Hi, everyone,
My name is Meg and my cat's name is Paisley. She's about 4 now, and when a friend rescued her from a derelict house, she was about 8 months. She's a domestic short-hair and looks like a Snowshoe.
History:
About 2 years ago, my sister found a cut on Paisley. The vet looked at it and we thought it was from Paisley getting her hair caught on something or just scratching a bit too hard. The cut went away and about a quiet year later the crazy, the obsessive scratching began and Paisley created a huge, infected cut on her neck. I went to the vet about every 3 weeks and struggled to find a cone to keep her from getting at her neck. After finding negative results for parasites on a skin scrape, the vet had me give Paisley Benedryl and put her on the Z/D Diet ... to no avail. (Previously, Paisley was eating Blue Buffalo Wilderness dry and wet foods.) Eventually, the vet referred us to a veterinary dermatologist at a Referral Clinic. The dermatologist gave me a topical steroid to help heal the cut and switched Paisley to the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic diet (Venison & Pea). The biggest struggle was just getting the cut to heal. We tried normal e-collars, inflatable collars (she popped 2), a solid, flexible collar (which was too long for her nose), and finally I found a flexible, see-through e-collar from iseespot.com. It was heartbreaking when I put it on her because she struggled like crazy and I just couldn't take it off of her.
Currently:
Now, after about 3 months since seeing the dermatologist, Paisley's cut on her neck has healed and her scratching has stopped about 50%. About 2 weeks ago, Paisley was at a place where I felt comfortable keeping her cone off while not at home (she has a non-stick bandage around her neck still) and, by wearing Soft Paws, she really wasn't doing any damage to herself. This lasted about two days, when I found a large cut on her back (about the size of a quarter). I was stumped - could she even reach there with her claws? I figured she had caught it on something. A day later, I found a similar cut and realized she was licking these cuts. I am not sure if she originally scratched herself and then the licking made them worse, or if she over-licked and caused these wounds.
And, that's not all! My family and I had visited my aunt who (unbeknownst to me) was struggling with a flea problem between her cat and dog. I had a suspicion that these recent wounds may have been caused from fleas. Paisley's back was also trembling very often, which was uncharacteristic of her. About a week ago, I discovered small bugs on my desk at work - one of which bit me. After learning more than I ever wanted to know about small, biting bugs, I believed the bugs were some sort of mite (I often hear scurrying in the ceiling above my desk). An exterminator came to spray and take the sample I'd caught. I'm hoping tomorrow we'll know more. I am 99.9% sure that there are no more mites in my home after repeated vacuuming, washing everything I own, freezing "contaminated" clothes, dousing myself in tea tree oil, flea-combing Paisley, making my mom check my head for bugs, and applying Frontline to Paisley. I did not find any bugs on Paisley and her back is not trembling so I believe if anything was there, it's gone. Her cuts are almost healed by now.
I will not be working in my office until this situation is under control and plan to change as soon as I get home and place my clothes in the freezer before washing them. I will also be vacuuming every-other-day.
Next Steps:
Anyway... once I feel 100% confident that Paisley is bug-free, I have to decide what to do about her food situation. The dermatologist and I have been communicating over e-mail and she's been really helpful. If Paisley's scratching/licking behavior continues, our next step will be to switch to a homemade pork diet or Rayne's kangaroo wet food (which I really can't afford). We've decided that if the pork doesn't work, she's just going to treat Paisley as if she has environmental allergies, forgoing the $300-$700 blood tests. Then we'll see if that helps.
Financial/Family Issues:
I have Trupanion for Paisley, but because I signed up AFTER Paisley had that original cut, her condition is considered pre-existing. Thus, I am paying for everything out of pocket. At the moment, I live with my parents and am applying to grad schools. My mother gets extremely nervous about Paisley's condition and this does nothing to relax my own nerves. I am doing everything I can, and it's just not working.
Help:
This post was to let you all know my story, to rant a bit, and to ask if anyone has dealt with a similar situation. What worked/didn't? Any tips/tricks?
Thanks so much for reading our story. I know it was a bit long and wordy, but that's how I roll...
Meg
My name is Meg and my cat's name is Paisley. She's about 4 now, and when a friend rescued her from a derelict house, she was about 8 months. She's a domestic short-hair and looks like a Snowshoe.
History:
About 2 years ago, my sister found a cut on Paisley. The vet looked at it and we thought it was from Paisley getting her hair caught on something or just scratching a bit too hard. The cut went away and about a quiet year later the crazy, the obsessive scratching began and Paisley created a huge, infected cut on her neck. I went to the vet about every 3 weeks and struggled to find a cone to keep her from getting at her neck. After finding negative results for parasites on a skin scrape, the vet had me give Paisley Benedryl and put her on the Z/D Diet ... to no avail. (Previously, Paisley was eating Blue Buffalo Wilderness dry and wet foods.) Eventually, the vet referred us to a veterinary dermatologist at a Referral Clinic. The dermatologist gave me a topical steroid to help heal the cut and switched Paisley to the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic diet (Venison & Pea). The biggest struggle was just getting the cut to heal. We tried normal e-collars, inflatable collars (she popped 2), a solid, flexible collar (which was too long for her nose), and finally I found a flexible, see-through e-collar from iseespot.com. It was heartbreaking when I put it on her because she struggled like crazy and I just couldn't take it off of her.
Currently:
Now, after about 3 months since seeing the dermatologist, Paisley's cut on her neck has healed and her scratching has stopped about 50%. About 2 weeks ago, Paisley was at a place where I felt comfortable keeping her cone off while not at home (she has a non-stick bandage around her neck still) and, by wearing Soft Paws, she really wasn't doing any damage to herself. This lasted about two days, when I found a large cut on her back (about the size of a quarter). I was stumped - could she even reach there with her claws? I figured she had caught it on something. A day later, I found a similar cut and realized she was licking these cuts. I am not sure if she originally scratched herself and then the licking made them worse, or if she over-licked and caused these wounds.
And, that's not all! My family and I had visited my aunt who (unbeknownst to me) was struggling with a flea problem between her cat and dog. I had a suspicion that these recent wounds may have been caused from fleas. Paisley's back was also trembling very often, which was uncharacteristic of her. About a week ago, I discovered small bugs on my desk at work - one of which bit me. After learning more than I ever wanted to know about small, biting bugs, I believed the bugs were some sort of mite (I often hear scurrying in the ceiling above my desk). An exterminator came to spray and take the sample I'd caught. I'm hoping tomorrow we'll know more. I am 99.9% sure that there are no more mites in my home after repeated vacuuming, washing everything I own, freezing "contaminated" clothes, dousing myself in tea tree oil, flea-combing Paisley, making my mom check my head for bugs, and applying Frontline to Paisley. I did not find any bugs on Paisley and her back is not trembling so I believe if anything was there, it's gone. Her cuts are almost healed by now.
I will not be working in my office until this situation is under control and plan to change as soon as I get home and place my clothes in the freezer before washing them. I will also be vacuuming every-other-day.
Next Steps:
Anyway... once I feel 100% confident that Paisley is bug-free, I have to decide what to do about her food situation. The dermatologist and I have been communicating over e-mail and she's been really helpful. If Paisley's scratching/licking behavior continues, our next step will be to switch to a homemade pork diet or Rayne's kangaroo wet food (which I really can't afford). We've decided that if the pork doesn't work, she's just going to treat Paisley as if she has environmental allergies, forgoing the $300-$700 blood tests. Then we'll see if that helps.
Financial/Family Issues:
I have Trupanion for Paisley, but because I signed up AFTER Paisley had that original cut, her condition is considered pre-existing. Thus, I am paying for everything out of pocket. At the moment, I live with my parents and am applying to grad schools. My mother gets extremely nervous about Paisley's condition and this does nothing to relax my own nerves. I am doing everything I can, and it's just not working.
Help:
This post was to let you all know my story, to rant a bit, and to ask if anyone has dealt with a similar situation. What worked/didn't? Any tips/tricks?
Thanks so much for reading our story. I know it was a bit long and wordy, but that's how I roll...
Meg
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