MD/DC/NOVA vet recommendations please - gastroenterology/digestive health?

[yssie]

MD/DC/NOVA PS pet parents - does anyone happen to have recommendations for vets who specialize in feline gastric and digestive issues? Or even just vets who you had good experiences dealing with for this flavour of cat ailment? Long shot, I know, but worth asking!

My Jimmy isn’t doing well. Lethargic, over grooming, won’t eat, #2 are hard as rabbit pellets. He’s been at the hospital (emergency transferred him over to internal medicine this morning) for two nights now. X-rays and US showed nothing of note. Bloodwork came back frustratingly normal - except for high globulin, no obvious cause. Physically he’s in poor shape, but possibly mostly the result of refusing nutrition. And his tummy and intestines have too much gas (that the cat equivalent of GasX has apparently helped a bit with but not enough). They’re going to do an exploratory endoscopy tomorrow, and possibly CT as well whilst he’s under... But I’d like to get a second opinion lined up if I can because “exploratory” doesn’t bode well.

It hasn’t even been two months since we lost Garett. I’m not ready for another cat health crisis.

 

[Mlh]

So sorry @yssie . Don't have a vet recommendation in your area. We are also dealing with a sick cat. Hopefully someone here will have a vet to recommend to you.

 

[yssie]

Thank you for thinking of him @Mlh - I hope your kitty gets better soon

 

[Mlh]

Aww, thanks @yssie . Sending good thoughts to Jimmy and you. I hope they figure out what is going on with him tomorrow so they can help him. Fingers crossed.

 

[foxinsox]

Fingers and paws crossed here for the exploratory surgery to find a solvable problem and get your boy eating happily again

 

[mary poppins]

Sorry to hear Jimmy isn't doing well, @yssie.

You might be interested in my veterinarian, Dr. Fiona McClure, who has cared for our cats for more than 15 years. Part of her bio says,

In 1997 she traveled to Cornell University, New York for a 2 year residency in small animal internal medicine and followed this with a 1 year fellowship in feline medicine with the Cornell Feline Health Center. She became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in small animal internal medicine in 2000 (specialist qualification). Fiona practiced her specialty of internal medicine for 5 years at SouthPaws Veterinary Specialists and Referral Center, where she was senior Internist for the last 3 of the 5 years. After the birth of their daughter, Catherine, Fiona began working at Northside Veterinary Clinic with Adam in April 2006.

Fiona has special interest in gastroenterology and endoscopy (diagnostic and foreign body retrieval), liver disease, Cushing's disease and autoimmune problems in cats and dogs.

Northside Veterinary Clinic in Arlington, VA. https://www.northsidevetclinic.com/index.html

I hope Jimmy feels better soon.

 

[kgizo]

Sorry to hear about your kitty. In addition to GI specialists, there are vet nutritionists that do consults. Might be an option and / or can refer a GI specialist for you. If you have an emergency hospital you trust you could also check with them for a referral.

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[Arcadian]

Healing thoughts for your baby @yssie

 

[yssie]

Sorry to hear Jimmy isn't doing well, @yssie.

You might be interested in my veterinarian, Dr. Fiona McClure, who has cared for our cats for more than 15 years. Part of her bio says,

In 1997 she traveled to Cornell University, New York for a 2 year residency in small animal internal medicine and followed this with a 1 year fellowship in feline medicine with the Cornell Feline Health Center. She became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in small animal internal medicine in 2000 (specialist qualification). Fiona practiced her specialty of internal medicine for 5 years at SouthPaws Veterinary Specialists and Referral Center, where she was senior Internist for the last 3 of the 5 years. After the birth of their daughter, Catherine, Fiona began working at Northside Veterinary Clinic with Adam in April 2006.

Fiona has special interest in gastroenterology and endoscopy (diagnostic and foreign body retrieval), liver disease, Cushing's disease and autoimmune problems in cats and dogs.

Northside Veterinary Clinic in Arlington, VA. https://www.northsidevetclinic.com/index.html

I hope Jimmy feels better soon.

@mary poppins Thank you so much. I’ll read her bio and reach out later today, once we have Jimmy’s endoscopy results back.

It’s not that I don’t trust the emergency clinic exactly - just that I want a second perspective anyway? If that makes sense? It’s the uncertainty that’s making me very very nervous. Exploratory xrays are fine, exploratory surgery is not. A feeding tube is probably fine for a few days, but it’s no long- or even medium-term life for a cat. And he’s devolved so quickly...

He didn’t really eat overnight at the hospital. The appetite stimulant they gave him yesterday made him salivate and he acted like he wanted to eat but wasn’t actually willing to - gagging, etc. The gas is still present in his gastric system. But his elevated protein is back to normal, his esophagus is still normal (no longer distended with gas like a couple days ago when we took him in), and he had almost no nasal discharge today.

Well - anyway - thank you so much. I really appreciate the rec.

 

[yssie]

His endoscopy is done. It was clean - fortunately and unfortunately. They took tissue samples for biopsies, and are putting a stomach tube in for feeding whilst he’s under. Hopefully we can get him eating again quickly and get that tube out of him in a couple of weeks.

 

[yssie]

Tube is in. They’re going to feed for three hours, then one hour off. He’s swallowing air - so they can use the tube to suction some of it out and make him a bit more comfy. We can visit tomorrow. He’s been there since Sunday night, and he’ll stay overnight, and we’ll just have to see how tomorrow and the days after go.

 

[Missy]

I am so sorry @yssie and am sending bucketloads of healing vibes his way and gentle hugs from me to you. Keeping him in my thoughts and you too.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Sending healing wishes for your kitty!

 

[adlgel]

Having recently been through a medical crisis with one of our cats I know how worrisome this is. I hope that Jimmy recovers very quickly and is back home ready to be showered with love and pets very soon.

 

[lulu_ma]

Sending healing vibes for Jimmy.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Sending the best purry and furry healing vibes across the miles.

kind regards--Sharon

 

[mary poppins]

I hope you get good news soon, @yssie.

 

[Calliecake]

I hope Jimmy is feeling better soon and you can bring him home. It has to feel twice as hard with him not being able to be home with you. I’m sorry @yssie.

 

[yssie]

Unfortunately things aren’t improving. He spent last night at the hospital with thee feeding tube - first night with that in. They fed for three hours, then gave him an hour break (during which time they suctioned a ton of gas out of his poor tummy, again). He’s still gulping air, still refusing food, and seems to have significant gastrointestinal mobility issues... Doctor explained it as “the stomach normally takes what you put in and mixes it all up and moves it to the intestines, but in his case, everything’s just staying in his stomach - no movement”. So he’s not getting nutrition despite the tube.

Hoping the biopsies come back with something fixable. Otherwise prognosis is poor. Two weeks ago he was eating as much as ever.

We will visit him today.

 

[Spring Azure]

I'm so sorry. My dog had similar symptoms a few years ago. It turned out to be a bowel obstruction that was misdiagnosed--twice. It was hidden on x-ray and not palpable until she lost several pounds. I remember feeling so helpless at the time. I hope you're able to get answers soon and he has full recovery!

 

[MissGotRocks]

Thinking of you and your kitty Yssie and sending good wishes!

 

[yssie]

He's not doing well. We visited for a couple of hours today. We'll go back tomorrow. I'm not really feeling up to posting a full update here right now but... Nothing's changed since earlier. Zero interest in any of the various foods and treats we brought.

 

[ecf8503]

I'm sorry to hear about your precious baby. I do hope he turns a corner! (((hugs)))

Here is the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners website - you can search by feline specialty. All the doctors are board certified in feline (and sometimes canine / feline) practice, which is above and beyond a DVM degree.

https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/

 

[YadaYadaYada]

So sorry, oh and he looks like such a sweet one too. Continued good wishes for a turnaround.

 

[Mlh]

Oh @yssie , just so heartbreaking. I so hope he turns the corner for both of you.

 

[Lookinagain]

I'm so sorry. I know how hard it can be. Hopefully they can diagnose him and get him feeling better.

 

[Kim N]

So sorry, yssie, I hope he feels better soon.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Oh @yssie
Our kitty cat thoughts and prayers are with Jimmy and you

 

[yssie]

Amazingly, miraculously, he’s doing a bit better today!!

He’s responding to stimuli today - if a dog barks loudly, or the exam room door opens, he opens his eyes and lifts his head. Yesterday he was a limp lump. No regurgitation, no frothing at the mouth. Definite improvement!! They’ve got him on prednisone and steroids for nasal inflammation and it seems to be helping a ton.

Still no interest in food, and he’s not willing to stand up - he must be so weak. But he seemed to recognize me (and I don’t think that’s just hopeful thinking)!! He purred and kneaded my arm for a bit, on his way back to sleep.

Not sure if we’ll be able to visit again over the weekend - we’ve been told to just call in in the morning and see if they’ve got the staff and space.

Doctor called it “baby steps” of improvement. He’s got a long way to go still. But at least it seems likely we’ll have time to figure out what’s wrong. I’ll take the win

 

[MrsBlue]

Such a beautiful fuzzbaby.

Sending my best wishes for his comfort and recovery.