Pipsqueak needs vibes and so do I........:(

[feralvr]

Originally Posted by Carolina

Awesome news Lauren!!!

Awesome also that you insured him with Pets Best

I have Lucky, Bugsy and Hope in it, and thanks to it, Bugsy is still alive (and I am not bankrupt

).
I have used with the three of them - for office, urgent and ER - everything from tests, recurrent, chronic, and prescriptions - they never EVER failed me. They are fantastic - great choice and peace of mind.... if you ever need help, I am always here....... I have tons of experience with them

knock on wood - won't use it for a while now!

Thanks and will definitely be in touch if I have any questions about Pets Best. Appreciate that

. I would love to get all of my cats insured but I am trying to decide what would be the most economical plan. It is an expense, but I DO know that when a pet gets very sick with an illness, the costs are astronomical. We call Wilbur our million dollar baby

.

 

[carolina]

Originally Posted by Feralvr

Thanks and will definitely be in touch if I have any questions about Pets Best. Appreciate that

. I would love to get all of my cats insured but I am trying to decide what would be the most economical plan. It is an expense, but I DO know that when a pet gets very sick with an illness, the costs are astronomical. We call Wilbur our million dollar baby

.

Don't I know what you mean? Bugsy could be 18lbs of solid gold..... if only he wasn't so soft and cuddly

The one advice I can give you is, consider getting Pips the mid range plan, instead of the lower one (later on, if you haven't done that yet). It seems that he might be an immune-troubled guy like Bugsy, and you never know what chronic conditions you will face in the future.... a higher per/incident allowance might come quite handy for guys like them when dealing with chronic issues.
The others.... I think the lowest can suffice.
Mine are all on the mid-range because of Bugsy - Bugsy will never go in the low plan - even if I change the others, his will stay.

 

[feralvr]

Originally Posted by Carolina

Don't I know what you mean? Bugsy could be 18lbs of solid gold..... if only he wasn't so soft and cuddly

The one advice I can give you is, consider getting Pips the mid range plan, instead of the lower one (later on, if you haven't done that yet). It seems that he might be an immune-troubled guy like Bugsy, and you never know what chronic conditions you will face in the future.... a higher per/incident allowance might come quite handy for guys like them when dealing with chronic issues.
The others.... I think the lowest can suffice.
Mine are all on the mid-range because of Bugsy - Bugsy will never go in the low plan - even if I change the others, his will stay.

I love it

Bugsy - Solid Gold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He must be beaming with rays of gold

. Special boy he is

. I wish I had gotten insurance on Wilbur years ago

. That is why now I am seeking insurance out for my cats, because I do know how very expensive it can be when you need to treat for an illness or disease. The costs are more than

.....

I do have Pip insured for the lowest deductible $100.00 but only for the $2500.00 per incident. Which I do know can get eaten up quickly. I am planning on calling them to upgrade his "per incident" coverage.

so very much and if I have any questions about how submit a claim, I will ask you.
Best,

Lauren

 

[feralvr]

About a week ago we took Pipsqueak off the Pred and Mupirocin ointment but kept him on the Baytril. Well, his chin has started to flare up and erupt with new deep pore infections.

. Now we know that the Baytril has not been responsible for the chin clearing up. It was most likely the Pred. Took him off the Baytril, which he has been on for four weeks, and started the Pred again. Also, Laurie graciously

asked Dr. Cheng about Pip's chin issues. Dr. Cheng said that this is likely allergies. The enlarged nodes are also a sign of allergies. I am going to talk to my vet about Atopica recommended by Laurie's vet, instead of the Pred longterm. Will probably know in a few more days if the Pred was what healed his chin and then I will know that this more likely an allergen of some sort.

The odd thing is that Perla and Perkins also still get a "dirty" chin. Perla only needs a cleaning every three days and Perkins is daily. I am able to control their chins with cleaning, luckily. This is just a mystery to me.

 

[catbehaviors]

Awww, hope Pip gets better again.
What kind of food bowl do your cats have? Plastic causes acne, and ceramic can too. Do you use metal bowls?

 

[my4llma]

I'm sorry Pipsqueak is sick again. I hope he feels better soon

 

[libby74]

And that's why we love cats, Lauren---they're so mysterious.

You are so on top of this situation with the Pipster; it sounds as if it's going to be a trial and error type thing, but I know you'll hit on the answer eventually, then say "Why didn't I think of that sooner?!"

Besides Mr. Pip's bladder issues of the last few months, have there been any other changes in your household that you can think of? Different brand of anything? A new blanket, throw, whatever? I would bet anything that there is a really simple answer to the allergy, it's just figuring out what it could be.

Sending more to sweet Pip; head skritches to the other kitties, and of course, we can't forget the pups

 

[calvin&i]

Lauren, hope you get your answer soon. If this is from allergies, you will have a plan to treat Pip. Lots of

 

[feralvr]

Originally Posted by catbehaviors

Awww, hope Pip gets better again.
What kind of food bowl do your cats have? Plastic causes acne, and ceramic can too. Do you use metal bowls?

Hi Eileen !!!!

. Yes, I just recently switched to stainless steel bowls from ceramic. Carolina told me that ceramic bowls can get microscopic cracks and may harbor bacteria. Have been going through anything I can think of that has caused this outbreak. Hope Wesley's chin is alright

and getting better.

 

[feralvr]

Originally Posted by libby74

And that's why we love cats, Lauren---they're so mysterious.

You are so on top of this situation with the Pipster; it sounds as if it's going to be a trial and error type thing, but I know you'll hit on the answer eventually, then say "Why didn't I think of that sooner?!"

Besides Mr. Pip's bladder issues of the last few months, have there been any other changes in your household that you can think of? Different brand of anything? A new blanket, throw, whatever? I would bet anything that there is a really simple answer to the allergy, it's just figuring out what it could be.

Sending more to sweet Pip; head skritches to the other kitties, and of course, we can't forget the pups

Libby, I appreciate you thoughts

. Yes, there has been changes. The addition of Walden and Wendall (in June), the abuse cases that I took in and ended up being a "foster failure"

. Those two boys just blended so easily into the household. But I am sure it caused Pipster some stress initially. But he readily accepted them after proper introductions. The chin acne came on after I put Pipsqueak and the other's on Hill's Prescription C/D. I initially blamed the chin on an allergic reaction to an ingredient in that diet. I took them all off of the C/D after his ultrasound was clean and we discovered that the blood in urine was stress related. But the chin is still having outbreaks.

.

On a good note, his urine clumps are much bigger now and he doesn't go to the box as frequently as before. I will check his urine again in a month's time for blood.

it is gone.....

I have decided that I cannot foster anymore cats/kittens at this time. It makes me sad because the shelter really needs foster homes and I have to refuse them. I have to think about Pipster's health as my #1 priority. Plus, with Wilbur

having good and bad days, it just drains me to no end and I have nothing left to give.

. I also have a feral outside Willow (was named Freddie, but I changed it because he looks like a beautiful weeping willow tree LOL). Willow has been approaching the windows now to watch my cats watch him. He has started meowing to me also. But I just can't bring him in right now, unless he really approaches me closer and tells me he is ready for an indoor life. It is very hard on my heart

when these ferals start asking for that communication/relationship with me. It is almost easier if they stay away and distant, easier on the heart....

Thanks for listening.

to you ALL

 

[ldg]

You're absolutely right, you have to put your kids first.

And it IS easier when the ferals are feral.

I happen to agree with Libby. When you figure out what it is, we'll all be smacking ourselves on the head, going

I know it's so very frustrating right now! The whole thing is so very odd, especially because it isn't just Pip!

this gets sorted sooner rather than later!!!!!!

 

[feralvr]

In a matter of twelve hours I went from totally freaking out to now calm

. Perla has developed some small sores on her head and by her eye. Chin acne can manifest itself as ringworm too. But I was never concerned about Pip, Perkins or Perla having ringworm, until last night. I started fretting over Perla's eye sores and thinking OMG ringworm. Maybe this IS ringworm on the chins

Took Perla and Perkins to the vet this morning. I use a different vet for them than Pipsqueak, my TNR vet. I really, really like this vet. He basically reassured me that it is NOT ringworm, and if it were, everyone would have it by now, dogs and myself included. He also did a skin scraping on Perlas eyebrow, showed nothing, no mites. (he didn't even charge me for that

). For my benefit

only, he took hair samples from each chin to send in for culture. Results back in two weeks. He believes this is allergies and Perla scratched herself. I have noticed her scratching a little more. He put both cat's on Pred for two weeks. If that helps clear the chins, then we will know it is allergies.

He told me I have to stick to ONE brand of cat food right now and stop switching up the wet food brands otherwise I won't know which one is causing the allergy flare-ups. He told me he would have not put Pipsqueak on six weeks of antibiotics

. He would have started with Prednisone first.

He said it is possible that Pipsqueak was allergic to something in the Hill's C/D, also Perla and Perkins, that brought about their immune systems to go a bit haywire. Even though I have stopped the C/D for weeks now, it brought out an immunity allergen response and they are sensitive to something, some ingredient now. I have to figure out now, what to feed them. No more mixing it up. Perla will not be happy about that one

.

Pipsqueak's chin is under control with the Pred. Stopped the flare-up. Though it is not anywhere near normal, at least it is not getting worse.

 

[catbehaviors]

Glad to hear you have some good news! Hopefully keeping them on one food will help you to figure out what's been causing the acne.

 

[libby74]

This will sound strange, but at least you have several that appear to be sensitive to something in the c/d. My Jack has a skin allergy of some sort and takes 10mg of pred. 2x a week. My vet knew that trying to figure out what was causing the allergy would be hard for me to do with 5 others in the house, none of who had any problems. I think it will be easier for you to figure out what's going on since something has affected several of your babies.
It definitely sounds as if you're on the right track, Lauren. Now, if your kids will just co-operate maybe you can find the solution to their problems.
Sending loads of to you and your furry family.

 

[feralvr]

Thanks friends

. Chins are looking up

!!!!!!

Pipsqueak's chin is doing great (KNOCK ON WOOD) and is on 2.5 Pred. every other day now and it is holding him. No cleanings or ointment needed. Perla and Perkins chins are hardly dirty the next day now either. They are on 2.5 Pred per day, then in two days every other day for two weeks. Then I stop. At that time, I will stop Pipsqueak too and see. The vet mentioned three things that could be causing the allergic reaction in their systems:

#1 Food allergies (triggered by the C/D)
#2 Environmental allergies - in the home (even the litter I use - Precious Cat needs to be possibly addressed because I started using that over the summer)
#3 Summer allergies

I guess I will know if it WAS summer allergies when I stop the Pred and the chins flare again because summer is definitely over. So I can knock that one off the list then. I also did take them off a turkey based diet and onto a chicken and duck based diet. They are also getting one freeze-dried raw meal a day too.

As The Chins Turn...... will be continued soon

 

[libby74]

Originally Posted by Feralvr

As The Chins Turn...... will be continued soon

Summer allergies, huh? I hope it turns out to be something as simple as that. Good luck find the culprit, Lauren; head skritches and ear rubs all around!

 

[ldg]

Originally Posted by Feralvr

As The Chins Turn...... will be continued soon

Well let's hope it's a series that has its "season" finale soon!!!!!

(And I knocked my head!

)

 

[feralvr]

Originally Posted by LDG

Well let's hope it's a series that has its "season" finale soon!!!!!

(And I knocked my head!

)

Season Finale

(I am knocking my "head" on some "wood"

)

 

[ldg]

Thought you'd like that.

But seriously!

 

[my4llma]

Originally Posted by Feralvr

As The Chins Turn...... will be continued soon

Cute