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

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

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

Kim

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

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.

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.

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.;)

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.

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

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Originally Posted by 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)

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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.

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Originally Posted by Barbara

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

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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. :o

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Originally Posted by krazyaboutkatz

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

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

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Originally Posted by Bengalz

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

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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.

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

I hope that beautiful girl feels better soon! HUGS

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

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.

Poor girl! I hope she feels better soon!

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.

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. :confused: Give that sweet kitty a ((((((Hug)))))) from me!!!

Just an update since I had a vet visit yesterday.

We've decided to hold off on the allergy testing for the moment. We're going to get her teeth cleaned up first. They're not bad, but she has some gingivitis so we want to take care of that.

We're also going to try to move Nakita over from 1/4 pill of Prednisone every other day to every two days. I tried skipping her dose last Wednesday and Thursday - no itching or throwing up! :D I'm going to try this for a two week period and see if either the itching or vomiting reoccur. If they do, we'll go ahead with the allergy test.

She's been on the Prescription Duck and Rice for 8 weeks now so maybe that did the trick? We're also supplementing with Wysong's Duck canned only wet food. We're looking at changing the food to Rabbit and Pea since the Duck and Rice still seems to make her constipated. As a last factor, we also took away the Swheat Scoop litter a month ago.

Come on Nakita! Keep up the improvement so my wallet can finally be at rest. ;)

Thanks for the update. I sure hope that she'll continue to improve and won't need to have the allergy test. I also hope that everything goes well with her teeth cleaning.:)

I'm glad to hear things are finally improving! :) Keep us posted.

Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear the beautiful emerald eyed beauty is improving.

Good to hear there is some improvement. Hopefully the new diet is a better balance for Nakita. As with hoomans, it takes some time for the body to adjust; perhaps this is the case. All paws and claws are crossed here for better days for our special Emerald Girl :)

She is such a dear little cat - I can't bear the thought of Nakita's discomfort :(

Hugs and kitty kisses :)

Wallet at rest would be a positive side effect but heart at rest would be even better :D Way to go girl!

Keep up the good work, Nakita! Maybe a half pound weight gain, too? I can send you a pound or two if you need it.... :eek:

I guess I spoke too soon. :( Nakita threw up both yesterday and today. This was after skipping her second dose of Prednisone.

She also has a reduced appetite. :( She is supposed to eat 1/2 cup of prescription food but now she barely eats 1/8 cup. :( Last night I broke down and gave her some California Natural dry to see if she just didn't want to eat the prescription food or if her stomach was irritated and therefore the reduced appetite. Nope, she hoovered the California Natural (she loves her chicken, but doesn't like the rabbit or duck or venison prescription food). I can't have her loose any more weight, otherwise it gets critical since she's so small.

I'm going to continue giving the Prednisone every 2 days and keep her on the California Natural. We have the teeth cleaning scheduled for next Monday. If she starts itching up a storm, then I'll know it's the re-introduction of the chicken. I'm even thinking she may be allergic to chicken liver, since I have read that it can be an allergen. Chicken liver is a common ingredient in most dry and canned foods.

Can I scream in frustration now? One step forward, two steps back...

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Originally Posted by Russian Blue

We're also going to try to move Nakita over from 1/4 pill of Prednisone every other day to every two days. I tried skipping her dose last Wednesday and Thursday - no itching or throwing up! :D
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She's been on the Prescription Duck and Rice for 8 weeks now so maybe that did the trick? We're also supplementing with Wysong's Duck canned only wet food. We're looking at changing the food to Rabbit and Pea since the Duck and Rice still seems to make her constipated.

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Originally Posted by Cataholic

Keep up the good work, Nakita! Maybe a half pound weight gain, too? I can send you a pound or two if you need it.... :eek:

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Thanks for the offer, but I'm already in line to donate... :p

Poor Nakita. Such a delicate flower to have such troubles. :(

All I can do is pray for a solution.

Thanks for the update on Nakita. I can imagine how frustrating it is trying to identify an allergy...and what type of allergy it is.
If she's doing well on the Duck/rice food, would it be possible to add a little cod liver oil or fish oil to the food to help with constipation? Sometimes an egg can help too. I'm not sure if that would affect her allergy problem though, but I thought I would mention it.

She is a tiny delicate thing, so I certaintly hope they can pinpoint the problem soon! If she's down for the teeth cleaning, could you get the allergy scratch test done at the same time. Two birds with one stone, you know? ;)

Prayers and purrs from my house to yours!

**hugs**

I have two cats with severe digestive disorders, and they throw up everything EXCEPT for the California Natural. Of course it's only available in one store in my entire area, but oh well, lol. The vet I had talked to recommended it because there are no additives to it. It's chicken broth, rice, and chicken meal. He said a lot of times the ones made by SD and others for sensitive stomachs have too many additives. My others love the lamb and rice Nutro, and sometimes the sensitive ones eat that as well and they don't have too many issues (I still make them eat the Cal.Natural).

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Originally Posted by jenn_librarian

I have two cats with severe digestive disorders, and they throw up everything EXCEPT for the California Natural.............. He said a lot of times the ones made by SD and others for sensitive stomachs have too many additives.

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That's good to know! Actually, that's why I'm currently trying California Natural because it's the most simple food on the market. Plus, I want to determine if it's the chicken or chicken liver that's causing her allergies. I don't think it's the rice at this point.

Thanks for the info on what's working with your crew. This is day 4 on California Natural and so far so good. And she's eating it! :D I'm so happy to see her actually go to her food bowl and eat like a champ.

Kass, I'm so glad to hear that Nakita is eating better and also doing much better too.:)
I've been having some issues with Starr for quite a while now. He's been having some runny poop and diarrhea problems off and on. He'll also sometimes use the carpet instead of the litterboxes. After reading about how well other cats have done on California Natural Chicken and Rice Formula, I've decided to try it. I bought some tonight and 2 small cans of wet food. I'm going to try feeding it to Pearl because she has some skin issues, Ziggy because she's been throwing up some of her food lately, and Starr because of his runny poops and diarrhea problems. I hope that it'll work for them.:)

Nakita I was so hopeful that you meowmie had you all fixed up....... Poor sweetie.

Now Meowmie I had a himalayan and she had many of the same symptoms as Nakita and she was on prednisone until she passed... (Nothing to do with prednisone!) She was doing real well with it. She actually gained weight when she was on it. So being on it might not be all bad?????

I still think she is the most wonderful steel blue green eyed beauty I have EVER SEEN!! You already know that. ;) ;)

Kass,

How upsetting this must be for you and for poor little Nakita. The thought of doing a scratch test together with the dental procedure is good. I don't have a great deal of knowledge in this area but will certainly keep all fingers and toes crossed that some constructive light can be shed. At least when you know what you're dealing with, a proactive approach can be managed to help put Nakita on the right diet and/or medication.

Please give that little girl a great big hug for me - she is such a doll :)

Take care, Betty

I'm glad to hear that Nakita is doing a little better. :)

Honestly, I try to always remain positive and live day for day. But the last year has been so hard. It feels like I take one step forward but end up two steps back.

Nakita went in for her dental cleaning today. I thought it was going to be a simple cleaning. Wrong! I find out that she needs two extractions! Not one but TWO! I feel so bad that she's been in pain and I didn't even know. :( We take her in every year for her physical but the previous vets never noticed anything and said her teeth were in good shape.

We're also trying to figure out why she has hyperesthesia symptoms. She basically runs across the room, as if shocked, and then grooms her back leg like crazy. At no point did we think her teeth were involved - it didn't even seem to be a consideration. I did mention to a previous vet that she does occasionally run away from her food bowl, with these hyperesthesia symptoms, but we really thought she had a pinched nerve (or similar). Every time she goes to eat and gets in that low to the ground position, she would run away, thus thinking it was a spinal/nerve issue. She never showed any other dental symptoms, no excess grooming of the mouth, dropping food, drooling etc.

Today, they found a broken tooth with a nerve exposed and another tooth that was totally decayed. My poor, poor girl. We've been trying to fix everything, yet totally missing the pain source. I'm so sorry. :( And I'm so irritated that after seeing 4 vets over the last 16 months....only the recent vet suggested a dental (because of slight gingivitis)!!

And then trying to introduce Nakita to Phoenix back in September and all the emotion and let down that happened. Again, on the vets advice he suggested introducing a companion since he thought Nakita's hyperesthesia was from boredom. I just feel so sad I put Nakita through all this.

Hopefully, with these 2 extractions, Nakita will be eating more as well since she was down to 1/8 cup at one point. I thought it was not liking the Prescription food and upset stomach/allergies but it was probably from the pain that previous vets didn't diagnose. :(

Also, I've continued on the 1/4 pill of Prednisone every 2 days and it seems to be working out! She threw up on Monday/Tuesday but I think she ate too fast that time.

I'm hoping the New Year will bring better health & contentment for all of us!

Try not to blame yourself, you certainly have TRIED to figure out Nakita's problem. Since she had only a little tartar, a dental would not been totally obvious. and Considering the quick look most vets take inside a cat's mouth, a broken tooth might be very easy to miss. So don't feel badly by thinking you failed her by not getting the dental sooner.

Hopefully, even though it took this long to make the decision to have this dental, her biggest problems will now be resolved.




EDIT HOLY COW! I had some REALLY bad spelling in my post above. :eek: I edited and hopefully made it much clearer.

As I posted above, Nakita had her dental cleaning today. To our surprise, she had to have 2 teeth extracted. We just brought her home and she's still a little out of it but hopefully will be better tomorrow.

When they did the pre-op blood work it didn't come back looking good. The vet doesn't want to assume anything (more like doesn't want to scare us) so we have to bring her back on Friday - for a check-up and another blood test.

I'm beyond sad right now. I knew when Nakita started feeling sick awhile ago, there wouldn't be an easy answer. The smallest creatures are usually harder hit and now my world will fall apart if her next blood test doesn't come back with normal values.

Can you please say a prayer and send some good vibes our way?I'll update when I see the vet.

:(

We Are Praying That That Dental Cleaning Will Now Help Nakita On The Road To Recovery.
I Remember John Was So Ill, And After His Dental He Was A New Cat.
Have You Tried Royal Canin Kitten.
Its Usually On Special And Has Worked Wonders For The Found Cats In The Past.
We Are All Praying For Nakita.

Thinking of you beautiful Nakita.....

I am so sorry to hear all of that is going on with you little sweet pea..... :( :( I just love everything about you and to hear that you are not well......Makes me so sad :(

You need to come around sweetheart..... Your meowmie needs you and so do all of us.

So did they give you any indication of what came back bad??? Is she low in iron is she fighting an infection??? I hope so bad its something that could be treated........ I will pray for your sweet little girl I just adore hearing stories about her and the pictures are amazing..... Keep us updated on her progress I am very concerned... Lets hope you are all blessed with good news for the holiday season.. My prayers will be with you :confused:

Kass, you are a very good meowmie....please don't be hard on yourself. Cats are experts at hiding pain and you've been doing everything you can to find the cause. Now that the dental is done and she gets more food into her system, hopefully she will feel better.

I know Max was sick a few years ago and to my surprise he needed 4 teeth pulled, including two front ones.

Lots of prayers coming out to your sweet green-eyed girl and plenty of {{{hugs}} for you and Rob to go along with them.

xo

Please don't be so hard on yourself Kass - you have gone beyond what is normal to help Nakita. Your latest updates are heart wrenching and there will be many prayers for your dear little girl from every side of this forum, including all of mine for you, Rob and little Nakita.

Hugs,
Betty