Cranky kitty guts

[catdoc]

I had my 14 yr old kitty Luna at the vet today. Over the past week, her appetite has diminished to the point she did not eat last night. She had an extremely smelly bowel movement last night semi-formed and light brown, almost beige in colour (sorry for the graphic description, I hope you haven' just eaten!) This morning around 7:00 am, she vomited three times in a row, each time it appeared to be undigested food. Can't imagine how she could have vomited so much considering how little she has eaten in the last day and a half. During the night and most of the early morning she was curled up on my pillow and seemed very disinclined to move except when she got up to vomit (nice of her not to do it on my pillow!) Vet did a physical exam, temp normal, heart rate and breathing normal (well slightly elevated due to anxiety) A stool sample revealed a bacterial infection. Blood work confirmed liver and kidney function very good considering her age and a slight elevation of white blood cells. Vet's conclusion is a gastric bacterial infection due to presence of bacteria in the stool sample. She prescribed Flagyl 5ml per day for 4 days, then .7 ml for 3 days. She also prescribed Gastrozol 1/2 of a 20 ml tablet for 10 days. She is normally affectionate and continues to be so even though she is not feeling well. She is not hiding as kitties tend to do when they are not well. I have not given her any of the prescribed meds as yet. About a year ago, Luna ate some of my cactus which started an issue with her pancreas. I fixed that problem with a dose of Nux V 30C. Should I consider this an acute situation and concentrate my rubric gathering on her intestinal symptoms specifically?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Over the past week, her appetite has diminished to the point she did not eat last night.

Nope. I personally would not consider this to be a true acute.

A\It sounds more like an acute flare-up of Luna's chronic energetic imbalance or dis-ease.

 

[catdoc]

I tend to agree with you Dr J. Even without any meds or remedies, Luna seems to be getting a bit better. She is eating again (very small amounts) and she is more animated and taking an interest in her surroundings again. She never was a highly active kitty, so being super laid back is her norm. Stool is still loose but not as smelly as before. I did a rep on her symptoms and must confess, I have the devil's own time translating symptoms into workable rubrics and I don't think I am alone in this quandary. Nux-v is the closest to her current symptoms, which is what I gave her a year ago when she had the pancreatitis issue. I am debating whether I should give her this again, or because she seems to be improving, just leave well enough alone.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Yes, I'd leave her be as long as BEAM continues to improve.

 

[catdoc]

Hi again Dr. J. Well, I gave Luna one dose of Nux-v last Friday and she is back on track in terms of appetite and normal looking kitty stool (horrid odour gone from the stool as well, thank goodness!) She is her sweet cuddly self and for an old girl, she gets around just fine. When everything scientific doesn't make sense, I turn to my inner healer and ask what is needed. It usually is the right solution.

 

[Dr. Christina]

Excellent choice for Luna. Good for you to trust your inner healer!

Dr. Christina