Overgrooming Cat + BM issues = Prozac

fionasmom

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 21, 2014
Messages
13,125
Purraise
17,371
Location
Los Angeles
What a beautiful little girl! Thanks for the update; hopefully this is resolved happily.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #22

missdreawrites

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2022
Messages
24
Purraise
22
Hey y'all,

Some of you might remember me from an overgrooming post about my cat Cora, when we thought it was anxiety so she was prescribed prozac. However, she had a bad reaction to the med and was taken off it after four days. We got her some Fortiflora for her soft stool and that's helped a lot over the last month. We also put her in the surgery suit for just under a month now, with very few grooming/washing breaks. When she was taken out of it last week, we left her out while we were home and she really went to town on her poor belly. I called the vet after putting her back into the suit and they suggested that perhaps she developed a chicken/poultry insensitivity after 8 years - this doesn't seem too out of the ordinary to me, I developed a citrus allergy myself about seven years ago for NO reason. So now I am trying to shift her food to rabbit based. I'm still mixing the chicken kibble and turkey/duck wet food with the new rabbit stuff, as I don't want to rush it. I've just taken her out of the suit now after a week so she can be brushed after all this heat we've had in the north east and she is still obsessed with licking her belly.

We're at our wits end. She is an otherwise very healthy cat, still drinks plenty, eats all her food, only vomits when she eats too fast which is rare. She still is very affectionate, like to a ridiculous degree, she's very attached to me. Her poops are a little soft still, and stinky, but if that's a chicken intolerance, hopefully it'll start clearing up with more help from the Fortiflora. Vet is aware and warned me it'll be about 60 days before I see any improvement if I see any at all. If the rabbit diet doesn't work, we'll have to go to prescription food. I'm just petrified all the time of her giving herself a skin infection because of all her licking. I'm about to go in for major surgery in 2 weeks where I'm going to be in bed for like, a month and I just don't know what else to do.

I'm not really here for advice or anything, I just want reassurance I'm doing okay and I'm not hurting her and that I'm not a bad cat mom.
 

Attachments

fionasmom

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 21, 2014
Messages
13,125
Purraise
17,371
Location
Los Angeles
If the suit is on, does she make any attempt to bother her stomach area? Given that you are facing the surgery, if the suit helps I would leave it on as much as you can. I know it does not solve anything, but at least it might give you peace of mind as you recover. Does she mind wearing it in general? I think that you said earlier that she did not mind having it on.

Certainly if the prozac did not agree with her, that is the end of that story. Does the vet think that anything else might help?

True, if it is a food allergy, the improvement won't be overnight. I think that you are doing, and have done, everything that you can for Cora and certainly are not a bad cat mom!

More extreme measures would be to consult with a veterinary internal medicine specialist, but it is not like you are going to be able to do that with your upcoming surgery.

Is someone able to be with you as you come home from the hospital and help with Cora?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #24

missdreawrites

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2022
Messages
24
Purraise
22
She does sometimes try to go for her stomach but she often just licks her legs instead, but not like she licks her stomach. She tolerates the suit okay but you can tell she's not thrilled about it. I took her out so her belly could get some air but she just won't leave the spot alone. When we're awake and around, we distract her from licking but if she's not right there with us, she can lick in secret. I'll probably put the suit back on soon, because she already reopened the area and it's only been twenty four hours.

My husband will be with me for the first week after my surgery, but for the remaining 3-5 weeks, I'll be alone while he's at work 4 nights a week. We try to take her out of the suit to let her groom the rest of her body and to wash the suit, and give her a good brushing. Picture of her belly as of a few minutes ago where she licked the mostly healed scabs. SIGH.
 

Attachments

  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #25

missdreawrites

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2022
Messages
24
Purraise
22
Okay after posting the last post, I decided to just put her back in the suit. I had my husband cradle her like the giant baby she is and sprayed her stomach with Vetericyn spray and cleaned all the red areas. I then put some quadruple antibiotic ointment on them (the vet gave me that specifically for her ear when she scratched bloody) and then I put her back in the suit.
 

Attachments

fionasmom

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 21, 2014
Messages
13,125
Purraise
17,371
Location
Los Angeles
In the short term, given what else is going on in your life, the suit is probably the best strategy and you know how to manage the skin of the tummy so that it does not get infected. I hope that your surgery will go smoothly and you will make a speedy recovery.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #27

missdreawrites

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2022
Messages
24
Purraise
22
In the short term, given what else is going on in your life, the suit is probably the best strategy and you know how to manage the skin of the tummy so that it does not get infected. I hope that your surgery will go smoothly and you will make a speedy recovery.
I also bought a new suit for her in the same style and more elastic loopies. I'm going to use the two suits to swap back and forth so they can be washed. She's not thrilled but she's used to it. I just want her to be better :(
 

Eurocat

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Dec 8, 2021
Messages
95
Purraise
182
Location
Germany
Hi there..
Sorry you are dealing with this.
My little semi-feral street cat had a bout of skin issues and related hot-spots when I just got her so I know how frustrating and worrying this can be. In the end and after various tests, a skin biopsy (all negative), my fiddling around with her diet and finally excluding any food containing egg, getting her intestinal issues sorted out, her getting spayed, her settling down and some time passing after her last round of vaccinations, the issue resolved itself and has not returned. Yay! I got lucky.
In my case I still think it was a mixture of side effects after booster vaccinations, the agitation of her coming into heat (always happened then) and the intestinal imbalance (which is why we put back the spaying). She may also have chewed at a dead leaf from my rubber plant (toxic).
But just a quick question to you..
As far as I understand from the thread:
If your cat‘s bloodwork is otherwise ok and the vet found no other possible cause on examination you think her excessive grooming could be caused either by an allergy or due to psychological reasons/stress (hence the prozac).
If you do suspect allergies could it be an idea to give her a short course of prednisolone and see if that helps to prevent the itching and see if she leaves the area alone? If this works them at least you would know you really would have to concentrate on trying to find the trigger factor for the allergy…whether it be food related, cat litter related, household scents/fragrances related or even plant related (the list is endless).
If it‘s psychological, she would still continue to get at the area even if there is no itching as it‘s become a habit formed as a coping/calming mechanism, distraction or possibility to release pent up energy (much as a nailbiter will always go back to the nails). But only your cat knows the reason behind it. ;))
If it‘s psychological you could then try other ways/stimulation to distract/enrich her .. (clicker) training, more playtime to release pent up energy or some outdoor time either as an indoor/outdoor cat, leash training, or a catio… This would also increase her confidence and thus reduce anxiety.
I realize that this must be a particularly difficult time for you with your surgery coming up and you need your energy for yourself, so I hope you manage to get to the bottom of things or at least find some reprieve. At the time of my cat‘s health issues my father (in another country) became seriously ill and I was at the end of my tether trying to cope with everything, so I really understand your frustration.
Wishing you all the best! :))
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #29

missdreawrites

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2022
Messages
24
Purraise
22
Yeah, you basically hit the nail on the head. She's already fixed and was when I got her eight years ago, as is her sister. (They are litter mates, found at the same time and a condition of adopting them was they had to stay together.)

She's an indoor only cat, I live in the middle of nowhere, I would never let my cat outside there are too many wild animals in the area. She gets plenty of play time, there are toys all over and she plays with her sister and I use the wiggly worm wand with her often. She did escape the house once, six years ago and it definitely made her a little anxious. She's very attached to me, she largely prefers to spend time with me over anyone else in the house but she also will snuggle and play with her sister and my husband. She's always been kind of a licky baby, she's always sitting on me and licking my arm.

We thought it was separation anxiety due to me working from home during the pandemic then transitioning back to work and now both my husband and I are gone 3 nights a week for 12hrs (9p to 9a). But when we took her out of the surgery suit, she started licking like crazy even when we're home which made me think she was itchy.

Also her stool is very stinky and she's been gassy, which is another tick in the allergy box. She's transitioned over to rabbit protein now and we're going to keep her in the suit as much as possible during my recovery from surgery. I also have a work trip in August that I was really hoping we'd have this cleared up by because my poor husband does not deal well with the poop.

I'm just so confused as what else to do. We'll probably try more blood work after my surgery.
 

Eurocat

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Dec 8, 2021
Messages
95
Purraise
182
Location
Germany
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #31

missdreawrites

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2022
Messages
24
Purraise
22
I checked out the PetMD link, and Cora has dandruff at the base of her tail and her lower back, and she does scratch but not so much that she gives herself scabs. She's definitely barbering, as the fur of her belly is prickly. Her scabs are self inflicted and don't ooze or have pus. It's possible that she's in pain, and back when all this started in October of last year, she did have a day where she was pretty sick - vomiting a lot, but then she threw up a GIANT hairball and then she stopped vomiting. So maybe she has a hairball, but she's eating totally normally, drinking totally normally. Peeing, and pooping 1-2 times a day. It's just... y'know, a bit soft and stinky.

She's on Limited Ingredient for Sensitive Stomachs Rabbit dry food by Instinct, and the same grain-free Rabbit pate with pork broth also by Instinct. Litter is Dr. Elsey's. She used to be on Instinct's grain-free chicken kibble and nulo's turkey&duck minced wet food, but if she has a poultry intolerance, then literally all that food was giving her the tummy trouble. So I spent a week adding in the rabbit kibble/rabbit wet food and phasing out the poultry food. Her sister eats the same because feeding them different foods would be a huge pain. The vet said it could take up to 60 days to see a difference in her behavior if it is food related because food allergens can stay in a cat for a long while even after the food is gone. It's been about a week now, and only a few days of no poultry, so I guess we'll see. If this doesn't work, I'll have to bring her back to the vet anyway since it'll be time for her annual in August, after my work trip. We'll do more bloodwork then. It's been six months of trying to stop her from licking her stomach, and the vet didn't want to put her in the e-collar if it was stress related because he says that can stress her out more. The suit is much less stressful for her. She also doesn't really go for her belly much in it, but she can't lick her own butt which frustrates her so I usually have to clean her butt if any of her wet stool gets on her excessively fluffy butt fur. It's never MUCH stool though, just where it brushes along her floof because seriously, this cat is excessively fluffy for a domestic shorthair. The Fortiflora (which is liver flavored and doesn't appear to have poultry in it) helps her a lot to keep the stool to be more formed.

This cat is my literal baby. I just need her to feel better.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #32

missdreawrites

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2022
Messages
24
Purraise
22
Hey y'all,

I am fully recovered from my surgery, and during the month of recovery, Cora had been phased entirely off poultry foods and placed on RAW Instinct Limited Ingredient Grain-Free Rabbit kibble, and also RAW Instinct Rabbit Pate (with pork broth). She's still on the flortiflora, and some of her poo is still a bit soft and unformed, but with a new diet, her belly is actually improving. The fur hasn't exactly grown back, but there are fewer and fewer little red marks by the week. She's out of the suit, even when we're both at work, and many of the old spots have healed. The vet warned me that switching the food (a month and a half ago, now) could take a LONG time before I see good improvement but considering the last time she was out of the suit for 24hrs she tore herself bloody, and she's been out of the suit since my surgery and most of her little red sore marks are totally healed, I'm going to make an educated guess that the poultry was the issue.She does miss her turkey treats, so I tried to get rabbit flavored ones and she was not particularly enthusiastic, but she likes the kibble pieces so I get her a few of those as a treat.

This has been THE LONGEST road, entirely too stressful, and I'm still in the thick of it, but I'm starting to feel more hope.

She's not gassy anymore, her poo is more firm than it isn't but it's still a bit wet and gets on her fluff sometimes. She was a great nurse when I was on the couch, unable to do much. She's tolerating me going back to work, and I'm hopeful she'll tolerate me going on a trip in August (my husband will be home so he'll feed her and take care of her.) He knows how to put her in the suit if she gets too licky.

WHEW.
 

fionasmom

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 21, 2014
Messages
13,125
Purraise
17,371
Location
Los Angeles
Thank you so much for letting us know that you are both better! I must be a big relief to have figured out that there was a food allergy and to see it clear up. She was such a sweet little companion to you when you needed her.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #34

missdreawrites

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2022
Messages
24
Purraise
22
Hey y'all,

Finally after roughly four months, Cora's belly is entirely scab free. Fur is still thin, but from what I know, it'll take a while to grow back fully. She's still having some tummy issues, but I think that'll be solved over time. She has a check up on the 20th, and I'm so glad to be bringing her without scabs. She has some scarring but I think we're finally winding the finishing line here. Thanks for being so supportive of me through this almost year long ordeal.
 

Attachments

Lulu&Finn

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Sep 4, 2020
Messages
144
Purraise
285
I'm glad Cora is better! It's been a lot here too just trying to keep up with fish in foods that have never had it. The list of foods that Lulu can eat on Purina Pro Plan is dwindling. It doesn't help that she is a fussy cat. It sounds like Cora will eat pretty much anything.

The Pandemic hasn't helped between the shortage, the price and now adding fish to all of the foods. A wet food will disappear for a few months, return and have fish in it. Ugh!
 

fionasmom

Moderator
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 21, 2014
Messages
13,125
Purraise
17,371
Location
Los Angeles
Thank you for letting us know that Cora has recovered! You took great care of her and she is lucky to have you.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #37

missdreawrites

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2022
Messages
24
Purraise
22
It sounds like Cora will eat pretty much anything.
She really will. She is not a picky cat, unlike her sister who is. Sometimes Kali will just be like, oh, it's wet food this morning? Nah. I only want crunchies. And then the next day she'll see the crunchies and go? WHERE WET FOOD?!

Thank you for letting us know that Cora has recovered! You took great care of her and she is lucky to have you.
She's my baby, and I would literally do anything for her. She's such a sweet cat, and she loves me so much. I'm lucky to have her.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #38

missdreawrites

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 25, 2022
Messages
24
Purraise
22
Y'ALL I RETURN WITH BEST NEWS.

the Hydrolyzed protein diet has worked some MAGIC. Cora is absolutely allergic to chicken (or poultry whatever), and after three months on the new food, and nothing but the new food, her belly is growing fur slowly, there's only one mark left and it's nearly healed, I havent had to chase her down for a butt cleaning because her poo is finally approaching normal (though it is a weird color because the food?? Is YELLOW??)

I AM SO RELIEVED.
 
Top