Creamsicle and her allergies. Again.

[Medusa]

Or still, I guess I should say. We tried backing her off on the Prednisolone to every 3rd day instead of every other day. The scabs came back so she had to go in and get a depo shot today plus she's back to every other day after the depo shot wears off. Dr. Lee said to also give her V3 caps so I'll start her on that tonight. He could tell right away that she had gained weight but he was surprised to see that she gained 3 1/2 lbs. That's an awful lot but all she eats is Purina Cat Chow, period. No treats, no canned food, nothing.

Boy, was she ever a Tazmanian devil at the vet's! She's normally so sweet natured but she hissed, growled, spit and fought me like you wouldn't believe when I took her out of the carrier. I called her Agent Orange because of how she carried on. She cried the entire drive there and back, too. Her meow is like a creaky door that needs oiled, so it can be a little nerve wracking. We just got home and she's looking for everyone, so I think I'll put her in the basement w/the rest of the Fur Posse since the workers are due here to finish up on the house. (Hopefully. I've had enough noise to last me for a while.)

So maybe spare a prayer for my little Creamsicle so that she doesn't lose any more hair and that the wretched itching stops. I need a drink. LOL

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that her scabs have come back. Hopefully the depo shot will help her. Pred will cause weight gain because she'll drink a lot more water and it'll also increase her appetite. Starr's back on the pred every day and he's gained weight too. I don't even free feed any of my cats so I think a lot of it has to do with water weight gain. I'll send some positive vibes her way.

[Medusa]

Yes, I know how Pred can pack on the lbs. All you need to do is look at my own before and after pix. Dr. Lee said that Pred doesn't usually cause that big of a weight gain in cats and when I told him I've gained weight on it he said "It's different w/humans". Whatever. She's still a chunky monkey.

[pomtzu]

At least it's just allergies and nothing too serious - at least you can get that under control fairly quickly. I know every time Myndi has a depo shot - it's like night and day. I imagine you have your hands full with an Itchy Tazmanian Devil!
So relax and go have that drink. Or better yet - you can do what I'm doing - have some Red Delicious Apple slices with carmel dip!! :

[phesina]

Prayers for little Creamsicle and for you and all your kitties, Mary.

Go have that drink!

Love,
Pat and the cats

[Medusa]

have some Red Delicious Apple slices with carmel dip!! :

Eeeeeeew!

[catmandu]

THATS ALWAYS SAD WHEN OUR CATS ARE ILL, AND THERES NEVER A SOLUTION. I KNOW HOW FRUSTRATING ITS BEEN WITH JUKE JOINT JOSEPH , MICHAEL THE DREAM AND THIER GUMS, AND I PRAY TAHT YOU CAN FIND THE RIGHT MEDICATIONS SO DEAR CREAMSICLE DOES NOT SUFFER

[kb2yjx]

So osrry to hear about " Agent Orange's" allergies!!! We have several, Riley, Tina, and Hayley with allergies. It is a BIG challenge to keep them in check....prayers for your girl...

[krazyaboutkatz]

From my experience both cats and dogs gain a lot of weight from being on pred. Our family dog had to take pred because if even 1 flea got on her she would get hot spots and loose a lot of fur. She was miserable. This was way before any good flea treatments were out. She went from a normal weight to looking very bloated and overweight even though we didn't feed her any more food than before. Even when her pred was reduced, she kept the weight on. She would drink a lot of water too.

Starr went from a sickly underweight cat of about 7-8lbs to about 13lbs. I'm not sure what he weighs right now but he's a very chubby cat. This is one reason why I didn't want him on pred but nothing else seems to work for his IBD. Some cats will also develope diabetes or cushings disease from being on pred. I sure hope that this won't happen. Good luck and I hope that Creamsicle feels better soon.

[Medusa]

Some cats will also develope diabetes or cushings disease from being on pred. I sure hope that this won't happen. Good luck and I hope that Creamsicle feels better soon.

I sure hope that it won't happen also. I just haven't been able to find out what she's allergic to. We're thinking that it may be environmental but where do you start w/that?

[Randi]

Oh poor Creamsicle, itching skin is no fun. I get it myself durng winter and I know it's because of the radiator I put on, versus cold air outside, but what can you do!

I hope you'll find the reason for Creamsiscles allergies. Could it be something in the food? Have you tried another product? Do you brush her a lot? If so, perhaps that could be the reason.

Hopefully the medicine will she gets, will help her feel better soon!

Sending lots of good thoughts to that sweet girl.

[Medusa]

We've pretty much eliminated food allergies so we're thinking that it's environmental; therein lies the problem; where to start. I hate keeping her on the Pred but if I don't, she loses so much hair that she's nearly bald and the itching is maddening for her. She tears at her fur; it's awful. I don't brush her because she hates it and tries to bite me. She's a short hair so at least she doesn't mat. I get a swipe in now and then but not that often.

She really holds a grudge. She had to go in the basement when she got home from the vet's yesterday because the workers were still here and the rest of the Fur Posse was in the basement. She sat at the door and yowled for about half an hour. Now she won't have anything to do w/me and she didn't eat her breakfast. I don't think she's sick; I just think she's holding a grudge. However, if she doesn't eat tomorrow, then I'll have to give my vet a call. Poor little girl, she's deaf as well as being a CH baby so she can't hear the tone of my voice to soothe her. She just goes into one of the cat condos and peers out as if she's being punished for something. It makes me sad to see her do that. She's sitting on the floor next to me right now but she usually wants to sit in my lap while I'm at the computer, so she's punishing me. LOL Hopefully, she'll soften up as the day goes on.

[pomtzu]

I guess she's showing you what she thinks of yesterday's events!! Don't you just love cattitude???
I try to stay away from Pred - on a regular basis anyway. That's how two of my Lhasas ended up with diabetis. They were both on a daily dose for an extended period and suffered the consequences. I wish I had known at the time that this is a possibility, but didn't find out till after the fact. One of them definitely had to be on it, but the other was borderline. "Sigh" Of course the vet they were seeing at the time didn't know how to properly manage a diabetic dog either - she had a general practice, but birds were her specialty! Needless to say, I found another vet for the crew and have been going to her for many, many years now. She's the best - and even Myndi and Sparky love her!

[LionHart]

Prayers & thoughts for Creamsicle and for you .

It's frustrating, I know. My Junoir has spells where he bites and scratches himself raw. He'd gone a month or so doing fine, but I noticed the other day he's back to clawing his neck again. His butt, back legs and the base of his tail are bare! Not a pretty sight!

[Medusa]

Prayers & thoughts for Creamsicle and for you .

It's frustrating, I know. My Junoir has spells where he bites and scratches himself raw. He'd gone a month or so doing fine, but I noticed the other day he's back to clawing his neck again. His butt, back legs and the base of his tail are bare! Not a pretty sight!

Aw, well then, prayers are going out for Junior and you. She's already stopped the chewing so apparently the depo shot is doing its job but I worry about her being on Prednisolone long term. It seems that nothing else helps her, though. The scabs come back and she loses hair as she walks! At one point, the top of her head was bald, also under her chin and her tail looked like a little rat tail. She also had a nasty black scab on her lip, poor girl. My vet said that it was like having a severe case of poison ivy. Can you imagine?