very sick kitty - not so sick after all, yay! :)
I have to take my little ginger feline furbaby Pumpkin for an endoscopy this afternoon :( He's 3 years old, and he has always thrown up a lot, but it's become really bad in recent months and he's lost a lot of weight. The vet thought he felt masses in Pumpkin's guts, but thankfully they didn't show up on an echo last week. The echo did show irregularities in his stomach lining, but that's more likely to be chronic gastritis (which is consistent with his symptoms) than cancer - so fingers crossed and hope the endoscopy will tell us more so this can be sorted out once and for all.
Anyway, the vet tells me the procedure is perfectly safe, I'm still quite worried though - it does have to happen under general anesthetic after all... anyone here have experience with either the procedure or Pumpkin's symptoms? It's just vomiting, he doesn't have diarrhea, and until he started losing weight seemed otherwise fine.
Endoscopy did not look good :( In addition to gastritis - and far more worryingly - there's an obstruction that the vet couldn't identify or biopsy in his intestine. It's definitely tissue, not a foreign object, and it's dangerously close to his gallbladder and pancreas. Surgery on Monday, but they may not be able to remove whatever it is because of its location.
I'm terrified for him :(
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs432.snc3/24904_416706466479_690866479_5695806_1219191_n.jpg
*snugs and gentle headbumps* Feel better Pumpkin! He's adorable BTW!
Thanks irreverent :)
Pumpkin had the operation today, and though he's recovering well, unfortunately they couldn't remove the lump in his intestines, it's too close to his pancreas :( We have to wait for lab results, but it looks as though the lump is mostly an infection, so they should be able to shrink it with medication. However, the lymph node next to it is cancerous - again, awaiting lab results, but the pathologist was pretty certain.
He's getting prednisone, and chemo might also extend his life without making him sicker. The medication against his gastritis symptoms is working really well, he barely throws up anymore and is eating enthusiastically.
It looks like I might only have my little Pumpkin with me for a few more months, but as long as he continues to seem happy and contented and not in pain, I will try any treatment of which the effects are not worse than his symptoms to keep him that way for as long as possible. I also foresee a lot of chicken in his future, since that makes him ecstatically happy :)
Heh...they do loves the chicken!
(hugs!)
That sounds so stressful to you both... Pumpkin is lucky to have someone who loves him so much, to take care of him so well. Obligate carnivores who have to have endoscopy and surgery and possibly chemo... DEFINITELY get chicken. Scratch his chin from his VW friends, and tell him we're thinking of him!
Yikes! Pumpkin is so lucky to have such a caring Mommy. Good luck to both of you.
oh man I just saw this now, Nephtys, so sorry you're going through this tough time! Pumpkin is adorable, and I'm sure he appreciates having such a wonderfully caring human to share his time with... I'll be thinking of you both....
Oh, thank you all so much for your kind messages!!
Pumpkin is actually doing really well right now: the medication for his gastritis is working really well, so he's eating like crazy and keeping it all down, and you'd never believe he'd just had major surgery with the way he's jumping around right now.
I should be getting some test results today, and more later this week or early next week, and then we'll know exactly what we're dealing with and how we can make Pumpkin's life as good and as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
I'm very sad that I may lose him so soon, but also happy to see him doing better right now than he has in months. He's scoffing down all his foster-brother's food, as well as his own :) - Pingu needs to lose a little weight anyway, I was pondering the logistics of caring for one cat who needs to gain weight, and one who needs to lose it, but it seems the problem is taking care of itself :)
Yay Yay YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!!!
The surgeon and pathologist misdiagnosed Pumpkin, the biopsy showed he doesn't have cancer!
He has an odd combination of infections and gastric problems that they haven't seen before, but he's responding really well to medication, he's visibly gaining weight :-)
Here he is in post-op recovery:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs214.snc4/39025_450159691479_690866479_6570932_4683730_n.jpg
He's back to wanting to have his belly rubbed, he stopped asking for it a few weeks before the operation, he must have been in pain from the infection in his intestines - He's growing belly stubble now which feels funny when you pet it :-)
Thank you again for your kind words everyone :)
Nephtys80, I just read through this post & I am so happy that the doctors were wrong!! You must be so happy. Give Pumpkin a belly rub from me.
I just wanted to let you know that I have a kitty who always vomited a lot & it got really bad last year. He dropped a lot of weight & could not keep anything down. The vet's diagnosis was IBS which covers gastritis. The vet put him on Science Diet ID & Pepcid. This helped him, but I don't like SD & permanent medication. Long story short - he now eats Wysong raw food & he is thriving. No medication & he rarely vomits anymore - only when he eats random junk off the floor.
Good luck with your kitty. Thanks for taking such good care of him. :)