Hopi is Dying

Hopi, my first cat, my baby, is slowly dying. Click post title to go to her original story. For the last year, since the move actually, she has had off and on bouts with severe diarrhea. I've had her to the vet, two different vets actually, a few times. She's been on metro, for possibly giardia, although none was found in her stool. It had been once, when I lived at the old place, that had the bad well. In fact all my cats had become infected with giardia and cocchidia when I lived there, and I did, too.

The move has been a killer on Hopi, who has always been able to go outside, along with the other cats, in a contained cat yard. The stress of them not being able to go outside turned Dex into a bully. Joining her in occasional bully behavior were the follow the leader cats, Comet and Cattyhop, who have since thought better of bullying. In fact, I thought they all had. They had taken to attacking Hopi when she used the litterbox.

I thought I had put an end to this behavior. I use a squirt bottle and time outs for discipline, but apparently it has gone on when I am not home.

Hopi has in the last few months been treated with three weeks of Albon and metronizadole again, also clavimox. Her bloodwork showed nothing abnormal except for an elevated white count. Usually, in gastroesophigal lymphoma, which is very common in cats and always fatal, blood calcium levels are elevated. But not always.

Usually, a cat with lymphoma is dead shortly after showing the classic symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting. Lymphoma in cats is usually a rapid death sentence. The vet thinks Hopi could have a slow growing form. Palpation of Hopi's stomach and abdomin produce no signs of tumor or even tenderness.

The vet also wants to try her on prednisone, for irritible bowel. But Hopi was on prednisone once before and it turned her into a monster. I asked the vet that if stress is the cause of her symptoms from a bully, would prednisone make her worse or better. Worse, was the reply.

I don't know what to do at this point.

Moby went through weeks of severe weight loss and runny diarrhea a couple months after the move. The vet then, after a barium enema, which showed narrowing of the bowel, felt he had irritible bowel and prescribed prednisone. I refused it, knowing how damaging cortisone is to the system, knowing he had never shown symptoms of irritible bowel before, and instead treated him aggressively for hairball buildup and he got relief, gained weight and within 45 days, was back to normal weight.

Hairball treatment (with extreme roughage from minced carrots and canned pumpkin) has produced no improvement in Hopi, however. Hopi has, over her nine years of life with me, routinely shown signs of irritible bowel, however. Her first time on prednisone was the result of a Philomath vet's initial diagnosis, when she was quite young, that she sometimes suffered from irritible bowel, when under stress.

So I will be getting prednisone for her Monday, I have decided, as a last chance attempt to save her. Everything else has failed. Last winter, with a different vet, we were sure it was cocchidia or giardia caused. She went through Albon then, too, and therapy with benebact--beneficial bacteria.

My dear beloved Hopi is now in isolation, so she cannot be affected by Dex or any other bully here. And I am working my butt off to try to get that cat yard usable. I fear it is too late for Hopi already.