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I am so distraught over this I feel like crying. I know this is FSF.

He was fine this AM. He gobbled up a hard-boiled egg earlier this AM, barked at some passer-by's. My hubby was going to take him for a walk and called him in, and he came...but was lifting his back leg and he knew right away it was a fever. His right wrist was a bit swollen and his hock was warm to the touch. At that point his fever wasn't really in FSF ranges, but still a bit high. I gave him three low dose aspirin. His fever has risen to 104.6. He seems to finally be resting a bit more comfortably. We have placed wet rags on him to try to cool him. I called the vet and discussed that I would monitor him at home for the time being. I'd rather not take him in right now as the combination of the car ride + being at the vet will only stress him out more and elevate his temp further. Assuming I can get his temp to start coming down, I'm going to keep him here today and take him to the vet tomorrow to discuss a treatment protocol.

Oh no! I am so sorry that lil' Enzo has a fever. I hope you are able to get it down and him more comfortable. Hugs to you!

Poor Enzo Is this his first?

His first unexplained fever, yes. A few years ago he had a fever, but he also had reoccurring skin and staph infections. His vet at the time felt his staph infection may have caused the fever (plus the fever wasn't very high). Who knows, it could have been early signs of FSF. He was about 1.5 or 2 years at the time. He will soon be 5. His shivering is going down, but the fever is still now within normal range (it started about 2 hours ago). I feel so sad for my poor boy. I'm scheduled to go out of town for a work conference next week, I don't want to leave him if he's feeling ill.

And it may not have been. It could possibly be a bite? or something?

I was convinced when Pearl had a fever that it couldn't be anything else as she had high temp first thing in the morning. I sat and howled for a couple of hours. It wasn't till a couple of hours later when she was chewing her leg rather vigourously that I checked and found the puncture bites of a snake which could only have happened the night before

I am so sorry! Symptoms do seem to be pretty suspect with the swollen wrist, hock and fever. Certainly some type of inflammation going on that you will want looked into.

Absolutely you should check him over thoroughly and have the Vet runs some basic tests too tomorrow to rule out other potential causes as well as checking his general health so you know where you stand.

A CBC,Chem 20 blood panel and UA with urine specific gravity is a start. With him at that prime age when we can see signs of Amyloidosis begining you want to have a good look at his body chemistry and renal function. You want to pull his water at midnight and collect his first morning urine sample for most accurate reading on the Specific Gravity.

I know we dont want to assume FSF necessarily on a single fever incident but with the swelling of wrist & hock also it is more likely an inflammatory episode and at his age I dont know that I would feel comfortable waiting for a 2nd clear episode to begin a treatment protocol....such a dilema!

You might also want to consider Dr Tintle's suggested supplements for the healthy HA support....this can be very helpful for all Pei but especially beneficial for those with FSF or other health issues.

Bless his heart...please keep us updated.

Hey there,

I agree with Jan, this does seem like a possible fever and should be treated as such. However, Ollie has had similar events which aren't fever related. Recently, he had (what I suspect anyway) a spider bite on the muzzle that caused his face to swell up huge and for him to run a low-grade fever. I gave him benedryl, and within about two hours, he was fine. The shortness of the fever really indicated that it wasn't a FSF episode.

I also recently was skiing with my in-laws, and took Ollie on a walk. When we got back, he was nervous, panting and lifting a leg. He didn't have a fever, but his hock was hot and swollen to the touch. Again, I gave him benedryl and asprin, and everything was fine in a matter of a few hours.

Sometimes they have events that mimic fevers, but aren't actually fevers. At this point, I don't even know if Ollie actually has FSF, since his 1st fever came on the heels of an application of Revolution (less than 24 hours, in fact) and had similar symptoms to a negative reaction to the spot-on and the second one came out of the blue, but lasted 6 hours tops. We haven't had another episode in years (knock on wood).

I keep Ollie on a relatively low dose of colchicine (0.6 mg once per day) as well as giving MSM and Fish Oil to reduce inflammation. It doesn't hurt to take a preventative route!

Thanks All. He was just in the vet to have a thyroid recheck about 2 weeks ago and I had the Chem 20 run then, plus a UA. All was good and in normal range. Nothing else has been going on lately. He's been licking his paws and has a hotspot on his leg (definitely not a snake bite in this neighborhood:))...at most a mosquito.

I'll have to recheck his temp. He's sleeping so soundly, I don't want to disturb. He's had both mom and dad constantly bugging him for the last 2.5 hours..me checking his temp and dad putting wet towels and feeding him ice cubes:)...I think he's ready to be left alone. I sure do feel grateful right about now to have a job that allows me to work from home!

I know I shouldn't jump to conclusions, but this sure does fit the bill for FSF. He was fine at 9:30. Eating, walking around, barking at strangers. And then one hour later, his left back leg was raised, warm, and looked slightly swollen at the wrist area in comparison to the right leg. His fever went up to 105.2 at it's height (he's never had a temp that high before), he shivered for a good 1.5 hours, and has refused food and treats (my husband has had to force the ice cubes to keep him hydrated). When he's feeling better, I'll give him a good look over for bites or anything other causes, but I'm inclined to be cautious here and discuss treatment protocols with my vet... Perhaps like Rachel, try a low dose Colchocine + MSM.

JL - given he just had a Chem 20, etc - does he need another?

Maybe not....but I would make sure he gets the Specific Gravity done and you would be wise to run the chem 20 and UA (with Specific gravity) every 4-6 months if ya can so any early changes can be tracked. Age 3-6 years is prime for Amyloidosis so it is prudent to watch them especially closely after age 3.

I am so sorry that he ill. Hugs to all.

Thanks again. The lil' guy seems to be doing better. About 2 hours ago he ate a treat, so I gave him yogurt with a scoop of peanut butter mixed in...he gobbled it up (but insisted I feed him with a spoon!!!:)). He just ate dinner and was able to put pressure on his legs. He went out and went to the bathroom and had enough spunk to huff and puff at the neighbor kids and kick up some grass.

I'm going to try to get the vet to him tomorrow, but even if they don't have time I can still take in the UA sample. I don't have a sterile container here. Can I put it in a tupperware container? Any tips on sterilizing? I'd honestly rather just go in and talk to her about getting him on a protocol than make him go in. The vet is a stressful experience for him and I'd like to avoid adding stressors right now. But we'll see what she wants to do.

I usually use a tupperware tub too. I fill it with boiling water to sterilise it, thats all

Will do! Thanks!!

Oh man:( sorry, crystal. I better start watching tugg since our boys have always been mirror images regarding health issues;)

To do a specific gravity and a screen for protein, it does not have to be sterile, so tuppereware will be fine. I used to really panic over Circe when she fevered, but I find now the more I just leave her alone and keep her cool, the faster she recovers. I think starting the protocol is a good idea, though. Hope he's feeling better soon.

Crap!!! I sure hope it isn't FSF!!! Gosh I wish they would come up with something to make this crap go away. Hate this disease so very much!!!
I'm glad to hear that he is feeling better!!!!

I second the urinalysis. We usually do specific gravity and protein/creatinin ratio once every 6 months.

Oh no! this is not good those symptoms sure do sound like FSF I'm hoping he is not a victim of this disease too! i will say a prayer for him

I sure hope all is well with Enzo, please let us know as soon as you find out something Praying for a positive outcome

Hubby took Enzo's first morning urine into the vet this A.M. and requested the UA with specific gravity test be run. Enzo is A-OK this AM. He's eating normally, and outside exploring the yard as I type. His fever was gone by about 6:30 yesterday evening (started yesterday at about 10:30am). In looking at his wrists, I'm realizing they probably weren't swollen...he's just fat;)). But, I can't find any other cause for the fever (again it was just out of the blue). He has a few red spots on him, which I think are from licking/biting... he could have been bitten by a bug, I just can't tell for sure.

Enzo has been getting the Chem 20 yearly since he was 2, and all has been normal. I suppose now I'll start running the tests every 4 months, at the same time as his thyroid recheck.

When I hear from the vet, I'll update.

I'm so glad that Enzo is feeling better! Yes, please let us know how the urinalysis comes out.

How are his results, I hope Enzo is fine, he is such a doll...........

hope hes feeling better and you get all his tests back as normal...x

No results yet.... They were closed yesterday. Hopefully we'll receive news today.

Just got off the phone with Enzo's doctor. His test results were normal...no evidence of protein in the urine. So all was good on that front.

She agreed the fever episode sounded highly suspect and talked about the pro's and con's of starting colchicine after just one unexplained fever. Ultimately she felt that that weren't enough drawbacks to not starting and the potential risks to not starting could be too great. Given he isn't concentrating protein in his urine and his Chem 20 results were really good, she feels it's a good time to start treatment. She did mention colchicine is very expensive and is shopping around for the most affordable vendor for me. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Target was still cheap last I checked - I don't have to buy it so I wouldn't know!
If you call the company directly they may ship it too you directly - I thought I read they were allowing pets that needed the drug to still get it cheap as there have not been any clinical trial on them and the reasons for raising the price didn't include them.
The only Clinical trialed Gout-
which have nothing to do with FSF or FMF and Colchine is the only treatment.