Help,I think my cat's had a reaction to Fortekor tablets.

[Mark]

I am interested in trying this new product Rubenol http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2920 - There is also a product made by the same company called Adozyl that is available in America but not sure if it is the same thing with a different name - I don't think so though. Adozyl is a prebiotic. It says toxins are dumped in the intestine with CRF and build up. Adozyl treat it. I don't know why we can't buy it here.

[Fennella1]

Is it the fish Hi-life? - If so, I would be careful as it is one of the highest phosphorus foods on the market.

Anyway, glad she is feeling better.

Hi Mark, it was tenderloin with duck breast .  Thanks for the warning I have just looked on a site and it has shown that it is really high.
Fen is loads better today. She has just had some RC food but decided to eat Lupin's food instead which was whiskas tuna .

[Maddiesmum]

Good to hear, glad she is having some sunshine 

[Desley (booktigger)]

Glad she has eaten something and enjoying the sun

[Mark]

Is it the fish Hi-life? - If so, I would be careful as it is one of the highest phosphorus foods on the market.

Anyway, glad she is feeling better.

[Fennella1]

Today Fen has really picked up.After endlessly trying to get her to eat, she finally scoffed down some Highlife perfection and ate the whole can. She has been out to sunbathe ( lucky Fen). Still not really back to normal but I'm so glad that she has eaten something.
I now have to give lots and lots of love to my other fur baby Lupin. He has been feeling a little left out this past week  .
Thank you to everyone that has replied to me,it has been a great comfort .I will keep you updated with Fen's progress and with what the vet has to say.

[Desley (booktigger)]

It is probably nausea causing her not to eat, I would ask the vet for something like Antepsin. Cat milk may make her worse, but it isn't complete, so she wont be getting enough nutrients from it.

[Maddiesmum]

Hope Fen is feeling better and is eating again 

[Fennella1]

Clapton was like that when he was first diagnosed. I tried slippery elm bark on his food but it didn't seem to do a lot. The vet gave him a steroid jab to kick-start his appetite and he has barely stopped eating since. I don't think the cat milk is too good. It might even be what is upsetting her stomach. Two of mine throw up and have diarrhoea with it.

Fen has not been sick or had diarrhoea thankfully.I think I just might have to get back intouch with my vets again.

[Mark]

Clapton was like that when he was first diagnosed. I tried slippery elm bark on his food but it didn't seem to do a lot. The vet gave him a steroid jab to kick-start his appetite and he has barely stopped eating since. I don't think the cat milk is too good. It might even be what is upsetting her stomach. Two of mine throw up and have diarrhoea with it.

[Fennella1]

Still worried about Fen  . She is asking for food but turns her nose up when I give it to her. The only thing she is really having is cat milk. Is too much cat milk bad for her? especially with her problems?
Before we went to the vets She ate all the time. Anybody got any ideas?

[MrsR]

Sending tons of hugs 

[Janeyk]

Kocka had a thyroid problem and had an op to remove a non-malignat tumour and the thyroid it was on but she never improved, she also had crf which I think started as a result of the op cos she was fine before. She could not be medicated  and was a fussy cat who often refused to eat.

I think if meds cause your cat a problem then I would opt to go with a shorter happy life and letting her eat what she wants. Ceratinly that was my vets advice for Kocka and to also keep her away from his surgery as much as possible cos it made her so scared.

Lots of good wishes for Fen 

fen has a real problem in going to the vets.It makes her really    Fen is very scared of everything . She has had a hard life. First home she was hit by humans, second home beaten up by 6 other cats.
She then adopted me! it took me 3 years to earn her trust, that is why I do not want Fen to go through any more upset.

If she is Hyperth. she will be even more nervous than normal.

[Maddiesmum]

Mark and Fenella bless them both  Hope Fen continues to improve and glad you got her off the Fortekor if it is this that is causing the problems

[Mark]

One of mine is like that - a lot of cats are jumpy but it is a whole different kettle of fish to have a cat that hides for 2 days after a vet trip. Even on a home visit, pees mid-air when the vet picks them up. He even jumped out of his skin in the garden when I coughed earlier. It is like walking on eggshells. I even have to take my shoes off to pass him in the hallway - so I understand what it is like. It is the reason I really can't subject him to regular blood tests etc - I had never seen a cat play dead at the vets before until I had him. So yes, I understand what it's like 

He was found living rough in a market in Hackney in a real state and needed mouth surgery etc. He has never really recovered but we do our best for him 

[Fennella1]

Kocka had a thyroid problem and had an op to remove a non-malignat tumour and the thyroid it was on but she never improved, she also had crf which I think started as a result of the op cos she was fine before. She could not be medicated  and was a fussy cat who often refused to eat.

I think if meds cause your cat a problem then I would opt to go with a shorter happy life and letting her eat what she wants. Ceratinly that was my vets advice for Kocka and to also keep her away from his surgery as much as possible cos it made her so scared.

Lots of good wishes for Fen 

fen has a real problem in going to the vets.It makes her really    Fen is very scared of everything . She has had a hard life. First home she was hit by humans, second home beaten up by 6 other cats.
She then adopted me! it took me 3 years to earn her trust, that is why I do not want Fen to go through any more upset.

[Gillian Harvey]

my vet is also going to find some homemade catfood receipes that I can make for her. I think I would rather do that.

This is a good site for anything to do with making your own catfood - written by a vet www.catinfo.org

[Fennella1]

I'm sure Gillian posted about a new product by Vetoquinol that helps CRF - possibly even reduces Creatanine levels? - they also make Ipakitin which is a phosphorus binder. I just tried going into their website and parts of it have been hacked  it says "Hacked by Arab hackers" or something and arab music plays 

Anyway, an interesting quote on their homepage (which isn't hacked)


"Contrary to what happens in humans, reducing protein intake in cats and dogs has no effect in increasing life expectancy." Which makes me even more wary of renal diets which as well as having reduced phosphorus, have reduced protein. I have read reports which say that renal diets can cause muscle wastage in cats due to the reduced protein.

for th quote my vet is also going to find some homemade catfood receipes that I can make for her. I think I would rather do that.

[Fennella1]

Fenella sorry to hear about your little cat.  I have to tell you that my cat Dragan (RIP) had a similar reaction to yours with Fortekor but my vet insisted it was a temporary side effect and said to keep on giving them,.  Ultimately he lost the use of his back legs and had to be put to sleep.  I would be very very careful if your cat has shown reaction to it.  My vet said it is very very rare but it does happen.  Hope she is feeling better soon and that the vet can get things under control for you. 

Hi Maddiesmum.I had hoped that you would get intouch with me as I had read about your beloved cat Dragan (RIP) on this site. It was this that comfirmed my decision about stopping the tablets and the vet agreed.Maybe this saved her life,I dont know. Fen is getting better slowly. thankyou.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Kocka had a thyroid problem and had an op to remove a non-malignat tumour and the thyroid it was on but she never improved, she also had crf which I think started as a result of the op cos she was fine before. She could not be medicated  and was a fussy cat who often refused to eat.

I think if meds cause your cat a problem then I would opt to go with a shorter happy life and letting her eat what she wants. Ceratinly that was my vets advice for Kocka and to also keep her away from his surgery as much as possible cos it made her so scared.

Lots of good wishes for Fen 

[Mark]

I'm sure Gillian posted about a new product by Vetoquinol that helps CRF - possibly even reduces Creatanine levels? - they also make Ipakitin which is a phosphorus binder. I just tried going into their website and parts of it have been hacked  it says "Hacked by Arab hackers" or something and arab music plays 

Anyway, an interesting quote on their homepage (which isn't hacked)


"Contrary to what happens in humans, reducing protein intake in cats and dogs has no effect in increasing life expectancy." Which makes me even more wary of renal diets which as well as having reduced phosphorus, have reduced protein. I have read reports which say that renal diets can cause muscle wastage in cats due to the reduced protein.

[Maddiesmum]

Fenella sorry to hear about your little cat.  I have to tell you that my cat Dragan (RIP) had a similar reaction to yours with Fortekor but my vet insisted it was a temporary side effect and said to keep on giving them,.  Ultimately he lost the use of his back legs and had to be put to sleep.  I would be very very careful if your cat has shown reaction to it.  My vet said it is very very rare but it does happen.  Hope she is feeling better soon and that the vet can get things under control for you. 

[Desley (booktigger)]

Interesting that her Urea is so high but yet her Creatnine isn't that raised - Urea can be raised due to other things though, I have had two cats with raised Urea that has been infection related (as their Creatnine is fine).

[Fennella1]

  I have wondered about trying homeopathic medicine, has anyone had any experience with this?

I have used homeopathic remedies, no experience of using them for hyperT, but have seen good results for other things, so it could be worth a try in Fen's case. I would either ask your vet to refer you to a good homeopathic vet, or you can find one yourself - try looking at the British Association of Homeopathic Vets site, they have a list here http://www.bahvs.com/findavet.htm

:thanks:for the web address.

[Gillian Harvey]

  I have wondered about trying homeopathic medicine, has anyone had any experience with this?

I have used homeopathic remedies, no experience of using them for hyperT, but have seen good results for other things, so it could be worth a try in Fen's case. I would either ask your vet to refer you to a good homeopathic vet, or you can find one yourself - try looking at the British Association of Homeopathic Vets site, they have a list here http://www.bahvs.com/findavet.htm

[Fennella1]

I know how you feel - I have a hyper-t cat who has had a reaction to both kinds of hyper-t treatment, so the decision has been made not to keep trying and accept that he wont have very long - the vet did mention months though. My vet doesn't prescribe Fortekor, so I went down jsut teh food route with my CRF foster last year, we didn't do any homeopathy - if Fen wont eat renal foods (and quite a lot wont), then senior food is the next best thing. Did you know what her other kidney levels were (with CRF, they tend to have high Urea and Creatnine, I think the figures you posted would have been her Urea levels) - if they aren't overly high, I wonder if the op would be an option for her hyper-t?

Thankyou for advice on the food.her cretintine level was 217. the vet said it should be 0-190. the vet is a bit dubious about the opp.

[Janeyk]

Hi Fen, I can understand where you are coming personally I don't like giving my cats lots of meds anyway and alot of the cats I have had have reacted poorly to meds, we only adopt older cats and my latest 2 haven't had Fortekor nor renal food which my vet said was ok.  My first 2 cats were hyperthyroid and often I couldn't get them to take the meds.  I also let my cats eat whatever cat foods they like, we tend to think quality of life now my cat is/were older than yours though so I can only speak for myself.  Sorry you're in a bit of a dilemma with this but I think you and your vet will decide what is best for your cat and I hope she starts to pick up soon

[Desley (booktigger)]

I know how you feel - I have a hyper-t cat who has had a reaction to both kinds of hyper-t treatment, so the decision has been made not to keep trying and accept that he wont have very long - the vet did mention months though. My vet doesn't prescribe Fortekor, so I went down jsut teh food route with my CRF foster last year, we didn't do any homeopathy - if Fen wont eat renal foods (and quite a lot wont), then senior food is the next best thing. Did you know what her other kidney levels were (with CRF, they tend to have high Urea and Creatnine, I think the figures you posted would have been her Urea levels) - if they aren't overly high, I wonder if the op would be an option for her hyper-t?

[Fennella1]

 Update on Fen...
The vet agreed that Fen had suffered a bad reaction to Fortekor which is very rare.Unfortunatley Fen is a very sensitive little cat,She seems to fall ill from any sort of medication so the vet is very reluctant to put
Fen on thyroid treatment as she has seen more side effects with those tablets. The vet wants to let Fen relax for a week and try and get back to her normal self before we discuss what to do next.
the vet said that we should go on a prescription diet either Hills or Royal cann.
Because of Fens sensitivity to things no matter how much I want her to be here for longer, it makes me wonder wether I should let Fen live a shorter but happier life on a good diet and without medication.
Some of you may be horrified by this and belive me if Fen could take medicines I would try everything. I have wondered about trying homeopathic medicine, has anyone had any experience with this?
Other than that Fen has picked up and she has eaten some chicken and walking about again but still not back to her playful, purry self.I am very confused on what to do for the best .All I want is fen to be happy.

[MrsR]

Good luck at vets today hun x

[Mark]

It may have been that. I just remember the vet saying she wanted to retest for hyper-t and anaemia once the kidneys were stabilised and both the other things were fine. Willow did have a cold at the time which may have affected readings originally.

[Desley (booktigger)]

Thanks for that Mark - I know raised liver enzymes can indicate hyper-t (which is why Tino was tested), but didn't realise that it can have that affect with kidney levels.

[Mark]

Good luck - am surprised they wanted to treat teh kidney issues first though, as untreated hyper-t is much more serious. do you know what her levels were?

I was rather surprised by that too Desley, although I suppose the vet will have her reasons.

When Willow had her bloods done, they said her T cells were raised indicating Hyper-T but it could be a false reading caused by the CRF. They said to get her on the Forteor and retest. When she was retested, the levels for Hyper-T had gone down to within normal range.

[Desley (booktigger)]

That could explain things, the only problem is that once you treat the thyroid (which is incredibly important, it ultimately affects more organs than CRF), there is a chance that the kidneys can get worse, so treating them first is a bit of a puzzle as they could come back up again once on hyper-t treatment.

[Fennella1]

Do you know what your vets range was, I know mine is 60ish, but that does seem to vary. If yours is similar, that could be why, as she sn't overly high (my foster cats level was 180). Do you know her kidney results?

I think my vets range is 55 . Fen kidneys  were 27.3 and my vet said that a normal cat should be 2.8-11

[Desley (booktigger)]

Do you know what your vets range was, I know mine is 60ish, but that does seem to vary. If yours is similar, that could be why, as she sn't overly high (my foster cats level was 180). Do you know her kidney results?

[Fennella1]

Good luck - am surprised they wanted to treat teh kidney issues first though, as untreated hyper-t is much more serious. do you know what her levels were?

Fen's T4 level was 94 . I will ask vet  why we started on kidney treatment first .

[Janeyk]

Good luck - am surprised they wanted to treat teh kidney issues first though, as untreated hyper-t is much more serious. do you know what her levels were?

I was rather surprised by that too Desley, although I suppose the vet will have her reasons.

[Janeyk]

Hi Fen. 1, can I also just add having had 2 cats and myself with overactive thyroid - this in itself can very often cause tremors on and off so may not necessarily be down to the Fortekor, just a coincidence.  I'm not saying it isn't but OT can cause so many odd little things, just thought I'd mention that  hope your Fen gets her problems sorted out xx

[Yvonne]

Good luck with Fen - hope that she starts to eat soon

My cat Cleo had a bad reaction with fortekor but she was quite a bit older than your Fen

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