Cone of Shame

darlenam8

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Hello!

I've been dealing with an allergic cat since February and I am so unbelievably frustrated! We just can't seem to get to the bottom of this quickly enough.

Initially, my 3 year old cat, Cezare, was taken to the vet to be seen for a bald spot on his shoulder/back area that he kept licking a lot. It was raw and would bleed when he licked it. 

Doctor's said it wasn't ringworm and that it was allergic dermatitis. Apparently, most cat allergies are due to fleas, so they tried to nip it in the bud with 2 different kinds of flea meds, after he got a steroid and antibiotic shot. A few weeks later, we were back at the vet, and the wound was bigger. Another shot of antibiotics and steroids, and 2 weeks later, it was worse again.

In the meantime, I decided to put a baby onesie on poor Cezare to keep him from licking so much. He got used to it pretty well, and it serves a purpose


We also tried chlorpheniramine (antihistimine) at the recommendation of the vet to control his itch, and it just makes him so dopey I hate it.

My vet suggested a cat dermatologist, and he determined it is not a flea allergy. After changing to a prescription Royal Canin rabbit diet to test for food allergies, his itching cleared up most dramatically after 2 days on the new diet. 

After 2 months, dr recommended introducing his old diet back in to test for allergens and within 2 days of eating chicken, he started itchy like mad again.

So, problem solved, right? Cezare's allergic to chicken.

No. Not so easy. 

We switched him back to the prescription diet and everything was much better. However, allergens are in the air outside right now, and mine have been going nuts along with so many other people. And, my cat Cezare has started itching again. Coincidence, I wonder. 

Also, even though he's on Revolution for fleas every 3 weeks, he and his brother play outside with a feral cat, so there are definitely instances when I'll find a flea on them.

Well, since this last unknown flare up, he is just completely over wearing baby onesies, and has begun licking them in the itchy spots until he  is soaking wet, along with somehow being able to pull tufts of fur out through them. He's also decided he's not going to stay in them and has gotten himself so twisted up trying to pull his head, leg, or whatever out.

Two nights ago, we finally broke down and decided to put him in a cone, as there seems to be no other alternative. The first night, he bumped into everything, sulked, and stared at the wall all day. The second night he seemed like he was getting used to it, and now today, he wants to hide under the bed or do this:


Problem with going under the bed is that he gets stuck. he was able to rip the cone off this morning while stuck under the bed. Now I'm afraid of him getting stuck under the bed when no one is home, or getting the cone off and licking his wounds and undoing all his healing.

Our next appointment with the dermatologist isn't for another month, and when I emailed him, he said to just try to keep him indoors for a week or so and see if that helped. That was before everything got so extreme and we coned him. Dr said it's possible he has a food allergy, envirronmental allergies as well, and perhaps the fleas just exascerbate the whole thing. We are going to discuss the option of Atopica at our next appointment.

Does anyone have any suggestions at all, or has anyone been through anything like this before? I'm just so sad he's going through this and can't imagine how uncomfortable and itchy he is. I'm at my wit's end, as it seems there's just nothing that is working.

I just want my happy go lucky, playful, non-itchy cat back.

Any suggestions are so very appreciated!
 

meandcaptinmeow

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My deep sympathies to you both. That poor cat!
I don't know if I have any good advice. I just wanted to say keep hoping. It matters.
It matters to think positively, and expect good things.

If you've got the wherewithal to keep bringing him to vets (and oh try a second, and a third! They'll look at the situation afresh. Maybe don't even tell them he's been seen (or at least not right away) so you don't taint their minds with 'what to think').. Because I've had friends with incurable problems they expected there'd never be a solution to, and some time went by and they got a surprise! New things get learned. Medicine isn't done learning, ya know?

And in the meantime you could google a lot about this problem.
Somewhere, someone might have had the same thing to deal with.
In fact, they must have!

And what about consulting with a vet at a hospital? Wouldn't they talk with you for free? Maybe THEY've dealt with a similar case before.
Of course they always want to say "I'd have to look at him first", so you'd have to get around that. (Play for sympathy, I guess.)

You keep hoping. I'll send you good wishes to help. And maybe there are others here with more specific experience to offer you.
 
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darlenam8

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Thanks for your response. I don't know what to do next. Waiting really stinks, too.

As far as a hospital, on the recommendation of several vets, I took him to the specialists at UCDavis Animal Hospital, as it has excellent Dr's and is the best vet school in the world, I believe. At the last appointment, the dr had another dr consult as well, and they hoped it was just food allergies, but it seems it might be more. They did mention that was a strong possibility. There seems to be a lot of waiting and seeing....

I'm just so frustrated because it seems three is nothing to do- in the meatime- just watch him suffer, wear clothes or cones.

I hope someone on here has been through something similar and can give me some pointers, or hope :)
 

darkhorse321

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Ugh! I had this with my first kitty (a tabby as well). She stress groomed though and I ended up created something I called 'the sleeve'. You take an old -tshirt you don't like and cut the sleeve off. Then, make small holes in it that you can weave a collar or anything you prefer, through. The folds of the t-shirt cover the fur so they groom the cotton sleeve rather than their skin.

I'm sure my first kitty had skin allergies, and we had her on prednisone forever. She was able to finally be sleeve and cone free for her last 3 years , going to 18 and a half before I had to put her down due to CKD.

Hugs to you--I know for my kitty, hers flared up during seasonal changes, so likely they were allergies and triggered some response.
 

meandcaptinmeow

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How's Cezare today?

I just re-read everything you said. It's only a pot shot, I know but, was he on Revolution before this started? I mean it sounds like the rash is near where the instructions say to apply it. And even if it isn't, that stuff goes into his bloodstream. Maybe he's having a reaction to it. You could try taking him off that and use a natural flea remedy (one that doesn't involve the use of chemicals (poison) being applied to him.

I mean Revolution isn't cheap to have to perpetually buy. And it's not just for fleas, it's for worming (and ear mites).
So for my cat, I just used one course (three doses), and that I was told would eliminate worms.
And since he's an indoor cat, I was able to stop there and give him no more. (Lucky me, yea I know, but-)

So..I was about to suggest perhaps a flea collar, since it's for fleas only, and I always had good luck with those, BUT when I looked,
flea collars actually use a poison too, to kill the fleas. And again: applying a poison to his body...that COULD be a problem...

So I went looking, to see the side effects Revolution could cause. This link doesn't tell as much about those as I'd like,
but it does give a great deal of every other kind of info you could want about Revolution:

https://www.drugs.com/pro/revolution-topical.html

(That's a good site for drug info, human or pet). ("Drugs.com")


You may have noticed it said Revolution can cause Alopecia at the site of application. Apparently Alopecia is about sudden hair loss, in patches. Link:

https://www.google.com/search?q=alopecia&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8


Then, at this link, scroll to the bottom to see comments about NATURAL FLEA CONTROL METHODS:

http://www.petmd.com/cat/emergency/poisoning-toxicity/e_ct_flea_control_product_poisoning

I noticed this comment someone left there:

Natural flea control...
Several years ago, I had a part time job as a pet groomer in an animal hospital. While there,
I saw several cases of pets that had had terrible reactions to the toxins in most flea control
products. These were not cases of misuse of the products, it was because of the product
itself. I then decided that I would never put poison on any of my own pets again. There are
many natural ways to control fleas and ticks without poisons. The use of poison anywhere
of any reason is never a good idea for anyone. I use a couple of products from Only Natural Pet.
I use their squeeze on product and a daily dose of their brewer's yeast tablet. I have done this
for a couple of years now and have had no fleas or ticks. I do use their spray as well when the
dog is going to be walking through wooded areas of fields. Works like a charm for my gang!



If it does turn out to be something you applied to him, don't take that as your fault. They push this stuff at us as if it's fine, and we do the best we can.
(Besides, we don't know at this point that the Revolution was the problem.
But...if you think it's worth a try, take him off it and see how it goes!

Couldn't hurt. (so long as you find some other method of flea control for him).

So here's google results for "natural flea control methods for cats":

https://www.google.com/search?q=Natural+flea+control+methods+for+cats&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8


Anyway this is all just a thought I had. May not be worth anything, I don't know, but I do know what you and Cezare are going through needs to be cared about. So I thought of these things.

You could also try and distract him with play, something(s) from a normal routine so he could forget about being miserable for a while. I'm sure he's in discomfort but..maybe you could buy him a new toy. I just got mine a butterfly on a wire (about $10 at Wal-Mart). It goes in circles in the air, and he bats at it and loves it! And this is much better than having him sit around bored, because he gets that way! So I'm always buying him toys. (He's an indoor cat, which I don't think is right and I wont do it again. But I make much effort to keep him entertained and interested in new things to check out.
Even a box is an exciting event for most cats!
Anything really that's new on the scene.
So, yea..maybe give him some normal moments to break up the monotony of being down.

It looks a bit like this: (and yea the wire isn't the greatest thing to give him to chew on, but..well, it's for supervised play!)
.

[VIDEO] [/VIDEO]​

Thirdly, one can never over-estimate the power of love. I spent way more money than I had one time, to try and help my little friend with a bout of constipation. It turned out nothing I bought was what helped though! But I'm convinced that making all that fuss over him did. (And "the chicken" (a stuffed toy we played with at that time) is still a toy he spends time with. (In fact, he grooms it! lol) I don't know, maybe I'm weird, but I just think love is a real force, and I must have somehow put some in that chicken toy and that's why he cares for it. (Told you I'm weird.) But...they have their way of knowing things. I gave him some extra love, and he took it, and he got better. I told him he needed to. (Hey it's not as weird as 70's people talking to their plants!! ) But they have a way of getting what you're giving. And I'm sure you give him lots. Just part of the cure, when mine gets down.
.


Okay, and this prescription is for you!
(LOL cats make me laugh, which can fix a lot!)









.
 
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darlenam8

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Thank you for all your info! I never really thought about this, and the specialist never even mentioned it as a possibility. I'll definitely bring it up at our next appointment. Seriously, I'm going out of my mind with all this back and forth and wondering what he is allergic to. It's very frustrating.

Thanks :)
 
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