Our cat, Kosh, is 16 years old and has something wrong with his digestive tract. We're not sure exactly what. A few months ago he started loosing weight rapidly and dropped from 9 kg to about 4.2 kg. He also vomited a lot, diarrheted and both urinated and defecated outside of his box.
We took him to the hospital and after many tests we figured it was hyperthyroidism and possibly something else in his digestive tract. Since the biopsy was several thousands we started symptomatic treatment to see if we could get him stable to be able to do a more through checkup.
Taking the cat to the Vet is always a big deal. He hates the Vet and fights every second of the process. He will usually vomit and defecate in the cage on the way there and, if he's awake, then on the way back as well. He will not allow any checkup or test done unless he's under some sort of anesthesia.
Since the cat is currently on steroids and some other pills twice a day we need to bring him in to do a checkup every few months.
His last appointment was on Wednesday.
Here's the cat, angry and feeling betrayed, as we got him to the Vet.
Next we had to put him under some sort of anesthesia so that he will allow the doctor to look him over. This involves moving the cat to a squeeze cage, holding him immobile and giving him the shot. Then we put him under a blanket and waited for the shot to take effect and for the cat to stop crying and hissing.
This took way longer then expected and after 10 minutes the doctor gave him a booster shot. Eventually the cat fell asleep and the doctor could start checking him while we did our best to clean him up of the various foul liquids he was covered in.
This is where the doctor took some blood from his carotid for various tests and later she took some urine directly from his bladder as well.
After all the tests were done he was given the wake up shot and put back into his (our) original cage. (We cleaned that one up while he was being tested).
This is Kosh starting to wake up from anesthesia and feeling weak and confused.
Coming home we had to clean after the cat again and then wash the floor where he walked since there was still that pervasive distinct smell of an incontinent cat.
The blood tests were mostly normal and he did gain some weight since his last checkup so he no longer looks as emaciated. We have to keep an eye on his drinking to make sure he's not developing kidney problems or diabetes. We were given some anti parasite pills for his gut and if these do not help for the diarrhea we'll have to send his blood tests abroad for a more comprehensive panel and possibly do an ultrasound.
At this point if it's not his pancreas there is a solid chance it is some sort of lymphoma in his digestive tract.
We hope not.
4 months until his next checkup. I hope he survives, no matter how much damage the damn cat can cause (like peeing on my wife's computer's power supply [@techslut] - killing the computer).
How are you dealing with a sick old cat? Let me know in the comments.