Chess is not doing so well-- lost 23g in one month

Chess-- our chronically wheezy boy-- has dropped 23g between visits to the vet for Revolution doses. He's been eating, comes out for his breakfast, and we've seen him drinking, so it doesn't strike me as PT onset (yet). He's just not doing as much of those things as he should. At his peak, he was 493g.

We've had fellows with abdominal masses before and some of the signs are similar-- refusing favourite foods or eating only a small amount before abandoning them, for instance-- so that may be where he's headed.

I've been making ratmeal for him, with oatmeal, crushed almonds/walnuts/Brazil nuts, and adding a side of avocado, blueberries, and/or grapes. He's eating it, and finishes the little dish over the course of the day. I'm not sure he's eat it if I mashed up a Harlan-Teklad block in there or not.

He's not the most social of rats at the best of times, but he seems to be getting even less so. That's understandable if he's not feeling well. Oddly, his breathing has been not too bad lately. Hooray?

Not sure what I'm looking for here. Recipes, maybe? Hope?

you might try organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal (the kind that says add milk) ....... you can add a bit of olive oil etc to it if you want ....... if he likes it, you and also add a small amount of block mush

are his teeth ok?

very sorry that he isn't doing well

How old is he? Do you notice him drinking a lot more than usual or hanging around the water bowl/bottle more? Kidney disease can cause severe weight loss.

He and his siblings will be one year old tomorrow.

If he were elderly, this would not be unusual. But he's just a young guy. He's not spending an inordinate amount of time drinking. He really doesn't like being picked up. Maybe doing so, even gently, presses on something uncomfortable inside?

Thanks for the suggestions, SQ. I'll pick that stuff up for him.

He's having a slightly better day today, and ate about half of his ratmeal and avocado overnight. If there is an abdominal mass, it might just be starting.

The vet has said that his teeth are looking good. There's no non-terrible reason why a young rat should lose that much weight so quickly. He looks like a little old man.

I have an appointment lined up for him, so we'll see what the vet says.

I hope that the vet has some idea
Please let us know what the vet says

Good luck and keep us posted!

Well, two days later I'm happy to report that Chess made a liar of me.

He's put 17g back on, and, while he's still not eating his lab blocks or puffed wheat (a favourite treat), he's no longer shying away from banana. He's finishing 95% of his ratmeal, though it takes longer than it ought for him to do so, and he's eating the fresh fruits and veggies he's given.

Dr. B was happy to report that she couldn't feel anything wrong abdominally. His mouth,as far as she could see without sedating and scoping him, is healthy and untroubled. We keep coming back to his breathing. No medication we have given him has helped; she suspects that there may be scar tissue caused by a secondary infection somewhere earlier along the way. He may be making a choice between eating and breathing, and crumbly foods like blocks and grain puffs might interfere with the process more than soft, moist foods.

The vet has called three specialists for their input. Once she hears back, I'll let you know what they say. The OVC has been pretty cruddy about responding to phone calls, so she's contacted a couple of the other major exotic specialization labs. He will likely need a CT scan or MRI, which we'll be able to do in July.

His breathing gets so much worse when he's stressed. I worry that putting him through a scan like that might do more harm than good. If he can thrive and be happy on softer foods, I'm happy to put in the extra effort. (He's still enjoying his wood gnaws, so that's a good sign.)

He tried to block Dr. B from handling him today by pushing his carrier nestmaterial at her. "No! You no comes inna my travel-house! Is MINE!"

He seems to be feeling a bit better than he has been, enough to start being a bit more social again.

Now we get to hurry up and wait.

Well at least that's good news about the weight!

So the vet heard back from two of the three specialists. They suggested (and some of you will get a chuckle out of this for reasons) that we try him on a combo of Baytril and Doxy at a high dosage for two weeks. We're almost ten days in, and there seemed to be some improvement at first, but he's become VERY resistant to taking his meds. He's barely eaten anything today, but has otherwise had a fairly healthy appetite. He's up over 500g now and has been more outgoing with us. He was nibbling on a lab block the other night, so he's been having some good days. We've been largely unable to find soy formula; when we do, it's in huge quantities. Ratmeal seems to be doing the trick. We're going to have to pick him up to squidge the meds right into his face. That did not go so well earlier; I wound up wearing more of it than he got in his mouth, and he peed down both my front and the vet tech's. Did I mention he hates being handled?

There may be some remote hope for him socially. He and Rook snuggled and groomed each other today at the vet (third dose of Revolution). Last time they saw each other, Chess' reaction to Rook was immediate hostility. We might try giving them some shared lap time to see if that helps, though I'm pretty sure Chess won't want to give up having his own place any time soon.

If the meds don't work, we're kind of at a loss. We're getting a quote on a referral and an MRI, but that may be very stressful and very expensive. It'll be something to take into consideration. Right now we're keeping a close eye on Chess, as he's been showing some signs of reduced co-ordination (dropping food and not noticing, losing his footing on the top of his igloo). The fact that he's barely eaten today is not comforting. Hopefully it's just a temporary thing. Either way, we'll keep him as comfortable as we can, and will love him as much as he'll let us for as long as we're able.

That reminds ms-- @SQ, I've PMed you twice, once at your request, and not received a reply. Did my messages get through? If you got the messages and opted not to answer, that's certainly your prerogative, but I'd like to make sure they reached you. Could you please let me know? Thanks in advance.

MRI seems like overkill. That must be very expensive. He will probably need to be on the meds for the rest of his life. I've had several lifers and they did very well, maintaining good quality of life.

SqueakingJellybean said:

That reminds ms-- @SQ, I've PMed you twice, once at your request, and not received a reply. Did my messages get through? If you got the messages and opted not to answer, that's certainly your prerogative, but I'd like to make sure they reached you. Could you please let me know? Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

Weird, I don't seem to have gotten your pms.
Thanks for asking about this, as I would never ignore a pm

btw, If he is eating the blocks or block mush, I wouldn't worry about the organic soy infant formula as he is getting the nutrition he needs from them .... it is something I suggest when rats are unable to get the nutrition they need from blocks - I buy it in a can so that I can mix up the powder are needed

Is it possible that he may have a heart issue?
If baytril + azithromycin (10 mg/Ib) + doxy. orally twice a day, does not help, you might want to test dose with benazepril to see if he has a heart issue

Here is a thread that might be helpful http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19819

From what the vet has said, she's not convinced it's a heart issue. Since the meds haven't worked, we may revisit the topic. At this point, though, she thinks it may be lung scarring from earlier illness, or something like a cleft palate or deviated septum.

Unless a reassessment convinces her there's something else wrong, or unless other symptoms present themselves more conclusively, we're just going to keep him comfortable and love him as much as he'll let us for as long as we can.