We rescued two 6mth old Persians in November ’07, it became clear from the beginning that the smaller of the two suffered with tummy problems, these were later diagnosed by our vet as Colitis. We have managed to keep this under control until recently but it seems to have flared up again, we have been to the vet three times, the first time was nearly 3wks ago as our cat was showing signs of distress and really howled, he had a few bouts of diarrhoea leading up to this but not serious. We treated him with Pro-Kolin at home.

A scan was taken of his tummy as they couldn’t catheterize him (his tummy was swollen and we thought he may have a urinary blockage) however, this wasn’t the case, as in the process he urinated over the nurse! The urine was tested and a blood test was taken, nothing untoward showed up, the only thing to show was a cyst in his kidney which the vet said would probably not cause any problems until later in life. After this visit he did seem to improve without any treatment and everything was fine until last Tuesday, he was very quiet (which isn’t like him) and kept himself in his play tunnel for 36hrs. We took him to the vet with a sample of his faeces as they appeared to be covered in mucous. The vet (different vet this time) examined him checked the results of the previous tests and said that he could not see anything in the faeces under the microscope. He is suspecting colitis and gave him two injections, I believe one a steroid and the other and anti-inflammatory. Next day he had improved and was eating a little, I perhaps shouldn’t have but cooked some white fish for him as he didn’t seem to want his normal food, he ate this but then went downhill again, it appears to be when he eats it causes him pain. Next day (Friday) we went back to the vet with another faeces sample which they have sent off for analysis, we get the results on Tuesday. He had the same injections again, plus a rather large tablet which we are suspecting is an antibiotic. He has been a little brighter but has now gone downhill again and is back in his tunnel. This is a cat that never normally sits still and in fact was catching lizards last Tuesday evening.

I have recently given him a little salmon for the first time (this is before the illness) and then the white fish which of course he hasn’t had previously – could this have set off his colitis? His normal diet is mainly Applaws chicken and rice and Gourmet soufflé, he has the occasional James Wellbeloved biscuits, he drinks very little water but I have syringed some water into his mouth during this illness, as I don’t want him to become dehydrated.

What I am really asking is, is there anything I can do for him in between vet visits that may help him – would it be OK to give him white fish and steamed chicken or should I follow the vets advise and not change his diet even thou he won’t touch it. It is so sad to see him so poorly and off his food (he will eat little and often all day normally and is such a lively little character)?

I just want to make him well again but don’t know what to do for the best... especially as the vets are now closed until Monday.

I will be so thankful for any advise you can give me please?

Sorry, but seems no one with any knowledge of this is around at the moment, If we had been talking dogs I maybe would have muddled through.
Billyboysmammy is very good on this sort of thing but she is away today"
So I'll bump it in the hope that other cat people read the thread
DT

Hiya hun

Ok first things first

There are 3 types of colitis...

Acute - sudden onset - and goes away without returning quickly

Chronic - that lasts a long-ish time, over a period of a few weeks

Episodic - bouts of colitis that come and go


Next -

signs of colitis - slimy, mucousy stools (with or without blood), pain or discomfort, the cat is usual subdued in behaviour, diahrhoea (cant spell it lol), reduced apetite, straining to pass stools even when runny.


Causes: Virus, paracites, spoiled food (bin raider?), foreign bodies (eaten toy mouse etc), bacteria (salmonella for example), cancer, pancreatitis, food allergies to name just a few

For your cat its unlikely that fish would cause it, unless he has eaten a big bone that has got stuck - its highly unlikely.

Whats more likely is that he has managed to eat something he shouldnt and this will be a one off.




Now... the thing thats concerning me...

He is a baby persian, and already has a cyst on his kidney.

Was he or his parents PKD DNA tested?

If not i would be having a chat with your vet. PKD (poly-cysting Kidney Disease), is a very serious illness and common in untested lines of persians.

Thankfully good breeders out there are now DNA profiling their cats so only the ones not carrying the disease are bred from

Now with PKD in cats, the cysts are present from birth, which is why i mention it to you - as one has been spotted thats big enough to show up on ultrasound. Cysts can vary in size from 0.5mm - 11cm.

PKD is progressive, the cysts multiply and grow larger as the cat gets older, this disrupts kidney function and can cause full renal failure.

The cysts usually grow slowly, and so dont usualy present any symptoms until the cat is much older (average is around 7yrs old for diagnosis, but can be much older). Sometimes though the cysts grow rapidly resulting in the death of a very young cat

The number of cysts present in each kidney, and the rate at which the cysts grow, varies from cat to cat. Severely affected cats with lots of cysts or cats with rapidly growing cysts will develop renal failure at an early age, and will die from PKD.

Most PKD cats will appear to be quite healthy until well into adulthood but will eventually succumb to renal failure and die from PKD.

Some cats with few cysts or slowly growing cysts may remain healthy into old age, and may die from other conditions before renal failure develops.

So....

This is what i would do in your position....

1) contact the breeder to find out if she tested for PKD, its a simple genetic test and has been widely available for a long time now

2) if not WHY THE HELL NOT!

3) get your cat PKD DNA tested, this is done through your vets, and sending the blood sample to america for testing through optigen.

4) Go back to your breeder if the results are positive... she needs to reimburse you the cost of your kitten and cover any associated future and current vet fees associated with PKD.

5) Report the breeder to whichever cat fancy council and breed club she belongs to - shout it from the rooftops, she has been completely irresponsible. of course this is only IF her cats were not tested, or if your cat is positive.

I am really really sorry to be the one to have had to say all of this. I am a persian owner myself (a lovely little blue and white van), but this is serious and certainly warrents further investigation.

If your cat is positive there is no treatment available currently to halt the progression of PKD but what you can do is make sure that you are using good quality diets (applaws, natures menu, feline feyre etc), and a good supply of water to keep the kidneys flushed and functioning as long as is possible.

These are the outward symptoms of PKD but remember your baby isnt likely to be showing these yet unless his condition is serious.

Weight loss, Depression, Vomiting, excessive urination, excessive thirst, Lethargy, Enlarged kidneys


Tests:

Ultrasound to find cyst - 98% effective if a cyst is found more than likely a positve diagnosis.....

DNA test : can be either blood or even a cotten cheek swab depending on the laboratory doing the testing - talk to your vet.

So sorry he's poorly at the moment , and sorry to bombard you with so much info that might mean not good news.

sal x

Great reply BBM! rep coming your way! though mine ain't worth much these days!
lol
DT

Unfortunately, I believe these are rescue kitties and so probably no contact with the breeder - but - great post bbm! You are the font of all knowledge.

__________________
http://finesthourbirmans.webs.com

So sorry I typed a really long reply and when I submitted it, it went phutt!

Thanks all for replying, especially thanks to Sal..

I can see from your post that you know what you are talking about and I feel sure now that he has Chronic colitis.. he still won't eat apart from two pea size pieces of steamed chicken that I force fed him this morning... nothing is tempting him, not even prawns but then if he is blaming food for his pain then I can understand that. He is a tiny little thing and can't afford to lose weight, his brother on the other hand is twice his size, well it seems that way - 7 & 10lbs. Spid is right, in that there was no contact with the breeder but you wouldn't not rescue them even if you knew they had PKD would you!? I did question it at the time but couldn't leave them there, once I'd seen them in those tiny cages :-(

At least he isn't hiding in his tunnel any longer, just hope the test results tomorrow don't show anything more sinister, at least if it is an infection they will know what antibiotics to use. He did eat some parts of a lizard just before all of this started!!! We live in Spain now btw.

I will post results asap so you know what is going on.

Sorry this post isn't as informative as the previous one I typed but I've now run out of time!

Thanks again to all of you, so glad someone told me to check on here.
Juls
xx

Ahh yes sorry that'll teach me...

My persian girly is a rescue and no even if she had pkd nothing would make me change it - but i did get her DNA tested so we had an idea of what the future might hold - thankfully all clear.

Fingers crossed you get to the bottom of it...

Try tempting him with some more boiled white fish, or even (god forbid) some jelly from a cheap tinned meat.

I detest crappy cat foods (whiskas and the like) but i do keep them in stock... theyre usually very good at tempting a cat to eat. You can also rub a bit of the jely into his gums xxx

Hi All,

I phoned the vet in the hope that the results were back early and they were, all clear in that there were no parasite infections, he endured more things up his bottom, three in all and another anti-inflammatory injection which also had an appetite stimulant. Also, a perscription for the local farmacia so we can treat him at home. Pills for anti-inflammatory and a liquid anti-biotic. We have to take him back on Wednedsday.

Fingers crossed for third time lucky on the injection... bless, he was terrified of the vet. I did ask if I should force feed him but the vet said that cats look after theirselves very well and if he thinks eating will make him worse then he won't eat and we shouldn't force him.

Thanks for all your valuable advise, it helped us understand our spanish vet a bit better, in the fact that he repeated what you have said.

Will keep you updated - glad your baby girl was clear

I've had two persians with PKD - but they were both around 14 yrs old when they succumbed to renal failure. I adopted them as adult cats, Suzie was 10 when I adopted her and Jasper was 12. Not so much was known about PKD when they were bred.

I've found that persians do better on a diet with no grains/cereals (as do most cats really!) - but persians in particular are more intolerant of any carbs. So, although Applaws is a pretty good food, as you mentioned, it does contain a small percentage of rice, JWB is high rice content and Gourmet souffle contains milk and dairy, and plant products (usually soya). Perhaps the combination of grains in the Applaws and JWB and the milk products in the Gourmet are the culprits? It would be worth trying him on high meat content wet foods with no grains/cereals/veggies/milk or dairy, or even try a raw diet, (obviously make any changes to diet slowly)

My persians do well on a mainly raw diet with some wet foods like Hi Life Real Meat pouches, Forthglade, sometimes Bozita and very occasionally Applaws.

forthglade isnt 100% meat though - although i rate it very highly, i still hold it along with most of the good quality wet foods, i have yet to find one wet food thats more than 70% meat.

I still think the most likely culprit for his colitis is going to be the lizard and other things he's been munching.

All my cats are fed on a raw diet, with the occasonal wet pouch too (its easier for holidays if theyre used to wet, because then i dont need to trust someone with having to feed the raw).

Fingers crossed for your cat that this will be his last bout of colitis, and his bowel settles down now for you

xxx