Random update on Newt. He’s been having an odd time lately. Mostly
wonderful, but having regular mini-episodes. Am not terribly worried, as
he’s had these spells before.
However, he just puked. In my shoe.
And now he’s trying to clean my face.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry!
My cat Tommy is a liver shunt cat he is 3 yrs old. Today he was drooling a lot. He is on phenobarbital, lactulose and metronidazole. I haven’t seen him drool like this in a couple years. I figured we had the dosage down. Do you know the life span of a liver shunt cat that does not have corrective surgery? I priced surgery and was quoted $3000. to $5000. I can’t afford it. Tommy seems better now. But I’m watching him real close. I’m thinking the metronidazole may not be agreeing with him any more. Thanks for listening. Glad I found your site.
Great to hear from you! Please consider joining Newt’s Support Group, lots of great info being shared there. http://www.catlivershunt.org or email me for an invite: [email protected]
Very little info is avail on medical mgmt of liver shunts in cats, but we are aware of several that are ten and even older 🙂 The seniors give those of us us with younger cats Hope!
Did Tommy have a history of seizures? Is that why he’s on the pheno? And yes, we know of at least one shunt cat who developed an issue after being on Metronidazole long-term. Newt was originally on Amoxicillin, then was switched to Neomycin.
Several of us seem to think that our cats’ episodes can be triggered by stress, including weather extremes. Any possibility that might have triggered Tommy? Any recent change in his diet or your lifestyle? Sudden cold or warm spell? Did you notice any small signs in the day(s) leading up to his most recent episode?
Wonderful to hear that Tommy did so well with no episodes for so long! Looking forward to hearing your protocols for him, and more about his journey. Hope to have you join our growing support group. We have more than 100 members with cats and kittens of various ages and using different protocols (from surgery to long-term medical management) from around the world, and we are sharing anecdotal information and learning new things (such as stress triggers and the metron toxicity) together.
Give him a hug from me, and I hope he is feeling better today!