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- Nov 9, 2019
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Hi all!! Long time lurker and first time poster.
I am a new cat owner to my lovely siamese mix named Bowie. He is 7 months old and an amazing kitty! I adopted him about a month ago in perfect health and he is currently up to date on all vaccinations, fixed, the works. Unfortunately, we've since had a bit of a snag in his clean bill of health.
I woke up Monday morning to find Bowie had peed outside of his box, something he has never done before. He is usually VERY good about the box so I attributed it to maybe I forgot to scoop the night before and he was letting me know it was not up to his standards (y'know, cats, lol). I went to work as usual and visited him on my lunch break about 4 hours later. Still doing fine. I came home at the end of my shift another 4 hours later to find he had puked up some undigested food and started to go into a panic. I also noticed he had some distinct hair thinning just above his eyes and some irritated pink/reddish skin underneath -- basically the motion of a cat rubbing its face with its paw was the trail of hair loss/irritated skin. In addition, I noticed a lot of overgrooming while I was up with him before bed, mostly on his face and front paws but also still grooming elsewhere on his body. He was still eating, drinking, playing/friendly and using his box, however, so after a quick call to the vet we decided to wait until the morning to take him in.
I took him this morning and they've ruled out ear mites (she said his ears were great) and didn't see any signs of fleas. At this point we're at a bit of a loss and have narrowed it to two potential things: a food allergy (apparently common in Siamese breeds?) or a litter allergy. I was convinced to switch his litter a few weeks ago (from one Tidy Cats brand to a different Tidy Cats, oddly enough) and he's been eating the same kitten food (Hill's Science Diet Kitten Food) since before I adopted him. I was given a complimentary dose of Revolution just in case (he is due anyhow) and prescribed some anti-inflammatories to help with the itching/redness/his comfort level. The vet told me to watch him and start by switching back to his old litter (since he is also chewing on his paws) and see how that goes, but if it's food I think I'm in for a very long process of ruling out what could be bothering him. I'm a little nervous about having to do these "food trials" as I'm not really sure where to begin. I just don't want him to be so itchy, poor thing! I have attached a pic comparing his face a few days ago (left) and last night/currently (right). It's a little tough to see in the light but he has lost some hair and you can definitely see the pink even in the low-quality photo.
Have any of you dealt with food allergies, skin irritation, or really anything relatedI'm talking about? I am grateful for any and all advice! I'm such a nervous cat mom that I try to get as much information as possible, which only makes me more anxious sometimes! But hearing from those who are real cat owners always gives me peace of mind. Thank you in advance!
I am a new cat owner to my lovely siamese mix named Bowie. He is 7 months old and an amazing kitty! I adopted him about a month ago in perfect health and he is currently up to date on all vaccinations, fixed, the works. Unfortunately, we've since had a bit of a snag in his clean bill of health.
I woke up Monday morning to find Bowie had peed outside of his box, something he has never done before. He is usually VERY good about the box so I attributed it to maybe I forgot to scoop the night before and he was letting me know it was not up to his standards (y'know, cats, lol). I went to work as usual and visited him on my lunch break about 4 hours later. Still doing fine. I came home at the end of my shift another 4 hours later to find he had puked up some undigested food and started to go into a panic. I also noticed he had some distinct hair thinning just above his eyes and some irritated pink/reddish skin underneath -- basically the motion of a cat rubbing its face with its paw was the trail of hair loss/irritated skin. In addition, I noticed a lot of overgrooming while I was up with him before bed, mostly on his face and front paws but also still grooming elsewhere on his body. He was still eating, drinking, playing/friendly and using his box, however, so after a quick call to the vet we decided to wait until the morning to take him in.
I took him this morning and they've ruled out ear mites (she said his ears were great) and didn't see any signs of fleas. At this point we're at a bit of a loss and have narrowed it to two potential things: a food allergy (apparently common in Siamese breeds?) or a litter allergy. I was convinced to switch his litter a few weeks ago (from one Tidy Cats brand to a different Tidy Cats, oddly enough) and he's been eating the same kitten food (Hill's Science Diet Kitten Food) since before I adopted him. I was given a complimentary dose of Revolution just in case (he is due anyhow) and prescribed some anti-inflammatories to help with the itching/redness/his comfort level. The vet told me to watch him and start by switching back to his old litter (since he is also chewing on his paws) and see how that goes, but if it's food I think I'm in for a very long process of ruling out what could be bothering him. I'm a little nervous about having to do these "food trials" as I'm not really sure where to begin. I just don't want him to be so itchy, poor thing! I have attached a pic comparing his face a few days ago (left) and last night/currently (right). It's a little tough to see in the light but he has lost some hair and you can definitely see the pink even in the low-quality photo.
Have any of you dealt with food allergies, skin irritation, or really anything relatedI'm talking about? I am grateful for any and all advice! I'm such a nervous cat mom that I try to get as much information as possible, which only makes me more anxious sometimes! But hearing from those who are real cat owners always gives me peace of mind. Thank you in advance!
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