Peach, A story of Trigeminal Neuritis

It's been a while since my last update on the cats and their NHV supportive system. Yesterday I added this year's medical course in the family diary, just to keep track of things, and to have all information listed in one spot. This year already is proving to be very challenging, what with Tiger's Hyperthyroidism and Peach's Trigeminal Neuritis. There is treatment for the first; not so much for the latter. And this is where NHV, once again and thank goodness for that, steps in.

No lust for life

When Peach first showed signs of struggling, it was early March. He stopped eating, got very uptight, and lethargic, as if life lost all meaning. As a normally social and entertaining kitten - he had yet to turn 2 years old back then, but we keep referring to him as a kitten - he grew distant, grumpy and he started keeping to himself. He started keeping his mouth slightly open, without any significant reason. He lost weight too. I checked his gums and they showed a thin blood-red line right above his teeth, there also seemed to be a tiny ulcer in his throat. My hopes that maybe he had eaten something bad in the garden, faded quickly.

Within 5 days - with a weekend in between - I contacted the vet. X-rays were taken, blood was drawn, vitals were checked, gums and throat were closely looked at. She did not like the mouth staying open. At all. She feared a heart issue, and since he is so young, she ruled that out first. The blood test came back okay, luckily.

The X-rays she took then, showed no infection of teeth or jaw bone. His 

gums showed mild inflammation but not as bad as for him to stop eating. The ulcer in his throat posed no issue, either. "However, there could be inflammation of the jaw joint, and that does not show on the x-ray." So he was treated for that: Antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory/painkiller, for about a week. The gum issue would heal that way too. (Treatment from March 11 until March 20.) Not too long after we discovered that Peach had some urinary issues as well: There was grit found in his bladder. So he was put on Hill's k/d dry food to help ease that. I could always soak the kibble in water if he was unable to eat it. 

In the meantime I contacted NHV who have been very helpful in the past, with Spook, and stepped in with Patches' flakey skin as well as Tiger's Hyperthyroidism. We agreed to give Peach Tripsy to support his kidneys, and also Mouth Drops for gums and Turmeric to boost his immune system. Though he likes the Tripsy (he licks it straight from the dispenser), he detests the bitterness of the Turmeric and the sharpness of the Mouth Drops, so at that time, I took to giving him only the Tripsy as he started to hide from me at dinner times.

Steroids treatment combined with NHV supplements

After the antibiotics treatment, we had to wait and see how things went. It was easily noticed: Eating remained a big issue. He'd grow tired while eating, he refused anything that he could not lick up. As weeks went by, he'd sometimes skip meals all morning, but take to afternoon meals like a wolverine who's been on a hunger strike. Then, all of a sudden, the dry kibble proved to be easy manageable again - if only as fast snack times.

By the end of April, the vet and I talked about possible medical treatment and decided to put him on a short treatment of steroids. It might help with pain and discomfort. I got back to the people of NHV and we decided to add Turmeric and Yucca. 

The - short term - steroid treatment did not do a lot for his issues, but during that time, Peach seemed to return to his frolicking, cuddly self. He would again ask for scritches and hugs, he would play again with Spottedleaf, he would run in the garden and even snatch a blackbird chick from its nest.

In six weeks (April 28 until June 7) he was safely put off the meds, but we continued giving him the supplements. 

What now?

After I wrote the vet an update on both Tiger and Peach, he got back to me yesterday. We talked about the progress of the Trigeminal Neuritis and a scan to determine how bad the jaw is affected. The vet advised against it, stating it would not be helpful regarding treatment (as there is none for a cat this young, and we had just discovered the steroids are not that effective), and it would need Peach to be anesthetized, which he'd rather not to for something that would not be helpful. Plus he said, knowing my financial situation, it would also be quite expensive for something that would only confirm what we know and not be a guideline towards healing. He will struggle with eating for the rest of his life but at least it is unlikely the illness will progress to affect his entire face. 

So today we celebrate Peach and his tremendous courage, for strutting his way from a stray 5 week old kitten to a loving 2 year old companion who comforts you when you are sad and who treats you to melodious purring when you gently massage his face.