marmaduke very poorly

[fancyabrew]

Marmaduke is pretty poorly at the minute he's been really quiet for a couple of days and my wife took him to the vets today. He's got loads of fluid on his lungs so had to have a chest drain and he's got some pills to help keep the fluid off. He's also got a very low white blood cell count but has tested negative to Leukemia, anyway he's had more bloods taken and hopefully we should know what's wrong on Tuesday. Vet doesn't really know what's wrong but it could be some other form of cancer, poor sods only 4, so fingers crossed its not

[Kim]

Poor Marmaduke, hope he is ok xx

[angieh]

Poor Marmaduke - sending loads of positive healing vibes.

[fecto's mum]

Poor little chap, hope he is soon well.

[dinky]

Wishing all the best for Marmaduke. I hope he starts to feel better soon.

[pamela81]

poor marmaduke, i do hope hes better soon

[fancyabrew]

well the little fella is still pretty poorly. My wife has just spoke to the vet and his blood's have come back clear for any infections so they think it might be a heart problem. When they scanned him on Friday they did say that the thought his heart was small for the size of him, he's a BSH and is about 6kg. So he's having some other meds tomorrow to help with his heart and he's having another scan on Friday to see if there are any tumors or anything (they didn't spot anything the last scan)

[angieh]

Still sending loads of positive healing vibes for Marmaduke and hoping that he can be helped.

[fancyabrew]

He was a little brighter when I got back from work. He groomed himself which is the first time I've seen him do that for several days. And he managed to jump up on to the kitchen island and he's not been off the floor for nearly a week, normally he's climbing on everything. So small signs of improvement, still not eating much and not very active at all

[timber-]

Poor boy. I'm sending lots of get well vibes. Give him a gentle squeeze from me and my boys.

[Velvet]

Positive thoughts from Here x

[dinky]

I do hope that you get some good news about Marmaduke when he goes back to the vet It's good that he's started to groom himself a bit.Let's hope that he is feeling a bit better. I'm keeping him in my prayers.

[yola]

What a worry. I hope the vet can identify what might be the underlying cause of Marmaduke's problem. I hope he's feeling better in himself today. Fingers crossed xx

[truthisouthere]

I hope whatever the outcome it can be 'managed' so that Marmaduke can get some quality of life back again, that at least would be a positive step. x

[angieh]

More positive vibes from me and comforting purrrs from Kizzy and Pip.

[fancyabrew]

no change in him today still very poorly, looks more like a cat of 18 than of 4 :o( He's on Frusemide to help reduce the fluid and Nelio for his heart. He's got a heart scan on Friday when hopefully the fluid will be gone so they can actually see properly.

[angieh]

Oh bless him, hang on in there little soldier.

[fancyabrew]

Ok some good news and some bad news concerning Marmaduke.

He's been in for a scan and further tests and they are 99% sure it is HCM, but they've sent off for tests to confirm 100%. But his x-ray shows a big improvement from last week, and he is a little bit better. He's managed to get up on the sofa and to go upstairs which he hasn't done for a week, and the vet had to sedate him as he was quite difficult! And yesterday he did try and jump up on to the top of the fridge freezer, he failed and I had to lift him up!

They have reduced his flucmide to half a tablet twice a day and taken him off Nilio as this has caused an ulcer (he's had very dark poo's which is symtonmatic of this) so he's on half a tablet a day of Omeprazole for 10 days to help clear that up. They might put him on a different med or back on nilio but with some other drug at a later date. The main thing is to get him eating! So he's been given something to stimulate his appetite and some Hills A\D food to help encourage him to eat. They think a lot of the problem is his lack of appetite as well as being anemic due to the ulcer so once this is sorted he should perk up and be just about back to normal, he's managed to eat a little tuna and seemed quite interested in it, and I've been hand feeding him with the A\D on a teaspoon. They hope he should be well for maybe 9 to 12 months which I must admit is a lot longer than we thought! They had another BSH with HCM in that they had to put down at Xmas and he lived for 18 months having been diagnosed at about the same age as Duke is now.

So all in all not that bad we know he's on borrowed time but with luck it'll be a little bit more time that he can enjoy.

The vets have been great and we're very luck to have such a good vets practice. A couple of the vets (they're all really young!) are big BSH fan's and love seeing all our three and Marmaduke is always a bit of a hit with them!

[fecto's mum]

Glad to hear you've got to the bottom of what is wrong with Marmaduke. It's good to know what you are dealing with. I hope he feels better in himself and starts eating nice things soon.

[angieh]

It's a sad prognosis but as you know all about quality of life. So glad you have good vets that you can rely on. Gentle hugs for Marmaduke. Keep up the eating sweetie.

[Velvet]

Awk im sad to read that the long term
Outlook isnt the best. It doesnt help but i think once you know what youre dealing with you can cope better

Gentle hugs for you & Duke from us x

[dinky]

Marmaduke may be on borrowed time, but while there's life, there's hope. I do so hope that he starts to enjoy life a bit and begins to enjoy his food. Please give him a gentle tickle from me .

[fancyabrew]

he's getting a little better each day. Yesterday he followed me around a bit and jumped up on to the bed (not done that since he's been poorly) His poo's are better and he's a little more interested in food, although he only eats a few mouthfuls

[Velvet]

Thats encouraging bless him. It means so
much when the eat. Hugs from us.

[truthisouthere]

Oh bless him, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be sudden, I hope you can at least take some comfort that he is still with you and treasure each day.
Gentle hugs to dear Marmie. x

[Shelley123]

sorry to read about the diagnosis and i hope you have as much quality time with Marmaduke as possible.

[fancyabrew]

We've had the test results back for Marmaduke and it is HCM the vet also thinks there has been quite a lot of damage to his heart.

He was back at the vets yesterday and has been prescribed Frusemide, Prilactone and Cardisure twice a day . He also had bloods taken to see how his anaemia is, hopefully better, and he's going to be seen again in a month. The main problem we have with him at the moment is still his eating. He does eat and is quite keen but isn't eating very much, he has a few mouthfuls and then leaves it, so he has lost 0.5kg in 10 days, which is a bit of a concern.

He is still quite poorly but he is better than he was.

[angieh]

It is as you suspected then and I am sorry to hear it, especially that there is already damage. Poor wee Marmaduke - I know how concerning it is when a poorly animal doesn't seem to be eating enough and his weight loss shows that it is having an effect. I guess little and often is all that I can advise and I expect you are already doing that to try and keep his small portions going down. Bless him - loads of positive eating vibes coming his way.

[fancyabrew]

yeah that's what we're doing. Bloods are back and he's not anaemic anymore, so something good!

[yola]

I have been reading a lot about HCM recently as it is something that is being discussed on a FB Persian Group I belong to. I strongly suspect it is what did for my lovely snaggle-toothed Darcy about 8 years ago and worryingly, it is becoming increasingly prevalent.

I hope Marmaduke is with you for a long time to come and that medication can control his condition to keep him as happy and healthy as possible.

[truthisouthere]

I hope Marmaduke is with you for a long time to come and that medication can control his condition to keep him as happy and healthy as possible.

I second that!

I was once advised by a homeopathic vet that a good quality CoEnzyme Q10 is also good for the heart and Chesi has a squirt of it from a capsule on a regular basis. ('Nature's Best' mail/internet order).

Give your gorgeous boy gentle hugs, bless him, I'll be praying for him.

[fancyabrew]

he's a little brighter today and his eyes are better. He came out in to the garden with me for a while and enjoyed that.

Has anyone got any ideas on how to get him to eat more!? He is interested in food and will eat but only a few mouthfuls and then stops.

[Shelley123]

glad he is brighter today, it is very stressfull when they aren't eating as they should be.
I found warm chicken to be good for my poorly pets, in fact maybe heating his food slightly will help his appetite. Does he like cat milk ?

[fancyabrew]

yeah that's what the vet suggested. I've tried him with cat milk but he's not that interested :o( Its not really the interest in the food that's the problem he does seem to get excited about food (claws at my leg comes over to the bowl, etc) but just doesn't eat much of it!

[truthisouthere]

Following on from what Shelley mentioned I used to keep Mitzi hydrated and nourished on her bad days with saucers of freshly heated up chicken broth (make it in a batch very easy to make just boil up bones with spring water and freeze little pots of it once cool) mushed up with a high energy pate you get from the vets or mail order, I've forgotten what it's called now..But as Shelley said, warm the food 1st.

As with people, any heart issues can make it hard work at times just to eat and digest food, so anything mushy and warm and nutritious will lessen the strain on his wee body to digest and break down big pieces I would have thought.

Did the vet mention any Vitamin shots, just a thought.

[fecto's mum]

Would fish oil help or anything that smells strong that you could pour on. If Big Fooze isn't that interested in his food I pour on the juice out of a Felix AGAIL pouch. Some of Big Foozes food can be a bit bland, He's on grain free stuff, chicken mostly. What about cooked ham or a bit of pulled pork. When our Chubbiz was poorly OH boiled chicken drumsticks, pulled all the meat off, mixed it with a bit of rice and then we froze it in the jelly in portions. I hope Marmaduke finds something he likes and improves soon.

[fancyabrew]

we have roast chicken for tea today so we'll try him with some of that. He's been out in the garden again today which he enjoyed.

For those of you who don't know what he looks like here's a few of the big fella.
http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m347/fancyabrew/temporary-35.jpg

Last year when he cut his leg open still looks cool even in a bucket!

http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m347/fancyabrew/temporary_zps2eb0ed2f.jpg

http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m347/fancyabrew/temporary_zps5f332682.jpg

[angieh]

He is such a handsome dude! When my Merlin was off his food (he had long standing kidney issues) I sometimes used to hand feed raw beef mince which had previously been frozen in small portions. Sometimes he would get through a whole portion like that. Took a long time but I didn't mind as long as I could get food into him. Strong EAT UP vibes being sent to Marmaduke.

[fecto's mum]

Wow, he is GORGEOUS! So are his two pals. I'd forgotten about mince. I agree with Angie, I used to hand feed Chubbiz raw mince when he was poorly.

[fancyabrew]

going to get some mince today and try that with him tonight

[yola]

Some great advice here; I will borrow some of these suggestions - especially the mince - as having issues with Ripsy not eating her food at the moment, Marmaduke is a very beautiful cat ... I hope he keeps soldiering on x

[timber-]

I'm so sorry to hear about Marmaduke. I wonder if the medications are making him feel nauseous or may have a side effect of lack of appetite.

[fancyabrew]

An update on Marmaduke. He's been a lot brighter the last few days, he's eating more (still not back to normal) but eating more, he especially likes crab. He's actually been running around a few times and can jump up on the bed without any trouble at all. So all in all he's really picked up. He's also had his first fan club of the year. I was in the garden with him yesterday and a couple were asking lots of questions about him and saying how gorgeous he was.

[Shelley123]

great news , keep it up Marmaduke xxx

[fecto's mum]

Really pleased Marmaduke is feeling better and that other people realise how beautiful he is. That must make him feel better. Hopefully the better he feels the more he will eat. It's no surprise a cat of his distinction likes crab, perhaps a little fillet steak might tempt him!

[fancyabrew]

he was quite bright this morning he even ran down the stairs. Only trouble I can see is we go to Euro Disney at the end of the month for my little girls 3rd b'day so we've got to get someone to give him his pills (twice a day) for 4 days. Going to ask a friend who has had cats and who lives a few doors away, not sure how she'll handle giving pills to him though.

[angieh]

If that fails, perhaps it would be a good idea to ask your vet if they can recommend someone or a cattery who would be able to give Marmaduke the proper care during your holiday.

[fancyabrew]

he's now doing really well, caught him chasing Godfrey around last night twice. And he's now eating pretty well too. Bought him some kitten food today to try to get the weight back on him. I also got him some Salmon flavour webbox treats rather than the chicken that he's not showed much of an interest in, well he scoffed over half a stick down in no time so I'm going to give him a treat in the morning and a treat at night for a few days and then introduce his pills in to the treats. If he eats them it'll make my mates job of giving him his med's a lot easier whilst we're away. I also found webbox lick-e-lix which is a yoghurt based treat (same flavours as the sticks) and he had a whole one licking the bowl clean. They say on the pack that its good for hiding crushed pills in so if anyone is having trouble giving pills they might be worth a go, marmaduke loved it!

[fecto's mum]

Great news, so glad he is eating well and loving his treats.

[angieh]

What great news, sounds like he's getting his appetite back. Long may it continue.

[dinky]

That's great news about your beautiful boy.You must be very pleased.

[Shelley123]

so glad he is doing well and that you have found a way to medicate him.
I used a squeezy fur ball preperation to pill Tuppence, she loved the stuff and it made life so much easier for us all.