- Joined
- Nov 12, 2021
- Messages
- 5
- Your pet's name - Blazer
- Approximate age - 8 years
- Sex - Male
- Neutering status - Neutered
- Breed - Taby
- Approximate weight 9.8 lbs
- What's their BEAM (behavior, energy, appetite, mood) - Not great lately, definitely not himself, not eating, not as happy and playful as usual
- Diet - Weruva canned food
- Vaccination history / exposure to toxins, other medication - Some vaccinations - rabies and some others when he was younger, have passed on vaccines other than rabies lately since he is mostly an indoor cat (he goes out in screened in porch and once in a while I walk him on a harness in our fenced in yard). I have definitely tried to minimize toxins for them as this is how we live our lives (no pesticides in yards, no toxic cleaning products, air purifiers etc)
- Primary problem, when it began and if there was anything else happening around that time - Have noticed that Blazer wasn't eating well for a while. He used to have a great appetite and looked forward to meals. For about the past 6 - 8 weeks, his appetite has definitely been off. I took him and my other cat (Sailor, 8 year old female) to the vet for check ups about 5 - 6 weeks ago, told the vet that both cats were not eating as well as they used to. We did labs, blood and urine, vet called and said all labs looked great. Since that appt, both cats are still not eating well but Blazer has lost weight (almost a pound, he was 10.5 and is now 9.8). I kept wondering what it could be if his labs looked great. Thought maybe he was bored with his same food. So I switched. Would mostly lick the gravy. Then, started noticing that he was retreating a lot and going off on his own, which I realize for a cat that usually loves to be around people is a problem and possible sign that they do not feel well. I then brought stool samples for both cats to the vet and found out they have some Round worm. When I spoke with the vet about this he told me that this is probably not the issue as to why Blazer is not eating and losing weight. He thought there is more likely something more serious going on. When we looked at his labs from his check up, his Creatinine was slightly elevated (his was 2.6, top of the normal range is 2.4). So we were concerned about kidneys (I was very unhappy that vet did not tell me this earlier). Brought Blazer back in to repeat blood work and upon examination they found that he has a heart murmur now. He did not have a heart murmur 5 weeks ago! We repeated blood tests and just got those results today. Vet says from the labs his kidneys appear to be fine, Creatinine is now 2.2). We are now seeing cardiologist for a heart scan this week and an ultrasound to check his intestines. Another possibility is a behavior issue between Blazer and Sailor. They are from separate litters and have been together in our home for 8 years, but there does appear to be territorial issues between the two of them, mostly initiated by Sailor. So it's possible that Blazer is super stressed out from this situation. We are working on and hopefully ruling out physical issues this week and then will need to work on this possible behavioral issue. One concern right now is Blazer's heart murmur...how could he have developed a heart murmur in the last 5 - 6 weeks. Since he hasn't been eating I assume he got depleted. Can the heart murmur get reversed if we re-mineralize him and get the right nutrients back into his system? Also, if this is a behavioral issue, how likely is it to resolve this issue without having to give up one of the cats?
- Is the condition better or worse from exercise, heat, cold, time of day, certain foods, emotional upset, being touched, excitement, etc? It's been progressively worse for past 6 - 8 weeks
Last edited: