Savannah Size

[Brigitte Cowell]

Is he not eating enough to be a healthy weight, do you think? What have you been trying him with?

 

[Becki]

She may end up smaller. My British Shorthair and Maine Coon are substantially larger than the majority of my Savannah girls. My avatar is my girl Firework, on a good day she is maybe 8 lbs. soaking wet and she is two years old.

I love the name Firework! How perfect for one of these high test kitties!

 

[DChap]

Is he not eating enough to be a healthy weight, do you think? What have you been trying him with?

Brigitte, I have tried it all it seems. Its a really long story but I started him out on raw soon after I got him at 14wks and he could not get enough of it and was growing well. At about 10 months he slowly began to eat less and less and then suddenly would not eat raw. I have tried soooo many other things I wont take up space here but I continue to try and reintroduce raw of any type occasionally because that is what he thrived on. He wont touch it. AND he dislikes most everything else as well. Right now he IS eating Tiki Cat- the plain chicken one- maybe 1-2 of the small cans a day. Sometimes not, sometimes more. He has had many tests done. His stool is completely normal shaped (always has been) but very foul smelling. He drinks and pees fine. I give him pepcid and vit B12 everyday. Without the B12 he hardly eats at all. We are likely going to do an ultrasound soon. He is otherwise active and playful but seems very thin to me around the belly area. He weighs around 9 lbs but to me his frame says he should weigh more. He had an incident when he was young of swallowing a toy and having it removed and I am wondering now if there are lingering effects from that.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I guess it is possible... could there be scarring or something from that incident...I don't know.

If his stool is foul-smelling (more than cat poop normally is, ewww!) and you've done the fecal PCR then it's not the normal culprits... have you tried probiotics to help his stool? and Prozyme, the enzymes that help them digest the food too might be worth trying....

If he won't eat raw, have you tried cooked chicken or something on that vein?

If appetite seems to be an issue have you talked to your vet about trying an appetite stimulant like mirtazapine or cyproheptadine?

I think 9lbs might be fine, but if you think his frame seems to say he's underweight then it's worth trying yet more things. I know that it must be frustrating, I've dealt with fussy eaters at times.... and it is exasperating :-(

 

[Sunny]

To the OP, my Isis is my F3C female and she is 8lb at 9mo and will be around 10lb at a year old. At her current rate of growth that is, which is showing signs of slowing down by weight but not slowing down in length of leg, body, and frame.

 

[DChap]

I guess it is possible... could there be scarring or something from that incident...I don't know.

If his stool is foul-smelling (more than cat poop normally is, ewww!) and you've done the fecal PCR then it's not the normal culprits... have you tried probiotics to help his stool? and Prozyme, the enzymes that help them digest the food too might be worth trying....

If he won't eat raw, have you tried cooked chicken or something on that vein?

If appetite seems to be an issue have you talked to your vet about trying an appetite stimulant like mirtazapine or cyproheptadine?

I think 9lbs might be fine, but if you think his frame seems to say he's underweight then it's worth trying yet more things. I know that it must be frustrating, I've dealt with fussy eaters at times.... and it is exasperating :-(

Thank you Brigitte, I have tried cooked chicken, priobiotics, etc. and my vet has suggested we try an appetite stimulant if an ultrasound comes out normal. He does not think its tri-trich so no fecal PCR test done yet.

It is frustrating but since he seems healthy other than the foul poops and general disinterest in food I try to "stay calm and carry on" but am nearing the end of my wits...

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Personally, rather than feel at the end of my tether, I'd do all the testing... but then I likely squander too much on my kitty care. I do things for my peace of mind, not because my vet thinks it is necessary sometimes. For example, my F1 Nina has an older brother Kilimanjara that is suffering from lymphoma...so rather than watch and wait and see if she develops symptoms, I took her to the vet and insisted we do an ultrasound to look at her for any signs of trouble. There was no physical indication that anything was wrong, but I knew I'd watch and worry myself to death. So the cost of the ultrasound (and basic bloodwork) gave me peace of mind.

So I'd do the fecal PCR and I'd do an xray and ultrasound and hope to get a clearer picture of at least what is NOT the problem...

Another option is pancreatic enzymes... I've seen that suggested for kittens that fail to thrive and sometimes they don't make enough to be properly digesting food. I'm not sure if that is what the Prozyme is though...so if you've tried that then it wouldn't be an option.

 

[DChap]

Thank you. I will talk to the vet about the fecal PCR. Hopefully he will be willing. He has done xrays and suggested the ultrasound to rule out any problems before prescribing appetite stimulants. I will look into what pancreatic enzymes are. The Prozyme wasn't helpful at all. My vet doesn't believe Vit B12 is effective but I think it helps Tojo so he is not against me giving it to him.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/digestive/c_ct_exocrine_pancreatic_insufficiency#.UYrwgCt35bt

This describes what might be happening...

http://www.1800petmeds.com/Pancrezyme-prod10345.html seems rather pricey, I've emailed the breeder I remember talking about this in one of her kittens for more info... just in case this might be useful info.

 

[DChap]

Thank you again Brigitte. I will ask the vet about this also.