So sorry in advance for the novel, but I like to be thorough and some people like to read. So here is my sick cat adventure.
Even worse, it's the 3rd time I've typed it (first time disappeared because it asked me to validate my account and the second time it disappeared when I got an inbox welcome message that popped up and hijacked the page. lol)
So with that said...
Preface: I realize that internet opinions do not equal vet experience, but we have been to the vet a hundred times, and some things are more expensive than others (i.e. scans of the respiratory system). Also sometimes it’s nice just to hear other peoples input. I am very attentive to my cats health needs and would not let her suffer or risk her health, and I’m sure I will see the vet again soon enough. I also work quite a bit so I have to both time and money. I am more attached to this cat than I have been with past cats, she is sooo sweet and fragile, so believe me, we will get better together.
That aside, I got my ragdoll when she was about 4 months old (she is now 9). She came with numerous health problems and was a runt to begin with. A short list of her problems include respiratory, ear, and eye infections. Ringworm, roundworm, hookworm, and Giardia. Probably mild cerebellar hypoplasia (very slight head tremor when focusing intently and a barely noticeable (you have to be real close) quick and steady side to side eye wiggle. Neither seems to bother her depth perception or mobility.
So I’ve been treating her for months and it’s been a journey and I think most of her health problems are past. I’ve since sterilized my house, and carpet shampoo’d and used a high pressure/temp steam maker on most every surface and item. So hopefully any reinfection is prevented. She continued to have diarrhea after Giardia stopped showing on tests (aggressively treated her by alternating metro and Fenbendazole meds several times with the steam machine at the end since I rather risk over medicating her than have it keep coming back). I'm fairly certain it is licked, I've only had stool samples but took very fresh ones before she buried them immediately to the vet 4 times since due to the multiple parasites. I am aware the snap test is more effective but as I said I treated her aggressively from the beginning and rotated probably more than necessary. I felt it was licked when the smell changed to normal despite her continued diarrhea. Her tremors were since I got her so not related to the metro she had.
Right when I was ready to spring for the expensive testing (trich etc) her diarrhea spontaneously cleared. Maybe she just needed a lot of time to recover from all the parasites and meds. All that’s really left is her eye problems. She has no green or yellow discharge, only red crust in the corner of her eyes. They seem to vary day by day going from normal to pink and mildly swollen. She stopped sneezing months ago and her congestion is limited to her nasal breathing, so I feel like she doesn’t have an active respiratory infection at this point, just probably herpes. I have been adding lysine to her food but it doesn’t really seem to do anything.
She also pants when she is upset or stimulated. Sometimes she is not active and will pant (like when I brush her which she hates no matter how I do it or what brush I use) so I do not think it is an out of breath issue so much as a stress response… except for when she’s playing hard which might also be partially due to her congestion. Also she is very “bitey”. Not in a bad way, even when she’s cuddling she nibbles, and it doesn’t really bother me. I think she seems more comfortable with having her mouth open when it might feel awkward to some other cats. She doesn’t paw at toys she nips at them like a little piranha. What do you guys think? I’ve listened to her heart when she’s been playing hard and pants and it sounded steady and uniform. It still worries me though.
The other reason I mention it is because she has not been fixed yet and unfortunately has had one heat so far. I did not want to get her fixed until she was healthy. At this point I’m not sure when to go ahead with it, she hasn’t had much healthy time to put on weight yet, she is a good eater though. Part of me wants to wait for her to fight down her probably outbreaks a little more, gain a little weight, and I also get nervous about the panting (if it were actually a heart problem even though I don’t think it is). In terms on the heat, I don’t mind it if it’s a better choice to hold off health wise, she was just very affectionate and not overly loud or upset. She basically just cuddled up next to me and purred for 5 days straight, and groomed a lot. Stark contrast to my previous cat which was a stray so I got to see her in one heat when I took her in, she was obnoxious and looked like she was being tortured for a week, and went haywire destructive/ seemed very uncomfortable.
Lastly, because she’s very anxious about me being away (very stressed meows soon as I leave, can hear her still going as I approach the front door even when she doesn’t know I’m coming, very annoyed and zainy when I first get home). I want to get her company, and I have been offered a Bengal which will be ready in a couple months. I do not want him to contract her herpes if that’s what she has, should I keep them separate for a month while his immune system has a little more time to mature? If I recall there’s a vaccine, has anyone with one infectious cat tried it? It seems very possible that he’ll get it especially coming into the house young, but I want to minimize the severity if possible.
Sooo Any thoughts on her eye issues, since there’s no green (just red crust and the pink swelling intermittantly), and the panting, getting her fixed, and the new cat would be very welcome.
Since people are always first to talk about food she’s been on a mixture of natures variety rabbit, ocassionally the limited ingredient lamb which I got when she had stomach issues despite it being probably too low in fat, and the standard raw (80 dark meat, 10fine 2x ground bone, 5liver, 5heart + yolks). Occasionally every few weeks I’ll give her a water packed sardine or some (teaspoon or two) coconut chobani yogurt or half a teaspoon of coconut oil in her food. For whatever reason she LOVES coconut and yogurt and neither seem to bother her stomach, but they are just rare treats and I figure the fat is good since she is a little underweight and her food may not be providing quite enough (although the raw I did make with skin on thighs). I discovered she liked coconut because she stole a chunk of a young coconut I cracked open and gnawed all the meat off of it, and has stolen my empty yogurt cups off the table, which she’ll lick forever and guard like it’s gold. Haha. I guess we share the coconut love. The little bit of coconut oil is probably y fine right? I figure it probably lubes up her stool, and it’s nice to get her to eat when she seems to snub the food which is only rarely but happens. A little bit mixed in and she’ll go to scarf town.
Even worse, it's the 3rd time I've typed it (first time disappeared because it asked me to validate my account and the second time it disappeared when I got an inbox welcome message that popped up and hijacked the page. lol)
So with that said...
Preface: I realize that internet opinions do not equal vet experience, but we have been to the vet a hundred times, and some things are more expensive than others (i.e. scans of the respiratory system). Also sometimes it’s nice just to hear other peoples input. I am very attentive to my cats health needs and would not let her suffer or risk her health, and I’m sure I will see the vet again soon enough. I also work quite a bit so I have to both time and money. I am more attached to this cat than I have been with past cats, she is sooo sweet and fragile, so believe me, we will get better together.
That aside, I got my ragdoll when she was about 4 months old (she is now 9). She came with numerous health problems and was a runt to begin with. A short list of her problems include respiratory, ear, and eye infections. Ringworm, roundworm, hookworm, and Giardia. Probably mild cerebellar hypoplasia (very slight head tremor when focusing intently and a barely noticeable (you have to be real close) quick and steady side to side eye wiggle. Neither seems to bother her depth perception or mobility.
So I’ve been treating her for months and it’s been a journey and I think most of her health problems are past. I’ve since sterilized my house, and carpet shampoo’d and used a high pressure/temp steam maker on most every surface and item. So hopefully any reinfection is prevented. She continued to have diarrhea after Giardia stopped showing on tests (aggressively treated her by alternating metro and Fenbendazole meds several times with the steam machine at the end since I rather risk over medicating her than have it keep coming back). I'm fairly certain it is licked, I've only had stool samples but took very fresh ones before she buried them immediately to the vet 4 times since due to the multiple parasites. I am aware the snap test is more effective but as I said I treated her aggressively from the beginning and rotated probably more than necessary. I felt it was licked when the smell changed to normal despite her continued diarrhea. Her tremors were since I got her so not related to the metro she had.
Right when I was ready to spring for the expensive testing (trich etc) her diarrhea spontaneously cleared. Maybe she just needed a lot of time to recover from all the parasites and meds. All that’s really left is her eye problems. She has no green or yellow discharge, only red crust in the corner of her eyes. They seem to vary day by day going from normal to pink and mildly swollen. She stopped sneezing months ago and her congestion is limited to her nasal breathing, so I feel like she doesn’t have an active respiratory infection at this point, just probably herpes. I have been adding lysine to her food but it doesn’t really seem to do anything.
She also pants when she is upset or stimulated. Sometimes she is not active and will pant (like when I brush her which she hates no matter how I do it or what brush I use) so I do not think it is an out of breath issue so much as a stress response… except for when she’s playing hard which might also be partially due to her congestion. Also she is very “bitey”. Not in a bad way, even when she’s cuddling she nibbles, and it doesn’t really bother me. I think she seems more comfortable with having her mouth open when it might feel awkward to some other cats. She doesn’t paw at toys she nips at them like a little piranha. What do you guys think? I’ve listened to her heart when she’s been playing hard and pants and it sounded steady and uniform. It still worries me though.
The other reason I mention it is because she has not been fixed yet and unfortunately has had one heat so far. I did not want to get her fixed until she was healthy. At this point I’m not sure when to go ahead with it, she hasn’t had much healthy time to put on weight yet, she is a good eater though. Part of me wants to wait for her to fight down her probably outbreaks a little more, gain a little weight, and I also get nervous about the panting (if it were actually a heart problem even though I don’t think it is). In terms on the heat, I don’t mind it if it’s a better choice to hold off health wise, she was just very affectionate and not overly loud or upset. She basically just cuddled up next to me and purred for 5 days straight, and groomed a lot. Stark contrast to my previous cat which was a stray so I got to see her in one heat when I took her in, she was obnoxious and looked like she was being tortured for a week, and went haywire destructive/ seemed very uncomfortable.
Lastly, because she’s very anxious about me being away (very stressed meows soon as I leave, can hear her still going as I approach the front door even when she doesn’t know I’m coming, very annoyed and zainy when I first get home). I want to get her company, and I have been offered a Bengal which will be ready in a couple months. I do not want him to contract her herpes if that’s what she has, should I keep them separate for a month while his immune system has a little more time to mature? If I recall there’s a vaccine, has anyone with one infectious cat tried it? It seems very possible that he’ll get it especially coming into the house young, but I want to minimize the severity if possible.
Sooo Any thoughts on her eye issues, since there’s no green (just red crust and the pink swelling intermittantly), and the panting, getting her fixed, and the new cat would be very welcome.
Since people are always first to talk about food she’s been on a mixture of natures variety rabbit, ocassionally the limited ingredient lamb which I got when she had stomach issues despite it being probably too low in fat, and the standard raw (80 dark meat, 10fine 2x ground bone, 5liver, 5heart + yolks). Occasionally every few weeks I’ll give her a water packed sardine or some (teaspoon or two) coconut chobani yogurt or half a teaspoon of coconut oil in her food. For whatever reason she LOVES coconut and yogurt and neither seem to bother her stomach, but they are just rare treats and I figure the fat is good since she is a little underweight and her food may not be providing quite enough (although the raw I did make with skin on thighs). I discovered she liked coconut because she stole a chunk of a young coconut I cracked open and gnawed all the meat off of it, and has stolen my empty yogurt cups off the table, which she’ll lick forever and guard like it’s gold. Haha. I guess we share the coconut love. The little bit of coconut oil is probably y fine right? I figure it probably lubes up her stool, and it’s nice to get her to eat when she seems to snub the food which is only rarely but happens. A little bit mixed in and she’ll go to scarf town.
