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.

[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.

[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]

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!

[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!

[Emeraldgreen]

Poor Calloway! But I'm so glad he's at the vet and will get all fixed up. He will be so much more comfortable once it's dealt with.
Calloway and George sound like twins! George was not fat either when we got him and we never over fed him and he just got huge! He's had a million tests and nothing has been found so far to explain it. I hope they will find something to explain Calloway's weight gain.
That weeble wobble description was very familiar! It is so awful to see them suffer like that though because I know it must be really uncomfortable.
I switched George to a brand of food that seems to be helping made by Wellness. It is their 'healthywise' kibble or something like that. It is a holistic dry food. He likes it and the others have been able to maintain their weight on it without losing any so it's been good.

I wonder if the discharge from his bum area could be from the irritation of not being cleaned down there for awhile and it just progressed into an infection?

At least it will be easier for you to help Calloway to keep up with being clean down there after he is shaved. Even though George was still nasty with me if I went to help him on the occasions when I saw a 'cling-on' (yuck!), he seemed to know that it was in his best interest. He was more willing to let me help than before he was shaved. His shaved bum sure was sight! But it made it really easy to apply the Theraderm cream.

Prayers that sweet Calloway will be on the mend asap!

[jennielynn1970]

The vet just called me, and he said it's just a really big, nasty, hot spot. I didn't realize cats got them, and even if I had, I've never seen one. Dr. Fanelli said everything else "back there" looks fine, he's just got really irritated. He even asked if it could be from him overgrooming, but I don't even think he can reach back there at this point

The vet is keeping him overnight. They want to keep an eye on it, apply medication and something else (I think compresses or something??) and also start him on antibiotics, plus he's still sedated. They said I can pick him up tomorrow. Poor boy... I'm going to miss him till tomorrow, I know how he is, he's going to be crying being caged up and all alone.

What do they get hot spots from? I wonder if it's from switching the food, or would he have hot spots in different areas from that? Can they get hot spots from not being able to clean themselves?? What is a hot spot anyway, is it just another way of saying he has a rash??

[momtomany]

What a handsome Tuxedo boy Calloway is. I just love tuxedos.......I have 3 tuxies and one who is now at the Rainbow Bridge. Give Calloway and head bump and scritchie from me when he comes home. I hope all turns out alright and he is feeling better. My female tuxie, Shelby, looks to be almost Calloway's size.

[jennielynn1970]

What a handsome Tuxedo boy Calloway is. I just love tuxedos.......I have 3 tuxies and one who is now at the Rainbow Bridge. Give Calloway and head bump and scritchie from me when he comes home. I hope all turns out alright and he is feeling better. My female tuxie, Shelby, looks to be almost Calloway's size.

I am a total sucker for a tuxie. Cal won my heart when I first met him. He was so scared and timid after being in the kill shelter for so long. I brought him home and just wanted to love on him. I put him in a room with Ally Cat from Bahrain, but she literally attacked him and bit his tail open again where it was abscessed. I just lost all empathy for her that day, I was so upset. She was just evil with other cats, and to pick on the disable and infirm. That's just wrong.

So..Calloway wound his way into my heart (plus I grew up with tuxies all my life on the farm. We had Sneakers and Socks, and Boots and and Jrs. too. I just loved them all. There's a new return at our shelter that I want to get out of there becuase he's at least 30 pounds and is so obese it's painful, it has to be. His name is Dino.... so hope he will come home with me after I can get Calloway well. He's huge, but a sweet sweeet lovebug of a cat. I cannot bear to think of him stuck in the room that is basicaly a closet. breaks my heart.