bittirsweet
Lairian
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2014
- Messages
- 16
- Points
- 14
Hey guys,
I've got a long post, sorry. I deleted my original one (argh!) so I'm going to try again in less words. There's a lot going on with my kitty and I'm pretty worried about him.
I've been having issues with my eldest, Raz, for awhile now.
- irritation
- oily skin
- conjunctivitis in left eye
- rash/sore spots on skin
- excessive licking/scratching
- vomiting up meals
I took him to the vet back in August and she thought it was a food allergy, so we switched from Royal Canin sphynx food to their Hypoallargenic stuff, which seemed to help a little, but was $$, so we moved to the duck and potato version, which is a little cheaper. Both my cats started going crazy for food - never satisfied, they were meowing at me all the time and even going into my client's bags if there was food in there, something they'd never done before. SO, I switched them back to the blue label hypo stuff, but the problem persisted.
I talked to my breeder about it, wondering if they had worms or something, and she suggested a raw diet, which is something I'd been considering but had been steered away from it by the vet. I started looking into it, but it took me awhile to get set up. Have started them on a recipe she recommended (chicken+beef) for about a week now and that seems to have taken care of the hunger issues. Also Raz hasn't thrown up since.
However, Raz has been getting worse. His eye was puffy and swollen and he's getting brown stains around it, and he has sores on his back hocks that won't heal and have become infected. So, I took him back to the vet last week, and after $300 and a bunch of tests, she couldn't really tell me anything. He's been wearing a cone for almost a week so he can't further irritate himself, and I've been giving him Matrixol drops in his eye twice a day. The vet also said to put polysporin on his sores, which hasn't done anything (added a photo from tonight - sorry about the awkward angle). His eye seems a little better tho. I talked to my breeder tonight & she said it looks like he has a staph infection and to get him an injection of convenia, an oral (doxycucline) and a topical. So it looks like I'll be going back to the vet this week for those things.
I'm going to look for a new vet as well, I've been really unhappy with the lack of knowledge and high costs and both Raz and I were pretty traumatized by our last visit - he's a trooper but all the testing really took it out of him. He's not happy about the cone, but he's managing with it.
I'm hoping to get his sores and eye cleared up asap, but I'm wondering what the underlying issue is. Food allergies, stress (I've been hopping in and out of home because of family issues, and working a lot when I am home, and Raz has always been a bit needy), something else? After reading stuff on this site for hours, it sounds like the raw diet I have him on might not be the best either. How long should I wait before changing it? I'm hesitant to change too many things at once, because it's going to make it difficult to figure out what the issue is.
Added pressure: I have plans to leave for India in a couple of weeks, for over a month. My friend is going to be watching the cats, but I'm hesitant to leave them with her, not knowing what's wrong with Raz and I'm even thinking of postponing my trip. Is this extreme? I would appreciate any advice/support you can give.
Also: I don't know if this means anything, but my younger one, Panda, is from the same parents, and has had no issues except that she's a little pig.
I've got a long post, sorry. I deleted my original one (argh!) so I'm going to try again in less words. There's a lot going on with my kitty and I'm pretty worried about him.
I've been having issues with my eldest, Raz, for awhile now.
- irritation
- oily skin
- conjunctivitis in left eye
- rash/sore spots on skin
- excessive licking/scratching
- vomiting up meals
I took him to the vet back in August and she thought it was a food allergy, so we switched from Royal Canin sphynx food to their Hypoallargenic stuff, which seemed to help a little, but was $$, so we moved to the duck and potato version, which is a little cheaper. Both my cats started going crazy for food - never satisfied, they were meowing at me all the time and even going into my client's bags if there was food in there, something they'd never done before. SO, I switched them back to the blue label hypo stuff, but the problem persisted.
I talked to my breeder about it, wondering if they had worms or something, and she suggested a raw diet, which is something I'd been considering but had been steered away from it by the vet. I started looking into it, but it took me awhile to get set up. Have started them on a recipe she recommended (chicken+beef) for about a week now and that seems to have taken care of the hunger issues. Also Raz hasn't thrown up since.
However, Raz has been getting worse. His eye was puffy and swollen and he's getting brown stains around it, and he has sores on his back hocks that won't heal and have become infected. So, I took him back to the vet last week, and after $300 and a bunch of tests, she couldn't really tell me anything. He's been wearing a cone for almost a week so he can't further irritate himself, and I've been giving him Matrixol drops in his eye twice a day. The vet also said to put polysporin on his sores, which hasn't done anything (added a photo from tonight - sorry about the awkward angle). His eye seems a little better tho. I talked to my breeder tonight & she said it looks like he has a staph infection and to get him an injection of convenia, an oral (doxycucline) and a topical. So it looks like I'll be going back to the vet this week for those things.
I'm going to look for a new vet as well, I've been really unhappy with the lack of knowledge and high costs and both Raz and I were pretty traumatized by our last visit - he's a trooper but all the testing really took it out of him. He's not happy about the cone, but he's managing with it.
I'm hoping to get his sores and eye cleared up asap, but I'm wondering what the underlying issue is. Food allergies, stress (I've been hopping in and out of home because of family issues, and working a lot when I am home, and Raz has always been a bit needy), something else? After reading stuff on this site for hours, it sounds like the raw diet I have him on might not be the best either. How long should I wait before changing it? I'm hesitant to change too many things at once, because it's going to make it difficult to figure out what the issue is.
Added pressure: I have plans to leave for India in a couple of weeks, for over a month. My friend is going to be watching the cats, but I'm hesitant to leave them with her, not knowing what's wrong with Raz and I'm even thinking of postponing my trip. Is this extreme? I would appreciate any advice/support you can give.
Also: I don't know if this means anything, but my younger one, Panda, is from the same parents, and has had no issues except that she's a little pig.