Googoo is a gorgeous, affectionate 8 year old boy who came to us as he had been suffering from constipation on and off for a while, had a history of kidney disease and was generally feeling pretty unwell. His symptoms had started to worsen but he had also developed new symptoms including not eating, losing energy, and vomiting.
Poor Googoo was very dehydrated, severely constipated, had an altered heart rhythm and was very weak. The first step Dr Jeremy did was to take some blood and urine samples to check on the state of the kidney disease plus look for any new problems.
An emergency blood profile performed on our in-clinic laboratory machines showed a dangerously low potassium and significantly worsened kidney disease. Potassium is the electrolyte that is critical for normal nerve and muscle function and low levels means the nerves don’t fire and everything in the body starts to grind to a halt. Googoo was immediately admitted into the clinic for intravenous fluid therapy (IVFT) and intravenous potassium supplementation, an enema to soften up his hard faeces, plus a number of different medications to make him comfortable and decrease any sickness he was feeling.
Dr Jeremy performed an abdominal ultrasound and this supported a diagnosis of a reduced colon function or ‘Megacolon’. In megacolon the bowel doesn’t function normally so the faeces isn’t passed normally and builds-up causing more problems!
Throughout his stay with us he was as bright as a button and as he was doing so well we decided to send him home to continue his recovery.
Unfortunately, Googoo had other plans and promptly stopped eating. This is a huge problem as not only does no fuel means the engine will eventually stop but Googoo had a significant number of essential medications that were required to be given by mouth.
He was brought straight in and he was admitted to hospital again where we made the decision that the most appropriate course of action was to place an oesophageal feeding tube. A soft plastic tube is placed surgically through the skin of the neck into the oesophagus it is stitched to the skin to keep it in place. These tubes are life-savers for sick cats as it can get them over that ‘hump’ and enable them to be fed regularly until the are able to eat themselves. Importantly our patients are also able to be medicated (tablets and liquids can go down the tube) via this route which is a huge benefit for patient and tablet-giver! Cats tolerate these tubes incredibly well and they are not as scary as they sound.
Googoo has wonderful, dedicated carers who have done everything possible to give him the best chance of a great quality of life ongoing. In addition to everything above he also regularly receives balanced electrolyte solution under his skin (sub-cutaneous fluid therapy) which supports his kidneys and prevents dehydration. With these therapies his kidneys have improved significantly from his first visit.
Googoo has been in for lots of visits and he is such a stoic cat, always being polite, even when Dr Jeremy keeps bothering him for another blood sample, blood pressure or a hug!
Well done Googoo! We hope you continue your journey of recovery as quickly as possible!!