I need advice, help with cats health

[funny felines]

yes I understand a vet wanting to get their money, unfortunately too many people don't pay for the vet services, just like many don't pay back the money to the places that loan money to help pet owners that need financial help. making the places run out of money! but, I would have not felt like I was being taken at that first speciality place if I didn't walk in to very fancy place, and was served coffee...that should have been my first clue! not that it should be a dump but ...come on, $90 just for a consultation? $2,000 upfront? anyway it's ok now, and I got him more pain med that is helping him feel better til the surgery.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Pearl's been fine ever since she's been eating Innova Evo. I guess it must be grains in other cat foods that she's allergic to although I did try another brand of grain free food that also had some fruits and vegetables in it and she did end up breaking out. My cat Starr has IBD/colitis so he also has to be on a grain free diet and he also didn't do well on the other brand. So I'm sticking with Innova Evo.

The first time that Pearl broke out the vet I used to see gave her a depo shot and she became very sick from this. She developed a bacteria infection so if she ever breaks out again she'll get prednisolone. I had it compounded into a liquid form because she's also very hard to pill. You might also want to try buying some Pill Pockets to help hide the pills. You can buy them at most pet stores or your vets office. I use the chicken flavored ones every day for several of my cats and they love them. They just think that they're getting a treat. I cut them up into 4 pieces and then wrap the pill pocket around the pill. It's very soft and pliable.

I also took Pearl to a holistic vet and she was fine at the time but she said that if she ever breaks out again I can go to Whole Foods and buy Gaia which is a licorice root herbal liquid. It's the low alcohol (glycerin) formula and you give .5cc by mouth daily for 14 days when needed. You can also buy it online. She's been fine ever since so I never did try this. I know that she said that it would take a bit longer for her to clear up with this than with the pred.

Pearl's never had breakouts inside of her mouth. It's just on her lips. She starts by breaking out on her chin so I just thought she had feline acne at first. Then within a few days she broke out on her lips and she wasn't eating very well. I took her into my new vet and sure enough she had eosinophilic granuloma complex or EGC. I also tried giving her some lysine but it was hard to give it to her and she also started having a lot of diarrhea so I stopped. I hope that your cat will start feeling better and that hopefully a diet change will also work for him. Good luck.

[funny felines]

I have an appt. for my cat to get his lasor surgery done on wednesday...and now, as if I needed something else to go wrong, another cat is sick, she has not eaten or drank water for 2 days...I brought her to the vet yesterday, and after x-ray and blood test, nothing is wrong, but she still is not eating. I am very upset and very worried about her. I called the vet this morning, she said I can bring her to the 24 hr. vet if needed, tonight will be 48 hours since she ate,(after 3 days it is serious) she said I can also give her pain med(Leo's med ) but after 3 hours, she still would not eat so I called the vet again, she said to try syringing food into the cat's mouth( duh why didn't I think of that?) I got some canned food, fed it to the other cats, poured a little water into the can with the juice and syringed that into her mouth. it worked, she did not throw it up. so at least she is getting nutrients and water, till Monday I will bring her back to the vet to get an anti-flammatory med, (her gums have tartar and plaque) I don't understand why the gums could suddenly make her stop eating, the vet couldn't find anything else wrong, so after going home I wondered, well what has changed? the next day, (this morning) the vet gave me the results of the blood test, all fine. anyway at least I can syringe food into her mouth so I don't have to pay the other vet to give her an IV !! as long as her eyes look ok and she seems ok considering...

[Medusa]

When your gums are sore, you don't want to chew or eat anything that causes pain or that causes them to burn, so I can understand why your kitty would stop eating. Hopefully, your vet can get this under control quickly.

[Catty1]

If she has tartar and plaque on her teeth, it hurts to eat! Syringing food and antibiotics will help in the short term, but I am really surprised the vet did not suggest a dental cleaning. It's expensive too...but not like the other surgery.

There is a liquid you can put in cats' drinking water that helps remove plaque...it's not a cure, but might help in the short term. Ask your vet about it.

HUGS and good luck with your babies!

[funny felines]

the vet did suggest a teeth cleaning, and I had scheduled it, but the vet called and said that she does not want her to go under anesthesia (sp?) while her mouth is sore or the gums are inflamed.

catty1-- thank you I will ask about that.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear this. Storm had this problem last year and I was able to schedule a dental cleaning for him without any problems. He even ended up having 2 small teeth extracted. Maybe her condition is worse and she needs some antibiotics to clear up her gums first. I hope she'll feel better soon.