We took Ginger and Tabs to the vet for their CKD progression check-up today.
I will talk about Ginger first.
Ginger’s paw wound hasn’t completely healed yet. When the vet removed the scab, there was still a bit of bleeding, and it hasn’t dried up yet. Still a little bit of swelling. He doesn’t need anymore antibiotics for it, but I have to keep applying Fucidin twice daily and monitor this wound. The reason is, there is a condition called “lung-digit syndrome” in cats (as well as dogs). This describes it:
Lung-digit syndrome is a well-described occurrence in cats whereby lung cancer (usually bronchogenic adenocarcinoma) selectively spreads or metastasizes to the nailbeds and toes.
So, cancer in the lungs could present as wounds in the digits. This is something totally new to me.
However, the vet doesn’t think it is this syndrome. Still, it pays to be safe. So, an ultrasound of the lungs was done and there was “white lines” were detected in the left lung. There was also some airway inflammation. This was cross-checked with lung X-Rays too. The X-Rays did not show anything definitive.
More about the syndrome here.
Ginger was prescribed low-dose Meloxicam for one more week to reduce the inflammation and also Neulin (a bronco-dilator) for 20 days to help to clear his airways.
I would have to take Ginger back for a check-up in three weeks for this condition. I hope it isn’t lung-digit syndrome.
An ultrasound was also done on Ginger’s kidneys to check the progression of his CKD. Slight deterioration was observed, which is totally normal for his age (Ginger is 13 years old), but it isn’t anything of grave concern. Blood was also taken and Ginger’s SDMA is 13 (a slight increase of the previous 10 in April 2024). His creatinine and urea readings are normal and so are his liver readings. Blood HCT is 34.6% which is normal. Ginger’s WBC is slightly lower, but that is expected since he is FIV-positive.
The vet decided to check Ginger’s heart too and his proBNP reading is 53.0 which is totally normal too.
But Ginger is obese and really needs to lose weight.
The ultrasound on Ginger’s bladder showed the presence of crystals in his urine. To address this, the vet suggested that Ginger can still go on with his raw food (but must reduce the amount of bone because it is the bone minerals that can contribute to crystals in the urine). I also do this by adding raw chicken meat to his raw food to reduce the bone percentage. Besides his raw food, the vet suggested replacing Cindy’s canned food with RC urinary pouch or Hill’s CD wet canned food (I bought both). Crystals in the urine could lead to a higher possibility of UTI so that’s something to watch out for as well.
So, to summarise for Ginger, his CKD is not of serious concern at this moment (that is a relief). We could consider another stem cell therapy perhaps next year. He had his first one in January this year.
But he has to lose weight and we need to monitor the paw wound and I really hope it is just a wound and not the lung-digit syndrome. This includes monitoring his airway inflammation, giving him the Meloxicam to reduce the paw wound inflammation and Neulin to help with clearing his airways.
You have to lose some weight, Ginger.
Next up, is Tabs.
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