Cat Changes

[Amyfn]

My male cat (age 3) has been battling th puffy mouth (cat herpes is what the vet called it) on and off since he was about 2. He gets bery puffy around the gum area and gets little ulcers. Long story short we have now been using Atopica which seems to help.

My car has always been pretty cuddly and still is. His night time behavior has changed and I have no clue what the cause is (could it be due to atopica)? He used to just sleep with me most of the night no issues. Now in the last month he wakes me up at random times during the night, assuming he is hungry. He has started making a weird crunching noise but only when his face is close to mine (or near my ear). I have been keeping him out of my room at night but then he spends most of the night meowing outaide the door, scratching and what I swear sounds like rattling the doorknob to get back in. It is affecting my sleep.

Lastly, the area under his neck are mostly scabs. Not sure if he is scratching, its a side affect or if my female cat is just beating him up.

Have an appointment scheduled with the ver but its not until next week. I have tried on and off stopping meds but when I do his mouth gets super inflamed again.

Suggestions or similar experiences?? I LOVE my kitty but right now he is driving me crazy and I have no clue how to help him or fix this behavior.

 

[silkenpaw]

I don’t know what “puffy mouth” is. I doubt very much it’s a viral infection (such as herpes) since that would not be treated with Atopica. Atopica is an immunosuppressant, not an antiviral. Could the diagnosis be gingivostomatitis? If so, your kitty could be in pain and be waking up because of that.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I agree. This sounds like stomatitis, and I've never heard of using Atopica for that, but sometimes drugs are used for more than one thing .

As for the scabs on his chin, that sounds like Feline Acne. What type of bowls does he use...plastic? Here is an article on Feline Acne: Feline Acne

But to answer your main question, the side effects of Atopica don't seem to be an increased appetite or sleeplessness. Quite the opposite. So I don't think his behavior has anything to do with the medication. I think he's probably in pain so possibly isn't eating as much as he normally does and may be waking you up because he's either hungry or hurting. That crunching noise can be from nausea or overacidity (from not enough food even), or possibly from dehydration. It can be from many factors, but be sure to let your Vet know about it.