Nagoo's cat

[NagooingForGold]

New thread for updating. I realise I incited a bun-fight on the last one so I am trying to avoid that here.

Took cat back to vet, he has an abcess in his jaw, so still on ABs. The swelling is going down well so the vet hope there will be to need to try and drain it as that would require sedating him (to an extent) and that is a bit tricky with him being so elderly. So we'll wait a week and see how he is.

Regarding the poo dropping, the vet thinks that the metacam would not be particularly helpful since he is getting to his tray ok, it's dropping when he is relaxed. He suggested confining the cat to the kitchen, but the whole of my downstairs is open plan.

He did say that a steroid might help him, but we can't start that until the abscess infection is cleared as it will suppress his immunity.

During the day he has been outside, tonight he is on a blanket on top of the sofa, so at least I will know where to look.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I won't know anything more until next week.

[cozietoesie]

Better news about the mouth, nagoo.

On the poo dropping, I have to say that I disagree with him. It's the effort required in doing a 'high squat' (I don't know any other way to describe it but you know what I mean) once he's actually in his tray and the fact that arthritis in cats often affects particularly the lower back and back leg joints.

He may have learned that pooing hurts (by having to stay in that position) and be trying to hold it in - then relaxes and a bit pushes out because he can't help it. In the interim, of course, it's been sitting in his colon, dried out to bullet like consistency, and - he's then constipated also which makes it even harder. It all compacts into a series of little bullets at odd angles from each other.

Still - he's your vet so the best of luck to him and the family in his treatment.

[NagooingForGold]

Hmmmn.

You are convincing me. I'll have another chat about it at the next appt.

[AmberLeaf]

Ah bless him.

I hope the ABs make him feel better soon.

[lljkk]

Would metacam be harmful in any way? Is there any harm in giving it a try? Is it very expensive?

[cozietoesie]

It can lead to renal problems in some cases. My current old boy is on a bioequivalent (a 'much the same thing') but the vet had already done an extensive blood work up and a urine analysis on him in pretty recent times so was happy, after a general exam, that she knew how he was working inside. Nonetheless, we're keeping a sharp eye on him and in view of its likely extended usage, she'll be doing more bloods in about 4 months.

I would personally regard a blood analysis as a must before metacam prescription so although it's not that expensive it should really be given under vet advice and from the practice. You may pay a little more that way but that's par for the course with animal meds.

Easy-peasy to administer by the way. My old boy is on wet food (hardly any teeth left and I'm not that keen on dry food anyway) so you just mix it in with that. Small volume of medicine so he doesn't notice it. I wouldn't be giving daily meds orally to a very old cat. It would just distress him too much.

[lljkk]

How unpleasant for the cat would blood analysis be? I know how much I hate having blood taken, what if he's already anemic?
How expensive for OP (blood analysis alone)?
What is the success rate for metacam?

I think OP's vet is saying that the metacam has too low prospect of success for the rest to be worth it.

[cozietoesie]

Taking the blood can be just a little problematic but that depends on how the cat behaves and how good their veins are. It's certainly not something you would get done every visit as a matter of course but there are times when you need to. (Urine analysis can be a lot easier if you're prepared to hang around the litter tray, whistling, with a saucer behind your back! )

As to money - well I don't know how much individual vets charge, particularly in the more expensive practices. I've usually paid about £80 for a contracted out analysis (some vets have the technology to do it in-house more cheaply) and a lot less for a urine analysis.

Efficacy? Well, I only know that it's worked well on my pets. Obviously, it's a call on anyone's part given the vet's advice on side effects etc but it's certainly improved my old boy's quality of life a lot (he's scampering around the house and up and down the stairs like a three year old) and he's a pretty old cat indeed.

Maybe I've just been lucky. Over the years, I've had a bunch of elderly animals but also a bunch of vets who were happy to discuss diagnoses and treatment strategies, and didn't at all mind treating older animals for largely age-related complaints. I would certainly never be fazed by having to ask a vet to tell me their reasoning precisely rather than just accepting a generalized 'it wouldn't be that good'.