It's happening again....

renny

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The last few days Rambo has been sleeping a bit more then usual, but still playing, eating and cuddling. I woke up to find Rambo's eye swollen up and leaking. This brings back bad memories.

(to summarize some of the history: starting in the summer Rambo's eye swelled up, went to the vet and she thought maybe he'd run into something, got some ointment and went home. Next day the other eye swelled up, put ointment in both eyes and hoped for the best. One week after this started I can home to find Rambo is bad shape having thrown up all over the house, wheezing. Turns out he had blisters in his throat and couldn't swallow or breathe very well. A few days on IV fluids and he recovered...did tons of testing, X-rays and blood work. The vet is stumped. About a month later the whole process happened again...and then a few months after that it happened a third time. I switched up food (went raw), switched up bedding and litters and we've had a bit of respite from this.)
history

Now it's started again and for the life of me I can't figure out why. I'm to sterilize the house tonight including the litter boxes and food dishes. I'm just totally stumped...and really frustrated (not with Rambo....but with why I can't seem to keep him healthy).

If anyone has some thoughts or ideas...I'm willing to try anything.
 

white cat lover

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I have no thoughts or idea, just
& {{get well soon}} vibes coming Rambo's way! The poor kitty!
 

denice

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I am sorry you are going through this with your cat. I know I have seen threads with reoccurring symtoms like your cat's so someone will be along with answers for you. I have gone though the reoccurring health problems with a cat and I know it is frustrating and can get expensive with vet care. I finally got my cat to a point where he doesn't get nearly as sick and I am able to manage it at home without a trip to the vet so there is hope.
 

catsarebetter

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Um, I can't think of anything offhand, but I'll do some research and see what I can come up with as a list of possible issues..

I doubt this is the problem, but if they think it's allergies... I know pine based cleaning products can cause allergies/are bad for animals. It's the only thing, at the moment, that I can think of.

Is there anything that is happening in your household that is consistent with the timing of his illness? I'm sure you've thought about that already, but.. for instance, sometimes they have a reaction to spraying for termites or ants, or some such. Or..have you noticed or do you have any house plants, especially if they look like they've been nibbled on.. perhaps they're flowering at odd times?

Sending lots of hugs and good wishes your way.. and I'll see what I can find out.

~Heather
 

alleygirl

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Poor Rambo! I don't have any ideas what it might be, just wanted you to know I'm thinking of you and Rambo and hope you can find a solution soon.
 
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renny

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Originally the vet had though viral infection or allergies. With the reoccurance of it we thought allergies. I thought his outbreaks coincided with his Feline Pine litter starting to break down. So i've switched them onto World's Best. I haven't changed cleaning products, there are no plants, no new toys, no new clothing on my part. I'm going to go home tonight and sterilize the litter box and see if we can nip this in the bud...but I only just changed his litter a week and a half ago.

I feel like I'm hitting my head on a brick wall.
 

catsarebetter

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Okay, there seems to be a number of houseplants that cause symptoms very much like, if not identical to what your kitty is experiencing,... from the vomiting, to the blisters, to the eye problems.. here is the link.. to the webpage I found:

http://www.traditionalcats.com/Educa...nd_poisons.htm

I haven't, as of yet, found those symptoms for any other common illness or disease, but I'll keep looking.

Still sending hugs and good vibes.
 

catsarebetter

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Oops, sorry, posted that before I saw the new post from you... well, I'll just keep searching. Poor lil guy
 

katiemae1277

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I don't have any answers for you Reagan, just lots of vibes that Rambo doesn't get too bad this time {{{{{{{{}}}}}}}
 
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renny

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Originally Posted by CatsAreBetter

Okay, there seems to be a number of houseplants that cause symptoms very much like, if not identical to what your kitty is experiencing,... from the vomiting, to the blisters, to the eye problems.. here is the link.. to the webpage I found:

http://www.traditionalcats.com/Educa...nd_poisons.htm

I haven't, as of yet, found those symptoms for any other common illness or disease, but I'll keep looking.

Still sending hugs and good vibes.
thank you so much for doing that. I'm going to save that site for future reference just in case. Other then some dried cat nip there is no greenery in my house at all.

I just left a message for the vet to ask what we had done/tried in the past (mostly to keep him comfortable as he (understandably) panics when/if both eyes do swell. I also wanted to check on the antihistamine dosage we were giving him...and maybe see about trying that again.

Thank you everyone for the help and vibes....It's great to have the support.
 

catsarebetter

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Well, I've been sitting here racking my brain.. it just seems to me like it's something he'd be eating, or licking.. on that note, the only two things I could think of that might not normally fall under the radar were.. scented candles..? Or perhaps potpourri.., scented air fresheners.. ..ugh, I just feel like it's something obvious that .. if I just turned around in my own house..I'd see something and it would make me think of it.

I feel your frustration! I know you must feel like it's something you can fix if you just knew what was causing it. I'd be going even more bonkers if it was one of my girls (or even my sister's guy...).

Can they do allergy testing on kitties? Or toxins testing? I know any time I've had a poisoned animal... their breath smells like something crawled up inside their mouth and died. I don't even know if vets can do that kind of testing.. I suppose they could do a poison test if they knew specifically what they were looking for..

He's strictly an indoor kitty?
 

sharky

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What blood work have they done>>??

there are tests for immune disorders...

 

laureen227

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any possibility it could be a version of feline herpes? that has cycles, like whatever he has seems run in... if it is herpes, you can treat it with l-lysine.
 
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renny

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The did a full blood panel and everything turned up normal. His immune system according to the vet was absolutely, boringly normal. He's had x-rays and a full barium series (after the blisters in his throat) to see if he's ingested anything. He had this in July, August and October if I remember correctly, but he's been fine since then. I haven't changed a single thing in that time (not even my air freshener brand, nor laundry detergent, nada). The stomatitis doesn't quite sound right as the sores in his mouth were only there during the outbreaks, but only about 50% of the time. Otherwise his teeth and gums are healthy and normal for the 2 year old kitty.

The way his eyes are isn't like what I've seen in herpes kitties (and I've fostered a few). It's more like the membranes (third eyelid) and underneath swell up and cover his eye (even when it's open). The area below his eye is usually swollen up too. The discharge that I saw this morning was thickish, but not pus like as if he had an infection.

None of the antibiotic or steroid ointments showed any effect (and sometimes the swelling would disappear and switch eyes without me doing anythign), nor did the antihistamine that we could tell - though he was very good at throwing up the pill).

I'm willing to try just about anything to fix this, but money is really tight and since the testing the last 3 times he had this came up blank I'm trying to hold out. If the blisters reappear then Rambo of course will be going in for IV therapy.

PS: the vet even posted this on a vet forum and those vets were stumped. In the past she's read all of your posts in hopes of getting some ideas.

Thank you all for your ongoing help and support. I wish i didn't have to be at work...I would much rather be at home with Rambo.
 

catsarebetter

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on the note that you haven't changed anything... you might not have had to. It may simply be that there is something he's getting into periodically that hasn't changed at all... and at this point I'm just using the air freshener as an example.. but.. if you have the same one, same scent, etc., he might just decide that he wants it once every two months or something.. maybe he had a craving for something or what have you.. and it might just be he's not interested in whatever is causing it the rest of the time.

I don't know
I've got it stuck in my head that it's something that's caused by exposure to something periodically, and it probably isn't. That's just what's making sense in my brain right now.
 

furry4fury

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Originally Posted by Renny

The did a full blood panel and everything turned up normal. His immune system according to the vet was absolutely, boringly normal. He's had x-rays and a full barium series (after the blisters in his throat) to see if he's ingested anything. He had this in July, August and October if I remember correctly, but he's been fine since then. I haven't changed a single thing in that time (not even my air freshener brand, nor laundry detergent, nada). The stomatitis doesn't quite sound right as the sores in his mouth were only there during the outbreaks, but only about 50% of the time. Otherwise his teeth and gums are healthy and normal for the 2 year old kitty.

The way his eyes are isn't like what I've seen in herpes kitties (and I've fostered a few). It's more like the membranes (third eyelid) and underneath swell up and cover his eye (even when it's open). The area below his eye is usually swollen up too. The discharge that I saw this morning was thickish, but not pus like as if he had an infection.

None of the antibiotic or steroid ointments showed any effect (and sometimes the swelling would disappear and switch eyes without me doing anythign), nor did the antihistamine that we could tell - though he was very good at throwing up the pill).

I'm willing to try just about anything to fix this, but money is really tight and since the testing the last 3 times he had this came up blank I'm trying to hold out. If the blisters reappear then Rambo of course will be going in for IV therapy.

PS: the vet even posted this on a vet forum and those vets were stumped. In the past she's read all of your posts in hopes of getting some ideas.

Thank you all for your ongoing help and support. I wish i didn't have to be at work...I would much rather be at home with Rambo.
--big hugs to you....it must be very scary for your pet to be sick and not have any idea of what to do to fix or help him....I was thinking glucoma(sp?) but I mainly wanted to let you know you and kitty are in my thoughts and prayers.
 
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