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Ra's not been eating very much since we skipped his PM meds on the fourth of July, has been alternatively clingy and lethargic, and has been drinking a ton of water. We also suspect he peed a big one on the kitchen floor on Tuesday afternoon, though I didn't witness it so I don't know 100 percent if it was him. When J came home on Tuesday, he examined Ra for signs of jaundice and to see how hydrated he was--scruff test determined Ra was a more than a bit dehydrated. Our first thoughts were that his kidneys were acting up, so I talked to both VCA and Dr. L. and it was decided on Tuesday night to bring him in Wednesday morning for a blood chem panel and a urinalysis to make sure his kidneys were working alright/no urinary tract infection.
Ra got a thorough looksee, the blood panel, and the urinalysis. It was decided that, for the sake of perhaps giving more comfort to his guts and also in the hopes of getting him more comfortable to eat more food, to put him on an antibiotic called Metronidazole for 7-10 days. Also, Dr. L confirmed Ra was, indeed dehydrated, so 50ml of sub-qs for the duration of the antibiotic. We also switched out Ra's food again. This time it's Royal Canin hypoallergenic select protein adult PR.
The test results? His kidney values are the same as they were at the beginning of June when he had his last chem panel. His liver values, however are up--ALT is 300 when high normal is around 150. This Is Bad. :( There are a number of reasons his liver could be acting up--the still out of control conditions from the chronic pancreatitis and IBD, the beginnings of fatty liver disease from not eating enough lately, the development of some sort of chronic liver condition due to old age...hard to say, really. The thing is to get things in the liver department back under control. Dr. L says the antibiotic he prescribed is also good for liver function, so no added antibiotic for possible liver infection. He wants to also add a liver supplement that will help to strengthen liver function, but needs to run that past Dr. M at VCA first before we go that route. He was going to email Dr. M last night after our call and get back to me as soon as he hears more from Dr. M on how to proceed.
At least Ra seems to like the Royal Canin food much better than the Hill's Z/D that he was on before. Allegedly the Hill's is a money back guarantee food, though Dr. B won't take back and open bag of the stuff (I really should've pointed out to him that he did prescribe the wrong food, so he should be refunding us regardless, but...yeah...). That being said, Dr. B did say he would give us a deal on services the next time we bring in one of the other two kids for shots or whatnot, so there's that. I know VCA will take back the Z/D, so when I go out there for more Metoclopramide today or tomorrow, I'll bring it back out there and see if they'll actually give me a refund, LOL.
Sigh. If it ain't one thing, it's another with this poor old man of a cat. :/
Ra got a thorough looksee, the blood panel, and the urinalysis. It was decided that, for the sake of perhaps giving more comfort to his guts and also in the hopes of getting him more comfortable to eat more food, to put him on an antibiotic called Metronidazole for 7-10 days. Also, Dr. L confirmed Ra was, indeed dehydrated, so 50ml of sub-qs for the duration of the antibiotic. We also switched out Ra's food again. This time it's Royal Canin hypoallergenic select protein adult PR.
The test results? His kidney values are the same as they were at the beginning of June when he had his last chem panel. His liver values, however are up--ALT is 300 when high normal is around 150. This Is Bad. :( There are a number of reasons his liver could be acting up--the still out of control conditions from the chronic pancreatitis and IBD, the beginnings of fatty liver disease from not eating enough lately, the development of some sort of chronic liver condition due to old age...hard to say, really. The thing is to get things in the liver department back under control. Dr. L says the antibiotic he prescribed is also good for liver function, so no added antibiotic for possible liver infection. He wants to also add a liver supplement that will help to strengthen liver function, but needs to run that past Dr. M at VCA first before we go that route. He was going to email Dr. M last night after our call and get back to me as soon as he hears more from Dr. M on how to proceed.
At least Ra seems to like the Royal Canin food much better than the Hill's Z/D that he was on before. Allegedly the Hill's is a money back guarantee food, though Dr. B won't take back and open bag of the stuff (I really should've pointed out to him that he did prescribe the wrong food, so he should be refunding us regardless, but...yeah...). That being said, Dr. B did say he would give us a deal on services the next time we bring in one of the other two kids for shots or whatnot, so there's that. I know VCA will take back the Z/D, so when I go out there for more Metoclopramide today or tomorrow, I'll bring it back out there and see if they'll actually give me a refund, LOL.
Sigh. If it ain't one thing, it's another with this poor old man of a cat. :/
