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About Orangie (our cat)

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Alana:
We have been concerned about the health of our cat recently, so we took her to the vet. She is a fluffy orange cuteness, 14 years old, and recently she started crying for food 3 times a day (she used to eat 2xday), and seemed more outdoorsy. The vet did some blood tests on her, and it appeared that she had kidney infection. We were given antibiotic that she took 2xday and he said that by the time she finished the pack the infection should be gone. There was also a very little hypothyroidism (not enough to make him worry about it) and some liver issues, most likely the results of the infection.

During the time she was given her antibiotic, Orangie continued to ask for food 3xday and being more active than usual and that continued until this week (she was taken to the vet about a month ago). These past few days, there was a change: she stopped eating (didn't eat anything for about 3 days, which is very unlike her! I checked today and I saw that she had a third of her food) and she had several seizures as well (one caused her to fall off the stairs). She has also been less interactive and sleeping more. The seizures are not new, btw, she used to have them few years back, but then they went away for a couple of years now and resurfaced now again.

We called the vet and he said he didn't know what was causing all these, he mentioned her old age, and suggested that we take her to the closest big city (which is about 5 hrs from here and Orangie does not like trips in cars) for a CAT scan. So that was the latest we got from the vet yesterday. Before we do anything, we thought of asking your advice. I was also interested to see if Dr Herr Eisenheim had any homeopathic advice for our Orangie, anything that might help with her seizures, appetite...

Ah, also, the last couple of weeks we started adding fish oils on her food, which she seemed to like at first, but then she stopped eating both the fish oils and her food at the same time. 

And here's Orangie herself

lake_george:
Hello Alana,

What a beautiful Kitty you have!

I certainly am not an expert but I would say, from having had 3 elderly cats and currently one elderly dog, that stop giving the fish oil, since you have only been doing it for 2 weeks and the odd behaviors started after that.  There are some oils that the cat's liver cannot process,  I am not sure if this could be what is going on but it sounds like all was well until that was added so it coudn't hurt to stop.

I would also say keep her inside so that you can monitor what she is eating, drinking, and excreting. 

What I have learned is that as cats age, usually they get chronic renal failure, or else diabetes.  Thyroid problems also happen, and once the thyroid is under control, renal problem become apparent.

Diabetes:   Loses weight, wants to eat a lot, drink a lot, pee a lot, can be controlled with medication and/or insulin shots and diet.

CRF:  not much energy (anemia is a side-effect), and toxins build up in the body because the kidneys stop filtering.  Both of these can be controlled with shots of epigen (for anemia), special food, and aluminum hydroxide.  There are also other was to work with CRF.

Here is a website with A LOT of information about cats.

http://www.felinecrf.org/

There is also a yahoo group you can join from this site, and there are people there who know a LOT about cats -- since many vets really don't know as much about cats as is out there to know.

I hope this is a help.

Best wishes to you and Orangie.

Windmill knight:
Oh I knew that cat - for a while we were friends! I hope she gets better, or if her time has come, that she has a smooth transition. I must say that last time I saw her more than two years ago she already looked old... Give her a hug on my behalf.

lake_george:
A few more thoughts:  The antibiotic could have killed the good bacteria in her intestines, giving her diarrhea.   You can buy probiotics for cats from the vet, or possibly online if your vet does not have it.

ALSO --- she could be dehydrated.  When you grab a fold of her flesh, does it stay stiff?   Your vet can tell if you can't, and your vet can administer subcutaneous fluids to rehydrate her.   You can also buy the fluid, tubes and needles and administer it yourself (I have done this for my dear cat Claude).  The people on the CRF yahoo group can give more hints on how to do this too.  It might be that she is worn down right now from being dehydrated, especially if she has had diarrhea she could be dehydrated.

SeekinTruth:
That's one cute cat, Alana. Hope everything works out for her.

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