Nakita's Health Update - **The saga continues...update..post #146**

[Russian Blue]

I've had a few inquiries into how Nakita is doing so thought I'd post an update.

For those not familiar with the story, Nakita started pulling the fur from her chest, scratching her ears and throwing up every day (about 1 tbsp of bile, only in the early morning hours). The vet thinks she may have food allergies and possible IBD (this is in addition to the feline hyperesthesia she currently exhibits). The vet placed her on short term Prednisone to give her body a chance to rest while the new food has a chance to take effect.

Nakita has now been on Prednisone for 3 weeks. First week - 1/2 pill daily, second week - 1/4 pill daily, third week - 1/4 pill every other day. She started to throw up again right after we went back down to 1/4 pill every other day.
We went back to the vet last week and we're going to see how she does on 1/4 pill every day.

We're also changing her food to rabbit and pea instead of duck and rice. Nakita may be allergic to rice and I wanted to avoid that as a final diet measure. Plus, I'm not sure if the Prednisone or the food or a combo of the two is causing her to be constipated.

We're also changing her litter from Swheat Scoop to another to see if that might make a difference. We started using Swheat Scoop around the same time that vomiting and itching started, so we're now changing that final variable as well. Other than that, we use no toxic cleaners, only have hard wood for flooring and we do not use any flea medications. We also have held off on vaccinations to see if that was a source of the problems.

As long as everything goes ok with the new pill dosage , we're going to wait a month and then go for allergy testing. It's a new test the vet just started using that looks promising. It's fairly inexpensive and only requires a blood sample, so we'll try that. If that doesn't work, we may have to go through the alternative testing, where they shave a patch of fur off her stomach and do the scraping allergy test (like in humans), but that requires Nakita to be under anaesthetic which I'd like to avoid right now.

Keep your fingers crossed that we'll get to the bottom of this and Nakita will be her old self again.


~Kass

[kimlovescats]

Bless her heart! I hope some of the changes finally solve her problems!

Kim

[Bengalz]

Oh my goodness! How confusing this must all be for little Nakita. And you Kass, what an outstanding mommy you are - she couldn't be luckier to have you to care for her.

All paws and claws are crossed here in hopes that in the midst of all the tests and trials, a resolution emerges. There is nothing worse than feeling helpless in these situations - wanting more than anything to make our little ones feel right and not quite knowing where the answer lies.

Many years ago I had an Old English Sheepdog - my heart dog. She was allergic to any and all dog foods. It took many months and mistrials to finally determine the extent of her allergies and discomfort. The outcome was throughout her life I cooked all her meals using very lean ground meats and adding cooked vegetables and eggs to her diet as well. In addition, her water was always sterilized and kept in a separate refrigerated container for her use only. She couldn't even have normal doggie treats but fortunately was not lactose intolerant. Therefore as a treat I could give her soft vanilla ice cream and yogurts. She also loved fruits - apples and oranges were her favourite. Her allergies went beyond just food - she had extremely sensitive skin and bathing her frequently with very gentle substances prevented rash outbreaks that only cortisone shots would heal. She was very high maintenance but oh so special and oh so worth the time and effort. What really amazed me was her level of patience - I think she understood and appreciated the extra care that went into her well being. She was very dear to me and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Many prayers that you find the right balance for Nakita - I know you want only the best for your little baby girl.

Hugs,
Betty

[jenluckenbach]

Well, it sure would be nice if it was ONLY the litter. eh?? If you change her food AND her litter, how will you know which it is? (assuming it stops)

Nakita will be in my prayers. Hoping for a solution.

[Barbara]

Oh my.... have you ever tried to switch to completely natural food (i.e. no kibbles and nothing that comes from a can)?

Anyway I hope little Nakita will be well again- I'm so sorry.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for updating us about her. I sure hope that something will help her. Lots of positive thoughts and good vibes are being sent your way.

I had a blood allergy test done on my Pepper and it turned out that he was allergic to almost everything. Unfortunately he became very sick a little while later and had to be put to sleep so I wasn't really able to try a new food change for him.

I also seem to remember Tubby&Peanuts Mom having an allergy test done on C.J. You might want to ask her about it.

[catmandu]

We are praying for Nakita, as she is one of our favorite Cats, and we All want her to be that Happy Healthy Little Cat we know and love so much.
Get well soon Nakita.

[Russian Blue]

Thanks everyone for your comments and sending positive thoughts our way. The last few months have been frustrating to say the least.

Well, it sure would be nice if it was ONLY the litter. eh?? If you change her food AND her litter, how will you know which it is? (assuming it stops)

Jen, Nakita has been on the prescription duck and rice for the last month with no change. I do know that many times food allergies don't respond for at least 8-12 weeks so that is why I want to change her food to rabbit and pea now (just in case rice is an allergy for Nakita as well). Changing her litter just came to me recently since I remembered we changed her litter last fall to Swheat Scoop. If she does improve, I can easily reintroduce the litter at a later date to determine if it's the litter.

... have you ever tried to switch to completely natural food (i.e. no kibbles and nothing that comes from a can)?

I've been reading and researching about raw food and homemade diets for at least a year now. Ever since Nakita started showing her hyperesthesia symptoms I've been looking at changing her food. For sure I will consider that option if nothing else works. But I'd rather rule every other factor out first before getting into a raw diet since Nakita prefers dry food over wet. I tried moving her from a dry diet over to a wet/canned diet last summer with miserable results.

I also seem to remember Tubby&Peanuts Mom having an allergy test done on C.J. You might want to ask her about it.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll be sure to look her up when I'm ready to go through with the testing.

Many prayers that you find the right balance for Nakita - I know you want only the best for your little baby girl.

I'm hoping we can solve this mystery soon. I'm just glad she's back to eating the food since she was refusing the first food prescription trials. Nakita is such a small girl I always get worried when her health is affected. She's small enough as it is that she couldn't afford to lose any weight.

[Sonia59]

We keep Nakita in our thoughts. Hope you find the best for her.

[Catty1]

I hope that beautiful girl feels better soon! HUGS

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Awwww, I hope you find it out asap. Nakita is such a beautiful cat!!

[ramanth]

Poor emerald eyed Nakita! I'm sorry she's not feeling well. I hope you are able to get to the bottom of her discomfort soon.

[KitCat]

Poor girl! I hope she feels better soon!

[orangemm]

I've read about her recently and I'm so sorry that you and she have to go through all this. I'll be praying and hoping that the culprit shows up soon and she can get back to normal.

Nakita is such a lovely girl.

[heidiv]

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I first have to say your little girl is gorgeous!!!!! My little siamese Paris has a mother that they thought was Russian Blue and I just love my little baby. Anyway, I am sure that your situation is different but I use to have a Blue Point Himalayan Named Pricilla that one day started displaying the same symptoms. Our vet started the new diet and it didn't work. So one day she said that she has heard that once in a great while they see cats that will have a high white cell count in there stomach which makes it hard for them to digest food(I guess it makes there stomach like leather and the stomach doesn't digest anything). So she put Cilla on prednisone table one tablet every 3rd day to see if that would break down the white cells and make her able to digest food more easily. And it worked!! Anyway I don't really know if that is the reason or not that her life was cut sort or not but I suggest you talk to your vet. It did stop the vomiting and Pricilla did start gaining her weight back. Unfortunately we had to put her to sleep about a year ago because she started having seizers I wouldn't let them do an autopsy so we don't know if that had anything to do with it. But I am sure that it was something else. Its worth a try. Give that sweet kitty a ((((((Hug)))))) from me!!!