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- Jul 11, 2014
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Hey everyone. I'll try to be comprehensive with this post but this has been somewhat ongoing and I'm afraid I might accidentally leave something out so please bear with me.
I have two domestic shorthair kitties. Gink - age 3, and Gozer - soon to be 2. Gink was my first kitty, and since she seemed to have separation anxiety issues I got her a sibling to keep her company when I'm at work or school. I'm a grad student, which unfortunately limits my funds for labs and other testing with regard to my furbabies. I try my best, and take them to the local wellness clinic that offers help for low-income families. The two cats get along just fine, and can be found curled up with one another grooming each other from time to time. Gozer plays a little rougher than I think Gink would like - she tends to be my shy little princess whereas Gozer lives up to his namesake and is my destructor. This is relevant insofar as I've been questioning whether depression or stress on her part might be playing a role in her mysterious illness.
The past several months Gink has been having a lot of bizarre issues that have the vet totally stumped. She is scratching a lot at her head, both at the ears and under her chin, and shaking her head a lot. The vet has already checked for wax, mites, and infection. None of these things are present except wax, and even that is not in quantities that would merit the severity of her symptoms and behaviour. I have both of them on Blue Buffalo's limited ingredient, grain-free food for cats with food sensitivities, and I have tried switching the flavour a couple of times to see if maybe it was the fish or the duck or the turkey that was causing some sort of food allergy but her symptoms have persisted. When the vet opens her mouth, there are little bumps on her tonsils - more so on the left side than the right. There are also bumps inside her ears. There is no odd colour or anything to the bumps, it simply manifests as a chicken skin or gooseflesh texture. I've tried dosing her with Vetadryl and Zyrtec, neither of which have had a noticeable effect and of the two the Vetadryl caused her to begin foaming at the mouth when I gave it to her. Beyond that she has been increasingly skittish, her fur texture has changed, and overall she seems totally depressed. She seems to hold her left eye slightly more shut than the right a majority of the time as well. Her sides feel somewhat harder than normal but I had her in to the vet recently to check out what seemed to be lumps on her sides and the vet is convinced they are normal fat pads. She said nothing about any sort of feeling of abdominal hardness or blockage.
I've done countless searches online trying to find clues as to what in the world might be wrong with her but can't find any information. It's possible she has an allergy, it's possible she's stressed but I don't know what would be stressing her. Gozer is significantly more outgoing and demanding of attention, and I've contemplated that it might be she simply feels neglected because of how demanding he is. She's had bizarre behaviours before, most notably licking metal things until she and the floor around her are covered in drool. I had a blood panel run on her at the end of last year and there was no evidence that she had anaemia or anything else.
I'm at my wits end simply trying to help her and it breaks my heart that I can't help her at all so far. No matter how many times I take her to the vet she seems just as confused as I am. I don't know where to turn and I'm praying someone on here will recognize what's going on and be able to help me somehow. Someone, anyone, if you know what it might be please help me!!
I have two domestic shorthair kitties. Gink - age 3, and Gozer - soon to be 2. Gink was my first kitty, and since she seemed to have separation anxiety issues I got her a sibling to keep her company when I'm at work or school. I'm a grad student, which unfortunately limits my funds for labs and other testing with regard to my furbabies. I try my best, and take them to the local wellness clinic that offers help for low-income families. The two cats get along just fine, and can be found curled up with one another grooming each other from time to time. Gozer plays a little rougher than I think Gink would like - she tends to be my shy little princess whereas Gozer lives up to his namesake and is my destructor. This is relevant insofar as I've been questioning whether depression or stress on her part might be playing a role in her mysterious illness.
The past several months Gink has been having a lot of bizarre issues that have the vet totally stumped. She is scratching a lot at her head, both at the ears and under her chin, and shaking her head a lot. The vet has already checked for wax, mites, and infection. None of these things are present except wax, and even that is not in quantities that would merit the severity of her symptoms and behaviour. I have both of them on Blue Buffalo's limited ingredient, grain-free food for cats with food sensitivities, and I have tried switching the flavour a couple of times to see if maybe it was the fish or the duck or the turkey that was causing some sort of food allergy but her symptoms have persisted. When the vet opens her mouth, there are little bumps on her tonsils - more so on the left side than the right. There are also bumps inside her ears. There is no odd colour or anything to the bumps, it simply manifests as a chicken skin or gooseflesh texture. I've tried dosing her with Vetadryl and Zyrtec, neither of which have had a noticeable effect and of the two the Vetadryl caused her to begin foaming at the mouth when I gave it to her. Beyond that she has been increasingly skittish, her fur texture has changed, and overall she seems totally depressed. She seems to hold her left eye slightly more shut than the right a majority of the time as well. Her sides feel somewhat harder than normal but I had her in to the vet recently to check out what seemed to be lumps on her sides and the vet is convinced they are normal fat pads. She said nothing about any sort of feeling of abdominal hardness or blockage.
I've done countless searches online trying to find clues as to what in the world might be wrong with her but can't find any information. It's possible she has an allergy, it's possible she's stressed but I don't know what would be stressing her. Gozer is significantly more outgoing and demanding of attention, and I've contemplated that it might be she simply feels neglected because of how demanding he is. She's had bizarre behaviours before, most notably licking metal things until she and the floor around her are covered in drool. I had a blood panel run on her at the end of last year and there was no evidence that she had anaemia or anything else.
I'm at my wits end simply trying to help her and it breaks my heart that I can't help her at all so far. No matter how many times I take her to the vet she seems just as confused as I am. I don't know where to turn and I'm praying someone on here will recognize what's going on and be able to help me somehow. Someone, anyone, if you know what it might be please help me!!