Mufasa has EGC. I need help!

gothicangel69

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After a year of constant lumps and ulcers on Mufasa's lips, and constant antibiotics and steroids, I have finally found out what's going on with the poor guy. I took him to the vet on Saturday (this is the fourth vet I've gone to about this) and she suggested running a CBC as well as doing a biopsy and x-ray. We found out that he has Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex. The vet said that it's most likely due to some form of allergic reaction. I've tried switching his food (which helped with the gastrointestinal part), and the vet just suggested that I switch his food bowls to ceramic (since it may be a metal or plastic allergy). I don't know what else to try?? I'm not from fleas, since its the winter, and he doesn't have a single one on him. I would think that it would be something that his mouth is exposed to continually since the ulcers only happen on his mouth.
What else can I do??
 

carolina

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Have you tried Steroids? In most cases, the eosinophilic granuloma responds to cortisone-type medications. Typically an injection of long acting corticosteroid (such as Depomedrol) is given and most lesions resolve with one or two injections. As long as such treatment is needed only once or twice a year for recurrences, more exotic medications or diagnostics are not needed. That might be a good way to go - ask your vet about it...
 
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gothicangel69

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We've tried the Depo injections before, and like everything else we try, they go away while the treatment is being administered, but a week after it stops, they come back. Right now we're trying prednisone for about a month and a half and see how that works, but the vet wants to try to find out if its some type of allergy since they are occurring so frequently.
 

mews2much

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I agree on trying the Depo Medrol Shots.
My Coco used to get them for her asthma and allergies and they helped.
They were only allowed every 6 months because there are side effects.
They did work though.
 
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gothicangel69

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He's eating a grain-free fish based food right now. Before, we tried chicken and beef and that seemed to make him sick. He does good on the fish though.
I dont feel comfortable going with the depo injections anymore because they make him scarily aggressive. So aggressive that he will jump on you and claw and bite your face and neck (he's a 23lb cat, so its hard to get him off).
 

violet

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Well, fish is a terrible allergen. I'm surprised he's doing okay with that. Is this canned food?
Have you tried other canned, grain-free flavors besides beef and chicken?
By the way, what brands of grain-free chicken and beef have you tried?
 

violet

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Forgot to ask, what brand is this grain-free fish based food?
 
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gothicangel69

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Its Go Natural. I've tried Natures Variety, the other Go Natural Brand, and a few other ones that I cant' remember the names of. The fish doesn't seem to bother him at all. I wanted to try fish because it was something that he's never had before. And he gets dry food only. Canned food makes him vomit.
 

laureen227

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i'd go w/glass over ceramic, bowl-wise. you also might try using a flattish dish so that his chin doesn't touch the dish while eating. if it's a canned food, flat works well - mine eat their wet food from people salad plates.
 
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gothicangel69

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I never thought about glass. I just bought some expensive ceramic dishes so I'm going to try those out first (at least then I'll get a few weeks out of them, lol)
 

violet

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I just have one more question for you. Was he ever on a canned diet with no dry food whatsoever, and if he was, did he have EGC on that diet?

Two of mine had a rather mild form of EGC. With one cat it was strictly food related. The other cat came down with EGC while he was very sick from an environmental allergy.

Anyway, I have lots of info for you. Hopefully it will be helpful to you.

http://www.vetinfo.com/ceosinophilic.html

http://www.vet.uga.edu/vpp/clerk/Starnes/index.php

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/skin/e...granuloma.html

http://www.petplace.com/cats/eosinop...lex/page1.aspx

http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proce...6694&O=Generic
 
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gothicangel69

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No, he has never been on a wet only diet. I have had him on half and half, but the wet food made him sick so I stopped giving it to him
 

sonnyjane

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Sorry to threadjack but I am so glad to have encountered others battling this problem! My cat has been battling with EGC on his lips/mouth to the point that his nose is half gone and he has lost several teeth. He is 5, but this has only been a problem over the last 2 years. Depo shots work well, but it never completely heals, and the vet stopped doing them because we were going in every two weeks and the vet wasn't comfortable with it. We put him on a smaller-dose daily steroid pill and that keeps it from getting worse, but it never gets better, not to mention that I simply cannot afford to keep this up. We have lived in three different homes in different states during the course of this, so I don't think it's location-specific allergies. He's now on hypo-allergenic Science Diet but he's still the "mouthless wonder" as we call him.

Any other holistic suggestions? He has seen three different vets and nobody has answers for us. It doesn't affect his behavior in the slightest, just looks horrible!
 

sharky

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You may want to look into acana ... as they are a Canadian based company with a fish and a lamb based grain free
 

violet

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sonnyjane, is the hypo-allergenic SD diet a dry formula?
Is it making a significant difference for your kitty?
 

sonnyjane

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Originally Posted by Violet

sonnyjane, is the hypo-allergenic SD diet a dry formula?
Is it making a significant difference for your kitty?
Violet, the SD is dry (I have only ever fed him dry food), and I really don't think it makes much difference, but he was eating natural food before, so it was pretty healthy, just not specifically hypo-allergenic.
 
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gothicangel69

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My vet said that stress can cause EGC as well. Maybe there is something upsetting your kitty sonnyjane??
 
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