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Old January 4th, 2007, 03:57 PM
JennieV JennieV is offline
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Lightbulb Cat issue: Hello and I need your help please!

Hello everybody! I will be posting an introduction of myself shortly, but right now I really needed to ask you for your valued opinions.
My kitty, Max, a 5 yr old domestic shorthaired, indoors cat only, has been behaving kind of weird lately, I would say about a month, he is scratching excessively, loses hair in patches, his fur went very dull and looks awful, almost as if he was rolling under a car... just a couple of days ago he developed these red bumps, they are dry, but he is VERY ITCHY, I can tell, because he no longer licks himself, he bites...I took him to our vet yesterday, she said its some kind of food allergy, and put him on Medi-Cal. But what I need to know is : Has any of your cats experienced this before? What was the cause? Do you have any recommedations for me other than change of food? That would take time and I was hoping theres some kind of product for immediate relief, even if it is only external. :sad: I gave him a bath about 2-3 weeks ago, but that didnt seem to do much good...:sad:
I (and Max) appreciate any and all advice in advance!
Thanks!!

Last edited by JennieV; January 4th, 2007 at 03:59 PM. Reason: typing mistake
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Old January 4th, 2007, 04:30 PM
x.l.r.8 x.l.r.8 is offline
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1st off welcome. I'll try and address some issues and then it's probably going to be a mass execution of medi-cal with some vet tech chirping in on how good it is
The part about being under a car alarm bells ringing, I work on cars all the time and as such I have engines laying around, I thought my baby had been hiding out inder one when she was covered in what looked like the crud on the outside of a bad engine, turns out it was dried blood from an absess under her tounge and bleeding gums from tarter build up. I would get some of hte tarter remover additive and put that in the food immeadiatly, I thought it was a gimick and found out to late it really really works. Look under the tounge and by the gums for any bleeding. If it's not what I describe then I'm sorry, but I really thought my angel was covered in grease and to my shock the problems just got worse and worse. Externally there is not a lot to do except bathing (if tollerated) with non medicated shampoo. Internally, well where to start, I guess probiotics may melp replenish her gut with enzymes that may have been washed out of the system. Next is the good old subject of food, the one your giving is not helping, cereals are known to be the biggest allergins and medical has it all. I would look for a simple diet with as few protein scorces as possible, if no change in a week change to another protein, and again untill you have found what you are trying to aviod. A friend of mine swapped to a venison based food as it elimanted all the problems in one go. Now she knows it was 'something' in the food, in a few months she will revist each protein one at a time and find out what it was, for the mean time she is happy the allergies are gone. So my only sudgestion is have a look at somewhere that gives you the breakdown, try and find a food that is obtainable and has gotten rid of the cereals, or go you could try homecooking for a week, something like emu and rice and seeing if that helps (something that would be not included in the previous foods). I'll open the floor to the others as they have loads more information than I could ever hope to give. Good luck and keep us informed.
P.S. pictures 'well or not' are required...............regularly.

Last edited by x.l.r.8; January 4th, 2007 at 04:36 PM.
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Old January 4th, 2007, 06:06 PM
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TeriM TeriM is offline
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First of all are you sure that you don't have a flea issue. Sometimes fleas are very hard to see so I would check for that first. I would also suggest that the vet run a general test panel to check for things like a thyroid issue. If it is food allergies then you should check the ingredient list in your regular food and try a new food that has different ingredients. It would be helpful if you could list for us the ingredients in both your original food and the new stuff. The vet stuff is usually not very high quality (lots of grains). I would also suggest adding a little salmon oil to his food which may help with the dry skin. If he still seems really itchy then take him back to the vet and get a cortisone shot which should give him some relief for about a month or so. You can also call your vet about advice on allergy meds which can also be used short term.
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Old January 5th, 2007, 12:35 AM
bogwog bogwog is offline
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Quote:
I would get some of hte tarter remover additive and put that in the food immeadiatly, I thought it was a gimick and found out to late it really really works.

Sorry, not trying to threadjack but I've always been curious about this stuff. Could you tell me what the ingredients are?
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Old January 5th, 2007, 01:21 AM
x.l.r.8 x.l.r.8 is offline
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The stuff I have is wysong Dentatreat,
A special blend of dental active natural cheeses, torna minerals, Calcium lactate, Aloe Vera, Potassium Citrate, Direct fed microbe cultures (enteroccus faecium, Lactobacillus, bifidus, and salivarius), Milk Calcium, Apple Polyphenols, Natural Enzymes, Wysong whole salt, fructooligo-saccharides, Chromium yeast, Isolated milk proteins (including Lactoferrin and Lactoperoxidase)
Clear as mud now
Don't know if it's good but the tarter on the kittens (15 years old) has gone and we now have them back on a good food (changed food 3 years ago when we came over as they were on a UK holistic food and just grabbed something cheap, cats loved it so thought no more about it), now I wish I had done my homework. This stuff worked for my 2 remaining cats, unfortunatly nothing would have helped the tumour on their mummy's tounge.
It may not work for all animals but one of the kittens was due to go to the vets in 3 months for tarter removal, when the 3 months came up, no treatment needed and her teeth are superb. I will probably find out the stuff is worse than the what is stops but right now they have clean teeth and good food.
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Old January 5th, 2007, 05:56 AM
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Scott_B Scott_B is offline
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You may want to see if they can give you a sample from the pet store. The dentatreat gave my cats hairballs like crazy.
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Old January 5th, 2007, 09:12 AM
JennieV JennieV is offline
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Some more details

Hi again,
I was hoping to see some info pertaining to my situation, but instead theres a conversation about dental hygiene..? LOL
Anyways, I thought I would elaborate abit on Max's condition..I mentioned that his fur was feeling icky, but he isnt bleeding, that was the first thing I checked for, he just feels very oily and dirty...
Now, I went like a mad person, into 4 different stores, comparing the foods out there to what the vet gave me, and frankly, I didnt find any of them to be any better...and some that were slightly better - were WAY TOO EXPENCIVE. Most of them have either corn or rice fillers as a primary content, then it states chicken meal or chicken by product, so since the vet told me that he is most probably allergic to the chicken, why would I want to get chicken..? In any case, right now, I have the bag that I bought from the vet (its duck meal, potato meal and some grains..) and I will continue with that for now, to see if any improvement, I think there is, he isnt scratching like mad any more, still itchy though, I can tell by the way he rubs himself on my fingers when I pet him..Hes only been on the new food for 2 days.
I should have also mentioned that about 3 months ago I made a BIG mistake and switched his food to one I found in the US, I believe it was some store brand, it was cheap, and he liked it, so I bought more...And I am sure now that this situation is directly linked to that food. Now, reading all the info on this website, and feeling much more educated about these things, I am beating myself for doing that to my cat...He is also the kind of cat that does not touch any table scraps, well maybe a tiny piece of chicken breast once in a blue moon, but its usually really really tiny and really really rare...he doesnt touch the canned food either, I have tried everything. He only eats dry food.
He also has some crazy hairballs, but its not surprising, if he is itchy, and licks himself with the fur coming off like nuts, no wonder....
So I hope this post gives you some more insight into the situation...
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Old January 5th, 2007, 09:34 AM
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Scott_B Scott_B is offline
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Generally with any skin/coat issues, the first thing to check is for parasites.

As for foods, DVP VENISON & FRESH GREEN PEA FORMULA is an option. With any allergy formula, your gonna pay more though. The vet formula probably isn't much cheaper, and not nearly as good. Another to look at is Wellness Salmon formula, although its not really an allergy formula, it has no chicken.
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Please please please give Maggie the steak! Its not too big for her little mouth!

Their impression of power is remarkable. They give one the feeling of immense reserves of energy, of great reservoirs of knowledge, of tolerance of disposition, obstinacy of purpose, and tenacity of principle. They are responsive, and they have a lot of quiet, good sense.

-J. Wentworth Day, from The Dog in Sport, 1938
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Old January 5th, 2007, 10:18 AM
JennieV JennieV is offline
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Scott, I dont seem to have seen any of the foods you mention, is there a particular store that carries them??
He doesnt have any parasites, that is being checked on bi-weekly basis by me and my husband both, so any new symptoms or anything - we immediately notice. He takes care of the litter box, so he is the one to look at the stool, but I do the brushing, the baths and the nail clipping.
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Old January 5th, 2007, 12:13 PM
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TeriM TeriM is offline
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You will need to go to a higher end pet store. I'm not back there but I believe a lot of the members here in Montreal go to Global Foods which carries a larger selection. The better foods are often carried at the smaller stores (not the big box pet stores). The higher end food is more expensive but the generally eat less and they also are in better health so fewer vet trips.
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Old January 5th, 2007, 12:36 PM
x.l.r.8 x.l.r.8 is offline
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Global carries a lot of the better brands, and they also have trial packs that will save you buying bags and your kitty snubbing them. You can search for the nearest store from the Global web site. (sorry I don't have the URL and dial up takes me for ever to do a search).
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Old January 5th, 2007, 01:07 PM
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Cathy1 Cathy1 is offline
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I think this is the URL http://www.globalpetfoods.ca/frameset.html
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Old January 5th, 2007, 01:32 PM
bogwog bogwog is offline
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Hello JennieV, I apologize for getting your thread offtrack earlier

An oily coat in cats is sometimes caused by pansteatitis, I once had a cat with this a long time ago. It's caused by a diet high in fats (usually fish catfood) and low in vitamin E. It can also sometimes cause nodules on the skin. The cat usually doesn't like to be touched or at least acts strangley when you do so. I've no idea if your cat could have this but you might ask your vet.



Quote:
He also has some crazy hairballs, but its not surprising, if he is itchy, and licks himself with the fur coming off like nuts, no wonder....
Sounds like my cat Molly a few years back. She has several food allergies and and will pull out her hair along her back and get amazing hairballs if she flares up. I now feed her a raw diet which keeps everything nicely under control. A homecooked diet would probably work too, but I see that's not an option for you. Cats can be so stubborn Hope you can figure something out!
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Old January 7th, 2007, 11:31 PM
JennieV JennieV is offline
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Its allright Bogwog, no offence taken, I just take in as much info as I can... you never know when I will need it! and thank you for your tip, it sounds very much like my cat (the first description, so I will ask my husband to give the vet a call..), I hope that can be treated. The problem is that I threw out the old food bag, so I cannot even remember the name or anything, or what the content was...I just know it was a real cheap food. *kicks self in the butt*

Cathy - Re food store, thank you so much!! I looked it up and will definitely plan a trip there in the next couple of weeks..

So far Max's condition has not changed much, he kinda refuses to eat, he just nibbles on the new food, but I can see the difference in the fur already. I bought a gentle anti-itch shampoo, will try that to give the poor thing some relief...he also allows me to check him more, as well as before he just would really behave weirdly..
I really appreciate everyones help and input, I hope we can find a way out soon.
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