Hi there,
We brought our 10+ year old kitty to the vet today to have his teeth cleaned. I called at 2pm to check in on him and they said he had a full tummy so are waiting for him to digest! I pulled up his food at 8:30 pm last night like I was told. Is this normal?
Can a cat have gastroparesis?
Re: Can a cat have gastroparesis?
How much did he eat throughout the day, and what type of food did he eat?
It's possible, but without alittle history, impossible to know for certain if it is worrisome or not. Does he have a history of vomiting or have you noticed a distended or painful abdomen on occasion? Does he gulp food or eat/chew slowly? Any recent changes in diet? Is he less-active? When was his last full blood profile/urinalysis done, and thyroid function done?
Does he have any other symptoms, past or present?
It's possible, but without alittle history, impossible to know for certain if it is worrisome or not. Does he have a history of vomiting or have you noticed a distended or painful abdomen on occasion? Does he gulp food or eat/chew slowly? Any recent changes in diet? Is he less-active? When was his last full blood profile/urinalysis done, and thyroid function done?
Does he have any other symptoms, past or present?
..........Traci
Re: Can a cat have gastroparesis?
Hi Traci,
Last full bloodwork was 12/14 and it showed slightly elevated ALT & AST, which a further liver enzyme test showed normal. The dr. said this may be elevated because he is getting older. His thyroid was also slightly elevated but not abnormal, so we did the more indepth thyroid and that was normal (2.24 I think).
He does vomit yes, occasionally right after he eats. it seems as if he eats too fast or has a touchy throat. He has done this for 8 years.
He ate probably 3 oz of canned iams, and maybe 3 oz of tuna (we are mixing his clavamox with tuna). The clavamox is for any possible infection in his tooth.
Have not noticed a painful abdomen. He eats a little at a time and more or less licks his food. He does not gulp.
No other symptoms other than he has little sprints when he walks occassionally.
Last full bloodwork was 12/14 and it showed slightly elevated ALT & AST, which a further liver enzyme test showed normal. The dr. said this may be elevated because he is getting older. His thyroid was also slightly elevated but not abnormal, so we did the more indepth thyroid and that was normal (2.24 I think).
He does vomit yes, occasionally right after he eats. it seems as if he eats too fast or has a touchy throat. He has done this for 8 years.
He ate probably 3 oz of canned iams, and maybe 3 oz of tuna (we are mixing his clavamox with tuna). The clavamox is for any possible infection in his tooth.
Have not noticed a painful abdomen. He eats a little at a time and more or less licks his food. He does not gulp.
No other symptoms other than he has little sprints when he walks occassionally.
Re: Can a cat have gastroparesis?
He does have one other symptom. Last week he started sticking his tongue out a bit. This is why we brought him in to have his tooth looked at, thinking maybe he was sticking it out because he had a toothache.
Re: Can a cat have gastroparesis?
I'd ask the vet to investigate further. Given his age, you can't take chances.
Maybe an xray to rule out inflammation, rule out gastritis, esophagitis (the tongue sticking out may or may not be related to an oral problem, it could be due to reflux, inflammed esophagus).
What was the third liver enzyme?
Can you cease giving the tuna?
What do you mean, little sprints?
Has your vet done a urinalysis combined with bloodwork to rule out infection or diabetes, etc?
Maybe an xray to rule out inflammation, rule out gastritis, esophagitis (the tongue sticking out may or may not be related to an oral problem, it could be due to reflux, inflammed esophagus).
What was the third liver enzyme?
Can you cease giving the tuna?
What do you mean, little sprints?
Has your vet done a urinalysis combined with bloodwork to rule out infection or diabetes, etc?
..........Traci
Re: Can a cat have gastroparesis?
Little sprints- sometimes when he walks towards his food or something he will speed up for a few steps. He also gives a little meow, it's as if he is playful about it.
We can ease off the tuna if you think it is better. He is difficult to medicate and we figured this would be less stressful.
He is at the vet right now, so perhaps they are looking into it while they wait. I am going to call soon if I don't hear from them.
They did not do a urinalysis, no. Just the bloodwork. I am not sure what the liver panel was, but I was told it was a more in depth look at his liver.
Could it be something serious that the bloodwork didn't pickup on?
We can ease off the tuna if you think it is better. He is difficult to medicate and we figured this would be less stressful.
He is at the vet right now, so perhaps they are looking into it while they wait. I am going to call soon if I don't hear from them.
They did not do a urinalysis, no. Just the bloodwork. I am not sure what the liver panel was, but I was told it was a more in depth look at his liver.
Could it be something serious that the bloodwork didn't pickup on?
Re: Can a cat have gastroparesis?
I'm not sure. I assume your vet took a thorough history, and referred to kitty's full health record before proceeding with a dental today. I assume that the bloodwork done on the 14th was not concerning to the vet, but would be interesting to know what the liver enzyme was that set his mind at ease. Do you know if a CBC was done? This could also be revealing when detecting anything unusual.
Does the vet know that kitty has a history of vomiting? Did he mention there might be a connection with the delayed gastric emptying?
I don't know if anything is cause for alarm, but when everything is combined, you might want to just ask about an xray (if you can afford it at this point)...if not, then at least ask the vet about possible esophagitis or reflux and the history of vomiting. It may be slight inflammation from somewhere, and it may be nothing worrisome at all. The liver enzyme elevations are a bit concerning, and I don't know if I agree with the vet's comment about due to age.
That's alot of tuna fed in one day. I don't advocate feeding tuna for reasons we've talked about earlier (all the long-term dangers of fish), and it may be that he is just slow to digest it, particularly if he isn't used to eating it, or that much of it.
I'm assuming you took him in early today, and they still haven't called you yet???
Does the vet know that kitty has a history of vomiting? Did he mention there might be a connection with the delayed gastric emptying?
I don't know if anything is cause for alarm, but when everything is combined, you might want to just ask about an xray (if you can afford it at this point)...if not, then at least ask the vet about possible esophagitis or reflux and the history of vomiting. It may be slight inflammation from somewhere, and it may be nothing worrisome at all. The liver enzyme elevations are a bit concerning, and I don't know if I agree with the vet's comment about due to age.
That's alot of tuna fed in one day. I don't advocate feeding tuna for reasons we've talked about earlier (all the long-term dangers of fish), and it may be that he is just slow to digest it, particularly if he isn't used to eating it, or that much of it.
I'm assuming you took him in early today, and they still haven't called you yet???
..........Traci
Yes, they did do a CBC. Without anything else being abnormal ( I think amalase/lipase is one of the extra tests) could it still be liver related, the elevated ALT/AST? Everything else appeared normal.
We brought him in at 7:30 this morning and I called at 2pm. That is when the tech told me they were waiting for him to digest more of his food before they did the dental. I just called at 3:50pm and asked on him and they are just now waking him up. I will get to talk to the Dr. later on. We can pick him up in 3 hours.
The vet does know about the vomiting, and he has had lots of tests over the years to figure out why. The consensus has always been that he eats too fast/has a touchy throat. It seems if he even thinks of a hairball he vomits.
They didn't mention a connection to the delayed emptying because I spoke to the tech, and she relayed to me why he hadn't been seen yet. I will definately ask the Dr. later on though.
Thank you for your help. Perhaps I can mix his clavamox in a stinkier cat food for him and not the fish!
We brought him in at 7:30 this morning and I called at 2pm. That is when the tech told me they were waiting for him to digest more of his food before they did the dental. I just called at 3:50pm and asked on him and they are just now waking him up. I will get to talk to the Dr. later on. We can pick him up in 3 hours.
The vet does know about the vomiting, and he has had lots of tests over the years to figure out why. The consensus has always been that he eats too fast/has a touchy throat. It seems if he even thinks of a hairball he vomits.
They didn't mention a connection to the delayed emptying because I spoke to the tech, and she relayed to me why he hadn't been seen yet. I will definately ask the Dr. later on though.
Thank you for your help. Perhaps I can mix his clavamox in a stinkier cat food for him and not the fish!
Re: Can a cat have gastroparesis?
Were you given clavamox tablets or liquid? If the former, when you go in tonite, take the tabs left over back in and ask for credit on that, for a bottle of clavamox liquid. I find this is much easier to give, only takes a second, then give a treat afterward (or food). Regarding the dental, it would be easier and more comfortable to give, since you only have to put it in the side of the mouth, as opposed to pain while having to open the jaw.
You didn't mention the type of the Iams, but maybe ask the vet for an easier digestible diet (Iams brand or whatever else is going to be healthier for him), does he ever eat dry food and if so, how does he do with it? Also ask vet about the esophagitis/reflux. If you're schedule-feeding, try allowing more smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. Sit with him while he eats, divert his attention with a petting or something for a second, let him resume, etc.
Without knowing the other enzyme, it's hard to say. Both the ALT and AST are significant liver enzymes, other enzymes to test in combination would be glucose, ALKP, BUN, bilirubin and total protein. If those were all normal, that would be good news and the ALT can and does elevate during stress during a blood draw. But, when you have several liver enzymes in the high normal, you want to monitor them (like every couple weeks or so) to determine if they change or watch for accompanying symptoms. Antibiotics can be prescribed in the event of a suspected infection, but clavamox wouldn't be the choice; rather it would be amoxicillin. (the clavamox is better for most pre/post dentals however)
You didn't mention the type of the Iams, but maybe ask the vet for an easier digestible diet (Iams brand or whatever else is going to be healthier for him), does he ever eat dry food and if so, how does he do with it? Also ask vet about the esophagitis/reflux. If you're schedule-feeding, try allowing more smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. Sit with him while he eats, divert his attention with a petting or something for a second, let him resume, etc.
Without knowing the other enzyme, it's hard to say. Both the ALT and AST are significant liver enzymes, other enzymes to test in combination would be glucose, ALKP, BUN, bilirubin and total protein. If those were all normal, that would be good news and the ALT can and does elevate during stress during a blood draw. But, when you have several liver enzymes in the high normal, you want to monitor them (like every couple weeks or so) to determine if they change or watch for accompanying symptoms. Antibiotics can be prescribed in the event of a suspected infection, but clavamox wouldn't be the choice; rather it would be amoxicillin. (the clavamox is better for most pre/post dentals however)
..........Traci
Re: Can a cat have gastroparesis?
Amylase and lipase should have been included on the full chemical blood profile and they should be in normal range. Neither is diagnostic for liver/pancreatitis, but can be a useful aid combined with other testing. In pancreatic suspects, you'd want to utilize the feline PLI, but it has to be sent to an outside lab and can be costly. It is a pretty good indicator and specific test though.
..........Traci