Adam was here less than 24 hrs when he had his first "incident." He had diarrhea (with blood) in the middle of Eliza's bed. Claron was furious! I texted the breeder. She said (translated), "Oh, its just because of the place change. Give him some time, and he'll be fine." So, Adam was locked out of the bedrooms in case of future problems. A week passes. No end to the diarrhea. Thankfully, Adam never fails to hit the box. I try to feed him rice with a little chicken. No improvement.
I take him to the local vet in Garching. She is convinced that he has parasites. She gives him a dewormer, gentle food, and probiotic paste for us to put in his food. She insists that he be neutered ASAP to "reduce the stress on his system." I bring a stool samples. She only does a giardia quick test, which was negative. Adam only weighs 2 kg and is classified as underweight. She is also concerned about the condition of his skin. We are 100 Euros poorer. Adam pukes that entire night. The diarrhea doesn't stop. He is scheduled for his neuter for the next week.
During this week, I start thinking about all the horrible things that Adam could have... FIV, Feline Leukemia. I do massive amounts of internet research on feline diarrhea. I take Adam for his neuter. I tell the vet that I would like Adam tested for Feline Leukemia and FIV. I ask her how much it will cost. 20 Euros. Ok. She suggests that we do a full CBC on him. I ask how much this will be... about 60 Euros. What can we learn? She gives me a very vague answer. I say no. I was told the neuter would cost 80 Euros. A couple of hours later, I get a call. Adam is ready. I go to pick my little guy up.
Poor Adam is a mess. He apparently had diarrhea all over the table while she was working on him. He is woozy. She said, "Well, since I already had a sample of the diarrhea, I did a Parvovirus test." I wanted to say that she'd already had a sample of the diarrhea last week and if he had Parvovirus, he'd be dead by now, but I held myself in. She also says that since she was already pulling blood for the FeLeuk and FIV, she did a CBC. I ask the results. Negative for FeLeuk and FIV. The blood test shows high blood cells, so it probably is parasites. Also, she did a fungus test because she is convinced he has fungus, and it will most definitely infect my whole household. She says she is 60-70% sure he has a skin fungus. I'm pretty upset by all of this. She did tests without my consent. My cat is a mess and probably contagious! She gives us more food to try. I get the bill. 240 Euros!! Finally, I protest. I tell her that I didn't request these tests, etc. She takes off 60 Euros, but still we are way above the estimate she gave me.
I do more internet research. To me, it doesn't Adam doesn't look like the skin fungus pictures. I start a spreadsheet with all the possible causes of diarrhea. I find that pectin can help with diarrhea. I trek down to the Apothek (pharmacy) and get some pectin and chamomile. This helps a little, but the diarrhea is pervasive. I try giving him yogurt with probiotics. I call the vet again. We discuss that have dewormed for all the normal parasites. He was negative for giardia. Maybe we should try something against coccidia... a sulfa drug? She suggests Metronidazole. I know that this isn't a sulfa drug but it has been known to stop diarrhea because it is anti inflammatory to the digestive system. So, I pick it up.
In the mean time, I talk to my neighbor. She says the vet in Garching is a quack and suggests that we go to the vet in Oberschleissheim. I finish the two weeks of metronidazole. No change. I call the vet in Garching to get Adam's records. They tell me, "Well, you have all of your bills. They list everything." Actually, no they don't. Every time she gave him medicine, it just says "Angewandte Medikamente" (Applied Medicine). I need to know what she treated him with (partially for my spreadsheet and partially for the new doctor).
After Eliza's ballet class, we go to pick up his records. What do I get? A photocopy, right?! Nope, enter the passive aggressive vet letter. The letter is very defensive and while it does list the medication she gave him, it details that I was unwilling to pay for tests. Nice! Oh, and the fungus test? Negative!After all of this, I'm naturally nervous about the new vet. I'm 8 months pregnant. I really shouldn't be dealing with this! Unfortunately, Adam is the sweetest cat on earth. I don't want to send him back to that horrible breeder. One more chance!
Adam and I load into the car and off to Oberschleissheim. There are two vets at the new place. I print out my spreadsheet and bring it along. I also bring TWO stool samples, the infamous letter and the bills. The vets take the stool sample and do an extensive fecal flotation and microscopic evaluation. They take over an hour on this. Surprisingly, no parasites! Bad news, there is no easy solution. Good news, he is not dangerous to me, Eliza or the baby. They take Adam's temperature. 102!!! The discuss this case for a while and review my spreadsheet (which they say is incredibly helpful). They want to take an xray to rule out cancer, tumors, etc. After my Garching experience, I hear the sound of Euros going down the drain. I, however, consent. Last chance! Xray shows no tumors or irregularities with the exception that he doesn't have any hard stool in his entire tract. All major organs look good. They think it might be an overabundance of bacteria in the small intestine. They give him a shot of antibiotics, B vitamins, antibiotics for two weeks, more stuff for his food and instructions to call if he doesn't start to improve in a week. Oh, and how much did all of this cost? An Xray, two fecal flotations, antibiotics, two shots, a consult with two vets, paste for his food... Less than the first visit with the quack! 90 Euros!
We start the antibiotics. A day later, I have a new cat. A new cat who is driving me crazy. He has so much energy, he is being so bad. He knocked over a full glass of water. He's running around like he is possessed. The next day, we have our first semisolid bowel movement. For the next few days, he goes up and down. He has a good day then a bad day. Two weeks pass. The antibiotics end. The poop storm begins again and, Adam is miserable.
I call the vet. Maybe we didn't give the antibiotics for long enough. She says to stop by and pick up more medicine. He is now on more antibiotics (3 more weeks), more paste and a new fiber supplement. I know I probably should give up on him. But really, can you resist that face? He's been on the antibiotics a day. The poop is firming up again.
After this set of antibiotics, he is in great spirits, but his poop is still diarrhea. I take him back to the vet. Good news is that he's gained 1/2 a kilo (over a lb). Bad news is that they are really frustrated. They order a battery of blood tests to determine whether his organs are functioning correctly.
The phone call comes back a few days later. Adam is 100% healthy... oh, besides the fact that he poops puddles. He seems much healthier. His hair looks better. He is energetic.
So where do we go from here? I'm trying different foods. We are now trying a new medicine that is fiber based. We've had some success so far. Sigh!
