Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK

Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: Baggy on October 13, 2009, 20:52:44 PM

Title: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Baggy on October 13, 2009, 20:52:44 PM
Poor Dougie, since his dental he's had a couple of episodes of gum problems and has recently had antibiotics and steroids, which seem to improve things but not get rid of it.  He went back to the vet for a check over today, but his gums are still sore and he's lost a little bit of weight.  He doesn't seem really poorly, just not as perky as he has been.

The vet has looked through all of the records and the blood tests he had done when he was first rescued, all were all fine, including negative FiV, but his thyroid levels were at the high end of normal so she wants to investigate a bit more.

He's having a full blood panel tomorrow

The vet described him as "geriatric" :-: He's definitely senior, but I thought that was going a bit far!  :evillaugh:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Bazsmum on October 13, 2009, 20:56:16 PM
Aw bless him!  :Luv2:

Sending positive vibes for his bloods tomorrow~~~~best of luck for the results!  :hug:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Tiggy's Mum on October 13, 2009, 21:00:10 PM
Poor little Doug-let (my own personal nickname for him  :Luv2:) - hope it's nothing too serious and :luck: for the bloodtest tomorrow.  As for him being 'geriatric' - I think she needs to get herself a new dictionary!  :naughty:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Kay and Penny on October 13, 2009, 21:13:05 PM
geriatric is just a technical term for fully ripened :Luv:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Starpixie on October 13, 2009, 21:33:07 PM
Aw I hope he's ok and gets better soon
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Gill (sneakiefeline) on October 13, 2009, 21:43:35 PM
How old is Dougie, I am sure he is not geriatic  :hug: :hug:

Hope all the tests go well and they find out what the problem is  :hug:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Baggy on October 13, 2009, 21:54:26 PM
Best estimate of his age is between 11-13 years, he could be younger but have had a hard life, or older and be well preserved!

Thanks for the good wishes, will report back as soon as we have results...


Oh, and he seems to like being called Doug-let :evillaugh:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: JackSpratt on October 13, 2009, 22:11:21 PM
Hmmm, geriatric. What an impertinent vet, he's obviously distinguished.....hope D. Meowser's back on top form soon.
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: ChrisB on October 13, 2009, 22:36:59 PM
Lots of good wishes for this lovely guy.
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Janeyk on October 13, 2009, 22:37:42 PM
Best of luck for dear Dougie  :hug:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Gill (sneakiefeline) on October 14, 2009, 00:36:09 AM
My goodness , the birmans here would be upset to be called geriatic and they are 16!

Hes just a young gent still I reckon  :hug:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Baggy on October 19, 2009, 13:08:03 PM
Good news in that Dougie's tests have all come back absolutely fine ;D  Bad news is that he's not been eating properly again for the last 48 hours, so his mouth must be sore again :(  One thing the vets have suggested is x-rays to make sure that when his teeth were extracted the roots were removed completely.  We're not keen to do this as it means another sedation but I suppose it's one more thing to eliminate.  Poor chap will be going back to the vet for another steroid jab so I'll talk things through then.

Am relieved about the tests, but worried that his mouth is so sore again already - he's starting to lose weight.
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Bazsmum on October 19, 2009, 13:39:52 PM
Glad his results were fine but what a worry with his mouth...Hope they manage to sort the gorgeous guy out!  :Luv2: :hug:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Gill (sneakiefeline) on October 19, 2009, 16:08:45 PM
could you maybe arrange with them that if the roots are still there they could do this at the same time as the xrays?

lots of love to dougie  :hug:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Tiggy's Mum on October 19, 2009, 19:10:55 PM
Good news about the Doug-let's blood results  ;D Sorry he's not feeling any better mouth-wise though, hope you can get to the bottom of it  :hug:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Janeyk on October 19, 2009, 19:18:17 PM
Glad the results were ok let's hope that they can help his mouth too  :hug:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Baggy on October 19, 2009, 20:28:58 PM
Managed to get him into the vet this evening, his mouth didn't actually look too bad but he's lost 150g over the last week so has had a steroid jab.

We've to see how he gets on, she recommends bringing him back for the x-ray in a few weeks, or sooner if he doesn't perk up.  If there is anything wrong they will sort it out while he is under.  His bloods did show higher than normal urea, but this was high last time as well so they don't seem worried, but will test his urine as well.

He's nibbled on some cheese and some chicken hi-life this evening, hopefully we'll come down to clean plates tomorrow...hope he cheers up a bit too, he does tend to nibble us when he's feeling sorry for himself!
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Janeyk on October 19, 2009, 20:34:05 PM
Hope that the steroid helps  :hug:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: JackSpratt on October 19, 2009, 20:48:34 PM
C'mon Dougie, stop making your hoomans worry. :)
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Desley (booktigger) on October 20, 2009, 07:45:50 AM
Glad his results came back fine - steroids aren't a good thing for mouth issues though, they can make it worse in the long term. Antirobe will help a lot, even when they have no teeth left, and Metacam to help the pain, but he wont be able to have that as they gave him a steroid jab. Is he still on Classic cat food?
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Bazsmum on October 20, 2009, 11:34:07 AM
Hope the steroid gets his appetite back to normal....C'mon Dougie, there's lots of yummy food waiting for you!  :Luv2: :hug:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Baggy on October 20, 2009, 20:59:38 PM
He's eaten a bit more today, but still mothing like normal.  Still, it's the first time for a few days that he's been interested in Dreamies ;D
Desley, he was still eating Classic up until the weekend and then turned his nose up at it so he's been eating anything that he shows an interest since (mostly Gourmet Perle).

I didn't know steroids could make mouth problems worse in the long term, I hate him having steroids anyway.  I'll ask about Antirobe again next time we're there.
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Janeyk on October 20, 2009, 21:13:43 PM
Good to hear he's enjoyed some Dreamies today  ;D Steroids can cause sore gums as far as I know - my dad suffered with a sore mouth when he was on them.  Schui though, always did really well on steroids for his teeth and gum probs (but they were much better when his teeth were removed) so I suppose it depends.  Byron and Pep take Antirobe for infected teeth on and off and it is good.

Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Baggy on October 20, 2009, 21:29:32 PM
Interesting about steroids causing sore gums - you learn something new every day!
He's just come in and eaten another half pouch so maybe he's feeling a little better. 
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Gill (sneakiefeline) on October 20, 2009, 23:20:24 PM
I do hope so Baggy  :hug:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: Bazsmum on October 21, 2009, 03:03:10 AM
 :crossed:
Title: Re: Dougie's under the weather
Post by: JackSpratt on October 21, 2009, 09:24:55 AM
Hope this charming man (hums Morrisey in her head....) is feeling a lot better.  :hug: