If you can get in touch with @droakley the yukon vet. She's on TikTok, IG, YT. I've never seen a better diagnostician. I think you need better assessment re soft obstructions ( ie thread or fuzz or...) invisible to usual films, etc. The best choice at this point is an esophageal assessment. Something is almost surely blocking her and she's unable to eat. If she's drinking, that's great. But she's going to need help if she's not keeping anything down.
Thank you! We will look into both of those! She’s had three pancreatitis tests and all are negative, which we were glad about at first, but it just made the mystery even weirder!
I'm going to share all the cat weird stuff. I've experienced, but whatever Q is eating, stop it and switch to a limited ingredient, no grain, canned food. Koha is a great brand. Ripley had tons of digestive issues when I rescued her. The main thing right now is to get herto eat and get nutrition from it while you find the issue. Or just open a can of chicken or boil some and give her plain chicken for now. Or chicken and rice. All of the cat people who've posted have given you some good avenues to explore - get her to eat. But that she's drinking is very good..
Absolutely agreed on this. My cat had similar issues a few years ago when he abruptly developed food allergies - he's fine now, but a limited-ingredient diet with novel protein was absolutely what was needed.
As an emergency measure, you might consider https://www.hillspet.com/cat-food/pd-zd-feline-dry or similar - our vet recommended it as a specifically hypoallergenic food, so he could get some calories into his system. It might not be food allergies, but honestly, a bag of cat food is one of the less-expensive and less-invasive possible solutions.
My boy also suddenly lost his appetite, dropped about two pounds over a few months (which he did NOT have to spare), vomited/had diarrhea a lot, had normal pancreatic/digestive/liver/kidney scans, normal feces/urine. *So* many tests. We also noticed that he had moderate acne on his chin, probably because the food he was allergic to was irritating the skin.
Food allergies seem like kind of a diagnosis of exclusion, in that they take longer to check for than other potential problems, but my cat perked right up when he got food into his system that he could digest. Six years later, no symptoms and no further issues - we just keep him away from duck protein.
I’d do wet food, limited ingredient or chicken now, not dry. Hills and other vet foods work sometimes, but I have very strong opinions about vets automatically trying that first. I’ll give you the rabbit trail on “vet diets” and pet food companies later when Q is past the crisis. Keep breathing, my friend, and listen to your wife when she reminds you to..
Hi there, I’m so sorry Queen Quasar is struggling and am sending all good energy her way and yours. I’m a feline vet and can share a few things but mostly it sounds like you are doing everything right and your vets are going through diagnostics and treatment in an appropriate way. The folks at AMC are genius and I strongly recommend pursuing that medicine or neuro consult.
As far as diagnostics, just to ensure completeness, on labs I would want baseline CBC/Chem/T4/UA/fecal. It sounds like you’ve done that. Agreed glucose is likely stress though having a negative glucose in the urine and possibly a normal fructosamine test would confirm it’s not diabetes. (It doesn’t sound like diabetes, just wanted to address your comment on glucose.)
Next, a GI panel may be pending already but can be very useful. It usually includes vitamin levels like cobalamine and folate along w some pancreatic testing…PLI for endocrine and TLI for exocrine. If TLI is abnormal, that’s where the enzymes mentioned by others here can be most helpful.
For imaging, you’ve likely had an abdominal ultrasound done. Endoscopy and chest xrays can also be informative. Not to be an elitist, but the ultrasound would ideally be done by a specialist. (We general practitioners have three letters: DVM or VMD, even if we focus on one area like feline or emergency. We can do initial ultrasounds but an Internal Medicine or Radiology specialist (~8 letters behind their name) may wish to do their own to rule out trickier things.
I think you’ve done all the above but just want you to be able to check things off the list and know you’re on the right track. At AMC they may want MRI/CT scan as next steps. Sometimes exploratory surgery for biopsies is also suggested. Surgery can be scary to consider and I tend to lean toward less invasive options first but it can also be curative and provide a view we wouldn’t otherwise get.
I’m sorry to hear some of our initial go-to meds aren’t helping. Cerenia, Zofran, Mirataz are all usually more helpful than it sounds like they’ve been for Quasar. I suspect she’s getting fluids and pain meds and anti-anxiety meds as needed. These will buy us time and keep her as comfy as possible while diagnostics continue.
I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful but I hope you can take my lack of much new to share as an indication that you’re doing everything right and have good vets helping you. I will keep pondering and paws crossed for AMC to be speedy and helpful.
One more thought as it’s getting close to my bedtime…I would definitely like to have the TLI value along with ultrasound and endoscopy. AMC and all they offer are also great.
However, at some point, if we need to look at lower cost options…a hypoallergenic diet and steroid trial would not be wrong. (After ruling out partial and complete blockages though as mentioned above.). The trick there is that steroids will confound future diagnostics so if you do want advanced imaging like CT/MRI or surgical biopsies, those need to be done before steroids.
Thank you, Nancy! Her symptoms are loss of appetite, and when she does eat she can’t keep anything down at all (vomiting, diarrhea). She has also started drooling. No anti-nausea medicines seem to be working. Any references would be so very appreciated!
The best recommendation I can offer is Smith Ridge veterinary clinic. They offer integrative medicine and have staff who are great at diagnoses. When I lived in Westchester County we used them frequently for our cat and dog (who had complicated issues.)
We also sometimes went to the holistic veterinary clinic in Ardsley.
I see that there are now some mobile holistic vets and they might be worth a try.
You’ll be looking for a specialist in feline diagnoses. I know Smith Ridge has at least one but it’s been several decades since I lived there and I’m not current with new practitioners.
Sorry I don’t know any integrative vets in Manhattan 😒. I would definitely go that direction because they look at the situation from a different perspective, looking for what’s behind the symptoms.
Will send good energy your way 🙏
Oh. One more thing. I had an intuitive hit that you should see if she’s got any problems with her teeth, FWIW.
Has her diet changed recently? Has her normal food been reformulated? Are there any cat food recalls y'all might need to know about? What plants are in your abode?
I could be way off, but it sounds like she's ingesting something that isn't agreeing with her.
Thank you so much for your reply! Her diet has been the same for almost six years, and my wife has alerts set for all pet food recalls, so we think it’s not that. I will figure out a way to check if those formulas changed! We don’t have a single plant in our house because of our four cats, but that’s a great question too. I really appreciate these ideas!
NOT a specialist but the person-friend of a dog with a very touchy digestive system.
The very best thing for my dog has been a drug called sucralfate. He has it 1-2 hours before he eats and it coats his digestive system in extra protective mucous and prevents his meals from further irritating his intestines.
Giving him sucralfate in a preventative manner when he starts to show signs of stressy food fussiness has averted what always used to escalate into vomiting and diarrhea to the point of pooping blood.
In addition, with every meal I give him digestive enzymes, which I know can also be given to cats. I'll find the exact product and post a link.
Of course, maybe it could help? Both are pretty safe I think. I started the digestive enzymes for my dog because I had a hunch he might have pancreatitis. I still don't know if that's what is or was going on, but his symptoms -- which looked like sporadic every few months bouts of severe vomiting, diarrhea, trouble eating, and attendant dehydration, and didn't have a clear cause, have gotten much much better controlled.
My dog had IBD and he also had sucralfate (mixed with water into a slurry in a plastic syringe) before eating during flares. He also had Visbiome Vet probiotics mixed into his food daily https://visbiomevet.com/pages/pet-owners
Sending all my love, and perhaps a bit of hope. My last cat Owen (my soulmate), at the age of 11 had a sudden loss of appetite & lost 3 pounds, and we were told it was probably a not-great prognosis given he was FIV+ and therefor considered a senior/fragile at that point. We decided to find a vet who was willing to try everything anyway - steroids, prescription wet food, small and frequent (every other hour) meals, cerenia, mirataz, zofran, miralax, fiber supplements, probiotics (and more meds for his FIV, herpes, and eventually kidneys). It took six months of trial and error but eventually we found the right combination. In his case, it was likely IBS turned IBD, which eventually gave way to cancer and some other FIV related complications.
And yet! He ended up living another full and happy three years - way beyond expectations - and even had zoomies up until the week he died. Anyway, my point is we lost hope a bunch of times but kept picking it back up again anyway, and every day he was able to keep food down was a reason to celebrate. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that for you and Quasar it’s a much shorter and straightforward route to an answer, but even still, hope is a form of love, and we are all hoping with you. And if you get tired of holding onto hope for a bit, we’ll carry it for you until you can pick it back up again. <3
My cat Cobweb recently had similar symptoms and we were trying everything. Eventually iv fluids, a lot of Cirena, and an appetite stimulant (not Mirataz, the other one they use) got her eating again and then she diarrheaed out a big piece of painters tape (apologies for the image). She was then much better and that is so soft and light and thin that it didn’t show up on any tests. A colonoscopy would have found it but we didn’t get that far, so maybe that is your best bet. Cobweb has a lot of bathroom issues due to a spinal deformity, so we bathe her everyday and massage her abdomen to help things along. Our vet said that may helped move the tape along. If Quasar allows belly massage, that may help if it’s a similar issue.
Hi Heather, I know you don't have any plants but did anyone send you flowers for Christmas? My cat started puking a bit more, some looser stools. He couldn't get to the flowers but he also got very ill from having lilacs in the home. There were strong smelling lilies and I'm blaming it on that. Just a suggestion. It's so scary when they are sick.
Heather, this is heartbreaking! I’m so sorry you and your wife are going through this. And poor Quasar!
I don’t have anything much to add, especially after reading the extensive comments by the feline vet, but when our kitties have had appetite issues, our vet recommended giving them Hydracare, which is like a liver based liquid nutrition. It comes in packets. Our cats lap it right up. But do be careful as it can cause very loose stools if they consume too much. Best wishes - keep us posted when you find out what’s happening.
If you can get in touch with @droakley the yukon vet. She's on TikTok, IG, YT. I've never seen a better diagnostician. I think you need better assessment re soft obstructions ( ie thread or fuzz or...) invisible to usual films, etc. The best choice at this point is an esophageal assessment. Something is almost surely blocking her and she's unable to eat. If she's drinking, that's great. But she's going to need help if she's not keeping anything down.
Kait, thank you so much! I will look her up right now!
Yeah I was gonna say colonoscopy and upper endoscopy if they haven't been done. Also has pancreatitis been ruled out?
Thank you! We will look into both of those! She’s had three pancreatitis tests and all are negative, which we were glad about at first, but it just made the mystery even weirder!
Agreed on upper GI scope being useful and that I am still suspicious of partial blockage.
I'm going to share all the cat weird stuff. I've experienced, but whatever Q is eating, stop it and switch to a limited ingredient, no grain, canned food. Koha is a great brand. Ripley had tons of digestive issues when I rescued her. The main thing right now is to get herto eat and get nutrition from it while you find the issue. Or just open a can of chicken or boil some and give her plain chicken for now. Or chicken and rice. All of the cat people who've posted have given you some good avenues to explore - get her to eat. But that she's drinking is very good..
My dear friend, thank you. You have seen me through so many pet scares. 🧡
Absolutely agreed on this. My cat had similar issues a few years ago when he abruptly developed food allergies - he's fine now, but a limited-ingredient diet with novel protein was absolutely what was needed.
As an emergency measure, you might consider https://www.hillspet.com/cat-food/pd-zd-feline-dry or similar - our vet recommended it as a specifically hypoallergenic food, so he could get some calories into his system. It might not be food allergies, but honestly, a bag of cat food is one of the less-expensive and less-invasive possible solutions.
My boy also suddenly lost his appetite, dropped about two pounds over a few months (which he did NOT have to spare), vomited/had diarrhea a lot, had normal pancreatic/digestive/liver/kidney scans, normal feces/urine. *So* many tests. We also noticed that he had moderate acne on his chin, probably because the food he was allergic to was irritating the skin.
Food allergies seem like kind of a diagnosis of exclusion, in that they take longer to check for than other potential problems, but my cat perked right up when he got food into his system that he could digest. Six years later, no symptoms and no further issues - we just keep him away from duck protein.
I’d do wet food, limited ingredient or chicken now, not dry. Hills and other vet foods work sometimes, but I have very strong opinions about vets automatically trying that first. I’ll give you the rabbit trail on “vet diets” and pet food companies later when Q is past the crisis. Keep breathing, my friend, and listen to your wife when she reminds you to..
Dearest Heather, mystery cat illnesses are so frightening. I don't have any advice, but sending love to you, Stacy, and of course Miss Quasar!!
Thank you, my friend!
Hi there, I’m so sorry Queen Quasar is struggling and am sending all good energy her way and yours. I’m a feline vet and can share a few things but mostly it sounds like you are doing everything right and your vets are going through diagnostics and treatment in an appropriate way. The folks at AMC are genius and I strongly recommend pursuing that medicine or neuro consult.
As far as diagnostics, just to ensure completeness, on labs I would want baseline CBC/Chem/T4/UA/fecal. It sounds like you’ve done that. Agreed glucose is likely stress though having a negative glucose in the urine and possibly a normal fructosamine test would confirm it’s not diabetes. (It doesn’t sound like diabetes, just wanted to address your comment on glucose.)
Next, a GI panel may be pending already but can be very useful. It usually includes vitamin levels like cobalamine and folate along w some pancreatic testing…PLI for endocrine and TLI for exocrine. If TLI is abnormal, that’s where the enzymes mentioned by others here can be most helpful.
For imaging, you’ve likely had an abdominal ultrasound done. Endoscopy and chest xrays can also be informative. Not to be an elitist, but the ultrasound would ideally be done by a specialist. (We general practitioners have three letters: DVM or VMD, even if we focus on one area like feline or emergency. We can do initial ultrasounds but an Internal Medicine or Radiology specialist (~8 letters behind their name) may wish to do their own to rule out trickier things.
I think you’ve done all the above but just want you to be able to check things off the list and know you’re on the right track. At AMC they may want MRI/CT scan as next steps. Sometimes exploratory surgery for biopsies is also suggested. Surgery can be scary to consider and I tend to lean toward less invasive options first but it can also be curative and provide a view we wouldn’t otherwise get.
I’m sorry to hear some of our initial go-to meds aren’t helping. Cerenia, Zofran, Mirataz are all usually more helpful than it sounds like they’ve been for Quasar. I suspect she’s getting fluids and pain meds and anti-anxiety meds as needed. These will buy us time and keep her as comfy as possible while diagnostics continue.
I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful but I hope you can take my lack of much new to share as an indication that you’re doing everything right and have good vets helping you. I will keep pondering and paws crossed for AMC to be speedy and helpful.
Liz, this is incredible. Thank you so much.
One more thought as it’s getting close to my bedtime…I would definitely like to have the TLI value along with ultrasound and endoscopy. AMC and all they offer are also great.
However, at some point, if we need to look at lower cost options…a hypoallergenic diet and steroid trial would not be wrong. (After ruling out partial and complete blockages though as mentioned above.). The trick there is that steroids will confound future diagnostics so if you do want advanced imaging like CT/MRI or surgical biopsies, those need to be done before steroids.
I cannot thank you enough, Liz!
No worries! Helping cats and their people is my happy place. 💙
Awesome! A vet perspective! YES.
Seconding AMC in Manhattan! I asked my cat friends who recommended it!
Heather I’m so sorry for your feline troubles.
You didn’t describe what the symptoms are (not surprised given the stress you must be feeling) so not sure how to help.
I do have some contacts with integrative veterinarians once I know what’s happening.
Hugs!
Thank you, Nancy! Her symptoms are loss of appetite, and when she does eat she can’t keep anything down at all (vomiting, diarrhea). She has also started drooling. No anti-nausea medicines seem to be working. Any references would be so very appreciated!
The best recommendation I can offer is Smith Ridge veterinary clinic. They offer integrative medicine and have staff who are great at diagnoses. When I lived in Westchester County we used them frequently for our cat and dog (who had complicated issues.)
We also sometimes went to the holistic veterinary clinic in Ardsley.
I see that there are now some mobile holistic vets and they might be worth a try.
You’ll be looking for a specialist in feline diagnoses. I know Smith Ridge has at least one but it’s been several decades since I lived there and I’m not current with new practitioners.
Sorry I don’t know any integrative vets in Manhattan 😒. I would definitely go that direction because they look at the situation from a different perspective, looking for what’s behind the symptoms.
Will send good energy your way 🙏
Oh. One more thing. I had an intuitive hit that you should see if she’s got any problems with her teeth, FWIW.
Nancy, thank you!
These are my questions:
Has her diet changed recently? Has her normal food been reformulated? Are there any cat food recalls y'all might need to know about? What plants are in your abode?
I could be way off, but it sounds like she's ingesting something that isn't agreeing with her.
Thank you so much for your reply! Her diet has been the same for almost six years, and my wife has alerts set for all pet food recalls, so we think it’s not that. I will figure out a way to check if those formulas changed! We don’t have a single plant in our house because of our four cats, but that’s a great question too. I really appreciate these ideas!
Purrs and sboogles to you, the wife, and the furbabies. May you find a quick resolution!
NOT a specialist but the person-friend of a dog with a very touchy digestive system.
The very best thing for my dog has been a drug called sucralfate. He has it 1-2 hours before he eats and it coats his digestive system in extra protective mucous and prevents his meals from further irritating his intestines.
Giving him sucralfate in a preventative manner when he starts to show signs of stressy food fussiness has averted what always used to escalate into vomiting and diarrhea to the point of pooping blood.
In addition, with every meal I give him digestive enzymes, which I know can also be given to cats. I'll find the exact product and post a link.
https://www.chewy.com/naturvet-digestive-enzymes-plus/dp/48757
The digestive enzymes that have helped my doggy and which have many votes of confidence from cat-friends as well!
Oh wow, I’ve never heard of this! Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It’s so helpful!
Of course, maybe it could help? Both are pretty safe I think. I started the digestive enzymes for my dog because I had a hunch he might have pancreatitis. I still don't know if that's what is or was going on, but his symptoms -- which looked like sporadic every few months bouts of severe vomiting, diarrhea, trouble eating, and attendant dehydration, and didn't have a clear cause, have gotten much much better controlled.
Ripley gets this every day - it's in powder packets and she loves the taste. She thinks it's a treat. Win-win. https://www.chewy.com/vetone-advita-probiotic-nutritional/dp/136762
My dog had IBD and he also had sucralfate (mixed with water into a slurry in a plastic syringe) before eating during flares. He also had Visbiome Vet probiotics mixed into his food daily https://visbiomevet.com/pages/pet-owners
Did the vet check her teeth & gums?
Yes! She’s had some tooth issues in the past, so Stacy was really adamant about all of them looking at her mouth!
I also thought that because of the drooling. I hope she's okay soon!
I have no advice, just sending love to you, Stacey, and Quasar ❤️ I hope she feels better soon! Poor kitty 😭
Thank you, Lyra!
Sending so much love to you and Stacy and Quasar 💜
Thank you, Caeden! 🧡
Sending all my love, and perhaps a bit of hope. My last cat Owen (my soulmate), at the age of 11 had a sudden loss of appetite & lost 3 pounds, and we were told it was probably a not-great prognosis given he was FIV+ and therefor considered a senior/fragile at that point. We decided to find a vet who was willing to try everything anyway - steroids, prescription wet food, small and frequent (every other hour) meals, cerenia, mirataz, zofran, miralax, fiber supplements, probiotics (and more meds for his FIV, herpes, and eventually kidneys). It took six months of trial and error but eventually we found the right combination. In his case, it was likely IBS turned IBD, which eventually gave way to cancer and some other FIV related complications.
And yet! He ended up living another full and happy three years - way beyond expectations - and even had zoomies up until the week he died. Anyway, my point is we lost hope a bunch of times but kept picking it back up again anyway, and every day he was able to keep food down was a reason to celebrate. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that for you and Quasar it’s a much shorter and straightforward route to an answer, but even still, hope is a form of love, and we are all hoping with you. And if you get tired of holding onto hope for a bit, we’ll carry it for you until you can pick it back up again. <3
My cat Cobweb recently had similar symptoms and we were trying everything. Eventually iv fluids, a lot of Cirena, and an appetite stimulant (not Mirataz, the other one they use) got her eating again and then she diarrheaed out a big piece of painters tape (apologies for the image). She was then much better and that is so soft and light and thin that it didn’t show up on any tests. A colonoscopy would have found it but we didn’t get that far, so maybe that is your best bet. Cobweb has a lot of bathroom issues due to a spinal deformity, so we bathe her everyday and massage her abdomen to help things along. Our vet said that may helped move the tape along. If Quasar allows belly massage, that may help if it’s a similar issue.
Any updates?
Hi Heather, I know you don't have any plants but did anyone send you flowers for Christmas? My cat started puking a bit more, some looser stools. He couldn't get to the flowers but he also got very ill from having lilacs in the home. There were strong smelling lilies and I'm blaming it on that. Just a suggestion. It's so scary when they are sick.
No advice, just good wishes. It’s so hard when pets are sick. They can’t tell us where it hurts!
Heather, this is heartbreaking! I’m so sorry you and your wife are going through this. And poor Quasar!
I don’t have anything much to add, especially after reading the extensive comments by the feline vet, but when our kitties have had appetite issues, our vet recommended giving them Hydracare, which is like a liver based liquid nutrition. It comes in packets. Our cats lap it right up. But do be careful as it can cause very loose stools if they consume too much. Best wishes - keep us posted when you find out what’s happening.