Sick cat, fat cat
March 24, 2017 8:06 AM Subscribe
Obligatory cat album. Sick cat is the lynx point; fat cat is the chocolate point (?) with the air conditioner face.
So sick cat has cancer. He had a tumor on his knee, and we thought amputation would basically cure it, and then at the follow up they found a mass in his lung. He's now in chemo and...there are good days and bad days. He's on a lot of meds, and I'm doing my best to make him as comfortable as possible. But the result is that most of my attention has been going to sick cat.
And now the other one is dangerously obese.
She had already become a little hefty, which was my fault, because she is so finicky about food that I ended up leaving dry food out all the time. I stopped doing that a while ago, but in the past three months she's gone from "overweight" to "this is definitely too much cat," and now she has asthma that hasn't responded so far to theophylline. And because of her weight, my vet is reluctant to put her on a steroid, because diabetes. I belatedly realized that most of her exercise came from playing with my other cat, and since he hasn't been feeling well, she's...well, she should be about 8 lbs, and she's now 12.5 lbs. (last time she was at the vet she was more like 11.) I think an inhaler is the next step, though I don't know if I will be able to administer it, and I'd like to get treat the underlying issue anyway. (I already have an air filter going 24/7, and I can't get her to take allergy meds, but I'll ask if I can get them compounded.)
Does anyone have any suggestions about how to get her weight down? Complications include:
- she's never responded well to trying to get her to play, though she does still get the zoomies on occasion
- she usually insists on eating in private like a weirdo
- my other cat is having problems with appetite, which means I'm trying to feed him as often as possible, and leaving food out for him at night
- she's at least 13 years old, possibly/probably 14-15
- if you try to get her to take a pill she will murder you dead, but I do have a compounding pharmacy
- I'm in a small apartment, and separating them is logistically difficult, and also really sad; they are super bonded
- she stares in boredom at most toys, and then demands a lap (loudly)
I can get her to try to murder my hand when giving belly rubs, but that doesn't seem like a sustainable solution (I have only two hands and limited hoodies with which to guard them, and also it doesn't seem like very intense exercise). She already has many scratchy things and toys filled with catnip.
what say you, cat people of Metafilter?
So sick cat has cancer. He had a tumor on his knee, and we thought amputation would basically cure it, and then at the follow up they found a mass in his lung. He's now in chemo and...there are good days and bad days. He's on a lot of meds, and I'm doing my best to make him as comfortable as possible. But the result is that most of my attention has been going to sick cat.
And now the other one is dangerously obese.
She had already become a little hefty, which was my fault, because she is so finicky about food that I ended up leaving dry food out all the time. I stopped doing that a while ago, but in the past three months she's gone from "overweight" to "this is definitely too much cat," and now she has asthma that hasn't responded so far to theophylline. And because of her weight, my vet is reluctant to put her on a steroid, because diabetes. I belatedly realized that most of her exercise came from playing with my other cat, and since he hasn't been feeling well, she's...well, she should be about 8 lbs, and she's now 12.5 lbs. (last time she was at the vet she was more like 11.) I think an inhaler is the next step, though I don't know if I will be able to administer it, and I'd like to get treat the underlying issue anyway. (I already have an air filter going 24/7, and I can't get her to take allergy meds, but I'll ask if I can get them compounded.)
Does anyone have any suggestions about how to get her weight down? Complications include:
- she's never responded well to trying to get her to play, though she does still get the zoomies on occasion
- she usually insists on eating in private like a weirdo
- my other cat is having problems with appetite, which means I'm trying to feed him as often as possible, and leaving food out for him at night
- she's at least 13 years old, possibly/probably 14-15
- if you try to get her to take a pill she will murder you dead, but I do have a compounding pharmacy
- I'm in a small apartment, and separating them is logistically difficult, and also really sad; they are super bonded
- she stares in boredom at most toys, and then demands a lap (loudly)
I can get her to try to murder my hand when giving belly rubs, but that doesn't seem like a sustainable solution (I have only two hands and limited hoodies with which to guard them, and also it doesn't seem like very intense exercise). She already has many scratchy things and toys filled with catnip.
what say you, cat people of Metafilter?
Response by poster: Ah I'm sorry I was unclear -- she doesn't get dry food at all anymore (they get fancy feast and fussie cat), and yet somehow...
posted by schadenfrau at 8:37 AM on March 24, 2017
posted by schadenfrau at 8:37 AM on March 24, 2017
My cats on a prescription diet because he has serious problems with bladder stones and being a jerk he'd rather starve than eat the prescription wet food so I had to switch to prescription dry after trying various things. He's now on low calorie dry food and it's worked really well, he's lost several pounds at a reasonable rate and doesn't have as much anxiety about food.
You have gorgeous cats and I hope both there health improves.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 8:39 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
You have gorgeous cats and I hope both there health improves.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 8:39 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Fancy Feast is not terrible but it is not great. Something truly grain free will be better for her. And, you can't over-feed. It's tough.
posted by Medieval Maven at 8:41 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Medieval Maven at 8:41 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Buy the best food you can afford, and slowly reduce the portions of it. She'll whine terribly but she is not going to starve. Feed her at exactly the same time(s) each day.
My fat lazy cat perked up once I switched his food and he plays a lot more now. His favorite thing is any toy on a stick - see if she'll bat at it if you hold it 5-6 inches above his face. If so, wave it around (not too fast!) and play. Even if she doesn't race after it, laying on her back and batting at it is better than no exercise. Mine will JUMP at it now since he's lost the weight.
posted by AFABulous at 8:58 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
My fat lazy cat perked up once I switched his food and he plays a lot more now. His favorite thing is any toy on a stick - see if she'll bat at it if you hold it 5-6 inches above his face. If so, wave it around (not too fast!) and play. Even if she doesn't race after it, laying on her back and batting at it is better than no exercise. Mine will JUMP at it now since he's lost the weight.
posted by AFABulous at 8:58 AM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
This doesn't exactly answer your question but I had two cats, old sick cat (chronic renal failure) and fat cat. Fat cat slept all day, did not play, liked to be rubbled but was laying around all day long. Sick cat was slowing down but was more active than fat cat. They both ate dry food.
When sick cat passed away fat cat miraculously became svelte cat over the course of a couple months (no food changes, always indoors in small house). She started playing and running around the house. She has continued to maintain her svelte-ness half a year later.
Sick cat was sick for a long time and my partner and I believe it took a toll on formerly fat cat's emotional health. She is obviously happier now.
posted by onebyone at 9:21 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
When sick cat passed away fat cat miraculously became svelte cat over the course of a couple months (no food changes, always indoors in small house). She started playing and running around the house. She has continued to maintain her svelte-ness half a year later.
Sick cat was sick for a long time and my partner and I believe it took a toll on formerly fat cat's emotional health. She is obviously happier now.
posted by onebyone at 9:21 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think an inhaler is the next step, though I don't know if I will be able to administer it
I only have a minute so I just wanted to address this point real quick: one of our cats had asthma as well, and he was prescribed an inhaler. It was suuuuper painless for everyone involved because our amazing vet told us to use something like this.
Cut an opening into the bottom of a plastic/paper cup, stick inhaler into the opening, put cat in lap, stick cup onto cat's face, depress inhaler, hold cat in place for a few seconds to make sure she takes a few breaths, then you're done.
Might be worth asking your vet if this can work for you guys as well, while you try to get the weight situation under control.
posted by erratic meatsack at 9:55 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
I only have a minute so I just wanted to address this point real quick: one of our cats had asthma as well, and he was prescribed an inhaler. It was suuuuper painless for everyone involved because our amazing vet told us to use something like this.
Cut an opening into the bottom of a plastic/paper cup, stick inhaler into the opening, put cat in lap, stick cup onto cat's face, depress inhaler, hold cat in place for a few seconds to make sure she takes a few breaths, then you're done.
Might be worth asking your vet if this can work for you guys as well, while you try to get the weight situation under control.
posted by erratic meatsack at 9:55 AM on March 24, 2017 [4 favorites]
Your cats are beautiful and I love them. You are on the right track -- you've stopped dry food. That's great! I wouldn't actually suggest you reduce the quantity of wet food too dramatically, fatty liver is an issue cats can run into if they lose weight too quickly and it's a much more serious disease than obesity. Very small, incremental reductions in portion size make more sense.
Like AFABulous said, my cats LOVE a wand toy and would happily exercise for hours in pursuit of it.
posted by kate blank at 10:35 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Like AFABulous said, my cats LOVE a wand toy and would happily exercise for hours in pursuit of it.
posted by kate blank at 10:35 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
My cat has reactive airways (the result of a bad case of canine heartworm when she was younger), and I have very little trouble giving her an asthma inhaler treatment with the use of an AeroKat Feline Aerosol Chamber, which my vet instructed me to order from Amazon. This is a cat who is impossible to pill, but the inhaler is much more bearable for her. It is sturdier and fits better than a handmade version, with a nice cushy face piece, but it does the same thing. I give her a steroid inhaler every day, and an albuterol inhaler if she coughs too much. I did not even consider giving her a daily pill to test her asthma. She'd rather die of the asthma than take a pill every day. The inhaler is so much better.
posted by artistic verisimilitude at 12:08 PM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by artistic verisimilitude at 12:08 PM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]
Is the problem that Fat Cat is eating food she shouldn't? I had a sick cat/fat cat situation last summer. Fat cat was stealing sick cat's prescription renal food. I fixed it by getting a feeder that scans sick cat's microchip. Sick cat can graze through the day, fat cat gets regular meal times and supervised portions and is now much less fat.
The feeder was expensive, but I've saved money by cutting the wastage of the prescription food.
posted by Helga-woo at 3:24 PM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
The feeder was expensive, but I've saved money by cutting the wastage of the prescription food.
posted by Helga-woo at 3:24 PM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
In terms of encouraging fat cat to move around more, have you tried da bird? It's the only toy that has ever gotten my grumpy old former feral cat interested.
posted by zug at 6:31 PM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by zug at 6:31 PM on March 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: These are all wonderful, thank you. Fat cat definitely does eat sick cat's food, but not in great quantity. Like there is frequently left over food that goes to waste. One of the frustrating things about this is that fat cat has gotten fat without appearing to actually eat that much, which obviously can't be right.
I'm going to check out the microchip feeder thing asap, though I am somewhat concerned that sick can't might not be able to manage it. Otoh maybe the oncologist gives me something to help sick cat out tomorrow.
You are all wonderful, too.
posted by schadenfrau at 7:01 PM on March 24, 2017
I'm going to check out the microchip feeder thing asap, though I am somewhat concerned that sick can't might not be able to manage it. Otoh maybe the oncologist gives me something to help sick cat out tomorrow.
You are all wonderful, too.
posted by schadenfrau at 7:01 PM on March 24, 2017
I forgot to mention the best thing about the Aerokat commercial inhaler spacer. It has a little valve that shows you when the cat is taking a breath, so you can keep the inhaler on for the requisite number of breaths. Sometimes my cat doesn't breathe for the first few seconds after I put the inhaler on her, so it's important to me to be able to see this, especially when her not breathing is the result of my positioning the device poorly, or holding her too hard around the chest, as I tended to do at first.
Having used both oral and inhaled steroids myself, I can tell you that the side effects of oral steroids are utterly trivial compared to those of the pill form. I've never been able to detect side effects from an inhaler, whereas steroid pills really do bad things and would never be used if they were not so important in saving lives. My mother developed insulin-dependent diabetes while being treated with oral steroids (which resolved when they were able to decrease her steroid dose).
When I took my cat in for the visit at which my vet first prescribed the inhaler, I thought she was surely going to die within a few weeks, because her symptoms had previously been blamed on the heart damage, and she was obviously getting much, much worse. She was waking me up every night with her coughing. The inhaled steroid has helped enormously and given her additional years of life. I almost never need to give her the rescue inhaler of albuterol because the steroid inhaler makes such a difference!
Best wishes to your two lovely cats.
posted by artistic verisimilitude at 8:20 AM on March 25, 2017 [3 favorites]
Having used both oral and inhaled steroids myself, I can tell you that the side effects of oral steroids are utterly trivial compared to those of the pill form. I've never been able to detect side effects from an inhaler, whereas steroid pills really do bad things and would never be used if they were not so important in saving lives. My mother developed insulin-dependent diabetes while being treated with oral steroids (which resolved when they were able to decrease her steroid dose).
When I took my cat in for the visit at which my vet first prescribed the inhaler, I thought she was surely going to die within a few weeks, because her symptoms had previously been blamed on the heart damage, and she was obviously getting much, much worse. She was waking me up every night with her coughing. The inhaled steroid has helped enormously and given her additional years of life. I almost never need to give her the rescue inhaler of albuterol because the steroid inhaler makes such a difference!
Best wishes to your two lovely cats.
posted by artistic verisimilitude at 8:20 AM on March 25, 2017 [3 favorites]
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I swapped my formerly fat cat to nothing but wet food when my other cat also had cancer (I am sorry, cancer in animals is the worst, I've been there). She's down from 12-13lbs to what she should be, say 10-11lbs.
Start out by mixing wet food with her dry food and slowly transition her to wet food only. Your vet can help you figure out how much to feed her - in the case of my cat, she needed ~5.5-6oz food/day and she's been fine. I feed Blue Buffalo products - my cat prefers the pate, but they have flaked, etc. Because of her age, she will probably do better with less-rich foods - Turkey and Chicken are winners here - and my cat can tolerate the Duck and Potato variety. You want to go GRAIN FREE. Cats don't need grain.
I use feeders to manage my cat's inability to tell time/not eat all her food at once. It works for us.
posted by Medieval Maven at 8:35 AM on March 24, 2017 [2 favorites]