Rafiki

[NikkiA]

Sending you both more good thoughts and prayers.

 

[Rafiki]

Rafiki snuggled with me last night. Hurray! I am still getting stink-eye but I may be forgiven. Her appetite is back full-force as well.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Mysteries like this are so frustrating. I hope a cause is identified so you st least have an answer and a treatment. Just throwing this out there, is there anything they are exposed to on the patio that could be a factor? Bird poop, lizards, rodents, spiders, weed/ lawn products, wood preservative in decking.

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[cbain]

Rafiki snuggled with me last night. Hurray! I am still getting stink-eye but I may be forgiven. Her appetite is back full-force as well.

I am glad to hear Rafiki is recovering , I hope the cause is found soon as I know the stress of a sick cat is terrible .

 

[Patti]

A few stink-eyes amongst snuggles is definitely an improvement

 

[Rafiki]

Mysteries like this are so frustrating. I hope a cause is identified so you st least have an answer and a treatment. Just throwing this out there, is there anything they are exposed to on the patio that could be a factor? Bird poop, lizards, rodents, spiders, weed/ lawn products, wood preservative in decking.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Lizards are the only thing that they have been directly exposed to - or I should say Rafiki as she is much faster than Jammu and always catches the lizards while he is still formulating strategy. She has never eaten one though. We only feed the hummingbirds so they are not exposed to any bird poop. I am phobic about spiders (live, dead, the web.....does not matter) so the hubby ensures that the house and catio are always spider free. We don't use any weed/lawn products. The deck was finished with One Time (about 3 years ago) and the MSDS shows it to be pretty benign with a Health rating of 1. And yes, I have run thru this stuff over and over in the past year but cannot find anything that might cause it. Find the cause, find the cure!

 

[Rafiki]

I forgot to mention rodents.... I did see a squirrel in the catio about a month ago. It was sitting in the wheat grass and eating it. Rafiki did not quite know what to do so she just sat there and stared. When she finally charged, it ran off. I have also seen a couple of rats on the deck after dark. She has not had any direct contact with rodents but rodents have been in the catio.

 

[WitchyWoman]

I forgot to mention rodents.

Leptospirosis is rare in cats I believe but mention it and hanta virus as long shots to your vet. Can't hurt to ask. If rodents are getting into the wheat grass, there's a chance of exposure via urine and feces.

 

[Rafiki]

Lab results are back and negative for infection.

Doctor gave me 3 options to proceed with....none are great.
1. Do surgery to get a bigger piece of liver sample plus a part of the bowel. Highly invasive.
2. Send out the liver sample from last year to another lab to get a second opinion.
3. Treat on a guess. Administer steroids and possibly antibiotics.

I asked about possible causes of the thickening of the bowel (where the small intestine meets the large intestine) and she said IBS, FIP and Lymphoma. I may be fooling myself but I don't think so. Rafiki was extremely sick last May to November and after a shot of Convenia, her liver enzymes were back to normal mid-December. Jammu was fine last year and then in March, his liver enyzmes were elevated. He was given a shot of Convenia and his enzymes improved for 2 consecutive months just to have them spike again. Both cats had a thickening of the intestines on their ultrasounds. When I look at the symptoms, the only symptom Rafiki had was the loss of appetite and later on, lethargy. Jammu has been 100% symptom free.

What to do?!

 

[cbain]

I don't like the 3 choice's ether , I would take the facts to another Vet and get a second opinion , The 3 choices sound like 3 guess's. IMO I really hope somebody finds the problem now and cures Rafiki .