Second opinion

On September 4, in my everlasting internet search for answers on Basti's condition, I stumbled upon a petfood site (http://www.prinspetfoods.nl/pages/prinspetfoods-careteam.php) where I could leave a message. Figuring that it couldn't hurt, I left the story of Basti's problems and promptly forget I'd sent it. I did however get an answer the same day, something that is rare in this country.

As it is a pet food company, naturally I received advice on how to change to their own pet food. However, she sent me another suggestion which may turn out to be a lifesaver for my cat. She suggested contacting a vet on the other side of the country who does both regular medicine as well as homeopathic remedies for pets. The clinic is called Klaver4Dieren and the vet's name Atjo Westerhuis. So I emailed him as well with the short version of Basti's problems. Him it took 5 days to respond to my email, the 'normal' response time. He suggested emailing him the pertinent information on Basti's problems and then call the clinic for an telephone appointment.

Cat's in the bag?

 

Conversation with the vet

Yesterday, I talked to Mr. Westerhuis and it went really well. The first time I talked to a vet in a long time where I didn't feel like I had to explain myself. He didn't talk down to me and he took my concerns seriously.
Some of the things I suspected, were confirmed. He too was of the opinion that Basti has IBD, not food allergies (unlike the vet who did the endoscopy one-and-a-half years ago). He mentioned that Basti's problems are most likely located in the lower end of her GI tract (her intestines) which explains why she has diarrhea and doesn't vomit. He also explained that things go upwards; problems with her colon work their way up to her duodenum and stomach which causes her to stop eating. He basically said what I had read in many other articles online; she needs fiber. He explained that hypoallergenic food was, in this case, not going to help and suggested another counterintuitive solution: diet food! His logic was that that type of food is always high in fiber and low in fat which is exactly what she needs. He also said she needs probiotics to get the bacteria in her gut back on track.
In addition, because I had asked if homeopathics could work, he is going to give me hyoscyamus niger 30D for her nervousness. If she eats the new kibble, and I can feed her the probiotics without her ignoring her food, it will be 2 out of 3 and I'll be very happy!

Yearly vet visit

Friday the 5th, Basti was due for her yearly vaccinations. Her sister and 'step-brother' are due as well, but it's almost impossible to safely take 3 cats to the vet in my tiny car. So, being the specialty cat in my house, she went first.  The good thing about all those past trips to the vet is that she is the easiest of the three to transport. She was talkative this time which is unusual. I sometimes think that she keeps quiet in the car to the vet when she feels really unwell but when she feels reasonably well, she doesn't understand why she should be going to a doctor and therefore complaints.

Basti saying she wants food..sitting on top of her box.

One thing that seemed to work last April when she had one of her anorexic episodes, was cobalamin and folate injections. As she's gradually been eating less and less again, I was hoping that giving her the vitamin shots now, would at least help her in going back to her old amounts. Here comes the weird part; I didn't see any improvement over the weekend but we were out a lot. Come Monday however, and I'm home most of the time, she ate an amazing 62 grams! Compared to the 40 or so grams she has been eating, I was ecstatic.Then a thought occurred to me: Could it be that she eats less because she doesn't like being alone or even doesn't like eating alone?

In the mean time, we're still trying to get her in her box. Our vet had 'open house' on Sunday, and the cat behaviorist was present as well. I mentioned to her that we had problems getting Basti into her box. She asked if Basti was responsive to catnip and when we said 'yes', she suggested using dried Valerian. Boy, that stuff smells!

Well, she reacted to it like we would..she squinted her eyes, pulled a face and walked away. Not the response I had expected. Still no other solutions besides perhaps dried catnip leaves. I've already tried spraying the inside of the box with catnip spray but that has no effect. If my guess about her not wanting to eat alone is correct, I'll never get her to go inside on her own.