Cat Chat Feline Forum

Apart from licking his belly until it now looks sore, he now has a bald patch above his left eye. Last night he also went in/out of the 2 litter trays, sometimes leaving nothing behind, but other times leaving a very tiny clump of pee - nowhere near the usual amount. He never cried out in pain ... but with the amount of times he was in/out of the tray, I knew he must have wanted to go.

This morning I was woken by him scratching the side of the bed and by the time I got downstairs, he'd peed in his tray - a 'small normal' amount, but enough to allay my fears that he couldn't pee at all. This afternoon I saw him spraying in the garden.

There have been quite a few changes in his routine since the end of May - new environment (back down to his old home in NSomerset), then into a cattery 3 weeks later, 10 days after that I had to return to Kent, leaving my OH to take care of Blackie - who did a good job - and my return last Tuesday.

Sometimes I think we just aren't looking after Blackie properly

Hi Jan

Please don't think that you aren't looking after Blackie properly, I have the same issues with Barney, at the moment, he is 'ok' but the last few weeks it has been taking him ages to pee normally, though he doesn't seem in pain and to all intents and purposes appears happy, we still live with this cystitis issue recurring all the time, sometimes it's just something we have to accept and certainly no reflection on what you are doing, I have cut out cooked chicken for Barney and replaced it with cooked turkey, which seems to have helped too, heaven knows why and Butchers choice classic chicken tinned food a couple of times a week !

I have been reading a lot about homeopathic treatments and the use of 'Berberis' and 'Cantharis' as a relief for cats who suffer with bladder problems, problem is, I can't find a UK stockist of this anywhere, not even Holland and Barrett and they both have really good reviews.....

Oh Jan, you take WONDERFUL care of him! I would hand you over any of my charges in the morning, and I can tell you that that is high praise indeed in the cat-mammy stakes! D not feel guilty Hun..... You break your behind caring for him, and most people would have given up ages ago.

I am sorry to see he is still having issues...... For you all. But please do not blame yourself. Xxxxx

Hey there Jan,

I know from your previous posts that you take WONDERFUL care of Blackie, and to be honest I'm sorry that you have to put yourself through such stress with him. I'm sure he knows it too. Don't blame yourself for this. Blackie is obviously a hard cat to have and you're a great person to be as nurturing as you are.

I have been reading a lot about homeopathic treatments and the use of 'Berberis' and 'Cantharis' as a relief for cats who suffer with bladder problems, problem is, I can't find a UK stockist of this anywhere, not even Holland and Barrett and they both have really good reviews.....

Hi there Julie,

I looked up your remedies and I agree they're pretty tough to get hold of. I saw them in a lot of US sites but not UK ones.

I am travelling to the US next week for 5 weeks to stay with family if you want me to pick either of these up and post them to you? I live in Spain but at least Spanish postage isn't so expensive and the customs would be much easier. You wouldn't get either product until September as I'm not back in Spain until late August but if you want anything ordered and picked up in the US that I can bring back and send to you when I'm back home then let me know. At least then it'll be a lot cheaper for you.

Jan, same applies to you if you want to try either of the products Julie mentioned.

I agree with the others, you're doing everything you can and Blackie is a lucky boy to have someone looking after him so diligently. Some cats are just more sensitive than others. It's the same with humans who are natural worriers - if there are no real problems they will still find something to worry about. I'm a bit like that myself! xx

Hi Mrs Kane

That would be brilliant if you possibly could, I would be most grateful, just let me know in September how much I owe you, that would be really helpful. Thank you so much for your kind offer, it really is very much appreciated...as I left for work this morning it looked as though Barney was starting to strain yet again, he had been fine for a week...now as Jan says "Here we go again.."..

Thank you so much.....x

All your posts brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much for all your kind words and support. At the moment, I feel I need it.

Mrs Kane ... I'd be more than happy to take up your kind offer - Feliway/Pet Remedy/Zyklene seem to do nothing for him. Just let me know costs of item and postage etc. Very kind of you to offer - I'm very grateful.

Julie My thoughts are with you ... hope your fears about Barney are unfounded. Keep us posted.

There's no doubt that Blackie is a 'difficult cat' ... the big improvement in him from being 10 years with my mother is that he is friendlier to house visitors, once he's seen them a few times. He took zero notice of us when we used to visit/stay with Mum and to be honest, he was such a 'tetchy' cat, we didn't like him at all. The change in that side of his temperament was astonishing once we took him back to our home in Kent - though the 'tetchy' side does raise its head now and then!

So to the vets we went this morning - and having known Blackie all his life, she takes my worries all in her stride.

As far as the bald spot on his forehead, she checked him again for fleas and ear mites - none. She listened as I explained about him going in/out of his tray. She thought the belly licking and bald spot could be due to a problem he was having with his bladder but as he'd urinated a normal amount in his tray this morning, this may well have passed. The different changes in his environment probably had upset him, causing him to lick his belly more and given rise to the bald spot on his forehead. She said that once Blackie realised 'life was back to normal', that nobody was going to leave the house and he wasn't going anywhere else to stay, he would calm down - but warned it might take a few weeks.

I thought she may have given some steroid ointment to put on the bald patch but she suggested I try Vaseline to keep it moist. I know she's a vet that doesn't like to hand out steroid treatment like confetti.

Now to the other problem which has been playing on my mind since March when Blackie had a broken upper canine removed causing the lower one to rub against his upper gum and make it sore. At times I've seen him not closing his mouth properly to stop this irritation. She suggested this was just as likely to be causing Blackie stress. She thinks the lower canine could be filed down slightly but this ought to be done by a vet who specialises in veterinary dental work and is going to give us the name/tel number of a clinic where we can take him to be assessed. Not something I really wanted to be done unless necessary, but if it makes Blackie feel more comfortable, then it will be done.

As far as his early stage CKD is concerned - absolutely fine for me to go on feeding him his beloved Felix ( ) and add a small amount of Ipakitine to each meal - making up to 2 spoonfuls per day. There will come a time when he has to go on specialised renal food and a phosphate binder but that time hasn't arrived yet. Next urine test in September.

Lastly, his weight. It had gone up slightly - 0.2kg to 5.7kg and she told me to cut his food down slightly to get it back to 5.5kg.

Sorry for long post - had to get it all off my chest

Thank you all again for the support - it really does help.

Hi Jan

Yes, we were told that Barney was a 'difficult cat' too !....I only hope he hasn't started another bout of cystitis yet again, I can't think of any changes I have made, except I gave him a little Hi Life chicken food this morning with his Butchers.....

I have posted the link below which just talks about the herbs I mentioned previously, it makes good reading, take a look:-

http://studiocatsbucharest.blogspot.co. ... s-and.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There was also a story about a cat just like Blackie who kept biting his fur away and also had bladder problems, who was helped by these herbs, I think it was about a cat called Alex, a large white cat who was used for breeding in the past....

Oh well Jan..."Here we go again !!"....x

No problem Jan and Julie! Seeing as I'm going anyway I'm proud to help out! I'll arrive on Wednesday but I won't get a car until Friday. I'll do some research beforehand and find out if it's cheaper to buy online or in stores. Once I find out what quantities I can get and different types they sell I'll let you know on here and you can choose what you guys want.

Hey there, sorry I've been remiss on this thread the past few weeks. The hustle and bustle of holidaying has let the time get away from me. I just wanted to let you know (and remind myself) that tomorrow I'm going to ring round all the local pet supermarkets for the products mentioned and if none have them I'll go by the online pet stores and let you know what I find.

Sorry I've been so neglectful of this.

I hope everyone is having a great summer!


MK

Thanks Mrs K ...anything I can give Blackie to make the switching between 2 homes less stressful for him will be gratefully received. Look forward to hearing from you on your research.

Hope you're enjoying your hols.

Jan x

As Jan says, many thanks Mrs K....Barney will be heading off for some scans next Monday, so may have more news then too....x

Hey guys,

I didn't have much choice of bottle sizings but I have 1 pack of 80 pellets of Cantharis and Berberis Vulgaris for each of you, which I'll post when I'm back in Spain on Thursday. The guy said it's better for them to eat with food and they're fine crushed up with a mortar and pestle. But you can also give it to them whole if they'll take it.

Sorry couldn't get anything bigger. The specialist wouldn't let me buy the bigger cheaper boxes without a written note from a vet or dietician even though I explained the situation. And because this store was the only one that had both products in stock I went with it.

They were pretty cheap, all 4 bottles came to $24 which I didn't think was bad going.
He also gave me a free sample of anti itch cream so if either of you want it let me know. If you don't I'll keep it in case Sofi needs it in the future.

Thanks Mrs K ... plse let me know how much I owe you.

Would be interested in the anti-itch cream if it will help with Blackie's scratching problem He's been at it again - just noticed a couple of days ago that some of the fur has gone from between his shoulders again and he's obviously made it bleed as there was a scab forming. No doubt that will come off when he has another go at the patch.

I wonder whether its stress related - we've had 2 visitors to the house over recent weeks, each staying a week and Blackie isn't a cat that doesn't seem to like sharing us with anyone else. We've also been out and about with the visitors a lot too. This has all resulted in Blackie wanting to sleep on our bed at night for the first 2/3 nights a visitor is staying with us instead of his usual chair downstairs.

I'll be phoning the vet in a day or two after my Ma-in-law goes home - a visitor Blackie has totally ignored - seems to know she doesn't particularly like him much - feeling is obviously mutual!

Thank you Mrs Kane,

As Jan says please let me know how much I owe you, if you have Paypal, please send me your e-mail address and I will pay you that way, if not please let me know how you would prefer payment.

Many many thanks for your time and effort in doing this for us....xx

Hey there guys. Sorry I've been remiss (once again!) The jet lag really took it out of me so I've not really been on the computer until now.

Sadly Jan, I can only mail you the anti-Itch cream if you want a free suitcase with it. The tube didn't last the air journey. I put it in a hertz bag too, but apparently that wasn't good enough. I think we had some really angry baggage handlers because I also lost my bottle of "Happy" Clinque perfume to the suitcase (Really annoyed because I only bought it because it was 20€ cheaper than here. With all the aggro of picking glass shards out of clothes yesterday and locking Sofi in the hallway while I made sure all the shards were swept up and mopped up I should've just forked up the extra cash!!!) I'm super glad I didn't get stopped at customs for the pills though. I don't know what I would've said!

My email is [email protected] if you both could send me your addresses so I can post the pills to you Don't worry about payment. I want to make sure you both get the pills first.

bump

Sorry Kay

Having just lost Dad, his funeral was las Friday, I have hardly been here....plus to add icing to the cake, I have broken my arm and shoulder and due in hospital tomorrow for a open shoulder reduction operation, which will see me there for a few days...it has been the worst time of my life to date...I will pop an e mail to you now, thank you again....x

Oh Julie, not something else for your to deal with. Big hugs, so sorry to hear this. xxx

Mrs Kane wrote:bump

Did you receive my email of 1 Sept?

Jan

I'm so sorry to hear that Julie Seems like things are just piling one on top of the other for you at the moment.

I got your email. I'll post the stuff tomorrow so you hopefully should get it sometime next week.

Sorry Jan, yours went to my Junk folder for some reason. It didn't occur to me that might've happened until I saw your message.

I didn't bump the post to be impatient, I just wanted to make sure that you both saw it okay.

Oh Julie.

I'm so sorry to hear you are in the wars. Best of luck for Friday xxx

Oh Julie, OUCH!

I dislocated my right shoulder a few years back and now it's frozen, the pain can be horrendous. I really hope they can do something for you and your treatment is a complete success.

Thinking about you girl, and wishing you all the best. Gentle (Hugs)!

Sue x

JulieandBarney wrote:Sorry Kay

Having just lost Dad, his funeral was las Friday, I have hardly been here....plus to add icing to the cake, I have broken my arm and shoulder and due in hospital tomorrow for a open shoulder reduction operation, which will see me there for a few days...it has been the worst time of my life to date...I will pop an e mail to you now, thank you again....x

Oh dear, Julie ... have only just seen your message - what a time you're having! So sorry to read about this on top of everything else you've had to deal with. Breaking your arm + shoulder sounds excruciatingly painful .... Wishing you all the best. Thinking of you.

Jan