Whipworms, Juvenile Roundworms, what is this?

[Moggieslegacy]

Rafiki thanks for reminding me to try the baby food... It has been suggested to me before and I have been so focused on getting a selection of things I have had some success getting him to eat, plus all the other stuff that has me totally distracted, I forgot to try this.

Last night I made some wet cat food soup in the blender and tried this thinking maybe it was the finely ground dry food in water he did not like. I managed to dribble a bit in his mouth a couple times then he looked me square in the face opened his mouth showing his teeth and made the noise cats make in a cat fight warning the other cat. He has never threatened me before and is usually very gentle even if he doesn't like what I am doing. But I felt I was going to get seriously bit so I put him down. A few minutes later he curled up in my lap sweet as pie and fell asleep.

We got up at 5 am. He went to his bowl so I got some cooked chicken and he went a bit nuts. It was like someone woke up the part of his brain letting him know he was seriously starving and he excitedly snuffled around with his runny nose looking for pieces of chicken he seemed to have a hard time finding even though I kept holding them in front of his nose. He ravenously ate about 3/4 of a chicken thigh before the veil on his appetite suddenly descended and he would eat no more. And there is something really strange going on with him when he eats. He holds his head up and tilts it to the side and makes exaggerated chewing motions (a bit of this can be seen in the video I linked to) and his mouth makes a low pitched vibrating grinding noise I never used to hear him or any normal cat making when it eats. Sort of a kitten version of a human grinding their teeth crossed with purring originating in the mouth. I wanted to film it but my hands were greasy and I did not want to interrupt hand feeding him. The noise only happens when he is holding his head in that position chewing in an exaggerated way.

I have so many questions I am really looking forward to seeing the vet tomorrow... A friend let me know their emails to me bounced back which has never been a problem before on the email I use. Which is why I did not get the vets email sooner. Wasn't the vets fault. Every day seeing my kitten slowly fade away, I am heart broken but I am also exhausted. It is hard for me to think of anything else, and I really need to. Luckily I work out of my home so I can make sure he is as comfortable as possible. But we need a solution soon.

 

[Rafiki]

Butter and parmesan cheese are also good things to try.

Make sure your vet examines his mouth. At his age, his molars should be pretty much in. A tooth or gum issue or an mouth ulcer could cause him to not want to eat which could in turn affect his liver and cause nausea.

 

[Moggieslegacy]

So I am back from seeing the other vet who works out of the clinic I have been going to, and although it will take a couple days for the results of the blood work to come in it isn’t good news. He said he saw nothing to suggest a GI obstruction, partial or otherwise, and if it had of been this Moggie would have almost certainly been vomiting a bit, and would have died of sepsis weeks ago. The problem seems to be his liver which is so shrunken the vet couldn’t even feel it. As he is skin and bones it should have been easy. His first guess is a congenital hypathic shunt. Or possibly cancer. He didn’t think it was FIP because he said the wet form would cause his belly to be full of water, and he said the dry form would affect his lungs. And his lungs are OK.I tried to say from what I read the wet form could affect either the lungs or cause fluid in the belly and the dry form often presented as neurological problems, but he seemed sure it would affect the lungs and there didn’t seem to be a lot of point in being obnoxious trying to debate this. Also Moggie’s fever is now down and only slightly elevated. The vet also didn’t think the blood work could give a meaningful diagnosis of FIP. Moggie’s blood pressure is so low they couldn’t get much blood, so they are prioritizing what they want to know in case there isn’t enough blood to test for everything it may be helpful to know.

Depending on what the blood work shows he may recommend an ultrasound of Moggie’s liver.

In the meantime I got a proper feeding syringe to force feed him and some prescription cat food and lactulous. If it is a hepatic shunt there is a chance it can be managed by diet, but at this point Moggie is so run down the vet seemed to have his doubts about whether that would be possible. Everyone just seemed really sad... And I am not sure about whether it is right to put him through being force fed on the small chance he may get better. But I will at least until the blood work comes back.

The vet said the condition makes him feel tired and nauseous but he isn’t in pain. So that is good to know. They force fed him while he was there and saw his weird grinding thing he does with his mouth. Didn’t see anything in there to cause this and thought it is probably his discomfort because of nausea. They got a lot into him though and he did not vomit it back up. So he at least has a full tummy...

I am really sad but have been for the past month and I am also exhausted. At this point it is good to at least be getting tests and a tentative diagnosis that makes sense with what I have been seeing. The GI obstruction theory really wasn’t.

I really let myself fall in love with this kitten...

 

[Rafiki]

Well, FIP is basically a death sentence so be glad that the vet feels that it is not an appropriate diagnosis!

Liver issues are very challenging. Trying to determine if it is the cause or the effect of something else is very difficult. But, we do have several folks on this forum (me included!) that are dealing with cats with liver issues. Rafiki is now 4 years old and when she was diagnosed with fibrosis at 2 years old she was given 1-1/2 to 3 years to live. Many liver issues are manageable but it takes a lot of trial and error to get the pieces to come together. Don't give up hope, especially if your little guy is up to the fight.

The primary thing is to deal with the acute stage that he is in now. His liver values are all messed up and that causes nausea and creates the spiral. You need to get him to eat on a regular basis. If he eats, the nausea will lessen. He likes to eat from your fingers and that is a fantastic start. Yes, it may take 3 feedings that last a half hour each to get him to eat his 2-3 oz for breakfast but if he thinks that eating from your fingers is a special treat, that is a huge bonus. I have that relationship with Rafiki and while it is time consuming and agonizing, I know that I can get her to eat if I am persistent enough. Don't give up on him!

 

[Moggieslegacy]

Thanks for the encouragement Rafiki

I have been hand feeding him or trying to many times a day. But what he will eat on his own is nowhere near enough. But feeding him with the proper feeding syringe today was a lot easier and I didn’t even have to wrap him. Maybe he got the idea this was meant to help him at the vets. It would have been horrible to have to fight with him and risk getting bitten hard every time I want to get food into him, which will need to be many times a day. The lactulose may help him not to feel so sick after he is fed, which could make him more willing to eat. Especially as his chance of recovery may not be good, torturing him would just break my heart.

I am concerned when the vets I am relying on seem to be mixed up about what seems like basic information, like the difference between wet and dry FIP. Maybe I just misunderstood what he was saying about the fluid always being a symptom. Knowing what is wrong is important and I would like to trust my vets are informed enough to make accurate diagnosis. If my kitten can’t be helped, I would rather his time be as pleasant as possible. But if he maybe can be helped I will push him to fight even if he doesn’t like that.

(ETA As this has moved way off the title of this thread it seemed best to start a new one) http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/liver-issues-force-feeding-teeth-grinding.6942/#post-123145