hes pretty consistently eating his canned prescription food, so I'm going to leave him on that for now. With the mirtazipine, no no not a whole pill, I don't even do 1/4th, with every cat I've ever given that amount to, they go kind of crazy and look confused, so I do 1/8th of a pill every other day, or less often if I can. For now he seems to be eating enough at least to keep his weight the same, I'm hoping the dental with push him into weight gain, we'll see.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top