I feel like Im going to go crazy

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PeterDevonMocha

PeterDevonMocha

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Our civvie cat twix has suffered from allergies that come in the form of hard bumps on the outside of her ears and starting last year, rodent ulcers on her mouth. The treatment for rodent ulcers are steroid shots so we HATE taking her in for them but we have to do it occasionally. Well last week we thought she was getting another ulcer on her mouth, but it was lower then usual and once we got a closer look (she is not a cat that likes being near a human) we realized it looked more like she caught her chin with her long nails (again, doesn't like us cutting them) so we waited a few days and it scabbed over and then the scab eventually fell off.

Well the same time this was going on, we noticed that mocha was really scratching under her chin, in her throat area. We soon realized she had lots of little scabs from her nails digging in at her throat and the skin under her fur was bright red. Someone mentioned on here that she could be having an allergic reaction to her plastic autofeeder since she never ever had anything like this going on before she started using it. Someone suggested Vitamin E oil might help her stop itching so bad and we used that for a few nights and while it seemed to be taking care of her bright red skin, the stickyness of it drove mocha crazy and now she has started licking herself raw! This is something new that we are not familiar with ...

Since then, twix's scab has fallen off and yet another new sore has emerged on her chin looking like what the last one looked like. Not quite the same appearance as her rodent ulcers but still painful looking nonetheless. I don't know what to do at this point. Tonight we are taking away mochas plastic autofeeder and will be setting the alarm to feed her, to see if this takes care of her problem. I feel like I'm going crazy because I have these two cats that are apparently both having skin problems and I don't know what to do. I know IF we could afford to take them to the vet the vet would wave her magical steroid shot around and make it all better, but is it? But is this any better for them if they don't get their shot? Sores and licking themselves raw? I told peter that I am going crazy mad in this house all day with these cats that I am trying to prevent them from scratching and licking themselves raw but of course, he didn't seem real concerned cause once he walks out the door, it isn't his problem for 9 hours ... :YMSIGH:
 
OH, that sounds horrible! I don't know anything about auto-feeders causing allergies, but if allergies really are the problem, ask your vet if you can give the cats claritin or zyrtec. I would guess a half a pill a day would do it. We had to give our dog claritin daily for several months a few years back. We still don't know what he was allergic to, but he would chew on his paws and do some awful damage to his teeth. The claritin stopped the problem in its tracks. Then we moved to our current house, that has laminate floors, and the allergies disappeared...so it's likely he was having a dust mite issue or something to do with the old carpet in our previous house (it was a rental, so we had no control over the floor covering).

But, if a cat can have claritin or zyrtec (and I have no idea if they can), then I would think giving that would be cheaper and easier for you and the cats in the long run. The pills are tasteless, so in theory you could mix it in their food and they'd never be the wiser. And I would think the pills would be safer for their systems than steroid shots too...

Whatever you end up doing, good luck! I hope you find a solution that works. It's just maddening when you know your kitties aren't well and you don't know how to help them!
 
It may also be a food allergy that both cats are experiencing. My cat Mischief is allergic to some of the flavors (mainly fish) of Friskies. Try changing to either a different flavor or different brand of food.
 
thank you mindy for your advice ... unfortunately the vet we have won't give information like that over the phone .. you have to bring them in for a check up and that isn't in our budget right now. Lisa, both our cats eat different foods. Twix eats kibble and mocha eats special kitty. She has been on this special kitty for quite awhile without any side effects. I am just honestly guessing at the allergic reaction to the plastic autofeeder, but mocha has always ate out of stainless steel bowls until we got her this feeder a few months back. I just don't know what could be causing this ... but I feel horrible for both of them ..
 
devon, im new to the board, and this sounds more serious than what we experienced, but when binks and his brother had plastic bowls, they developed cases of kitty acne under their chins. so did the boxer-drooler. I switched them to metal bowls, and it cleared up quickly. i dont know if that is what you're seeing, but thought i would share the info.

hope you find a quick and inexpensive solution...i fully understand the frustration of having limited resources to heal our best friends.

celi & binks
 
thanks celi .. this isn't chin acne on mocha .. its down in her throat area which leads me to believe, it is from when she is hanging over the autofeeder, and her throat is rubbing alone the plastic .. I don't know if a cat can be that sensitive to plastic that just mere rubbing on it could cause this or not? I feel so bad for her I just don't know what to do .. Tonight I told peter I will get up at her normal feeding times and feed her out of her stainless steel bowl and do that for a few nights, to see if it helps her or not ...

I googled "cats allergic to plastic" and there were quite a few threads to read up on, but someone mentioned this is how they treated their cat "It was treated w/ Eurthromycin ointment, twice a day and 1/2 a pill of antibiotics until it cleared up (which took about 2 1/2 weeks)." Is anyone familiar with this ointment?
 
If you believe it is allergies or miliary dermatitis (http://www.cat-health-guide.org/feline-miliary-dermatitis.html) you can try chlorpheniramine maleate (Chlor-Trimeton). The dose is 1/4 - 1/2 tablet twice daily. It is available OTC but be sure you check that the ONLY active ingredient is 4 mg chlorpheniramine maleate (some allergy meds have decongestants as well). I would start with the low end dose for a couple of days. If that doesn't work, you can try the higher dose. If the higher dose doesn't stop the itching within a few days, stop the meds and see your vet. This is what my civie takes for seasonal allergies.
 
karen .. that was an interesting article and thank you for the information on allergy tablets .. Mocha doesn't have a lot of small red crusty bumps, she had quite a few, but they were somewhat spaced out, with maybe two or three lumped together. To me they looked like she was scratching to hard with her back claws and made herself bleed, and these were the scabs from that. But maybe I am wrong? But they did not look like a rash of any sorts. I don't know if that is what mocha has ... would it be bad to give her the OTC medication without knowing for certain? That would be a lot cheaper then going to the vets which isn't even an option at this point for us ... I don't see her scratching herself a lot but she must be doing it when I'm not looking .. I know she licks herself non stop after we put on her vitamin E oil but I don't think she likes the feel of that on her ... what a vicious cycle ...
 
Since both cats just recently developed it, it has to be something new..possibly the new cat feeder. So before medicating them, I would try to remove the feeder first, and if they start showing improvements in the next few days, you will know what it was. If you try things simultaneously, you will never know what was the source of their severe reaction. And I would take some pictures of them, because if it is the feeder, you should be ablt to get your money refunded.
Dana
 
Twix has had rodent ulcers and sores on her ears for a long time now so this isn't anything new with her ... it's really only new with mocha who never seemed to have skin issues before. Plus twix does not eat out of the auto feeder, mocha only eats out of that at night, when she is locked up in our room away from twix.

I did e mail the auto feeder company and asked if they had anything that was a non plastic feeder, because so many kitties have allergies to plastic. They e mailed me back and said at the present time they do not, but they are going to forward the idea to their development team. Im not sure what will come of that.
 
The Chlor-Trimeton is mild and has very few side effects. I think you could safely try it for a few days. It should stop the itching within a few days. If it doesn't, it is not going to work and you should stop the med.
 
Sending healing green light to help with all that itchy. Hope it all calms down and Trix gets some relife too Huggggggggs DH are like that grr_red grr_red Its like you handle it Hugsssss Kath oh yes my Schooch us to lick himself bald .Get something that she hates like bitter oinment they use after surgeries and mix it with a little water then put it where she licks. Just to break the habit cause ones the fur feels different they try to make it all feel the same
 
Have you ever looked into adding some L-Lysine to the food? It works great for cats with mouth issues and cats with herpes or other skin issues. Quite a few vets are using it now especially the more holistic vets. We give it to both our cats and dogs. Very easy to use, the cats don't mind it at all, just sprinkle 1/2 capsule over the food and mix in. And it is safe for your diabetic kitty also. Best wishes.
Oh I agree with using a different bowl, no plastic as this can cause problems with skin especially around and in the mouth.
 
thanks guys for all the suggestions. I think we will try an OTC medicine .. I have to do something .. I just feel awful .. and yes housecats, husbands are like that and it drives me crazy ... we have never tried L-Lysine before .. where would we purchase that at? Where would we find bitter ointment at?
 
Any human health or vitamin store would have l-lysine. I have bought the 500 mg capsules. One standard dose is 250 mg bid. I have found bitter Apple at PetSmart.
 
thanks everyone for their suggestions today. I will have to find a local health store .. not sure if we have one in this area or not but I know there is a petsmart a half hour away so I could at least go there for the bitter spray.
 
OOh, I'm intrigued by the l-lysine caps! My civie has herpeviral conjunctivitis, and the vet gave me some lysine gel to smear on his paw...but he HATES the smear and does his best to flick it off. I actually have to rub it into his shoulder so he can't flick it, and it's a total pain, and I only do it when he has a flare up. If I had caps I could mix into his food, well, that would be a cake-walk in comparison! I never thought to check a health food store for that, but I did check around for chewables/cat treats instead of the gel, but no such luck in the pet-food realm.
 
Ronnie/Luna had to get rid of her plastic dishes too. I think she uses only glass now...had to get rid of all his plastic toys too. Once you eliminate the plastic Devon, it will take a little time for the skin to heal over. Their back legs are very strong and they can easily rip their skin while itching...
always something, huh?
And that means you cannot use that feeder anymore...sigh...
 
What a frustrating thing to deal with! I hope you find the cause soon!

When purchasing L-Lysine, make sure it does not contain the ingredient "propylene glycol" because it can be harmful to kitties.
 
I wonder why mocha never experienced this with just her toys before .. though she doesn't have many she does have some plastic balls .. I wonder if it is the autofeeder doing this? I guess I will take it away for a few days and see what happens .. and thanks for the hint kelly!
 
For our ferrets who are sensitive to everything,who get really itchy mast cell tumors we give ordinary generic Chlortabs from walmart, (its cheap) a dose for a small ferret is 1/3 tab and it really does help with the itching. We were giving baby benedryl but it made them so sleepy and out of it. I would think the chlortabs would be safe also for a kitty.
 
Mocha healing green light coming to help with you and Twix skin problem Hope all clears up quickly Hugssssssssss to all Kath
 
Good luck, Devon! sending our healing thoughts your way...it's obvious that you work very hard to care for your kitties, and they are very fortunate to have you!

Celi & Binks
 
Devon-

I am SO sorry this is happening; I KNOW how hard you work to keep your girls healthy. I can feel the frustration. I hope some of these ideas work for you. I found out about slippery elm here and it's the only thing that makes Merlin's poop issues better. I hope it turns out to be the autofeeder causing all this. Hang in there!
 
Devon, check your local pharmacies. I've seen L-lysine at CVS. I looked ast their sir, they only seem to have tablets, but you could crush them.
 
thanks guys .. I really do try to take care of these kitties but they sure do make it challenging! Im hoping to get to town either tonight or tomorrow night to get some of the chlor trimenton tablets, deb, are those the same as the Chlortabs you mentioned? Anyways, do they take these pills whole, or am I supposed to crush them up in their food? I don't know if we could get mocha to take the pill whole, but we can always try. I will check our rite aid for the L lysine also. Thanks everyone!
 
My thomas had/has that problem but...we used pyoben gel- is is an antimicrobial, keratolytic and follicular flushing gel specifically formulated for the topical treatment of deep cutaneous infection. It worked on his chin and neck area. And I had to clip his nails really short they were not helping either.
Hope it helps. :?:
 
ok, we just ordered that cleaner from amazon, it should be here in 3-5 days but in the meantime we would like to find something for her to take orally, like the chlor trimenton. Does anyone know if it is ok to crush the pill and put it in her food, or does she need to eat it whole? thanks!
 
The Chlor-Trimeton is very bitter, so I would try to give it whole. Coat it in butter or wrap in a pill pocket so she doesn't taste it.
 
ok we went to wal mart, and they had the Chlor-Trimeton but it was extended relief and it was for 12 hours, 12mg so we picked up the wal mart brand called Chlortabs and the only active ingredient is Chlorpheniramine maleate 4 mg. I hope this is the right thing?
 
I have learned that the l lysine tabs are big and like concrete, I dont know if you would be able to crush them, I couldnt even split them thats how hard they are, so I dissolve them in a bit of warm water and mix the slurry into their food, they dont seem to mind, I do the same with the crushed chlortabs and they never even know its there.
I hope this all helps and you begin to see an improvement, if you can control the itch/scratch cycle it should begin to heal.
 
ok thanks everyone! We did not get the pill pockets tonight cause I wasn't sure if the pills were dissolvable in water and didn't want to pay for the pockets if they were. We are going to cut one and use a 1/4 of it and mix it in with her food tonight. See how she does with that. If it doesn't work I'll go get the pockets tomorrow. Thanks again everyone, for all the help and suggestions, it means a lot you all care about mocha so much!
 
Powdered Lysine.

Hi everyone ... I'm a little late to the party here, I'm not here very much anymore. But, I wanted to give you the name of the Lysine I give my kids: http://organicpharmacy.org/products/L-Lysine.Powder -- it's a powder and dissolves really easily, no taste. I add it to their food, with a little water, and it does wonders. My littlest civvie had Feline Herpes when I adopted him, and when I moved between the dust and the stress they all picked it up I think.

I guess I should set up my profile here, huh? ;-)
 
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