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Please help

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 12:04 am
by Gypsy
I had a small kitten rescue in 2015. We trapped 2 kittens in a backyard from a wild mother cat that the owners were feeding. The kits were 9 weeks old when I managed to get them. One was very sick and underweight at just 450g. Anyway she had so many health issues that I couldn't adopt her out. Her mouth was always red and ulcerated so after she finished teething I had her tested for FIV and yes she had it. She contracted it from her mother when chewing the umbilical cord. Anyway Nettie as I named her has had ongoing stomatitis and ulcers. Had back teeth removed at 1 yr old. In September of this year I went to see a different vet and he gave her 3 injections. Cortisone ,antibiotic and penicillin. He gave all 3 again 2 days later then 2 weeks. Well this was the biggest mistake of my life. It did clear up the ulcers and gingivitis but the hair loss started. We ended up back at the local vets and had the full mouth extraction done on October 3rd. Nettie has never recovered. Her ears started getting red itchy lumps and her back. So found out it was demodex mites. Vet gave her oral daily medication that I stopped at 16 days because of tremors. The dermotic lotion was also useless. Made it worse. I tried everything. Bathing, different lotions ect. I had some success with advocate. Netties weight dropped from 4.2kg to 3.4kg even on a recovery diet. She's now in a e collar permanently and I have to clean her skin each day. I also have to bottle feed her cat replacement milk 4 times a day plus syringe feeding and she eats a little bit on her own. Her temperature goes to 40.2C for days on end but when I went to the vets she said it's of unknown origin. I paid for nothing. I've spent thousands on this little girl and nothing is helping her. I give her daily nutragel and Phenergan elixir to help with the itching. I'm watching her and it's killing me. She's not even 3 years old.

Re: Please help

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 7:28 am
by Janey
Hi and welcome. Somethings not right and I would be reluctant to keep giving meds which may then cause something else. I’m pretty much against syringe feeding at the best of times too, but at 3 year old? I would try another vet in your area, look at reviews or ask around. And having a temperature means your cat must be feeling pretty rotten and something must me causing it. Regarding the itching, my cat suffers with flea allergy dermatitis, we think! I’ve been having to apply Advocate spot on to her monthly to help with this. I don’t like doing that but as I’ve never regularly flea treated my cats but she scatches until she breaks the skin and it bleeds and is difficult to heal with the scatch itch going on. If I didn’t use the spot on regularly she would have to have a comfy collar on and I would use one the antiseptic powders you can buy over the counter. However this last summer, after 2 weeks, i.e. before she was due the spot on, she was scratching these pimply things on her skin again and breaking sores again. So I took her back to the vet who said, there’s so many insects about it could still be that, not that she has fleas but they could be irritating her, especially if she’s a hunter (which she is), or it could be some other allergy as well, such as to pollens which when they breath in can irritate and come out in the skin. Anyhow she gave me a steroid cream for her which you only need the tiniest amount and I apply thinly and infrequently, if I see her scratching and starting to break the skin. It does seem to help, and I don’t use it too often, it’s called Isaderm. Also, if you’ve not done so I would spray the house with something like Indorex to ensure there’s none lurking. I do that yearly. One of my elderly cats had to have full tooth extraction due to really sore gums etc and he did well afterwards. Stress of all the treatments, vet visits etc may be contributing to your cat’s health too. Best of luck, you all must be fed up now with it all, and seeing your pusscat poorly must be getting you down.

Re: Please help

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 9:42 am
by Gypsy
It's not fleas, earmites or anything else. She gets regular advocate. She's an inside cat apart from being in the cat run in the morning and evening for fresh air. Steroid creams make it worse. I'm 6 hour round trip from the city and our local vets are all I have.

Re: Please help

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 9:56 am
by bobbys girl
Oh poor Nettie, she must be so uncomfortable. I agree with Janey, I'd start looking for another vet.

Reading your thread made me realise how lucky we have been with our FIV+ cat Bobby. He had early health problems and was in a terrible state when we found him (we didn't know he was FIV+ for the first year) But now even though he only has three legs, he does have a thick, glossy coat and a mouth full of alarmingly large, white teeth.

It is just a thought, but maybe you could look into a more holistic way of treating her. Years ago I worked with a lady whose young son had multiple health problems and allergies to everything. I n desperation they took him to a Homeopathic practitioner. The first thing he did was to send her back to her doctor with the list of meds and treatments he was on. The doctor had just been adding to the meds over the years and the poor boys body could not cope with the toxic overload.

Long, long story short, they reduced the meds and concentrated on good nutrition to give his own immune system the best chance possible. It worked! He was never a strong child but his life improved from that point on.I

We have treated tick bites with coconut oil. It is antibacterial, antiseptic, anti-everything! It is also nutritious - one of our cats will seek it out to lick it off a spoon. She obviously knows something we don't.

I don't want to go totally against what a vet would tell you. But sometimes, like doctors, they are so keen to treat symptoms rather than finding the cause or helping the body to fight the problem.

Whatever you do, I wish you all the best. Gentle fusses to your poor girl.

..... We cross posted! I see you have no choice in the vet you use. I sympathise, there is not much choice in the country. But I still hold that too many 'meds' might be making the problem worse.

As for the lack of teeth, I have just had to start mashing up food I give the kittens. They will eat meat just fine and munched their way through a piece of beef I bought back from Sunday lunch. But when it come to cat food they just lick off the jelly/gravy. Now it is mashed they lick the lot, empty plates all round!

Re: Please help

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:13 am
by Janey
Gypsy wrote:It's not fleas, earmites or anything else. She gets regular advocate. She's an inside cat apart from being in the cat run in the morning and evening for fresh air. Steroid creams make it worse. I'm 6 hour round trip from the city and our local vets are all I have.
Forgot to say, I have actually stopped my cat’s Advocate, for the time being. It could be because it’s winter and she’s out less, but she’s been fine for a while. I don’t like giving treatments if I can help it so I will wait to see what happens. Regarding the steroid cream, I’ve only had to apply that twice since I got it end of last summer, when I felt a pimply bit coming, you only have to dab the very tiniest bit on and it disperses, so Isoderm may be worth a try if you’ve not tried that one. I would still search for another vet though as you aren’t getting anywhere, and beside the skin problems it’s the temperature which would bother me because that will be making her feel quite poorly on herself. If that’s not possible, maybe ask to see a specialist? PS I did actually wonder if she was getting out, so the fact she gets some fresh air will be good for her and I do hope you manage to get some help for her soon.

Re: Please help

Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 7:50 pm
by Sniper1
I have 2 of my cats who react extremely badly to any flea treatment except stronghold they can become physically ill with temperatures,sickness,lethargy and even large ulcerated patches on their skin which can take months to heal both are flea allergy sufferers so have to be treated in summer in winter I leave the treatment off as much as possible as I always treat the house and they stay indoors more in the cold. weather it may be worth changing your flea treatment in case that helps