Calloway is much better! Food change coming up!

[jennielynn1970]

Ok, first issue is with my girl, Finae. She's losing hair on the OUTSIDES of her ears! Like, the short little hairs, they were almost gone when I looked at her the other day. No one else has anything like this going on. It's so weird. I put Revolution on her just in case (none of them ever go outside except Zach and that's only on my back deck). She doesn't seem to be rubbing at them, but she is sneezing every so often. Just so strange. No hair loss anywhere else. Nothing else what so ever.


2nd infirmary case is Calloway. Now, I know he's very touchy about his tail and rear end area. He had nasty, major abscesses to his tail and such when I got him from the shelter. You still can't touch him much beyond his mid section or he will nip.

Well... I noticed he was not smelling nicely "back there" and wanted to see what was up. He did the scooching thing too, and I think that was to clean his butt off. I was not impressed, no happy. So, I try to see, and he makes his sad little meow about not hurting him. so, I pick him up and try to look from the belly view and pull back the tail a bit, and dab with a tissue. Well!!! That just about made him flip out and scream at me. I mean, literally scream. He was very unhappy, would not come near me, and I can't tell what is wrong. What I could see, it looks like somehting under his tail is swollen and looks very irritated. I can't touch it, he'd take my hand off. He is a very LARGE kitty, looks more like a bowling ball than a kitty. Tried the diet foods, but only my skinny cats lost weight. Not Calloway.

So, to the vet tomorrow we go for Calloway. I'm holding off on Finae till next pay day as her ears are not botherin her, and they just make me curious at this point.

Send some good vibes and wishes for Calloway to Pennsylvania... He's a sensitive boy and needs to feel he's not being violated, lol!

[Catty1]

Aw, poor Calloway! Meowmy's just trying to help you, dearest boy.

Be a good boy at the vet...and maybe you can get a nice little pill so you won't feel any owies when he checks you over.

Finae - where HAVE you been sticking your head? I'm glad your ears aren't hurting you, and that you get them fixed up soon.

Jenn - I am wondering if it's hormonal?

And Calloway...would calming stuff, like Feliway or something, maybe relax him a bit more, and calm down his eating? Does he eat really fast as if someone is going to steal all his food?

Prayers for those lovely babies.

[Karen]

Poor Calloway - maybe infected/impacted anal glands? Maybe they'll give him a mild sedative so he'll forget the whole indignity!

Sounds like allergies for Finae - it's a bad time of year for those of us witj pollen allergies, dunno if you're having the same hot, humid still air we are!

[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.

[jennielynn1970]

Poor Calloway - maybe infected/impacted anal glands? Maybe they'll give him a mild sedative so he'll forget the whole indignity!

Sounds like allergies for Finae - it's a bad time of year for those of us witj pollen allergies, dunno if you're having the same hot, humid still air we are!

Never dealt with impacted anal glands. I thought they were a dog thing.. Do they show symptoms?? Do they look swollen back there??? His butt is the only butt that looks the way it does... it isn't pretty!

Allergies could be Finae's deal too. She does seem to stick to the rooms with the super duper HEPA filters in them. I could try Benedryl if it gets bad. The pink ears just really caught me off guard!

[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.

[jennielynn1970]

I'm hoping it's Dr. Hess in today, because I think she does a more thorough job than Fanelli. He saw Calloway a month or so ago, and never mentioned tests when I said he had gained so much weight. It was a really quick in and out of a visit for both Cal and Zach, and he didn't seem to see anything to worry about.

I'll have to mention it to which ever vet I'm seeing today and see what they say. He's just so large in the torso area.

[jennielynn1970]

My poor smelly boy has to stay at the vet.

He didn't seem to mind anyone petting him or giving him loving, but as soon as they went to look at his butt... MEEEOOOWWWW!!!! He was not having it!

The vet said there is some kind of a discharge, but he can't tell where it's coming from or what is going on. He asked if Calloway had been bitten, but I haven't seen any other cat here EVER go after Calloway. He's always been the sweet, laid back guy, never had any issues with anyone. Even Zach backs away from Calloway and only plays with him, never biting.

So, Calloway has to be sedated and then they'll clean him up and shave him and see what is going on back there. I had to put him back in the carrier and he cried when we closed the door... he's such a softie and hates being confined.

He really is smelly though, so I hope they can figure out what is going on, and be able to get him back on the road to having a better smelling butt, lol.

[Catty1]

Poor baby! I hope they can figure out what it is, Jenn - I am sure they will. I wonder if the discharge is connected to his weight gain? - though I don't see how.

Here's hoping that Calloway gets well soon - after all, he has to get back to the Synchronized Sleeping practice with Zach for the Catlympics!

Loving PT Prayers for Cal.

[shais_mom]

that's too bad Jenn!
I hope they can figger out what's going on down there!
As for Finae - I'm stumped -. Not a clue!
good luck Calloway!