Hi everyone,

I haven't been on here for a while. I used to post a lot a few years ago, when I had my persian Gizmo. I have another persian, Oliver. I would
love some advice. Hes 10 years old and has been a healthy cat up until about 2 months ago. He started having blood in his stools and vomiting.
We took him to the vet who said is was likely to be colitis. He was on antibiotics for about a week. He still had a little blood in his stools
so he had another course of antibiotics. He improved. But just recently we started noticing he was losing weight and seemed depressed and
has a little blood in his stools again. Hes gone off his dry food and prefers wet food. We took him back to the vet who said he had a temp and could feel lymph nodes up in his stomach. She gave him a long acting antibiotic. She also said She could feel cysts on his left kidney which could possibly be PKD.
We went back a week later so vet could feel his tummy again and see if there was any improvement. He still has a temperature and his lymph
nodes were still there and the vet could still feel the cysts. The vet took bloods which have come back mostly normal apart from his left kidney which was a bit high. Hes booked in for an ultrasound scan in a couple of days to check his kidneys for poss PKD. Im just wondering if anybody has had experience with PKD? Could it possibly cause a high temp or blood in his stools? Its all a bit of a mystery at the moment, especially with his bloods coming back relatively normal.

Any advice would be much appreciated,

Sharee and Oliver

PKD as you probably know is a kidney problem -- namely one of large cysts crowding out good tissue and thus diminishing kidney function. The main noticeable symptom is drinking/peeing, then thinness. A secondary kidney infection could produce the high temperature and swollen lymphs, but not blood in the stool.

High temperature, swollen lymph nodes, and blood in the stool sounds much more like colitis or IBD or some intestinal infection or food allergy than PKD.

In colitis, the cat does not lose weight. I have a cat with colitis, but he had no blood in his stool. It is a possible symptom, though. The stools were very loose and came at least two in a row (within minutes), the second being more loose and very smelly. Colitis requires more than antibiotics to get it under control. Antibiotics work for the time they are given and then the symptoms return. It does not sound like colitis to me, but the only way to diagnose colitis exactly is with a colonoscopy -- after fecal and blood tests and attempts at a higher fibre diet, of course.

I know nothing about PKD, unfortunately. An ultrasound will help narrow the diagnosis.

High temp, lymph nodes and blood in stools are not caused by PKD- if he does have PKD
Good advice from LindaH
My Bibby was diagnosed with PKD- when I took her to the vets for vomiting- they thought she had IBD (I think it was actually a food allergy- sorted with meds then finding the right diet)
vets said it was totally unrelated
Bibby drank and peed a lot in her final years- and towards the end started losing weight- with PKD/renal failure cats the problem tends to be consitpation.
I assume they have tested stools for infection, parasites etc.
My Beau gets colitis occasionally with blood in his poo- with him it was one type of food or stress- but he has always been otherwise well.
I hope you find an answer soon- and something that is easily treated
Positive thoughts
it is horrible when they are unwell and you dont know the exact cause

Instead of wasting your money on an expensive ultrasound that may or may not give you answers (it depends on the skill of the person reading them and the size of the cysts- sometimes they are to small to show) I would do a DNA test first. That would tell you if he has the gene that causes PKD. A vet once told me that my Lily probably had PKD based on palpitation only (before the DNA test was available) so I took her to another vet who had ultrasound in office and was a teaching hospital. Lily was/is fine. When the DNA test became available I had all my cats done - all negative to!
The symptoms of PKD are increased thrist, frequent urination and ALOT of very light colored urine, decreased appetite, weight loss, lethargy and nausea. I have lost several pets to pkd in the past. This doesn't sound like it to me - more like gastrointestinal problem. Was he tested for parasites like giardia or coccidia?

My vet said he may have PKD because of the cysts she could feel on his kidney and the higher than normal bloods on his kidney, which is why I was wondering
if having the blood in his stools, his high temp and the enlarged lymph nodes in his stomach were symptoms of PKD. Hes also lost a lot of weight and his appetite has decreased.
Apart from the higher than normal level of bloods on his kidney the rest of the blood tests are fine.
His stools are fine apart from the blood in them. It improves for a little while after antibiotics but then blood in his faeces eventually returns. We haven't had any faecal testing yet, but will definitely talk to the vet about it.
Hes booked in for an utrasound on thursday, I'll ring and talk to the vet tomorrow about DNA testing and Faecal samples.


Thanks so much for the advice, Its been really helpful,


Sharee and Oliver

Hi everyone,

Feeling really sad tonight. Oliver had his ultrasound today . He definitely has PKD and also a heart murmur. They found a 3cm mass in his stomach and also a lot
of Lymphnodes up. The vet suspects Lymphosarcoma. Hes booked in for a fine needle biopsy next week. The vet said it could be
another sort of cancer or disease but going on symptoms hes thinks its Lymphosarcoma. Hubby says to wait till hes had his fine needle biopsy before I get too
upset. I so hope Oliver is okay. Hes such a sweetie. Will update after needle biopsy. Really appreciated all the great advice, you all gave.

Sharee and Oliver

Your Hubby is so right- even though its hard not to be upset
I reaaly hope Oliver will be OK
I was devastated when I learned Bibby had PKD-but she lived nearly 14 years

Sending positive thoughts- and ((Hugs))

I am so sorry the news was not good. Hang in there , easier said than done for sure. Please let us know how your sweet boy is.

I'm sorry to hear that all is not right with Oliver. Like your husband said, try not to get too upset until you know the results for sure. Just love and hug him and try to stay positive.

((HUGS)) to you from me and my kitty herd