Auto immune disorder- need some advice

My brother and sister in law became first time cat owners over the summer. 2kittens, now 7 months old. An elderly neighbor passed away last month, and they made the decision to adopt one of the 3 cats this woman had. This cat is a female, Chloe, about 3. Chloe lived with a brother and their mom. So, she was not an only cat. And, according to my SIL, the elderly woman did not live as a hermit. She had guests, came and went, etc.

Chloe came to live with my brother and SIL about 10 days ago. They kept her separated for nearly one week before introducing her to their 2 kittens. Introductions seemed to be going okay. There were 2 nights of sleeping together on the bed- Saturday and Sunday, last. Things weren't perfect, but, it wouldn't be unusual for 3 cats to take longer to adapt to one another. While separated, Chloe showed little interest in food. Like, she wouldn't eat. She did pick up a bit after a few days, but, eating seems to be low on her list of things to do.

On Monday, they took Chloe to the vet for a check up. They waited a week to give Chloe a chance to settle in. The vet noticed that Chloe had some bald spots on her back legs (hair loss- alopecia, I think), gave her a 3 year rabies, and some other immunizations (I don't know what they were). Chloe tested negative for diesease, and the vet said no fleas.

On Tuesday evening, my brother and SIL found flea poop. They treated, topically, all 3 cats with Advantage, and treated the house/bedding with something.

On Wednesday, my SIL called about 7 pm to tell me that Chloe was not acting right, not eating nor drinking, kind of huddling, shivering, had something growing on her nose (to me, it looks like a bad case of athlete's foot...), and was sniffling/snorting a little bit. So, off to the ER vets we go. The ER vet was a big waste of money and time. They wanted to do a biopsy, IV fluids, chest x-ray, talked about cancer, etc. We left at 1130, after some sub-q fluids and my SIL took Chloe to the normal vet this morning.

Turns out, Chloe has an auto immune problem. I asked my SIL if she knew what, specifically, and she isn't sure. The vet supposes it could have been brought on by the new home, the immunizations, the Advantage, a combo of them, or one of them. Can't really say. He is starting Chloe on steriods, pain meds and anti-biotics.

My SIL is beside herself, feeling very overwhelmed, and feeling so bad that this has happened to poor Chloe.

Anyone have anything to say, point us anywhere, etc? This is just so shocking, like 0-60 in two seconds. Should she keep Chloe separated for a few days, or, since the intro has already been done, keep that consistent? Anyone had any experience with Advantage products?

Any help would be appreciated. TIA.

I'm sorry, I'm no help. I've never heard of an auto immune disorder in cats and have never used advantage. I hope you get some help - prayers for poor little Chloe.:(

If the cat has a auto immune disease that effects the skin the only way to know exactly what the condition is, would be to do a skin biopsy. In just about all cases the treatment will be the same. The use of glucocorticoids would be used in most cases. It is fortunate that cats do not react negatively to steriods over the long haul. In humans and dogs glucocorticoids can do significate damage over time. If the condition is not caused by an auto immune response but actually an infection of some form then steriods can make it worst. In the case of an infection antibiotics would be called for.

When an auto immune response is triggered for what ever reason the body's immune system starts attacking its self. In most cases it is hard to find the underlying cause for the condition.

A test for ringworm might also be useful. An annoying but not life-threatening condition, ringworm can be treated relatively easy (it just takes time.)

Some cat owners here use L-Lysine (I think) as it is really supposed to help with immune stuff.

And Chloe HAS been through a lot. Maybe a gentle temporary sedative would make the transition a little easier on her?

Prayers that she feels better soon.:love::love::love:

I'm sorry to hear this.:( I use advantage on my cats every month and I've never had any problems like this. Storm has had a bald spot from it before so now I make sure to squeeze it out in at least four different places on him. This could be related to stress and she may have always had it and it's just now coming out. I would think that something like pred would probably help her. This will also increase her appetite so she'd start eating better.

My Pearl has Eosinophilic Granulona Complex and her's is actually caused by diet. Since she's been eating a grain free diet of Innova Evo she hasn't had a break out. I did try Taste of The Wild which is also grain free but she broke out. She breaks out on her chin and lips. My vet put her on pred for a short time and this cleared her up. Here's a link to this disease: http://www.petplace.com/cats/eosinop...lex/page1.aspx. I hope that she'll recover quickly. I'll keep her in my thoughts and prayers. Please continue to keep us updated.

I found this. There are a lot of big words in it but it does mention many of the symptoms that you've described. http://maxshouse.com/Diseases_of_the..._foliaceus.htm

Also this. It mentions one of the possible reasons for autoimmune disease in cats, which you also mentioned. http://www.paws-and-effect.com/html/pawsandeffect9.html

I'm sorry that I can't be of more help. I've not experienced this myself w/any of my cats. I do hope that your friend is able to get it under control w/her dear kitty. :love:

I am not familiar with this at all. Prayers for Chloe. Any ideas is this a chronic condition or a temporary disorder?

Medusa- thank you, that first link was spot on.

After some force feeding, and 48 hours on pred, my brother reported to me that Chloe ate on her own last night! She is out of the room and showing some signs of being interested in life (not the 2 kittens so much, LOL).

So, we are really hoping this is the turn we need! Thanks for the support.