Thanks so much, Jenny. His stools are firming up again and we're not sure what the problem was/is. Stool sample was negative for parasites. No antibiotic use. His blood count yesterday was stable - not improved but no worse since his last blood work on 9/3. He had his first shot of LTCI on Saturday. Reticulocytes were minimally improved from his blood work on Friday. RBCs just a tad lower but not drastically. I am still syringe feeding him daily and his weight is holding. Now if we can just get a couple more LTCI shots on board and keep him stable until they have time to work. Vet advised against a blood transfusion right now because of the possible side effects and because he seems to be maintaining and is not critically anemic.
Thanks for your detailed response, Jenny. I know the time it takes to respond to others and I am very appreciative of your efforts. I hope Autumn continues to do well and will look forward to additional reports on her. Thanks again, Sally Jewell > -----Original Message----- > From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk- > boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of jbero tds.net > Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 10:07 AM > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] (no subject) > > Sally, > > I hope this gets to you. I don't always get all of the emails from > this > group so I hope you get this one. > > I just wanted to answer your question about diarrhea. Diarrhea > can be > difficult to diagnose a cause. In general, the first thing I would > rule out > are intestinal parasites - a stool sample helps (unless you are > quite > confident this is not likely - than it's just a waste of money). > > Second, bacterial and viral gastroenteritis (inflammation of the GI > tract) > can cause diarrhea - this may be secondary to antibiotic use or > simply due > to a failing immune system. If he's on an antibiotic I would try > giving the > antibiotic with food and using a probiotic like Acidophilus. It is a > bacteria that coats the intestinal lining and blocks bad bacteria > from > causing infection. You can get it at Walgreens - just divide the > recommended human dose by 15 and you should be pretty close > to a cat's > needs. > > Other causes could be a change in food, stress, GI auto > inflammatory > disease, etc. > If this is a relatively new development it is probably either > parasitic, > bacterial/viral, secondary to oral antibiotic use, or stress (physical > or emmotional) > > I would probably just give Acidophilus a try, since it is easy to > use, > doesn't require a prescription and has a low potential for bad side > effects. If I suspected worms, I would bring a stool sample to the > vet and > finally, if nothing else turns up I may request Metronidazole from > the vet > (if they were willing to try it) - it is an antiobiotic that treats > anaerobic bacteria and some protozoan infections that are hard > to pick up on > a stool sample and commonly cause GI upset. > > Hope that helps. > > Jenny > > > On 9/8/09, S. Jewell <ssjew...@bellsouth.net> wrote: > > > > Wow, Jenny, that's a WONDERFUL report and very > encouraging > > to me and many others, I'm sure. > > > > > > > > At your suggestion (and thanks for the e-mail and phone > > messages), I began Lukey's syringe feeding yesterday with > > A/D and Gatorade. He did very well with both. > > > > > > > > I'm on my way out to feed him again this morning and then > > taking him back to the vet to put him on intravenous fluids > > and vitamin C to help with whatever infection may be going > > on, if any. Still not sure about what is causing the fever > > because his blood work was normal last Thursday except for a > > borderline low lymphocyte count and mild anemia (don't > > recall the numbers right now). The fluids seem to help the > > fever a lot, though, so it may in fact be from dehydration. > > We may go ahead and start him on antibiotics as well to be > > on the safe side, and he will be evaluated today as to any > > need for a transfusion, though I don't believe his anemia is > > that severe yet. > > > > > > > > One question: He appears to have some diarrhea, first > > noticed on Saturday. Do you have any thoughts about what > > might be causing the diarrhea or has Autumn experienced > > this? It was before his first LTCI shot, also given on > > Saturday. > > > > > > > > Thanks again for the wonderful and promising news. I have > > been so depressed all weekend and this certainly gives me > > hope for my Lukey. > > > > > > > > Sally > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Felvtalk mailing list > > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > > > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felinele ukemia.o > rg > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felinele ukemia.o > rg _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
