Tag Archives: fipcat

1/30 Saturday – Vet visit

AM feeding #1 10mL with prednisolone dosage.
Took Drogo for fluid drain ~70mL
Prescribed broad spectrum antibiotics Orbax, appetite stimulant Mirtazapine, and Hills Prescription Urgent Care a/d diet canned food. Dr indicated jaundice had progressed.
Drogo was vocal during car rides.
Came home, showed no interest in backyard, sat on chair to sun bathe, drank from big dog bowl.

2nd feeding #2 10 mL @ 3pm, administered with 1ml antibiotic.
Slept on dog bed till 8:30pm feeding 10mL #2, added appetite stimulant .5mL.
10:30p feeding 10mL #2, followed by 1mL prednisolone.
Slow, unsteady at times, hesitated when jumping down. Very tired, lethargic, let him sleep for most of day.

1/29 Friday

Very lethargic and sluggish AM, showed some weakness standing.
Tracked cat teaser, alert to bell sounds.
No appetite for solid foods either dry kibble or Applaws canned.
Sipped at big dog bowl.
Did not seem very strong or alert during first AM feeding.

Came home mid-afternoon to let the crew out. Drogo jumped out of his cage and immediately went outside to explore. Was alert, but had to rest every few minutes. Was vocalizing excitedly, came back to me every once in awhile for reassurance but continued to sniff and explorer. He ventured out as far as the middle of the backyard, then went back inside to have a long drink. Still a little unsteady.

Gave formula #1 10 mL for 3:30p feeding. Rested on bed.
Formula #2 ~8mL @ 5:30p feeding. Kneaded cuddler before settling down.

#1 @ 8pm.
#2 @ midnight. 
Received both dosages of pred am/pm

Energy: Alert for new objects, but low energy AM/PM
Movement: Mobile, requires effort, made passes at scratching post, wandered the kitchen for water
Tracking: Slow tracking, did not engage in play. Tracked cat teaser wand. Almond eyes, pupil dilation/contraction sluggish.
Appetite: Ate some lifesource bits from dry dog kibble, force fed liquid formula #2
Attitude: Passive, lethargic in AM.
Hygiene: Spent 2-3 minutes in the AM grooming himself.
Hydration: Sipped from big bowl, force fed liquid formula #1 & #2.

Man discussed additional treatment options with Dr Cowser, after which we decided to schedule an appointment Saturday AM.

1/28 Thursday

Found more hopeful reading here:
http://www.askthecatdoctor.com/feline-fip.html

Energy: Alert for new objects, but low energy AM/PM
Movement: Mobile, requires effort, made passes at scratching post, slipped out the back door for some backyard grazing, jumped out of cage, wandered the kitchen and living area until settling on bed both AM/PM
Tracking: Slow tracking, did not engage in play. Tracked cat teaser wand. Almond eyes, pupil dilation/contraction, slow response AM/PM.
Appetite: Ate some lifesource bits from dry dog kibble, force fed liquid formula #2
Attitude: Passive, some lethargy.
Hygiene: Fur very unkempt, dry, matted around neck/head area. Observed super-brief self-grooming. Crusty butt*, did #1
Hydration: Sipped from big bowl, took liquid formula

Administered 5mL x2 AM feeding, 8mL x2 PM feeding with formula #2.
Received AM 1mL prednisolone dosage.
AM: jumped out of his cage to hit the dog bed, he was observed to be on top shelf for the majority of the time.
*Exhibited crusty butt (failed cleaning/hygiene, possible diarrhea), but vocally protested baby wipe application, man took care of this.
Directly afterward he then used big litterbox.
Attempted to rinse ruff with water to clean off food spills, fur still matted.
Noticed licking himself around neck afterwards.
Very little vocalization AM/PM.
Continues to exhibit nasal discharge and sounds congested.

Drogo was not disturbed by Hodor coming over to plop down next to him (it’s his bed after all!). Personality seems to indicate he is not stressed or perhaps just oblivious to everything around him.

Formula #1 is quite potent methinks (and very fishy), not to mention that I disliked the vegetable content in the chicken broth. I decided to whip up a new batch of liquid formula (#2) that has more vitamin C to boost Drogo’s viral defense.
3oz raw Pilgrims Pride chicken liver
1 extra large egg yolk
.5oz Simple Truth Organic tomato paste
1 500mg Natures Bounty Vitamin C tablet, crushed to powder (contains vegetable cellulose)
2oz warm water

Blend until liquified.

The question of how much to feed a cat on a liquid diet answered in this article:
https://virtuavet.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/how-to-syringe-feed-a-cat/

The volume a cat can take is 3-6 cc at a time, every 1-2 hours maximum, for a total of about 40-60 cc to fill the stomach at any one sitting.  In a sick cat, it may take 3-6 hours for the food to leave the stomach enough to get a new batch in there!  Good luck!

What a difference zygomatic arch control does for syringe feeding!

Also, based on several reads, warmed food via steam basket and hot water bath, this coupled with the technique in the article led for a successful and quick evening feeding.

I also found a 4-ingredient canned food which looked promising (Applaws Chicken with Pumpkin) but Drogo did not eat.

1/27 Wednesday

Did plenty of research on supplementation for sick and FIP-afflicted cats. The general recommendations are (see references):

Vitamin A (liver, kidney, tuna, fish oil, eggs, butter, milk, NOT beta carotene in veggies)
Vitamin C (sodium ascorbate, ascorbic acid, tomato sauce/juice)
Vitamin E (egg yolks, butter are phytate-free sources, avoid greens and seed/nut oils)
Taurine (organ meat, trace amounts in Blue Wilderness large breed adult dry dog food)
Arginine (present in liver and muscle meat, preferably from free range/pasture raised animals)
Omega Fatty Acids: Omega-3 EPA/DHA/GLA (wild caught fish sources)

http://www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/fip.html
http://www.dr-addie.com/treatment.htm
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+1400&aid=665
http://hpathy.com/veterinary-homeopathy/feline-infectious-peritonitis-fip-case-management-and-suggested-new-rubrics-developed-from-500-cases/
http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/how_to_nutrition
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/natural-cat-diet/

Drogo received 5mL liquid formula AM, 10mL total in PM.
Drank water from large bowl due to contaminated dish.
Within 1 hour, used 2 litterboxes.
1mL prednisolone in AM/PM.

CONCERN: New symptom of nasal discharge, wet breathing discovered in PM. At first I was alarmed that he might be displaying labored breathing due to chest effusion, but nose bubbles confirmed that he might have contracted a cold or respiratory infection.

Energy: Alert for new activity, but low energy both AM and PM
Movement: Mobile, requires effort, but will jump down from cage, walk over to bed or cat tree. Made a pass at scratching post.
Tracking: Slow tracking, not really interested. Have not introduced play.
Appetite: Did not observe him eating any hard food, force fed liquid formula
Attitude: Lethargic, appeared tired or subdued
Hygiene:Fur appears unkempt, he did groom himself in an attempt to clean matted hair on his throat, did #1 and #2
Hydration: Sipped from big bowl, took liquid formula

Internet literature suggests that cats prefer warm food to cold, so have to determine a better storage method.

Also feeding too much of the liquid formula induced vomiting in Conan, may have to rethink this formula to include extra Vitamin c.

This was a disheartening day overall as I am not very optimistic with Drogo’s lack of energy and progress.

1/26 Tuesday

Found some interesting (hopeful) reading regarding a homeopathic approach to treating FIP.

This homeopathic vet posted a science paper on FIP supportive care:
A very good summary of FIP as of 2014:
I crated Drogo last night, but did not observe him eat this morning. He has navigated up and down the crate throughout the night. When I left him out this morning, he was in no mood to engage in play with Conan, who harassed him frequently. But when presented with isolation in the cage, Drogo preferred to huddle at the base of the cat tree and would rather tolerate Conan.
Seems wobbly this morning, but not disoriented.
Upon arrival in evening, Drogo was more alert and vocalizing for attention. He wanted petting and calmed down once he got his 3 minutes of love. He also showed extreme interest in a new cuddle bed placed in the crate, which he kneaded for 5 minutes or more before he settled down to curl up in it. He was quiet and hunched the rest of the evening.
Energy: Alert for new activity, but low energy both AM and PM
Movement: Mobile, requires effort
Tracking: Slow tracking, lost focus
Appetite: Nibbled on dog food in AM/PM, nibbled on salmon PM
Attitude: Lethargic, appeared tired or subdued
Hygiene:Fur appears unkempt, he did groom himself in an attempt to clean matted hair on his throat, did #1 and #2
Hydration: Sipped from big bowl due to contaminated dish, took liquid formula

When offered some canned red salmon, he nibbled.
Added fish oil to dog food which he nibbled.
Found dry hard stool on top level ledge.
Administered 7mL of liquid formula (Conan loved this enough to suck from syringe).
Showed little interest in new toys.
Not interested in playing with others (Conan keeps harassing him to play).

He received both dosages of 1.5mL Prednisolone today. Switching to 1mL starting Wednesday.

Found this recipe online which I adapted for this current batch of liquid formula:

3oz raw chicken livers (Pilgrims Pride)
2oz Swanson chicken broth
1oz Honey Boy canned red salmon
1oz Simple Truth Organic tomato paste

Blend until liquified. Administered via oral syringe. Refrigerate leftover in air-tight non-porous container.