Calloway is much better! Food change coming up!

[jennielynn1970]

Strangely enough, there's no telling where she's been sticking her head. When kitten and still unnamed, the girl who had her called her adventure kitty because she was into everything. She's hasn't changed a bit.

She's still the one who chews my electrical cords -- only if they are plugged in. She's a wacko, I"m telling ya!!!

Yes, I'm hoping and praying that Calloway will be ok. I don't think he eats fast or anything. I don't really know. If I have Dr. Hess tomorrow, I think she might examine him more closely cause he's really become a porker.

[Moesha]

My Lemon lost hair on her the outside of the ears. The vet gave me these medicated pads to use. Looked like Oxy pads for acne. They made it worse. I stopped using them and the hair grew back. Only happened once and don't know what caused it. But I know her ears were balding. She's my only long haired kitty and her fur is black.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear about Finae and Calloway. When I first had Storm I was feeding him a lot of food that had fish in it and he started losing the fur on his ears. The vet at first thought that he had ringworm but that wasn't the case. Then his partner asked me what I was feeding him and I told him and he said that some cats are allergic to fish. I stopped feeding him cat food that had fish in it and his fur grew back. Unlike Finae though, he was very itchy. Hopefully she can be easily treated.

Poor Calloway. He must be so uncomfortable. Can cats get hemorrhoids? I have heard that some cats do have anal gland problems but I don't think it's as common as it is in dogs. I hope that the vet will be able to help him. He may also need to be put on a different diet. I hope that everything goes well tomorrow. Please keep us updated. Lot of prayers and positive thoughts are going out to Calloway.

[Emeraldgreen]

Jenn, I had a really similar experience with George and I wonder if Calloway might be dealing with the same thing. George is one of my two 'BIG' cats and he too struggles to lose weight even when I restrict his calorie reduced kibbles. George is very sensitive with his whole back end and had a horrible tail abscess that required surgery when he was with his previous owner. He bites me as well if I touch him for too long on lower back or tail.
He's still big but not 'as big' as he was last year because he's getting more exercise in his outdoor run. But last year when he was really big, I noticed that he was trying to reach his back end to clean himself but he couldn't reach. I tried to help him with a wet cloth but he would have none of it. Each day I tried to help but it was getting worse. I finally was able to get a peek (he was very feisty about me looking down there) and then I saw that he had some poop caked on there and it was getting worse. I could see that his bum area was really irritated. I took him to the vet and because he is somewhat feral they had to put him under and shave his bum area. It was so red and raw and I felt terribly for him.
Once he was cleaned up, they sent him home with some Theraderm cream (anti-inflammatory steroidal cream) that I had to apply. They said it would make him more comfortable and it really did seem to help him. He was fine within a week or two and he is still able to clean his backend for the most part now.
Anyway, I wonder if it could just be a matter of irritation that has progressed due to his large size and not being able to attend to himself down there? I hope that is all it is.

My cat Stinky has had impacted anal glands in the past and when I went to pick her up she would kind of meow/scream which she never normally does. I saw her scooting her bum on the carpet and took her to the vet and it turned out both her anal glands were impacted. They 'squeezed' them and got rid of it. YUCK!!! She was great after that. But during the procedure she was very cranky and just about took the vet's head off. She hasn't had it happen since and that was a few years ago.

Stinky has also lost some hair around the edges of her ears in the past and it seemed like it was diet related. Once I switched her back to a food she was used to her ear hairs grew back.

[jennielynn1970]

Hmmmm... if it is diet related for Finae, the only thing that I changed in the last month and a half was to go from Nutro to California Natural. They are bascially the same "recipe" Chicken and Rice. I saw they had a Herring and Sweet Potato flavor, but seeing as my guys have never been fed either of those (unless they sneak them in at Nutro), I decided against it. They had been on this food a few years ago and for a long time as well. It was recommended for two of the cats I have that have super sensitive stomachs because it's so basic and natural. Before trying Nutro and California Natural I'd have cat barf all over, and two of them had colitis or IBD, where they pooped pus and blood (lovely, huh??).

About 3 months or so back, I noticed a lot more throwing up, and saw that the Nutro bag said "New and improved taste!". Well... apparently, it wasn't so improved or better tasting in the minds of my kitties or they wouldn't have been throwing up all over the place. So, I thought I'd go back to California Natural. If the hair doesn't come back on her ears w/in a month, I'll have to switch them I guess (the food, not the ears, ). That just stumps me then because what food do you pick for 8 cats that have different issues and you don't feed separately and free feed at that??

He's still big but not 'as big' as he was last year because he's getting more exercise in his outdoor run. But last year when he was really big, I noticed that he was trying to reach his back end to clean himself but he couldn't reach. I tried to help him with a wet cloth but he would have none of it. Each day I tried to help but it was getting worse. I finally was able to get a peek (he was very feisty about me looking down there) and then I saw that he had some poop caked on there and it was getting worse. I could see that his bum area was really irritated. I took him to the vet and because he is somewhat feral they had to put him under and shave his bum area. It was so red and raw and I felt terribly for him.

THAT sounds like Calloway to a T!!! When I got him, he was NOT fat at all. He had been a stray and was in a kill shelter. He has always been sensitive about me touching him below the back, and he's got this pathetic little meow too. It so doesn't suit his Arnold Schwartzenegger body, lol.

I've watched him trying to groom himself. It's sad. He's like a weeble wobble, he just rolls and can't get to areas. I think part of it is maybe it's hard for him to reach, and also maybe because he had had a broken leg or something at some point (he limps, and has so since I got him), maybe he's very stiff. I'd love to do some massage, or maybe a heated bed for him?? I dont' know how I'd keep the others out of it, although I could move it to a room and put him in it, no guarantee he'd sleep in it though if I did that, lol. He's a velcro kitty, and cries to be with me. He was going to be adopted about a month ago, but that fell through, and honestly, I'm glad because I love him so much. He's my big sweet boy. I'll even say that "Who's my big sweetie? Who's mamma's big sweet boy??" and he chirps and bends his head for me to give him kisses on top of it, lol. If my mother saw that, she's just roll her eyes! But he is my boy, and him being smelly and in pain hurts me, so I"m hoping that the vet can do something. I'm hoping this hasn't been going on for a long time!! I know he's been messy, and I've tried to clean him up (smack, bite, smack again, nasty nasty meows), so I just didn't know what to do. I was even thinking of putting him in the shower and trying to put the shower head on a soft stream and wetting him down. Didn't seem like it would work, and didn't want to lose any digits over it either.

So, anyway.... I guess we'll see what the vet says at 10:30. I know they said he had to lose weight, but I'll be darned if I'd know how to get him to diet, seriously. Even on the diet food he didn't lose weight. My skinny girls did, which did not make me happy, but Calloway and Zach stayed right at 18+lbs. Maybe they really are like their owner, lol, that seems to be my lament as well (diet, low cal food that doesn't really do anything).

[jennielynn1970]

This was Calloway when I got him (not fat!) and napping comfortably:



Here he is months later... not so heavy, and looking good actually:



This is Calloway more recently:



He's the only one I have who has gotten FAT! None of my others look like this at all. Zach is large, but he's a very large boy (tall and long and just all muscle). Do you think maybe it's in his genes???

[jenluckenbach]

Besides Cal's butt, maybe he should have a blood test. It might show a reason for uncontrollable weight gain.