Hey all! I've been through the wringer with my two little babies, and I'm starting to think this is my last option to keep them happy and healthy. They're both five months (siblings) and in the last three that I've had them, we've been in and out of the vet at least four times a month, to the emergency vet, to a local neurologist, and recommended to a dermatologist/allergist.
They're having a persistent weird reaction to something- still no idea what exactly it could possibly be, and not even the vets are sure. To begin with, my girl Phoebe isn't as picky an eater but has always had an issue with a little bit of diarrhea and sneezing, while my buddy Milo is VERY picky but physically only really has a bit of itching/maybe excessive grooming. As of now, they eat two to three cans of 3 oz wet food each (sometimes Milo barely eats one can), and free-feed dry food 24/7, usually about 1/2 cup total for them that they share.
It all sort of culminated around a month ago, late at night while they were playing and I was ironically researching wet kitten food to beat their finicky eating habits. I heard a VERY aggressive hiss coming from Phoebe, and when I checked on them, she seemed out of her mind- huge pupils, back rippling, running around like she was paranoid/covered in ants, meowing like a maniac, and biting herself all over her legs/butt. Even after 10 minutes of sitting with her alone on my bathroom floor, she would not calm down. Safe to say this freaked me out, so off we went to the ER... who told me she was fine. Great, I guess? But, she continued to act erratically that way for the next few days, so I took her to my primary vet. They suspected a back injury (which they themselves really didn't believe, she obviously wasn't in any pain, but they had no idea what else would cause this reaction in such a young kitten), and possible hyperesthesia from that. So I kept her in a large dog crate and as calm as I could for two weeks like they recommended but... nothing. She was still paranoid, itching and biting herself all over and her back was rippling. Now she was just in a crate and very upset with me. And on top of it all, Milo started showing the same symptoms- though nowhere near as extreme, I noticed them.
So then my vet said the neurologist was my best bet. I broke the bank trying to get her checked out and after all their testing, she came back, and guess what? Totally fine. No back injury, no neurological problems, no nothing. The only thing they could think of that might cause this reaction, though a rather extreme reaction for something like this, was either a food allergy (suspected chicken/poultry in general), dermatitis, or a flea allergy. They get flea treatments every month so that didn't seem logical. I live in the NE US and it's pretty cold and dry up here so I wouldn't doubt that dry skin is a possibility, but they were pretty set on the food allergy being the problem. The thing is... they will pretty much only eat chicken or poultry. Some of their wet and all their dry food are chicken, and they get turkey and occasional fish flavors too for their wet. It's been incredibly hard finding foods they will actually eat, let alone trying to find any commercial wet foods for kittens without chicken to test the allergy. I'm not a baller, so in general, buying a variety of foods to have them try (and not eat) has been really hurting me money-wise as well. Possible food allergy aside, Purina Pro Plan chicken and liver is the only food I've found that they will always eat, and I'm down to 10 cans but it's almost impossible to even find anymore. I'm starting to feel a little bit defeated at this point, and no vet has been able to help/seems like they even want to help... I'm definitely feeling like the crazy annoying cat lady at my primary vet's office lol.
Symptoms have been stagnant the last week or two, but in the last few days Phoebe has been sneezing more frequently and they both have had some weepy eyes- Phoebe's being worse than Milo's, and had a bit of discharge/eye boogers. It just feels like I'm slowly poisoning them from the inside and I don't know how to fix it, and I feel so guilty. I would bend over backward to make sure they are happy and healthy, so I'm here seeking advice- I have no idea what I'm doing. I saw a few videos recommending raw, and athough it was incredibly overwhelming, I wonder if it's my only option with their possible allergy and I'm willing to try anything. I'm going to look through the forums and research on my own, but I feel like having some first hand suggestions from those who might have similar experiences would help as well.
I have no issues handling raw meat (my parent's own a meat smokehouse), but I am a bit germ paranoid so I do worry about that aspect and keeping them safe. They also have no issues with wet so a transition doesn't seem too out of the realm for me, but I've been told many times on here that free-feeding is best for kittens so they grow properly and I have no idea how that will work with a raw diet, or if I'm just overthinking all of this. Literally anything helps as this point, thanks for reading if you got to the end! Attaching a photo of Milo (cream) and Phoebe (tabby) for good vibes
They're having a persistent weird reaction to something- still no idea what exactly it could possibly be, and not even the vets are sure. To begin with, my girl Phoebe isn't as picky an eater but has always had an issue with a little bit of diarrhea and sneezing, while my buddy Milo is VERY picky but physically only really has a bit of itching/maybe excessive grooming. As of now, they eat two to three cans of 3 oz wet food each (sometimes Milo barely eats one can), and free-feed dry food 24/7, usually about 1/2 cup total for them that they share.
It all sort of culminated around a month ago, late at night while they were playing and I was ironically researching wet kitten food to beat their finicky eating habits. I heard a VERY aggressive hiss coming from Phoebe, and when I checked on them, she seemed out of her mind- huge pupils, back rippling, running around like she was paranoid/covered in ants, meowing like a maniac, and biting herself all over her legs/butt. Even after 10 minutes of sitting with her alone on my bathroom floor, she would not calm down. Safe to say this freaked me out, so off we went to the ER... who told me she was fine. Great, I guess? But, she continued to act erratically that way for the next few days, so I took her to my primary vet. They suspected a back injury (which they themselves really didn't believe, she obviously wasn't in any pain, but they had no idea what else would cause this reaction in such a young kitten), and possible hyperesthesia from that. So I kept her in a large dog crate and as calm as I could for two weeks like they recommended but... nothing. She was still paranoid, itching and biting herself all over and her back was rippling. Now she was just in a crate and very upset with me. And on top of it all, Milo started showing the same symptoms- though nowhere near as extreme, I noticed them.
So then my vet said the neurologist was my best bet. I broke the bank trying to get her checked out and after all their testing, she came back, and guess what? Totally fine. No back injury, no neurological problems, no nothing. The only thing they could think of that might cause this reaction, though a rather extreme reaction for something like this, was either a food allergy (suspected chicken/poultry in general), dermatitis, or a flea allergy. They get flea treatments every month so that didn't seem logical. I live in the NE US and it's pretty cold and dry up here so I wouldn't doubt that dry skin is a possibility, but they were pretty set on the food allergy being the problem. The thing is... they will pretty much only eat chicken or poultry. Some of their wet and all their dry food are chicken, and they get turkey and occasional fish flavors too for their wet. It's been incredibly hard finding foods they will actually eat, let alone trying to find any commercial wet foods for kittens without chicken to test the allergy. I'm not a baller, so in general, buying a variety of foods to have them try (and not eat) has been really hurting me money-wise as well. Possible food allergy aside, Purina Pro Plan chicken and liver is the only food I've found that they will always eat, and I'm down to 10 cans but it's almost impossible to even find anymore. I'm starting to feel a little bit defeated at this point, and no vet has been able to help/seems like they even want to help... I'm definitely feeling like the crazy annoying cat lady at my primary vet's office lol.
Symptoms have been stagnant the last week or two, but in the last few days Phoebe has been sneezing more frequently and they both have had some weepy eyes- Phoebe's being worse than Milo's, and had a bit of discharge/eye boogers. It just feels like I'm slowly poisoning them from the inside and I don't know how to fix it, and I feel so guilty. I would bend over backward to make sure they are happy and healthy, so I'm here seeking advice- I have no idea what I'm doing. I saw a few videos recommending raw, and athough it was incredibly overwhelming, I wonder if it's my only option with their possible allergy and I'm willing to try anything. I'm going to look through the forums and research on my own, but I feel like having some first hand suggestions from those who might have similar experiences would help as well.
I have no issues handling raw meat (my parent's own a meat smokehouse), but I am a bit germ paranoid so I do worry about that aspect and keeping them safe. They also have no issues with wet so a transition doesn't seem too out of the realm for me, but I've been told many times on here that free-feeding is best for kittens so they grow properly and I have no idea how that will work with a raw diet, or if I'm just overthinking all of this. Literally anything helps as this point, thanks for reading if you got to the end! Attaching a photo of Milo (cream) and Phoebe (tabby) for good vibes
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