I estimate him to be about 13'ish years old, which isn't THAT old for a house-cat, though he is a senior, certainly. He wasn't always an indoor cat, and as you know he spent a few of his formative years in a very obese state of being. That may have aged him a bit.
Sparing you a full accounting of vet visits, speculative diagnostics and shotgun treatment approach, we (being myself and his vet) have settled on a condition called "Triaditis". It's one of those conditions that can't reeeeally be confirmed without taking biopsies but his symptoms all point that way.
His first symptom was weight loss and we've been trying to address that for over a year or so, with additional symptoms cropping up along the way. It bothers me that $ is even part of the equation, but that's an unfortunate reality I have to reconcile with. As such, the time to discontinue further testing and medicine sampling is approaching. I may have one more round of blood tests done but then after that, we'll focus on quality of life. He's not in obvious pain, and he has an appetite which is good. But he continues to lose weight, he vomits several times a week, he's lethargic and even his meows are changing; losing his authoritative, scolding directives "FEED me!" "I'm entering the room!!" "Wake UP!" "I'm here, PET me!!" "I'm going to go use the litter box now!"
Yesterday, with all this in mind, I experienced a moment of clarity. I am Max's health advocate. I'm not going to ignore what my vet suggests, but I'm taking an active role now. He's not going to spend the rest of his life taking antibiotics that give him the runs and thyroid medicine that creates an autoimmune attack, and steroids that will result in who knows WHAT side-effects... and he's definitely not going to be fed commercial-grade cat food filled with crap that an "obligate carnivore" would never, and should never eat.
So as such, today I made the first batch of home-made, feline-friendly, raw cat food. I made enough for 8 days. Last night I gave him straight-up ground chicken for dinner to see if he'd be receptive and he dove right in. Then this morning he seemed more spry and "present", which was likely a coincidence; he's just having a good day. But I AM taking it as an optimistic omen. This is the link where I finally landed after researching for raw pet diets: http://www.catinfo.org/ Great info, and website seems completely credible.
It was a liiiittle icky throwing 3 lbs of chicken meat and innards in the food processor, but I got over it. Along with the meat were bone meal and vitamins E & B complex. Missing from the online recipe was taurine and fish oil which I will have on hand when I'm ready to make the next batch. And I'm not going to just cut off his prescribed meds, but I am placing focus on eliminating anything that does not contribute to his comfort and quality of life.
My apology for rambling. The intention for this blog entry was to compare and link up Max's and my own nutritional journeys, underscore the importance of being one's own health advocate, bla bla bla... and here I am, rambling on like the worried Mommy that I am. I will say though, my attention to Max is a sturdy reminder of what may be in store for me several years down the road, should I stray too far off track. Perhaps not triaditis, but some form(s) of un-health.
Max, in his infinite patience, wisdom and unconditional love is now the teacher.
The homemade cat food just looks yummier, doesn't it?
Stoically focused on his empty food bowl on the counter, Max expects Mommy to catch his vibes.
Mommy is not catching his vibes.
"Hey MOMMY! Empty dish! Let's go!"
Meds, meds, meds.
(syringe is for dosing only. Liquid mixed with his food works well for Max.)
Harley's Yin to Max's Yang.
