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- Feb 12, 2014
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I just noticed a few days ago that Liz, my 13-year-old cat, is missing (maybe actively losing?) hair on one of her toes on her hind leg. She and her brother are 100% indoor cats and we don’t have any flea issues. It isn’t red and doesn’t appear infected or swollen. No one in our apartment – human or her feline brother – have any fungal infections. The spot doesn’t seem painful, but she is grooming a bit more all over lately (though I’m not noticing any telltale allergy fur-thinning elsewhere on her body). We haven’t changed her diet. She’s an incredibly vibrant cat and acts three, not 13 – and doesn’t act at all ill.
Obviously, I know there are wife varieties of skin issues that could be at play here, and this would ordinarily warrant a trip into the vet, but I wanted to check to see if anyone else has encountered something similar because the timing is certainly not optimal.
Last week, Liz’s brother, Gus, had to be rushed into the emergency vet (of course these things happen after-hours) for a “fever of unknown origin” that got up to 105.5. Tacked onto that were two follow up visits to our own vet for sub-q fluids, Convenia, and then Baytril injections. The financial hit of all that this month has me reluctant to rush to the vet for something that isn’t as imminently dire as Gus’ situation last week, but at the same time, I want to be on top of whatever Liz’s issue is.
One thing that may possibly be contributing is the lack of semi-regular prednisolone in her system (she usualmu gets 5mg 1-2x/week). She’s been on the low doses it for six years due to manage autoimmune issues (specifically, an AIHA disaster) and moderate seasonal allergies in the spring. However, weighing the pros and cons, I stopped them last week when Gus got sick. (Last time hehhad one of these mysterious fevers, Liz caught it a week later, and since pred is an immune suppressant and mademher own fight against the infection tougher last time, I wanted her to be fighting with her A-game to keep from catching whatever it is this time.) We’ve had to stop pred before briefly and it didn’t affect her beyond some respiratory allergy issues. But even if this is some kind of allergic dermatitis, I don't know ehy it would just be affecting one toe…
Any thoughts? (I have a message left at our vet's office, but I thought I'd bounce it off you all since she's incredibly busy and I may not hear back until tomorrow.)
Obviously, I know there are wife varieties of skin issues that could be at play here, and this would ordinarily warrant a trip into the vet, but I wanted to check to see if anyone else has encountered something similar because the timing is certainly not optimal.
Last week, Liz’s brother, Gus, had to be rushed into the emergency vet (of course these things happen after-hours) for a “fever of unknown origin” that got up to 105.5. Tacked onto that were two follow up visits to our own vet for sub-q fluids, Convenia, and then Baytril injections. The financial hit of all that this month has me reluctant to rush to the vet for something that isn’t as imminently dire as Gus’ situation last week, but at the same time, I want to be on top of whatever Liz’s issue is.
One thing that may possibly be contributing is the lack of semi-regular prednisolone in her system (she usualmu gets 5mg 1-2x/week). She’s been on the low doses it for six years due to manage autoimmune issues (specifically, an AIHA disaster) and moderate seasonal allergies in the spring. However, weighing the pros and cons, I stopped them last week when Gus got sick. (Last time hehhad one of these mysterious fevers, Liz caught it a week later, and since pred is an immune suppressant and mademher own fight against the infection tougher last time, I wanted her to be fighting with her A-game to keep from catching whatever it is this time.) We’ve had to stop pred before briefly and it didn’t affect her beyond some respiratory allergy issues. But even if this is some kind of allergic dermatitis, I don't know ehy it would just be affecting one toe…
Any thoughts? (I have a message left at our vet's office, but I thought I'd bounce it off you all since she's incredibly busy and I may not hear back until tomorrow.)
