Afraid Zack has it

[judy]

I'd sure take Sally's route first before considering barium scans and all that... We'll all be crossing fingers for you that you can get some results.

I had a cat with a LOT of digestive problems and we (me and vet) just blasted her with about three different medications at once. Sure enough after about three weeks it all stopped. She still can be a bit vomit-prone but at the time she literally leaked diarrhea all the time and it was a nightmare.

Karlin, i would/do feel better, hearing that the situation is not so urgent that Sally's route could not be tried, it's the sense that something has to be done right now that makes me vulnerable to paying out a lot of money on procedures and invasive diagnostic tests.

If your cat was helped by antibiotics, it sounds like the shotgun approach was wise. I've wondered why, and asked but didn't really get an answer as to why the treatment wouldn't be continued more than 7 days, since there were two relapses after 7 days of flagyl. Why not continue for two weeks, for example?

but yesterday i was reading that flagyl toxicity affects the central nervous system and the cerebellum and i cringed. It said animals with CNS issues should not receive flagyl. Zack is on it again now, with the sulfasalazine and Reglan. what a nightmare to my chemical-phobic mind.

[judy]

I was just writing my last reply, then need to rush to work, late late late, and zack stepped on the keyboard and it disappeared. more questions and stuff later, thanks so much! i'm on a roller coaster depending on how zack is acting. he's his most exuberant self today, and poop is looking almost normal. yay.

[Roberta]

Trevor (now almost 4 years old) spent his first 18 months with on and off colitis. Like you, when I started to see blood in the stool I was totally stressed out. We tried a number of different foods (Canidae, Wellness Fish and Sweet Potato, California Natural Chicken and Rice, I/D) all with repeated colitis episodes followed by feeding of boiled chicken and rice, additional prescriptions of Flagyl. repeated stool samples etc. We eventually found that a Duck and Potato diet (nothing else--no treats/chews/extras etc.) worked great for him. He is now on Natural Balance Duck and Potato kibble with a bit of canned Duck and Potato as well. He also gets the kibble for training and treats. And we haven't had any colitis since 2 days after we started it more than 2.5 years ago.

Duck and Potato might be worth a try when you slowly start to put your pup back on a regular diet.

Good luck!

[Cathy T]

Roberta- good to see popping in! I wondered what had happend with you. I was thinking you had had some pretty difficult issues with Trevor. Hopefully your advice will help.

[judy]

i've been so happy today because Zack has acted normal, i'm so relieved. I'm sort of not thinking about how this could change at any time. It just feels so good to see him enjoying himself, and also, relief from the threat of unrelenting money hemorrhage. if only he could go 30 days without vet treatment for this condition, the insurance would kick in.

So nice today to be able to think about other things, happier things.

about how long does it take to thoroughly cook a chicken breast by boiling?
I take it you don't add butter or margarine to the minute rice?

Zack is still on the I/D, less than a quarter can twice a day. He acts very hungry. I give him some I/D kibble too. Roberta, it seems like it was just diet that caused Trevor's colitis? Thanks for your story. It's really helpful to hear peoples' examples here of similar experiences, and the things that seemed to have helped. did Trevor have vomiting too? i will try duck and potatos, natural balance. Karlin said to try unusual meats.

after reading that fecal tests for Giardia and Coccidia can be false negatives if not done on samples taken on 3 or 4 consecutive days, i was wondering what was the point of the $200 test i had done a few days ago? I mean, what have i learned from it? it sounds like it was kind of useless, a lot of money for nothing. i'd rather pay more and have something that has a clear result.

Anyway, i'm glad it's the weekend, i will get some boneless skinless chicken breasts tomorrow. we have a holistic vet appointment at 3pm.

Right now, his system isn't sensitive, i guess meds are keeping it right, no blood in the stool, the stools are pretty normal looking, he has a strong appetite, very hungry. The Reglan makes the food move through his body quickly. Should i still give just small servings under these circumstances? Don't give him the whole chicken breast at once, right? About how many meals would one chicken breast make?

[Nicki]

Oh Judy I'm so sorry to read about Zack. What should have been a joyous time for you has been a complete nightmare.

I was concerned when you mentioned "broker". Did this person breed and raise Zack, or did she just sell him on for someone else? DId you see his Mum and litter mates?

Did they seem healthy? I'm just wondering if they were all ill and being treated for something, and that is why she offered to send you medications. I would be wary of getting medications like that, really it's best if the vet has prescrobed something.

I would be only giving tiny amounts of food, probably about 4 times a day. Literally about 3-4 tsps each meal the first day, then increasing if his tummy stays ok.

The chicken bresat should do quite a few meals, you can keep it in the fridge for a couple of days, and just cut off small amounts. Mix it with some boiling water so it's not too cold for him - just warm.

With mine, if they have bad tummies, I give baked potatoes and live {bio} yogurt in small amounts. I know vets don't like giving dairy products but a tsp at a time would help put the "right" bacteria back.

I presume Zack's been wormed?

[LauraD]

Judy,
My gosh you sure have been throught a lot! And poor little Zack, i really hope he is starting to take a turn for the better. Your story is just so difficult, so much the two of you have already endured.
I am wishing and hoping that everything turns out for the best. I don't have any experience to add, just warm thoughts and positive words to send to you. It's all i have to offer, i hope it helps a little.
Laura

[Roberta]

Hi Judy,

You asked if Trevor had had problems with vomiting. He did have occasional vomiting, but colitis was the big problem. The colitis was solved by switching to the duck and potato food. In addition to digestive problems, Trevor has the Chiari malformation (also called COMS) that causes his brain to be squeezed into too small an area. This has caused other symptoms/behaviors. But I do not believe that his digestive problems were directly related to the Chiari malformation.

Hope that Zack continues to feel better and that everything gets sorted out.

Best, Roberta

[Roberta]

Hi Judy,

You asked if Trevor had had problems with vomiting. He did have occasional vomiting, but colitis was the big problem. The colitis was solved by switching to the duck and potato food. In addition to digestive problems, Trevor has the Chiari malformation (also called COMS) that causes his brain to be squeezed into too small an area. This has caused other symptoms/behaviors. But I do not believe that his digestive problems were directly related to the Chiari malformation.

Hope that Zack continues to feel better and that everything gets sorted out.

Best, Roberta

[judy]

I'm glad Trevor came through the colitis OK and that a simple solution like nutrition did the trick. It sure is good to hear that things like this can go on for a long time and still get better.

my roller coaster ride went down again today. zack got up this morning seeming fine, playful and energetic. I was fixing his canned food and he was jumping around impatiently. Then I got down on the floor with a spoonful of it with one of his pills in it, and he smelled the food and then walked away. He didn't want any food. Loud noises were coming from his abdomin. Gradually he got quieter and quieter, and he was just laying around, and then he vomited, just bile/foam.

The stool is soft but not diarrhea. This is a pattern that's been repeated a few times in the past 2 or 3 weeks.

i took him to a holistic vet today. She said stop giving him the reglan because it can cause diarrhea, keep giving him the flagyl and sulfasalazine til it's gone, and she gave me a prescription of pepcid AC. She also gave me deworming pills. He was dewormed before, but she wanted to make sure the worms hadn't come back. Zack's body is like a pharmacy.

He seemed hungry when we got home. I boiled chicken and made rice and gave him about a quarter to a third cup of rice mixed with maybe about a third to a half cup of chicken. Was that too much? He ate it eagerly. I boiled it for about a half hour. After 15 minutes it was still pink inside. Since eating, he has been really quiet, just laying, and i can tell he is in that condition where i won't be surprised if he vomits. I hope not. It's so nice to see him acting like he feels better and is enjoying life.
I think maybe i gave him too much chicken and rice.

The vet agreed that chicken and rice would be good, but she said i should also mix it with the I/D food he's already on. But i didn't. I just wanted to give him the chicken and rice. I didn't understand why she wanted him to have the I/D, even though i asked. I see the chicken and rice as a kind of fasting. Will he get enough nutrients with just chicken and rice?

The vet said it's also just as good to use boiled ground turkey as an alternative to boiled chicken breast. Does anyone have any thoughts on that?

I didn't realize a chicken breast was so big. I had in mind the size of piece you get when you order a breast for dinner at a restaurant, a portion size. But the breast i got was huge. So i have a lot left. I guess it will keep for 3 or 4 days? I wish i was a stay at home mom so i could feed him small portions all day.

The vet said he looked good overall and he gained weight in the past week, he was 9 pounds. Last time he was weighed on Monday, he was 8 pounds 3 oz.

i'm not that worried about the colitis because he still acts happy in spite of that, but i'm more worried about the apparent nausea and vomiting. I don't know if they're related. Surely it all must be caused by some kind of parasite or something. The vet looked at all his records and said he was definitely tested for Coccidia. She said it was unlikely that he has giardia because of all the Flagyl he's had.

I'm wondering what Bruce would use the Neomycin for. It's for bacteria, right?

The vet said that for now he doesn't need any procedures but she seemed to be saying if it goes on more than another couple of weeks, then something more would have to be done.

i sure hope boiled chicken and rice will help him.