convenia injection- i'm afraid for my kitten

[stephanietx]

That's so weird! How long after the revolution application did you notice the symptoms?

Her response was fairly quick, maybe 30 mins to an hour. The reaction lasted several hours and overnight. She was "okay" the following morning, but was still kind of spacy. We did this twice and after then second time I decided no more. You might try stopping applying Revolution and see if there's any change or improvement.

 

[haleyrose99]

AS far as feeding baby food, just offer it to her like regular wet cat food. Hopefully she will take an interest in it and chow down. If she does, great! This may jump start her appetite. It's ok to feed this and only this for a couple of days if she doesn't then move over to her regular food. If she doesn't eat it at all, then nothing is lost other than a few dollars. You can also use it as a topper if she likes it and continues to not want her regular food.

Okay, I can definitely do that! She thankfully showed a little bit of interest in her normal food today, she didn't eat much but I didn't have to help so I'm hopeful! I will still get the baby food just in case at this point.

As to raw food, I started out by buying frozen already prepared commercial raw food. No supplements or anything are needed. Just thaw and serve.

Wow, this is incredibly detailed thank you so much!! I will definitely keep the meatball thing in mind, I suspect we might have the same confusion I have seen S & C in stores, but I will definitely check out the other brands you mentioned! Since you mention transitioning from free feeding your own kitties, I edited my previous post about the fish oil and added a question about that but I'm not sure if it was updated before anyone posted- they are still only 6 months, is it okay to stop free feeding? I want them to grow properly, and granted I don't know when I will be able to transition to some form of raw, but I do worry at this stage that maybe some of the crud in their kibble is causing some of their skin issues (I saw some information about it somewhere, I can find it again for reference). It would make food testing/transition a lot easier, but again they're still developing and I wouldn't want to hinder that for selfish reasons.

We tried the Dr. Mercola probiotics once and my cats didn't like it.

Ah I see, Phoebe and Milo are definitely put off by certain new smells so I don't doubt that they'll react the same way. But if not Dr.Mercola's, I also have some sachets of goat milk probiotics I got from Petco a month or two ago. Would that help maybe? Phoebe hasn't pooped since Friday (I think, it's hard to tell with two kittens all up in the same litterboxes) so I'm a bit worried she's constipated and I want to help her digestion. She hasn't eaten much, I know, but she has eaten and I don't want her to hurt herself. she's far too old for stimulation at this point

As far as fish oil, yes it's supposed to be great for skin issues. I can't recommend any specific brands, because once again, my guys hate every one I have tried. Even different types of fish...sardine,salmon, etc. But here is a search query where you can read what different people say on the topic: Search Results for Query: fish oil

Okay awesome I can look through that! They do like fish but I'm not sure how that translates to oils necessarily

Oh, and one of my guys used to cough every time he drank until he was about two years old. He apparently just didn't learn how to drink correctly.

LOL okay that makes me feel so much better, Milo practically dunks his face in the bowl so he definitely never learned either

 

[haleyrose99]

Hi. Time to see a veterinary dermatologist. Don’t do anything else. Get a referral.

Oh god okay, I did call the only dermatologist near me, but I won't be able to get an appointment for months (I believe she said March/May I can't remember exactly)... she couldn't even give me a date because it would be so far in advance

Re: fish oil. No. Many cats are allergic to fish.

Okay, I won't do the fish oil! I did suspect Phoebe possibly had an allergy to salmon based on the first two weeks I had them- I gave them a few flavors of wet food but one was tuna salmon and she got the runs. At this point I don't know how true that assumption was or what really caused that reaction. I was recommended by a vet to give fish only (to test for the chicken) so she's had food with salmon since, and she hasn't had that issue again that I can tell. But again who knows.

The diet is a prescription diet. Many over the counter diets claiming to be rabbit, and costing a fortune have chicken or fish in them.

Wow okay I din't know that about OTC diets, I will definitley go through a vet for that. They hated the hydrolyzed diet (or I think so, again it coincided with the medications) so do you know if a novel protein trial would be more palatable?

She is very young to be showing signs of a food allergy. Very young.

Yes, I was told by a few of the vets that food allergy is rare for kittens at her age (it started when she was 4 months) so for a while, I was skeptical and didn't put much weight to it, though I probably should have.

I would not be comfortable with giving a 6 month old cat steroids.

I also do not feel great about it (as seen in my original post freak out). I still have the prednisolone, I was going to call tomorrow to just ask about it, but would it be wise to not give it to them? I know you can't just randomly give it to them and you definitely can't abruptly stop it, so I don't want to start the process just yet.

If your cat seems I’ll other than the skin, ie not eating or lethargic, I would look for a feline only vet and get her seen. Bring all your information for her and tell the vet she was given vet along and convenes.

She has been a bit lethargic, more than normal but she did play a bit today, and her appetite is all kinds of wack. She had a similar reaction the first time she get the shots too. She also seems to be constipated so I might give her a probiotic (goat's milk probiotic by honest kitchen) soon to help, unless that's a bad idea? At this point I'm so unsure.
I just left a message for a cat clinic near me and I'm definitely going to try and get her there, especially after the traumatizing visit we had Friday (didn't put it in my original post but imagine me with tiny Phoebe and three loud and excited dogs in a small waiting area... and an owner who let her German Shepard lunge at me and Phoebe!).

 

[haleyrose99]

Her response was fairly quick, maybe 30 mins to an hour. The reaction lasted several hours and overnight. She was "okay" the following morning, but was still kind of spacy. We did this twice and after then second time I decided no more. You might try stopping applying Revolution and see if there's any change or improvement.

That's odd, I never considered revolution! I haven't noticed anything like that, Phoebe's symptoms happen randomly days or weeks after the revolution, but honestly who knows that might be the problem. A few vets told me pesky fleas that don't want to leave could be causing her reaction (I don't think so but just to be sure I guess) so I was instructed to keep her on for at least three months to kill the cycle. Next month is three, so I can try that and stop to see how she does. Thank you for your response!

 

[stephanietx]

That's odd, I never considered revolution! I haven't noticed anything like that, Phoebe's symptoms happen randomly days or weeks after the revolution, but honestly who knows that might be the problem. A few vets told me pesky fleas that don't want to leave could be causing her reaction (I don't think so but just to be sure I guess) so I was instructed to keep her on for at least three months to kill the cycle. Next month is three, so I can try that and stop to see how she does. Thank you for your response!

If you're treating all your kitties, they don't go outside, and you don't have dogs to bring fleas in, most likely you don't have fleas. I have 3 indoor kitties. None of them are treated for fleas and we don't have a flea problem. (I'm in Texas and fleas are very common.) I take care of a neighborhood cat and he's strictly outdoors (stays in our enclosed sunroom in bad weather) and he doesn't have fleas either. He is also not treated for fleas. I always try to start with the easy things first. If you stop the Revolution, and continue with her food, you're still working on eliminating a possible cause. She might have so much of the medication in her system that her body can't get rid of it, especially if you're reapplying every 30 days.

 

[NekoM]

Ah you're totally right I definitely treat them with kid gloves sometimes, I'll admit I can be a bit of an overworrier (it definitely shows in my original posts lol) but I can definitely start the prednisolone tomorrow! Thinking long term as well, food testing has been pretty costly and I can't necessarily afford it at the moment, so it's been making the stress of the situation much worse. It might just be for the best if I put it off for a while until I can get on my feet. Thank you for your response, I appreciate it!

The irony is there’s a really high chance she’ll grow out of it!

 

[silent meowlook]

From your first post it sounds like fleas. You may not see them and if she is allergic to them it only takes one.
There is a chance it could be a dust mite allergy or some other environmental allergy.

I had a cat that displayed similar symptoms. I took him to the dermatologist and did alergy testing. He was highly allergic to dust mites, ants, dog dander, wheat, and more. I did the allergy injections.

For fleas, or any itchy cat, I like Revolution, the original, not the plus. The plus has a second ingredient that has been linked to neurological issues.

Have they done a skin scraping to determine if there are mites?

Make sure you are using unscented dust free litter.

I wouldn’t even bother with considering food allergy at this point since she is so young. I would stop the dry food.

 

[haleyrose99]

If you're treating all your kitties, they don't go outside, and you don't have dogs to bring fleas in, most likely you don't have fleas. She might have so much of the medication in her system that her body can't get rid of it, especially if you're reapplying every 30 days.

I know at one point they did have fleas/were around fleas (I'm assuming the shelter I got them from or before) because they had tapeworms for months without me realizing it, I only noticed when I saw one in Milo's poop about a month ago But yes you're right, they only ever go outside to go to the vet so it seems unlikely, especially after months of the revolution. I will definitely try removing that and see what happens, it would be the easiest problem to fix if that's really what it is. Thanks for your reply!

 

[haleyrose99]

From your first post it sounds like fleas. You may not see them and if she is allergic to them it only takes one.
There is a chance it could be a dust mite allergy or some other environmental allergy.

That's what I've been told about fleas I did a flea bath and comb a week ago and didn't see any, but if she was bit previously do you know how long a reaction like that would stay in her system? I also did suspect environmental for a while, like from my detergent, their litter, or any cleaning product I've been using. I'm switching to seventh gen as soon as I run out of my current ones. How would I know if there are dust mites?

For fleas, or any itchy cat, I like Revolution, the original, not the plus. The plus has a second ingredient that has been linked to neurological issues.

Wow okay I didn't know that! I just took what the vet gave me, but I can get the original. Looking it up I see that plus kills ticks while the original doesn't but I'm not sure that I will ever have a problem like that.

Have they done a skin scraping to determine if there are mites?

I haven't, is that something only a dermatologist does, or can any vet perform a skin scrape? They do have a good amount of dandruff/dry skin flakes, but I haven't seen anything dark or black like a flea or mite. Doesn't mean it's not an issue though

Make sure you are using unscented dust free litter.

They still use paper pellets because I haven't been able to transition to clay yet- they play with/have eaten litter so I've been wary to start anything clumping. I use SoPhresh from Petco, originally the unscented but they had a formula change that freaked me out (went from grey to a brown color, and though unscented it had a flowery smell), so I switched to their clean scented version. Petsmart has Exquisicat unscented paper pellets that I'll be getting after I run out of what I have. Is paper okay or could it still cause allergies? Not totally dust free (and actually has some plastic pieces I have to pick out) but I've seen it's hypoallergenic, so I haven't really been running to change it.

I wouldn’t even bother with considering food allergy at this point since she is so young. I would stop the dry food.

Okay, I can wean them off dry. I feed them 3 meals of wet, I'm assuming if I stop free feeding I should give more wet meals during the day then while they're still young? They eat so sporadically so it may be difficult but I will definitley do it if it will help.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I see that you are getting some conflicting information here on your thread. (or maybe I'm reading wrong...could be). It seems some people say to go ahead and start the Pred, some people say don't , some people say to use fish oil, others say don't, etc. So all I can do is give you my two cents and you can take it for what it's worth.

I must say that I too did consider that maybe it's environmental rather than food, but there is no way of knowing from just an internet conversation. And sometimes even Vets cannot tell. It takes a lot of detective work, but it seems you are doing the right things in using a good type of litter and switching to a "clean" detergent. You might also need to switch up "clean" cleaning products all around the house as well, especially for the floors. Hoping you have wood or tile floors and not carpet, since there's not much you can do about carpet and there are dyes, etc. in carpet. Even cat beds might need to be washed in the new detergent since they are usually made in China out of who knows what.

Since you mentioned their skin is dry, I would definitely try to use some sort of fish oil. I have been told that even if cats can't have fish, fish oil is different and is very good for them. Should not really even effect them if they are allergic to fish! May not be 100% true, but I have been told this. And it is good for their skin. Just start out with a tiny bit and work up to a full dose so they can get used to the taste of it. You could also run a humidifier to help with the humidity in your home. Since it's colder now, the heater may be running, which is very drying. And when you feed them their wet food, maybe add a little bit of water to it. I add at minimum 1 tablespoon of filtered water to each meal for my adult cats, and don't feed any dry as a meal. Hydration for cats is like for people, helps with skin and constipation. And that goats milk probiotic should be fine. Is it actually goats milk, or powder? Hoping it's goats milk, since that would mean more for hydration.

So, if you stop free feeding kibble, then yes, you should add in a couple more meals until they are a few months older at least. And you can actually leave out wet food for a few hours if they don't finish it all at once, especially this time of year. It won't go bad within that time frame.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi.
First, with nutrition. If you think about the way cats were originally, when first around, they really haven’t changed much since then. Dogs have gone from wolf like to wiener dog, lots of change there.

A small wild cat, or even feral domestic cat will wake up, stretch, hunt. Often their hunting is unsuccessful. Often it take a long time of stalking and eventually bursts of energy and hopefully for them, they have a small meat meal of a mouse or bird.

After the hunt and feast of something mouse sized, they groom themselves and go back to sleep if they don’t have to avoid predators. Then they wake up and repeat the entire situation all over again, this happens many times in a 24 hour period of time.

Cats are obligate carnivores. They do not process carbs well. They need small well balanced nutritionally meat meals. Since I don’t want to murder mice and birds, I feed canned. Dry food is high in carbohydrates and cats have problems processing those. Some cats get fat, some diabetes, some IBD, lymphoma, urinary blockages and some do fine.

Dry food was created as a convenient way for people to feed cats. Just leave the bowl full, great for people, not so much for cats.

Of course there are exceptions to everything. In the case of my underweight cat with lymphoma, I feed her, her special canned food whenever she is hungry.

 

[silent meowlook]

As for skin. There are basic steps to a dermatologic exam of an itchy cat or one with skin issues. First rule out parasites. That is done by a full history. Flea combing the cat on a white towel to look for flea dirt or any signs of fleas. Full exam of cat, skin scraping to check for mites. This is done in office with skin scraped and put on slide with oil and checked with a microscope. Then a tape test which is how it sounds ( scotch tape). Then a sample of fur is plucked and put in a culture medium to see if fungal. Takes about a week for results. And the cat is examined with a black light looking for areas to fluoresce. That could show fungal.

After that is done there is additional testing that is more specialized that dermatologists do. This would be dermal skin testing, a suspected allergen is injected into a tiny area of the cat. Many allergic suspects are injected into a grid pattern and the cat will respond with a red bump forming where the offending allergen or allergens are. There is also a blood test that can be done ( I did that on my cat) the results are not 100% and there are controversial opinions on the validity of the test. If positive the cat is started on injections With successful results, usually.

A full blood panel should also be done to look for any anomalies in the blood work.

So overwhelming amount of information, expense etc.

If it was my cat, I would get an appointment with a feline only veterinarian. I would treat every animal in the house for fleas. Use Revolution regular type, not plus. I would vaccine extra. Continue with hypoallergenic types of litter, I would not switch to any “ natural” plant based cleaners because most have essential oils in them. I would just use fragrance free laundry soap.

That’s what I would do. I wouldn’t jump to any food trials right away. The chances of it being allergy to food at this age are slim, although possible. Most times food allergy is demonstrated by the cat scratching the head and neck.

Skip the flea baths if you are already using Revolution. Any over the counter flea shampoo has either pyrethrums, or if calming to be “ natural” some combo of plant based or essential oils that are just as toxic.

 

[Alldara]

haleyrose99 if you have the prenosolone, try a half dose and see how the allergies go. Magnus was on it and it did cause lethargy, but the plus side was that it cleared the reaction. Then we knew it was allergies and could begin to rule things out.

Magnus was very young when he started allergy symptoms. We tried the food and nothing would solve it completely but it helped. Then we noted that his Churu tubes had cheese sometimes, and his pet wipes had milk..... Then he cleared up and Purina added beef fat to the dry food and he hadn't noticed and it began up again.

He has not just a beef allergy but a beef by-product allergy. He also has an allergy to either peas or carrots, peas are in a lot of LID diets. He had no hair loss with his allergic reaction. It was mostly a toe issue and itching and head shaking. I made a post somewhere here but can't find it.

Keep a food diary. There's lots of LID diets for adult cats. You can feed that and ask your vet about suppliments. She may just need a taurine vitamin or to eat extra food.

Note about Convenia: Convenia is safe to many cats. Most of us who have used it frequently with no issues aren't going to be out there on the internet posting about it. Nobel has had it probably once to three times a year for many years because he REFUSED to take medication by mouth. I couldn't physically get it in him. His bloodwork was fine until recently at age 17. The MAJOR problem with convenia is when it's bad, it's bad and you can't remove it from the system. So I'd only use it in cases like Nobel where he'd die if he didn't get meds, and I cannot get the meds in.

 

[haleyrose99]

You might also need to switch up "clean" cleaning products all around the house as well, especially for the floors. Hoping you have wood or tile floors and not carpet, since there's not much you can do about carpet and there are dyes, etc. in carpet. Even cat beds might need to be washed in the new detergent since they are usually made in China out of who knows what.

I will definitely wash their beds, I previously washed them because of the tapeworms (found little sacs, I was horrified) but it was with Gain, so I will use an unscented one when I buy it! Sadly I have mostly hardwood, but my bedroom is carpeted and they do sleep on it during the day sometimes. Is there any way I can make that a little more allergen-free? Obviously I can't do much about dyes... I had a steam cleaner in a previous apartment, but I worried about getting mildew or mold from the carpets taking forever to dry

Since you mentioned their skin is dry, I would definitely try to use some sort of fish oil. You could also run a humidifier to help with the humidity in your home. And when you feed them their wet food, maybe add a little bit of water to it. I add at minimum 1 tablespoon of filtered water to each meal for my adult cats, and don't feed any dry as a meal. Hydration for cats is like for people, helps with skin and constipation. And that goats milk probiotic should be fine. Is it actually goats milk, or powder? Hoping it's goats milk, since that would mean more for hydration.

Okay, the fish oil thing makes sense I can definitely get some! And I've been adding water to their wet food for some time, mostly because Phoebe doesn't drink much on her own so I will keep doing that! The goat's milk is actually a powder, you add warm water to it to make a liquid. I did try to give it two nights ago and Phoebe really didn't want much to do with it, but Milo licked some!
I have been looking for humidifiers also (for me too, I have my own dry skin issues lol), do you have any recommendations? I've seen the Levoit cool and warm mist suggested on a few websites but it's a bit expensive...

So, if you stop free feeding kibble, then yes, you should add in a couple more meals until they are a few months older at least.

Okay, I can do that! They usually eat wet three times (8am-4 pm-12am) and share 1/4 cup dry in between each (sometimes they don't even finish that between meals so I top it off, and toss and refill at the end of the night). Yesterday I did start working towards almost doubling their wet meals (8am-12pm-4pm-8pm-12pm), I essentially just left wet out more often, and I was slowly decreasing the dry moving towards 1/8 cup eventually. It was rough at first, and they really wanted the dry food more, but today they seem to be eating more wet than the dry!! I'm not sure if this is too fast of a transition though, definitely let me know if I should slow it down a bit

 

[haleyrose99]

Cats are obligate carnivores. They do not process carbs well. Dry food is high in carbohydrates and cats have problems processing those. Some cats get fat, some diabetes, some IBD, lymphoma, urinary blockages and some do fine.

Wow, thank you for the information!! Since the high carbs in dry food isn't great, should I be looking for more grain-free wet food as well? I assume it can be an allergen source as well... Their first vet actually told me they NEED grain and more carbs for growth and development, so I started off buying foods like Purina Pro Plan classic chicken pate which has rice... they have a grain-free version though that I can definitely switch to when they run out

Many allergic suspects are injected into a grid pattern and the cat will respond with a red bump forming where the offending allergen or allergens are. There is also a blood test that can be done ( I did that on my cat) the results are not 100% and there are controversial opinions on the validity of the test. If positive the cat is started on injections With successful results, usually.

Got it, so in this case a grid test would be clearer then? I have heard about blood tests not being completely accurate, that's actually part of the reason I didn't get a dermatologist appointment sooner (two vets told us that the dermatologist actually wasn't worth it time or money- I assume they were just talking about the blood test).

If it was my cat, I would get an appointment with a feline only veterinarian. I would treat every animal in the house for fleas. Use Revolution regular type, not plus. I would vaccine extra. Continue with hypoallergenic types of litter, I would not switch to any “ natural” plant based cleaners because most have essential oils in them. I would just use fragrance free laundry soap.

Okay, I can do that! I'll get revolution tomorrow while I'm out. As for the cleaning supplies, do you have any recommendations? I was going to get seventh sense everything and their laundry detergent is fragrance and chemical-free, but looking now at their wipes and surface cleaners, they are all scented....
There are no cat-only clinics near me, but I do have an appointment with a clinic that has different facilities for cats and dogs (separate areas of the building that don't connect, and separate ventilation so they can't smell each other), and I was told by their staff that their veterinarians in their cat facility generally have more experience/knowledge with cats in comparison to dogs. Sadly that's the best I can get at the moment

Skip the flea baths if you are already using Revolution. Any over the counter flea shampoo has either pyrethrums, or if calming to be “ natural” some combo of plant based or essential oils that are just as toxic.

Okay, I will! I haven't given any since, Phoebe does NOT like the bath
I actually used dawn dish soap (blue) the first time because a family friend who is a vet recommended I do, and really that's all I had anyway... is dawn okay?

 

[haleyrose99]

if you have the prenosolone, try a half dose and see how the allergies go. Magnus was on it and it did cause lethargy, but the plus side was that it cleared the reaction. Then we knew it was allergies and could begin to rule things out.

Okay, I can do that! I'm going to call my vet and ask but I'm thinking of waiting until the Convenia and Vetalog are close to/do wear off because those alone are working really well at the moment.

He has not just a beef allergy but a beef by-product allergy. He also has an allergy to either peas or carrots, peas are in a lot of LID diets. He had no hair loss with his allergic reaction. It was mostly a toe issue and itching and head shaking. I made a post somewhere here but can't find it.

Okay yeah, very similar symptoms to Phoebe and Milo! And I do think I've read some of your posts in the past about Magnus's beef allergy! I'm planning to look through all their food's ingredients today to see if I can note any related ingredients or any outliers. I'm feeding them a few different proteins in a random rotation (ironically I was trying to avoid an allergy/get them comfortable with more proteins) so I have no idea how many commonalities I'm going to find...

Keep a food diary. There's lots of LID diets for adult cats. You can feed that and ask your vet about supplements. She may just need a taurine vitamin or to eat extra food.

Okay, I can definitely do that! I have a partially started food diary from before this all happened so I will update it. One of my vets we've seen actually told me NOT to do LID because it's for adult cats, I can't believe she (or I) didn't even consider adding supplements I'll ask about the LID at their next appointment this week!

Note about Convenia: Convenia is safe to many cats. The MAJOR problem with convenia is when it's bad, it's bad and you can't remove it from the system. So I'd only use it in cases like Nobel where he'd die if he didn't get meds, and I cannot get the meds in.

I definitely let the worst-case scenario stories get into my head a bit I will admit... But yes I do feel a bit uncomfortable about it being their system for so long, and if I had known I probably would've asked for another option and I will ask in the future. Milo and Phoebe have never had to take pills before, but I would rather try that first if I can. Even though Phoebe is doing much better today, the 3-4 days post-injection are scary with her not eating, drinking, or pooping... and I'm sure it's not good for her either

Thank you for your response I appreciate it!!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

my bedroom is carpeted and they do sleep on it during the day sometimes. Is there any way I can make that a little more allergen-free? Obviously I can't do much about dyes... I had a steam cleaner in a previous apartment, but I worried about getting mildew or mold from the carpets taking forever to dry.

I don't know of anything you can really do except vacuum frequently, but until you really know what she is allergic to, don't worry too much about dyes in the carpet. If it's dust mites, then frequent vacuuming will definitely help.

I have been looking for humidifiers also (for me too, I have my own dry skin issues lol), do you have any recommendations? I've seen the Levoit cool and warm mist suggested on a few websites but it's a bit expensive...

I have the bottom of the line Levoit. I think it cost less than $70. The only additional expense is that you're supposed to use distilled water in them. Tap water leaves a white film on EVERYTHING! We actually use filtered water from the Water and Ice stores. I have seven gallon water jugs and go to Water and Ice and fill them up every two weeks since one gallon lasts for two nights. (I only run the humidifier at night when we're sleeping because I keep it in the bedroom)

Yesterday I did start working towards almost doubling their wet meals (8am-12pm-4pm-8pm-12pm), I essentially just left wet out more often, and I was slowly decreasing the dry moving towards 1/8 cup eventually. It was rough at first, and they really wanted the dry food more, but today they seem to be eating more wet than the dry!! I'm not sure if this is too fast of a transition though, definitely let me know if I should slow it down a bit

I think that transition is fine since you are feeding them a food they are already used to.

 

[Alldara]

Milo and Phoebe have never had to take pills before, but I would rather try that first if I can. Even though Phoebe is doing much better today, the 3-4 days post-injection are scary with her not eating, drinking, or pooping... and I'm sure it's not good for her either

Thank you for your response I appreciate it!!

It's totally fair to be uncomfortable with something that stays in their system so long. For pilling, I recommend using a Churu. Place a bit of Churu on your hand, then the pill (or at least half of it) and then more Churu. sometimes they miss the pill at first. If they're young, it's easy to teach to take a pill without force usually. Magnus eventually just took most pills directly from my hand like a treat (not the prenosolone though because it's very bitter).

Re: what was stated about Carbs above.... We don't actually have the answers to what's better for all cats. There are few to none longitudinal studies regarding healthy cats and cat foods.

You basically have a choice with foods: grains or other fillers (chickpeas, peas, potatoes, corn etc). Some cats do well on the former and others on the later. There are HUGE debates within the cat communities of which is better and which is causing health issues. My personal preference is that of the rice and/or wheat over newer used (so therefore we don't know longitudinal effects as well) like the peas and chickpeas. As you saw above, other individuals prefer the opposite to me and consider their view most healthy for cats.

At the end of the day, we just don't have the answers yet. Just anecdotal evidence. The studies we do have are based on cats who are already sick, and apply to cats with those conditions. The same is true for raw diets (lack of evidence, except ancedotal evidence).

It's very likely, that just like people, some cats will do better on different diets and there is no one diet that will be best for all cats.

Bottom line: focus on the allergies. That's more important than whatever ingredients any of us here consider healthy or not.

chicken and rice is considered VERY gentle on your cats' system, and as long as it doesn't turn out to be an allergy for one of those two things, it's not harmful to continue with that for the time being.

 

[silent meowlook]

Have to disagree about chicken and rice for cats. Rice is starch and carb. See this link

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition – Common Sense. Healthy Cats.

A veterinarian explains the basics on properly feed cats which are strict carnivores, and the link between a poor quality diet and common diseases.

catinfo.org

Look all around on that site. There is allot of good info.

The “ grain free” is a gimmick to increase cat food sales. If they remove the grains, they add potatoes or peas, or some other high carb filler.

Think about what cats normally eat, without intervention. I have never seen a cat stalk an ear of corn.

But, do your own research. Make sure that information is from a veterinary source, such as a university or vet.
Here is another link regarding feeding

Raw protein diet

The American Animal Hospital Association's position regarding raw protein diets.

www.aaha.org

And another https://www.aaha.org/globalassets/0...ssessment/nutritionalassessmentguidelines.pdf

 

[Meowmee]

I am not going to read all of this. I can tell you convenia is a very dangerous drug. My beloved Angelina passed 9 days after being injected. She became severely anemic, and never recovered. I know that she had no anemia prior to being injected with convenia because I did bloodwork on her. There was no diagnosis and in the end after she passed I did a necropsy on her which showed that she had cancer.
So she should never have been given it, there was no reason for it, she had no bacterial infection. Lack of diagnosis is not a reason to automatically give a cat convenia which is what is being done by a lot of veterinarians now. I would never allow this drug again knowingly.
One of my outdoor cats who came inside, Fred, was given convenia recently without my permission or knowledge. He started to have a reaction, he had stopped eating like your cat unfortunately, but he survived it.

This is just not acceptable, I have never seen anything like this that has happened in veterinary medicine that happened with convenia. The drug was being pushed on me before Angie was given it. It is very expensive, and I found out later that once they open a vial of convenia has to be used in a certain time otherwise it will go bad, so they’re going to lose money on it- so basically they are just pushing it on people, and making a lot of money off of it.

I knew it was a dangerous drug, and the reason is it stays in the system for a long time. If a cat has a reaction there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. And it’s not just for two weeks it takes 64 days to get out of their system. So if your cat has a severe reaction there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it because you can’t stop the drug. There is a reason there are almost no long acting antibiotics used in humans. Because they can cause severe reactions, and it would be too dangerous.

At the time that I agreed to it I had been very ill in the hospital in the ICU and was still recovering and I was not thinking clearly. I also thought since Angie was not feeling well and she had trouble with pills that it would be easier for her.

anyway I am hoping your cat will be OK. And I can say again there was no reason for your Dvm to give your cat convenia. First of all he doesn’t even know what’s causing all of this, and secondly you would never give that for a reaction to fleas or a food allergy – that is just plain crazy.

By the way, my outdoor cat who was given convenia was also given it for NO REASON! He went in there with a limp and I had asked them to do an x-ray- he was limping very badly to the point he could barely walk. So instead of doing an x-ray they examined him while under sedation, and decided it was a muscle strain. There was no sign of any infection and yet they decided also to inject him with convenia. They admitted to me that there was no sign of any type of infection. And then someone at the office tried to lie to me about it later when I called up to complain again. They did apologize to me though, and I made it very clear to them that none of my cats were ever to receive convenia if I brought them there. But when I brought another outdoor kitty there I put a huge sign on his carrier that said no convenia. And I reiterated to them that he was not to receive convenia or any drugs without my permission.

If it were me I would change my DVM and take your cat to a dermatologist/ allergist if there is one near you, as I think someone suggested here. By the way some cats have had severe convenia reactions after having several injections so it doesn’t always happen right away.

Other than giving a blood transfusion if the cat becomes severely anemic the only other thing that I have read that has helped people save their cats to give them high doses of probiotics. This seems to help because what we believed was that convenia kills off all of the good bacteria rapidly in the cat. So if the cat is already compromised by any illness it makes it even harder for them to fight a reaction to the drug, and to fight whatver else is going on.