Question:
My Kitty has Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex (allergies). Living with this is making me so sad. Bless her heart I guess she is itchy all the time, she has spots on her body that are practically bald from her licking and scratching. She has had this since April and it just seems to be getting worse. Seems like the only treatment is a monthly steroid shot. This bothers me because I just feel like this is going to cut her life short, she is only about a year and a half old. I asked the vet about all these steroid shots and she says that cats handle steroids better than humans and dogs, and that about the only side effect would be that she may develope diabetes. I told her I had heard that it could affect Kittys kidneys and she said not unless she is predisposed to have kidney problems. I really don't believe that diabetes is the only possible side effect of all these steroid shots.
Anyway, this makes me so sad. Just wondered how anyone else deals with having a cat with a chronic condition.
Answer:
I've got a diabetic! (not from steroids though)
For me (or her), it's insulin shots twice a day.
In the beginning it was an ordeal, but now it's just part of the routine. Test, feed, shoot. We've been doing this twice a day for a little over 5 years now.
Jennifer
Jennifer and the monsters
They say...
it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a Day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.
Answer:
Well I sure hope she doesn't develope diabetes because I can't imagine giving her a shot twice a day. Poor Kitty is very nervous/scared all the time so I try to avoid anything that upsets her. We are terrible at giving meds.
As far as food goes, I do avoid anything but high quality foods. She eats Wellness wet food and dry and she was eating Eagle Pack dry for awhile. A couple of months ago I tried feeding her a hypoallergenic diet, Natural Balance venison and green pea. Unfortunately, when her allergies flared the last time I was so discouraged that I went back to giving her the Wellness wet food because I felt so bad that she wasn't getting the food she really loved. She is still eating the venison and green pea dry food. I know I should not have done that and should go back to Natural Balance only because I didn't give it the 10 -12 weeks they say, it was only about 6 weeks.
Answer:
My Ace has bad allergies as well.
We've gone through the testing (by blood draw) and the whole sha-bang.
No food allergies showed up (supposedly) but I keep him on the Natural Balance Venison and Green Pea. Same for the canned as well. All the cats eat it. I'm not playing games with who gets what food. If it's good enough for one, it's good enough for them all! And it's not like I'm feeding a crappy food.
He's allergic to ragweed, some trees (like elm and ash), a few other types of grasses, molds, and dog dander. We also have four dogs.
His allergies have flared up again (being fall and the ragweed was bad). But we are controling it. He gets shots when they are bad and does great for the rest of the year.
I'd advise you to see a dermatologist to tackle these problems. Our vet started with the steroid injections as well.....but I just couldn't do it. I'm a nurse and I know what steroids do to the body.
Feel free to PM me with gripes! I know I have enough of them to go around with my guy.....like finding blood on window sills from where he sat there and chewed his feet/tail/legs.....licking his belly raw.....having scabs running up and down his whole back.
He looks wonderful now......we are controlling his belly licking!
Jen and the furkids (naked ones too)
~~Second hand pets give first class love. Please adopt~~
Answer:
My Linx has asthma, he was diagnosed at 9mos. He was on oral preds for the first year but had gained weight and I was worried about long term use and developing diabetes. He is now on an inhaler and has lost the excess weight and has been symptom free! He is 2.5 now and I plan on him being around for a long long time! Hugs, prayers and purrs being sent
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Answer:
My Trixie has Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid). She was diagnosed with it last Febuary. She gets a pill daily and is doing very well on it, with no negative side effects.
Hiro has a bone deformity in both of his front legs (Radial Hypoplasia). The radius in each of his legs stopped growing prematurely, while the ulna continued to grow, so his legs are slightly twisted. When he walks, he sort of limps, but it really doesn't seem to bother him too much. He gets glucosamine twice a day to help with any pain or stiffness.
and Cheddar too!
Answer:
Sebastian was just diagnosed last week with a form of heart disease called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. He is on 3 meds - 1 is once/day, 1 is every 12 hours and 1 is every 8 hours (that is the most difficult but it doesn't have to be exactly . So far the meds are controlling it - they won't cure or slow the disease. Having blood tests run Thurs to see the affect on his kidneys and will need to adjust the meds accordingly.
He also has been diagnosed with megacolon so is on Lactulose and Laxatone daily.
Answer:
I haven't a whole lot of posts, but if you search them, I am sure you will find the episode of our last acquisition.
As far as HOW I deal with it, every time I look at Chelsea I just about cry. I am disheartened, disparaged, and appalled that someone passing him or herself off as 'human' could have done what they did to this creature.
WHAT I do to attend to her ailments are twice a week visits to the vet for 100ml saline sub-dermal IV because her kidneys don't work properly. I can’t hold her still, and for other reasons, my Mrs. is not ready to be near an IV, needles, or anything else ‘hospital’ related. She (Chelsea-the cat) is also on a prescription diet, and gets penned up to eat so the other boys don't get at her food.
Her blindness is another story. She moves very slowly and cautiously. We try not to carry her around, pick her up onto our laps, etc. because I don't believe she is that proficient at Orientation and Mobility. When she first arrived, I would call her and have her follow me around so she would get SOME idea of the lay of the land. We call her and coax her onto our laps, but we let her do the legwork so that she knows where she is. My Mrs. is a blind rehab teacher, so there are things I/we pick up from work. To teach her how high the bed and couch are, I called her, then lifted only her front paws, much to her resistance, to the level of the bed and sofa, then urged her up. We try to keep from moving furniture around, or leaving 'strange' objects on floors and in halls.
The boys wear bells so she can hear them coming. Sometimes when I am home all day, I wear bells on my wrist so she can hear me coming and going.
I marvel that she survived ANY time at all 'in the wild', having been de-clawed by a previous 'master', while not knowing where was. And I can only imagine how frightened she must be. She may think every car ride is going to be like the one from which she was possibly let out to fend for herself. I know that it takes a little bit to assure her that she is back in her home surroundings when we return from the 'hydration' session.
I want to hold her and hug her and never let her go, but don't because she it spooks her too much. I speak to her and call in soft melodic voices to sound calming and not alarming. I always call her name before touching her so she knows who and where I am.
And I wonder, of all the TRUE human(e) beings in Phoenix, why I was chosen to tender to this little creature of God.
Oh, and the boys, you ask?
Charcoal is 15 pound chunk of love that came out of the same alley eight years ago at about nine months. He turned out to be prone to kidney stones, being in twice for 'plumbing' blockages and is on a prescription diet. And ChinChin has HIS own prescription being prone to bladder stones.
And I have my 'scripts' for MY own disorders and dysfuntions.
And the band plays on...
--Meow for neow--
Ethan
Answer:
About a year ago we found out Tinkerbell has a heart murmur and a slightly swollen papillary muscle. I have to give her half a baby aspirin twice a week to control the swelling and prevent stroke. At our follow-up ultrasound nothing had changed and the vet is optimistic that we can control it since we found it early.
-Crystal-
Wife to Erik; Mommy to Tink, Minnie, Jazmine, Trixie, Figaro, and Nala
2 down, 1 to go...