Bubba 11/27 At Vets

Bobbie And Bubba

Bobbie And Bubba

Very Active Member
Good Morning L, B,& L ~

We are at the vets for his sore ears. Not getting better, and my salve hasn't arrived yet, maybe today. I want the vet to help me with paw pad testing until his ears heal. Hope that a steroid won't be needed.ugh.
 
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I was hoping for an update - a better one than this, but glad for it anyways. I am scraping the bottom of my jar of Halo or I would have put some in a small container and put it in the mail to you yesterday. I guess that means I need to get some more. Glad you told us about Chewy having it - way better cost!

Good luck with the paw testing. Ask the vet if the numbers should be the same regardless of where the blood is taken - I am curious too.

Healing ear vines to Bubba :cat:
 
Back from vet. His ears showed a bacterial infection from the skin scrape. He was put on AB cefpodoxime, ( not familiar with that one) it is once a day, and then a steroid ointment ( ugh) Entederm only till redness goes away. I hope the topical won't hike him up too much. He was 74 at the vet on my meter at +3.75. I think Bubba is one of those cats that go down under stress.

The vet tech showed me how to test the paw pad and they charged me $ 19.15 and it was my strip and meter! I just called them about that and they are crediting me back that amount. They are great about getting me in ASAP , but it's the principal on top of 150 dollar bill and I just paid them a little under 1000 bucks for Forrest and his BW and teeth............

I think it was @Bellasmom that told me she used to test the paw pad and saw no difference in numbers; I didn't think to ask them. But, the vet did tell me there are only 3 places where cats should be tested, ear, paw pad, or upper lip. OUCH for the lip.
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
Back from vet. His ears showed a bacterial infection from the skin scrape. He was put on AB cefpodoxime, ( not familiar with that one) it is once a day, and then a steroid ointment ( ugh) Entederm only till redness goes away. I hope the topical won't hike him up too much. He was 74 at the vet on my meter at +3.75. I think Bubba is one of those cats that go down under stress.

The vet tech showed me how to test the paw pad and they charged me $ 19.15 and it was my strip and meter! I just called them about that and they are crediting me back that amount. They are great about getting me in ASAP , but it's the principal on top of 150 dollar bill and I just paid them a little under 1000 bucks for Forrest and his BW and teeth............

I think it was @Bellasmom that told me she used to test the paw pad and saw no difference in numbers; I didn't think to ask them. But, the vet did tell me there are only 3 places where cats should be tested, ear, paw pad, or upper lip. OUCH for the lip.
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Yes I used paws for a long time, no diff in numbers
 
Poor Bubba. Sorry about the infection, but I'm glad you caught it and hope he will be better soon :bighug:

My vet charged me $45 when Bailey was first diagnosed to have a tech show me how to withdraw insulin from the syringe. I was so freaked out at the diagnosis, I didn't even think to say something. Never did. In retrospect, I realize that's 45 Alphatrak strips right there.

*Editing to say they charge $45 for the exam so maybe not so bad. It caught me off guard at the time, though
 
LizzieInTexas said:
I am scraping the bottom of my jar of Halo or I would have put some in a small container and put it in the mail to you yesterday
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I have 2 on the way, one from Amazon and one from Chewy. If you need some, I can mail you one of mine when they come.

Do you use it daily? Or only when there is redness. I don't want this to ever happen to my boy again. It looks like a mean sunburn. :(
 
I'm late to the show as usual and was just about to send vetty vines :rolleyes:
I hope Bubba's ears clear up soon. I used to apply polysporin a couple times each day but didn't find it helped and sometimes I think his ears were more red. I may have to look into the Halo; I wonder if it is available in Canada.
 
Judy and Boomer said:
I'm late to the show as usual and was just about to send vetty vines :rolleyes:
I hope Bubba's ears clear up soon. I used to apply polysporin a couple times each day but didn't find it helped and sometimes I think his ears were more red. I may have to look into the Halo; I wonder if it is available in Canada.
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I think it will be available in CA because the Halo site the store finders say that Petsmart and Petco carry. None of the ones in my surrounding area did. When I asked the store clerk why they did not have it when Halo says they carry it and he replied that it was no doubt their Canadian stores that would carry it.
 
Good luck with testing the paws!
I used a steroid cream on Sheba for an odd rash she had on her neck with didn't respond to anything else and it didn't effect her BSLs. I did use it sparingly. Sheba always used to drop low at the vets too.......really odd because I knew she was terrified and she would just turn to stone and not move.
I'm glad you got your money back on the paw test! I don't like the idea of testing the lip much:eek::stop:
Sending many Ozzie ear vines to Bubba.
 
Bron and Sheba said:
Good luck with testing the paws!
I used a steroid cream on Sheba for an odd rash she had on her neck with didn't respond to anything else and it didn't effect her BSLs. I did use it sparingly. Sheba always used to drop low at the vets too.......really odd because I knew she was terrified and she would just turn to stone and not move.
I'm glad you got your money back on the paw test! I don't like the idea of testing the lip much:eek::stop:
Sending many Ozzie ear vines to Bubba.
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Thx Bron for weighing in about the steroid cream not effecting the BGs. Tonight , I did see a hike but it could have been stress too with Daddy holding him while I stabbed him 4-5 times on his paw pad. UGH! Couldn't get him to bleed enough. :cat:
 
Hmm. Sorry to hear that I was right. Hoping for speedy recovery for Bubba.

I also didn't think that topical steroids should affect sugar, since it works locally, and not systemically. But cat ear skin is thin and there's capillaries there. And they're smaller than humans. Not really sure.

The one thing about "stress" affecting blood sugar though... does anxiety affect sugars too? When we say "stress" affects sugars in (human) medicine, we mean physiological stress - such as from a trauma, severe infection / sepsis, surgery, etc. We don't mean anxiety, or mental stress. (In that case, my sugars would constantly be through the roof. HA!) I have always wondered about that being said here so I thought I would ask. I'll probably ask my vet at my next visit also.
 
Ana & Frosty (GA) said:
Hmm. Sorry to hear that I was right. Hoping for speedy recovery for Bubba.

I also didn't think that topical steroids should affect sugar, since it works locally, and not systemically. But cat ear skin is thin and there's capillaries there. And they're smaller than humans. Not really sure.

The one thing about "stress" affecting blood sugar though... does anxiety affect sugars too? When we say "stress" affects sugars in (human) medicine, we mean physiological stress - such as from a trauma, severe infection / sepsis, surgery, etc. We don't mean anxiety, or mental stress. (In that case, my sugars would constantly be through the roof. HA!) I have always wondered about that being said here so I thought I would ask. I'll probably ask my vet at my next visit also.
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Thx Ana! I did not want to go on AB or steroid but I won't deny him a vetty appointment when indicated. His PMPS was higher since the topical steroid applied at 12 noon and his PMPS was 6 hours later. But, not horribly and probably not as much as inflammation alone can do. . As I said before , I do appreciate everyone's input here! Thx for weighing in. :bighug:
 
LizzieInTexas said:
I was hoping for an update - a better one than this, but glad for it anyways. I am scraping the bottom of my jar of Halo or I would have put some in a small container and put it in the mail to you yesterday. I guess that means I need to get some more. Glad you told us about Chewy having it - way better cost!

Good luck with the paw testing. Ask the vet if the numbers should be the same regardless of where the blood is taken - I am curious too.

Healing ear vines to Bubba :cat:
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I ordered 2 a couple of nights ago, when it was discussed at $6.00 each and ordered Taco some more of his beyond, making it free shipping. Unfortunately , I just went back to Chewy to check it out and it's now showing up at $9.07. Anyone else seeing this?
Nevermind, I see where you can save so much, making it $6.00.

https://www.chewy.com/s?query=Healing Salve for Dogs & Cats

In case anyone is interested in what I have been using with so much testing :rolleyes:.

Every few days I take a soaked paper towel of whitch hazel and clean the whole ear.Doing sort of a hard wipe. He doesnt like it, but, then neither do I :( The redness disappears right away, but he still has the bumps on the edge of his ears.

I started doing what a member does here, and that is put a good pressure after you test and hold about 20 seconds where you test. This has really helped.

Anyways, I hope the cream will help some, but, if not , I'll resume with the witch hazel that is working pretty good.

I hope Bubbas ears get better, they are really the main source of getting our kitties well and monitored:bighug:
 
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Cindy&Taco said:
I ordered 2 a couple of nights ago, when it was discussed at $6.00 each and ordered Taco some more of his beyond, making it free shipping. Unfortunately , I just went back to Chewy to check it out and it's now showing up at $9.07. Anyone else seeing this?

In case anyone is interested in what I have been using with so much testing :rolleyes:.

Every few days I take a soaked paper towel of whitch hazel and clean the whole ear.Doing sort of a hard wipe. He doesnt like it, but, then neither do I :( The redness disappears right away, but he still has the bumps on the edge of his ears.

I started doing what a member does here, and that is put a good pressure after you test and hold about 20 seconds where you test. This has really helped.

Anyways, I hope the cream will help some, but, if not , I'll resume with the witch hazel that is working pretty good.

I hope Bubbas ears get better, they are really the main source of getting our kitties well and monitored:bighug:
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Thx Cindy! I love witch hazel and never thought of it for our Kitties. My vet gave me clorohexidine for cleaning the ear. ( well SOLD me the clorohexidine). I am wondering if the witch hazel would be a good alternative. Better bet I'm using the clorohexidine that I paid for first. ( I'm Scottish! )

Thx for your input !
 
Ana & Frosty (GA) said:
Hmm. Sorry to hear that I was right. Hoping for speedy recovery for Bubba.

I also didn't think that topical steroids should affect sugar, since it works locally, and not systemically. But cat ear skin is thin and there's capillaries there. And they're smaller than humans. Not really sure.

The one thing about "stress" affecting blood sugar though... does anxiety affect sugars too? When we say "stress" affects sugars in (human) medicine, we mean physiological stress - such as from a trauma, severe infection / sepsis, surgery, etc. We don't mean anxiety, or mental stress. (In that case, my sugars would constantly be through the roof. HA!) I have always wondered about that being said here so I thought I would ask. I'll probably ask my vet at my next visit also.
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ETA
I would LOVE to know , if I had the salve that Jill RX before today if his ears would have been better. I am a believer in homeopathy. It has made a huge difference in my quality of life that Western medicine could not do for me.
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
I want the vet to help me with paw pad testing until his ears heal.
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Oliver didn't adjust quickly enough to ear pricking so we used to test on his paw pads. (He would yowl when we went for his ears but used to sit happily for his feet to be done). It was much more similar to testing a finger on a person, I could coat the pad with vaseline and use the clicker pen to get a drop of blood. Olly was very well behaved, I used to sit him on my lap like a child and hold a foot. He was happy enough to stay sitting after the test for cuddles and would purr the whole way through.

I hope the infection passes quickly so you can go back to the methods you're most comfortable with!
 
The Vet had us purchase the same stuff you are putting on Bubba's ears for one of Cookie's issues. After one use, it made her skin even more red and irritated. Now we use liquid Dial soap, the antibacterial kind. It cleans and helps disinfect.

Your plate is full, Bobbie. Hang in there and I send love and healing light to Bubba. ❤
 
Hope ears are doing better. Here are the ingredients listed for Halo. I know the beeswax and honey have antibacterial properties.

Vegetable Oils (Soy Oil, Almond Oil, Castor Oil, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil), Beeswax, Squalene, Carnuba (Palm) Wax, Vitamin A (Beta-Carotene)-5,000 Iu, Vitamin D - 600 Iu, Vitamin E (D-Alpha Tocopherol) - 5,000 Iu, Calendula (Marigold), Aloe, Comfrey, Tea Tree Oil, Myrrh Gum Oil, Lavender Oil.
 
Ana & Frosty (GA) said:
I believe in homeopathy as a complement to western medicine, not a replacement. Without western medicine I wouldn’t be here to tell my story today. But that’s another thing.
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Agreed - says she who loves traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture but is also in a clinical trial of a very high tech drug for a genetic condition! :D
 
Bronx's dad said:
Just catching up. Do we know what caused the infection?
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Any time you break the skin, you are at risk for an infection because you expose the blood and tissues to bacteria that normally lives on the skin or fur. Most likely it’s some kind of staph. At least in humans.

Because it’s usually a very small laceration, a lot of bacteria can’t get in fast enough and the body usually closes the hole quickly and can fight whatever small amount of bacteria is ther with the immune system. We are not always that lucky.

This is why the logic of “well we’ve done this for years with a good result” doesn’t always work. Any time the skin barrier is compromised, there is an infection risk. It’s actually considered lucky if there is no infection if you think about how much bacteria is on the cat and our skin.

Hand washing or cleaning the area with something before testing can decrease the amount of bacteria. I actually used to wipe frosty’s ear with an alcohol pad in the beginning. I don’t know if that’s safe or not though and I would consult the vet first - I don’t know if any of the alcohol could be absorbed. You also have to wait for the ear to dry before you can stick, otherwise the blood won’t form a nice drop and will just ooze all over the hair.
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
has made a huge difference in my quality of life that Western medicine could not do
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@Bobbie And Bubba me too.
I’ve had one urinary track infection in my life… It wouldn’t go away on its own... I try avoiding antibiotics (ANTI)-, but at same time told myself if probiotics (PRO) don’t work by day X, I will succumb and do the antibiotic route.
Well, guess what?! The probiotics worked brilliant :-)
 
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