Cat GI Bleed Critical

[NeldaF]

My 9 year old Emerald had a critical event last weekend when she hopped from her bed perch (about 18 inches) and collapsed to the floor and began wailing. She eventually calmed down, but was not moving much and appeared to be in pain. Took her to the nearby ER where they indicated she was severe anemic probably from an internal GI bleed based on x-ray, ultra sound (both of which showed nothing abnormal), black stool, and blood work (kidney values looked good). She got blood transfusion and was sent home on antibiotic - Enrofloxacin, Carafate Susp, and Omeprazole, and one of these was supposed to stop the bleeding. She is partly ferral and doesn't take meds well leading to additional stress and declining condition. I finally stopped all meds and decided to give her bone broth and enzyme mix (Vital Digest, Only Natural Pet) because that is all that I have on hand right now. She is eating but needs encouragement to do so, she is pooping once per day but not much and very black. Today was first day with no meds and she appears to be slightly improving. She is not moving much and walks to the litter box and drops to laying on the floor as she tries to get there (only 4 - 5 feet away). She has multiple beds to choose from and is moving from bed to bed, but I believe she doesn't have the energy to go the distance without resting. She holds her head up, and shows affection when petting. Her beautiful emerald green eyes are bright again. She was previously very overweight, and I missed the signs that something was wrong. (I never utilized the acronym BEAM before, but have used similar analysis steps.)

I'm concerned the bleeding is continuing. I have Yunnan Baiyao on order being delivered Monday or Tuesday. Today she also developed runny nose, sneezing, and watery eyes. So I started also 250 mg Lysine twice today.

Would really appreciate your suggestions. The ER vets didn't give her much hope, but I think there is always the possibility of healing when given the right environment, so I'd like to give her a chance.

Thank you!!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Thanks for making your first post Nelda, and you're absolutely right about the enormous healing ability of a living being.

IMHO, we often underestimate what nature can do if we get out of the way and let her work.

"Where there's life, there's hope" is very true. When there is vitality and energy left in the body, it can heal.

The only time that natural healing mechanisms of the body can't work is when there is no life left.

The amount of healing to be expected varies depending on the individual pet. One of the factors that determines speed or ability to heal is the degree of pathology.

For example, the chances of full recovery after a bleed and anemia in a pet with a perforating ulcer is much better than that for a kitty with a bleed secondary to invasive intestinal cancer.

If possible, set up an appointment with a local vet internist who will help define the dis-ease.

If you need help finding a local internist, just let us know.

Good luck!

 

[Dr. Christina]

In addition to the holistic steps you already taking - good choices! - and scheduling more diagnostics, I would suggest thinking about scheduling an appointment with a veterinary homeopath. Since some can work by phone and remedies are easy to give, this works very well for feral cats (even when just slightly feral).

As a member, you can become a client in Dr. Jeff's homeopathic practice - How Do I Become a New Client of Dr. Jeff Feinman's Homeopathic Veterinary Practice in Connecticut?

Or we can help you explore other possible veterinary phone consulting homeopaths.

To help lessen the trauma of the vet visits, you can try flower essences like Rescue Remedy or other Emergency Essences, essential oils (see which calming ones she seems to like), and catnip (if she is one of the cats who calms down with catnip).

You may also want to order some of the fermented goats milk and the fermented fish broth from Answers for her. While they come frozen, it is OK to thaw and repackage into tiny amounts and re-freeze. They are loaded with pro and pre biotics.

Also, are you familiar with Reiki or other energy methods (Eden energy, theta, etc)? This is something you can do from home.

What town do you all live in? We may know someone near by.

Dr. Christina

 

[NeldaF]

@Dr. Christina & @Dr. Jeff - thank you both for your encouraging responses. Yes I would like help finding a good internist in my area or even within an hours drive. I've looked at what is nearby and have not been happy in what I've experienced or read about the practices so far. Many simply call their practice holistic when they only offer acupuncture as an alternative and nothing else. Yes acupuncture is a great alternative but those Drs I've researched seem to only use it for joint issues. So if you have other recommendations I would really appreciate it. I'm in the Baltimore/Annapolis, Maryland area, but am willing to travel a little further for proper care.

As for the additional diagnostics, yes we could go down that path. I see this however as more stress and more suffering. I'd rather just assume it is not cancer and try to stop the bleed. If it stops and returns, well then we have our answer. If it stops however and doesn't continue, then we have another answer, and much less suffering is involved. I also do not see where she has any risk factors for cancer. Her 9 years with me has been eating grain-free and raw dehydrated food with no dry food. I do have a gang and know that could be one risk factor. Gosh, just last week she jumped in our team play session, which surprised me, but I was glad to see.

This is my opinion, but I'm open to listening to yours regarding this approach as well. And even if it is cancer I would probably do what I'm doing right now and provide comfort and care. And so that is part of my question, should I adjust her diet to things that would be more helpful if it were cancer?

I did schedule the one-on-one with Dr Jeff that comes with the HA! membership but he has a busy schedule! so it's scheduled for Monday 11-9.

Really glad I found this group!! Thanks to Ingrid King of consciouscat.net !!

 

[NeldaF]

You may also want to order some of the fermented goats milk and the fermented fish broth from Answers for her. While they come frozen, it is OK to thaw and repackage into tiny amounts and re-freeze. They are loaded with pro and pre biotics.

Also, are you familiar with Reiki or other energy methods (Eden energy, theta, etc)? This is something you can do from home.

I can get Primal goats milk quickly from a nearby store. I'm not sure it is fermented, but contains probiotics. Would that work as a standby? I'm not sure she will drink it but can use the syringe if necessary.
[Edit: I was able to get Answers goat and fish broth at All For The Pet in Severna Park, instead of the Primal! Interesting how the universe works!]

And I am familiar with Reiki but have never performed it myself. If you have suggestions here, I can give them a try as well.

 

[NeldaF]

My most critical question is will another blood transfusion help if the bleeding is still continuing? Assuming the bleeding is not cancer, do I need to heal the wound / ulcer before another transfusion or is another transfusion worthwhile? And from a more holistic perspective are blood transfusions effective in the first place?

 

[NeldaF]

Ooops How do I delete a reply?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Nelda.

You're welcome!

A vet internist is a conventional specialist who can best help define Emerald's dis-ease.

For a local specialist, you can try this place:

Our Team in Annapolis, Hunt Valley and Columbia, MD - AVIM&O

Meet our team of veterinarians at Atlantic Veterinary Internal Medicine & Oncology. Visit our website and give us a call today!

avim.us

A holistic vet would be a different person.

Dr. Christina lives in MD and may know a good local holistic practitioner.

Kathleen Prasad has a wonderful webinar intro to Reiki which has this Reiki meditation,:

Regarding the decision to transfuse, that will depend on how low her blood count goes and what her diagnostics find.

Once the underlying problem is improved or resolved, she may never need another transfusion.

I look forward to our 1:1 chat Nelda.