Kitten at death's door from some infection/ ongoing issues and updates

[Nilo]

The balloon type e-collar might work where his wounds are located. I just don't know. Hoping it will and that it doesn't freak him out too bad.

I'm thinking Terry is running away from everyone simply because he's presumably either getting pilled or taken to the Vet, or have his wound tended to so often that he simply doesn't know when it's safe just to be around someone and relax, poor little guy. When this is all over and he can just hang out he should change. I recently took my very clingy cat to the Vet for his semi annual check-up and he was weary of me for a few days afterwards, afraid I was going to stuff him in the carrier again, I guess. But he's now forgiven me and begs me to pick him up again.

I think you must be right about the name of what's wrong with his wounds, because I read the same thing as you, and it certainly doesn't match with what the Vet told you. I think Terry would be dead by now if that's what it was

Ah nice, thanks, that raises my hopes that it will work.

Yes, I understand what you mean. Nice explanation, thank you!
Terry did go through a similar but different rebellious phase some 10 days back. But after that, I made sure that I pet him way more often than I trouble him for meds or other things, so that he associates me approaching him more with getting pets and it worked fine till now. So, it's surprising he's scared again all of a sudden.

I'm wondering if there's some other reason for it. For example, I've seen my dog jump for every single noise whenever he's on long hunger strikes. So I wonder if maybe Terry is hungry, or has some physical discomfort or a particular fear.

Btw, I love your "Every Life Should Have Nine Cats".

Now that I think about it, we did have a pretty loud family argument yesterday, I guess that could have upset him too :/

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Loud arguments can definitely scare cats, particularly if they are a little skittish to begin with. But, unfortunately, life happens

 

[Meowmee]

Nothing much to update.
One quick question though. Folks, does wearing clothing count as closing the wound, even if it's a bit loose? I'm considering getting Terry a recovery garment from Amazon. It will take a week to arrive, so I need to order right away if it will work.

Terry's feeling pretty scared of all humans for absolutely no reason, and runs away from us every single time on approach, until we catch up and pet him to calm him down. It's making me approach and check up on him a lot less as I don't want him to waste his energy running and bumping into things.

I previously mentioned that the vet said it's necrotic dermatitis. But I don't think that is what Terry has and here's why.
A summary of what I learnt about Superficial Necrolytic Dermatitis (SND):
Apparently, the process of shedding skin sheets is called necrolysis.
No google hits on "necrotic dermatitis" in cats, there is only a "necrolytic dermatitis".
SND has matching symptoms (scabs, redness, alopecia, scaling of skin, ulceration), but it has a high mortality rate and caused by either one of these - severe liver damage or some very dangerous infections in immunosuppressed animals or cancer.

Even though, it has some matching symptoms, I don't believe Terry has necrolytic dermatitis because
1. It's simply too scary, I refuse to accept it
2. The vet did not mention "necrotic dermatitis" on his own, he only said that when I asked him specifically for a name. And even then, he took a moment to think about it. So maybe he just came up with a possible name as a guess but didn't really mean necrolytic dermatitis. Cause if the vet did get the name right, he wouldn't have said that it's not fatal at all.
3. Two sources mention that it's quite rare in cats and all the reported cats had lesions on their pawpads, Terry doesn't.


Wow, that's such a brilliant idea, wish I'd thought of that.
I've started taking pictures, and am finding out how much I suck at taking pictures lol. Hope I can make it work or that I won't need to.

Wow, these look comfy. Great recommendation indeed.
I addressed the location of the wounds in a previous update, but it's easy to miss stuff in my long updates.
Left lower back and Left hind thigh.
Will these work for that area? The thigh part will probably be reachable, right? What about the lower back?
I've anyways ordered one on Amazon, it's arriving in 2 days. The choices were pretty limited (there are just 2 products, the other arrives only next week), so I really hope this one works, at least to a large extent.
I'll let you know after trying it on Terry.

Thank you very much for the great suggestions!



Hey, don't worry about the editing or the readability. You're giving such valuable info I can't find anywhere else, who cares about the formatting, doubled paragraphs or extra quotes?! I sure don't. Please don't stress yourself.

Ah, I see. Sorry I misunderstood.
Anemia can cause sores? Terry did have severe anemia. But the vet never mentioned the connection, I'll ask next time I meet him.
Oh, you found she had cancer after she died? That's pretty sad. I'm very sorry.

Hope I can be as strong as you have been, to face this with Terry.
It's very wholesome to hear it heals fast. That's my favorite part to think about

Oh, if it didn't look worse, how'd you know you needed to put drains?
What should I be looking out for? Depth of swelling or something?

Wow, that's a lot of cats and struggles. Respect.
It's quite informative to know experts like yourself can't make your cats wear an e-collar, I thought it was a skill issue on my side or a behavioural one on Terry's, not that the product is itself not ideal for cats. Great to hear they might not even need it. That's a load off my mind.

Yes, I read those same links and more earlier, and panicked hard. Wrote a draft asking about it here, but never posted it at the time. I instead took some time to reflect and calm down, and the above typed is what I have concluded.
Glad that you feel that it must have been some mistake too.
Thanks for reading the links yourself and reassuring me.
Even if I don't read up, you people always have my back.

You're the only person that I have met online or IRL who seems to have experienced quite a similar dermatitis issue. Unable to find any other cases upon googling (although I feel like it should be relatively common). So I am insanely grateful that you're sharing your experience with me.

Btw, have you tried clearing the cookies and re-logging in?

I was worried about that diagnosis too, but conclude as you did it is not that. I am sure he will heal from this. The virus could also affect it all to.
Re: the drains, the dvm put the drains in when Byron went in for them, so they could tell he needed them to drain properly. He had multiple abscesses on his butt area from fights and had just come from outside.

The worst thing with Angie was the convenia, it did her in and she never should have been given that. I had been very ill at the time and was not thinking clearly. It broke my heart. We never had a chance to see if something could be done for her cancer.

I am going to try to clear the cookies and see if it helps, thanks!

you are doing a great job! and head butts to all

 

[Nilo]

Hey folks, how have you all been?

Terry's been getting stronger.
He's walking well, and much faster. But stumbles hard and falls often when jogging.
He's been eating decently and drinking well.
He's started being quite affectionate and wants to cuddle sometimes.

But Terry's also been shivering/trembling sometimes and is often excessively scared, even minutes after cuddling.
His breathing rate seems to be quite high even when he's sleeping, over 60 per min. I wonder if he has some infection again (but his WBC appears to be reducing) or is in pain.
His temperature went till 103.5 then dropped to 102.5. He's been on a break from 2 antibiotics, we're praying for no relapse.
Vet had no comments regarding these.

Terry completely understood that I was telling him not to bite or lick the infected skin, and he's been so obedient, at least in my presence. But I have seen him sneak over from me into the next room and bite when it gets super itchy :'D
Vet was happy with how well his wounds have been healing and that it's not red all over yet. Hope Terry stays patient for longer.

Terry's blood test results:

Name	Value	Prev value (10 days ago)	Range / Target my vet specifically mentions
Hb	9.5	7.0	ideally 12.5
MCH	15.7	15.5	12.5 - 17.5
WBC	24.2k	31.7k	5.5k - 19.5k
Neutrophils	18.6k	27.9k	2.8k - 13k
RBC	6.05M	4.54M	min 5.5M
MCV	47.2	46.9	39 - 50
HCT	28.6	21.3	25 - 45
PLT	1641k	82k	150k - 500k

Yep, his platelets are scary high to me, but vet says it's fine. Idk if he's saying it to calm me or if he's serious.
The supplement (for his platelets) we've been giving him twice a day 3 ml has been reduced to 2ml once a day. It hasn't been stopped.
When I returned home, I realised that Terry previously had 1074k on Jan 3 and just 21k on Jan 7. The other vet told me it must have been his body's self prevention event to increase PLT knowing it was about to suddenly drop. What if that's what's happening again? And it's much higher than last time too.
My vet has scheduled the next blood test and followup only 2 weeks from now. Seems like a long time to me.
I was scared about waiting that long, but upon reading the below sources, I think it's worth a wait. What do you think?

Good sources I came across:

1. Found an article detailing a very similar case of a 7 mo unvaccinated male cat with FPV and FCV at Extreme thrombocytosis in a young cat. Here are some quotes that I'm concerned about.
   1. "Although the hindlimb ataxia in the male cat improved, it did not resolve."
   2. "A fourth and final blood sample taken 4 months after initial presentation revealed a mild persistent thrombocytosis."
2. Thrombocytosis (high PLT count) - Platelet number | eClinpath
   1. "Usually, a platelet count higher than the reference interval for the species is a reactive thrombocytosis and not of direct pathologic importance. In our experience, young animals normally have platelet counts higher than the adult reference interval."
   2. "Animals in the early stages of recovery from immune-mediated thrombocytopenia or prior bone marrow suppression may have transient thrombocytosis with platelet counts > 1 million/µL." (Terry has 1.641 million/µL)
3. A study on 51 cats with thrombocytosis - https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/j.jfms.2007.01.008
   1. Another article citing this one mentions "the maximum count was 1,895 × 10^9/L (Rizzo et al. 2007). No reports of platelet counts in a cat as high as those recorded in the case here could be found."
   2. "Physiological thrombocytosis results from the mobilisation of platelets from body stores in response to exercise or excitement, and is characterised by a mild and transient (15-30 min) increase in platelet count that does not have clinical consequences (Jain 1993). Stress and fear associated with hospitalisation and blood sample collection may have stimulated catecholamine-induced splenic contraction to result in thrombocytosis. "

 

[Meowmee]

Hey folks, how have you all been?

Terry's been getting stronger.
He's walking well, and much faster. But stumbles hard and falls often when jogging.
He's been eating decently and drinking well.
He's started being quite affectionate and wants to cuddle sometimes.

But Terry's also been shivering/trembling sometimes and is often excessively scared, even minutes after cuddling.
His breathing rate seems to be quite high even when he's sleeping, over 60 per min. I wonder if he has some infection again (but his WBC appears to be reducing) or is in pain.
His temperature went till 103.5 then dropped to 102.5. He's been on a break from 2 antibiotics, we're praying for no relapse.
Vet had no comments regarding these.

Terry completely understood that I was telling him not to bite or lick the infected skin, and he's been so obedient, at least in my presence. But I have seen him sneak over from me into the next room and bite when it gets super itchy :'D
Vet was happy with how well his wounds have been healing and that it's not red all over yet. Hope Terry stays patient for longer.

Terry's blood test results:

Name	Value	Prev value (10 days ago)	Range / Target my vet specifically mentions
Hb	9.5	7.0	ideally 12.5
MCH	15.7	15.5	12.5 - 17.5
WBC	24.2k	31.7k	5.5k - 19.5k
Neutrophils	18.6k	27.9k	2.8k - 13k
RBC	6.05M	4.54M	min 5.5M
MCV	47.2	46.9	39 - 50
HCT	28.6	21.3	25 - 45
PLT	1641k	82k	150k - 500k

Yep, his platelets are scary high to me, but vet says it's fine. Idk if he's saying it to calm me or if he's serious.
The supplement (for his platelets) we've been giving him twice a day 3 ml has been reduced to 2ml once a day. It hasn't been stopped.
When I returned home, I realised that Terry previously had 1074k on Jan 3 and just 21k on Jan 7. The other vet told me it must have been his body's self prevention event to increase PLT knowing it was about to suddenly drop. What if that's what's happening again? And it's much higher than last time too.
My vet has scheduled the next blood test and followup only 2 weeks from now. Seems like a long time to me.
I was scared about waiting that long, but upon reading the below sources, I think it's worth a wait. What do you think?

Good sources I came across:

1. Found an article detailing a very similar case of a 7 mo unvaccinated male cat with FPV and FCV at Extreme thrombocytosis in a young cat. Here are some quotes that I'm concerned about.
   1. "Although the hindlimb ataxia in the male cat improved, it did not resolve."
   2. "A fourth and final blood sample taken 4 months after initial presentation revealed a mild persistent thrombocytosis."
2. Thrombocytosis (high PLT count) - Platelet number | eClinpath
   1. "Usually, a platelet count higher than the reference interval for the species is a reactive thrombocytosis and not of direct pathologic importance. In our experience, young animals normally have platelet counts higher than the adult reference interval."
   2. "Animals in the early stages of recovery from immune-mediated thrombocytopenia or prior bone marrow suppression may have transient thrombocytosis with platelet counts > 1 million/µL." (Terry has 1.641 million/µL)
3. A study on 51 cats with thrombocytosis - https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/j.jfms.2007.01.008
   1. Another article citing this one mentions "the maximum count was 1,895 × 10^9/L (Rizzo et al. 2007). No reports of platelet counts in a cat as high as those recorded in the case here could be found."
   2. "Physiological thrombocytosis results from the mobilisation of platelets from body stores in response to exercise or excitement, and is characterised by a mild and transient (15-30 min) increase in platelet count that does not have clinical consequences (Jain 1993). Stress and fear associated with hospitalisation and blood sample collection may have stimulated catecholamine-induced splenic contraction to result in thrombocytosis. "

That is great he is doing better That’s cute that he understands what you said but then sneaks away to bite etc. when it’s itchy, it sounds like something Quinn would do. Quinn also very much understands everything I say to him. But he rarely listens to me when I admonish him about things although he knows he’s being bad of course, and sometimes gives me little meows to say why can’t I do that mom?

I don’t know what could be going on with his platelets. What’s causing that etc. I have a link here that may help. I hope your DVM is right and it’s not some thing to be overly worried about. Did they say why they think he’s still having trouble walking etc.?

Platelets of Cats - Cat Owners - Merck Veterinary Manual

 

[silent meowlook]

If they are doing the blood work in house, meaning they are able to give you the results the same day, there can be errors on the machine. Platelet clumping, which is common in cats, can give erroneous results. When this happens a blood film ( blood spread thin on a slide) should be done. When the blood dries on the slide, it is stained with special stains, dried and read under the microscope at 100x. This is the easiest way to get an idea of the platelet count.

Allot of times the vet is taking the fact that may be erroneously elevated and with the other findings, decides it’s ok.

I am not sure as to why they wouldn’t double check with a blood film, or, maybe they did and that is why they are not concerned.

 

[Nilo]

That is great he is doing better That’s cute that he understands what you said but then sneaks away to bite etc. when it’s itchy, it sounds like something Quinn would do. Quinn also very much understands everything I say to him. But he rarely listens to me when I admonish him about things although he knows he’s being bad of course, and sometimes gives me little meows to say why can’t I do that mom?

I don’t know what could be going on with his platelets. What’s causing that etc. I have a link here that may help. I hope your DVM is right and it’s not some thing to be overly worried about. Did they say why they think he’s still having trouble walking etc.?

Platelets of Cats - Cat Owners - Merck Veterinary Manual

Quinn sounds very interesting. Terry doesn't understand everything, he finds a lot of stuff we do weird. I was surprised he understood this much, given his relationship with humans has just been a month, and he's been sick for most of it.

One vet said it's weakness cause of anemia. Another said it's associated with FPV.
Both said it's temporary.
But the article I linked previously mentions that cat with FPV improved but some hindlimb ataxia remained for the rest of his life. I pray it was an isolated incident.

Thank you!
Please excuse my late reply. I know you always reply quickly, my work-life balance is poor.

If they are doing the blood work in house, meaning they are able to give you the results the same day, there can be errors on the machine. Platelet clumping, which is common in cats, can give erroneous results. When this happens a blood film ( blood spread thin on a slide) should be done. When the blood dries on the slide, it is stained with special stains, dried and read under the microscope at 100x. This is the easiest way to get an idea of the platelet count.

Allot of times the vet is taking the fact that may be erroneously elevated and with the other findings, decides it’s ok.

I am not sure as to why they wouldn’t double check with a blood film, or, maybe they did and that is why they are not concerned.

Oh wow, that's really informative. It changes a lot of things. Thank you so much for informing me. Clumping makes a lot of sense now that you've told me.

Yes, they generated the report in about 10 minutes.
No, pretty sure they didn't double check with a blood film, but this news itself gives me a lot of reason to worry less.

So, the PLT value is a mystery

Follow up question:
So is the PLT value a mystery now? I am asking because the vet decreased the dosage from 3ml twice a day to 2ml once, so can I assume that he thinks it is high, but not higher than the recommended range? If so, why think that?

 

[Meowmee]

Don’t worry about when you reply etc. I hope his ataxia goes away. He is young so he can recover over time. Maybe you can ask them to do th slide smear. One of my dvm did that once and explained it was better. For Wizard’s anemia I think. Hugs to all How is S doing?

 

[Nilo]

Don’t worry about when you reply etc. I hope his ataxia goes away. He is young so he can recover over time. Maybe you can ask them to do th slide smear. One of my dvm did that once and explained it was better. For Wizard’s anemia I think. Hugs to all How is S doing?

Yeah, I sincerely hope he does recover. He needs to.

Good to know, I'll casually suggest or inquire about the slide smear.

She's doing just fine. No hint of any sickness. Back to normal levels of naughtiness. Real sweet of you to ask.

I have a specific question regarding food. I'll type it out tomorrow. Tired and lazy now.

Hugs to you and all your cats

 

[Nilo]

Folks, sincere request. Please pray for Terry to return home safely.
He'd been recovering so well that I didn't even make any posts, but he ran out of the house today.

Terry can't run as fast as other cats or jump walls yet. My street alone has 5 street dogs. Not counting 3 other dogs that are raised as pets. And no, not one of them is friendly to cats.

We searched for him all around, and a neighbor spotted him running on the road, but no luck yet. I can't go search for him inside other people's compounds. He must be hiding inside one.

We know Terry will return back home. There's no food available elsewhere. But we're worried that he can't protect himself from the street dogs and other predators if they spot him. He's still got hindlimb ataxia.
Why would a cat that can't even jump 2 feet run away from the house? How is he planning to survive out there?

Please pray for Terry to be safe.

 

[Meowmee]

Folks, sincere request. Please pray for Terry to return home safely.
He'd been recovering so well that I didn't even make any posts, but he ran out of the house today.

Terry can't run as fast as other cats or jump walls yet. My street alone has 5 street dogs. Not counting 3 other dogs that are raised as pets. And no, not one of them is friendly to cats.

We searched for him all around, and a neighbor spotted him running on the road, but no luck yet. I can't go search for him inside other people's compounds. He must be hiding inside one.

We know Terry will return back home. There's no food available elsewhere. But we're worried that he can't protect himself from the street dogs and other predators if they spot him. He's still got hindlimb ataxia.
Why would a cat that can't even jump 2 feet run away from the house? How is he planning to survive out there?

Please pray for Terry to be safe.

I am so sorry, I hope you find him and he comes back and is ok. Can you knock on people’s doors and explain that he may be hiding there? Have you put up flyers with his pic?
For Terry and you

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. He may be very close to home. I found my indoor cat under my house when he got out once. Look around under things. Check under sheds and bushes. If you can keep a door open safely he may return. Cats that get out are more active in the early morning hours. Like 2 or 3 am. Can he climb? Put signs out stating there is a reward for information or return. Call animal control. Check local next door sites and any Facebook groups for lost pets in uour area. I am so sorry.

 

[Nilo]

Guys, Terry came back!
Such a dum-dum.
I'll thank you guys later, I'm gonna go cuddle lol.

 

[Meowmee]

Guys, Terry came back!
Such a dum-dum.
I'll thank you guys later, I'm gonna go cuddle lol.

Yay!!! Very glad to hear, give him a big smooch

 

[silent meowlook]

So glad to see this!!

 

[Nilo]

Meowmee and S silent meowlook
How are you doing, pals?
Thank you very much for responding so quickly with such concern. I love you both.

I guess Terry wanted to go for a jog for 3 hours. He probably had some cat friends to visit outside, I don't know. He showed back at the door wanting to be let in.

Both the kitties are doing well. They've both put on some weight and Terry's blood test yesterday showed improvement in everything except the platelets which were 70k (required is 150k). He's still not completely normal, but he's healthy enough to play with Shanky and do mischief.

Terry's nose got some spots. It increasingly spread over 5 days. It's not dirt (does not go with wiping)and it's not moving, I wonder what it could be. It's above his nose and below his eyes. I asked the vet but didn't get a proper answer, he just dismissed it. What do you think? I'll post a pic later, been struggling to get one with decent resolution lol. They're tiny dots.

Hope you and your cats are all doing splendidly. Hope you folks have a great February! You deserve the best!

 

[silent meowlook]

Get a pic if you can! Is Terry an orange cat? There is a condition referred to as “Lentigo”, it is the freckles on an orange cat’s lips, nose, and around eyes.

Thank you for asking, I am doing ok! I’ll post a picture of lentigo if I can find it. It is completely harmless.

I am so glad Terry came home!

 

[silent meowlook]

Here is a picture

 

[mani]

Here is a picture

Yes, as silent meowlook says, that's lentigo.. the cat equivalent of freckles and harmless.

 

[Nilo]

Thank you, S silent meowlook and mani.
But Terry's spots are above his nose, on the bridge, could it still be lentigo?
They do look like human freckles, but idk.

Here are some links to similar images I found.
They suggest it could be either cat acne or lentigo or allergies or mosquito hypersensitivity, etc.
The original posters don't seem to have updated though.

• https://www.justanswer.com/cat-health/c7jqi-cat-developed-black-rash-suppose-nose.html
• Reddit link
• Cat has slightly-raised dark spots on bridge of nose
• Black Spots on Nose

I didn't take it seriously before as the vet dismissed it, but I'm concerned now.

Terry is orange.
We use clean metal bowls, not plastic. And Shanky (also orange and most probably same dad) does not have this, only Terry.
We have been trying few different new foods. Nothing is sticking though.
And we do have lots of mosquitoes, but we've always had lots of mosquitoes, nothing new.
It could be he's putting his face in places, coz it has come up right after he started being active and playing. But the spots gradually increased.

What do you think it could be and what shall I do?