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Please Help

post #1 of 17
3/10/10 at 5:04am
Thread Starter 
I've posted a thread similuar to this before, but my cat's sores are popping up all over. I think it might be kitty acne, but from what I know, Kitty Acne usually only appears around the chin and by the head. She has it on the back, right by her tail, on her shoulder blades, and a few on her stomach. Most of them are open sores, and idk what to do to treat them, espically considering I have no money to take her to the vet..
Does anyone know if dawn dishsoap or any other kind of soap and hot water would help?
So far, giving her a hot bath at least once a day seems to keep the sores down, but I'm really worried about Millie's health, any idea's on what I could do for an at home treatment? Please help!
Thanks a bunch.

-Sweetcharms
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post #2 of 17
3/10/10 at 5:10am
First, stop giving her hot baths. That is only making her problem worse.

Secondly, your cat needs to see a vet. We cannot make a diagnosis on a forum, nor should you attempt any home treatments without knowing what the problem is.

I will hazard one guess, and that is flea allergy. If you are not treating for fleas, get some frontline plus or revolution and start treating her. You have to clean and deflea your house too. Just because you don't see fleas, does not mean they are not there, and only ONE flea can cause that much of a problem for a cat who has an allergy to fleas.

Do not use over the counter flea treatments you buy in stores like walmart or pet stores. They kill cats..

Revolution for cats, frontline plus for cats or advantage multi for cats are the ones that are safe.

However those sores will need medical attention, even after you start using the flea treatment.
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post #3 of 17
3/10/10 at 5:12am
If they are open sores i would suggest getting the cat to the vet at the very least phone the vet and possibly email some pictures over to them and see what they say, but if the sore are popping up all over then it sounds like it really is and issue for the vet

sorry i couldnt help more
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post #4 of 17
3/10/10 at 5:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post
First, stop giving her hot baths. That is only making her problem worse.

Secondly, your cat needs to see a vet. We cannot make a diagnosis on a forum, nor should you attempt any home treatments without knowing what the problem is.

I will hazard one guess, and that is flea allergy. If you are not treating for fleas, get some frontline plus or revolution and start treating her. You have to clean and deflea your house too. Just because you don't see fleas, does not mean they are not there, and only ONE flea can cause that much of a problem for a cat who has an allergy to fleas.

Do not use over the counter flea treatments you buy in stores like walmart or pet stores. They kill cats..

Revolution for cats, frontline plus for cats or advantage multi for cats are the ones that are safe.

Okay... uhm, Do they sell them at the local vets? and if it's kitty acne, any idea's what usually causes it?
(my cat has been extremely healthy for the past six years, so this sudden out burst of sores kind of shocks and extremely worries me.. I'm hoping maybe If I talk to the vet, they could tell me how much it will be to bring her in... )
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post #5 of 17
3/10/10 at 5:31am
Oh my goodness, yes, STOP with the daily hot baths!! This is no good for your cat's skin. And in all honesty, you can't "treat" something at home if you don't know what it IS. You HAVE to find a way to get kitty into the Vet, this is an absolute MUST. Your kitty is counting on you to take good care of her and do what needs to be done. Unfortunately it isn't "free" to own a cat and one has to consider that Vet care is a necessity. Yes, this could be flea allergies, it could be food allergies, only a Vet can say for sure. You MUST get kitty into the Vet ASAP. Read the link here on what to do if you can't afford a Vet (there's a clickable link within this link):

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=155462

Do not use any over the counter products, you will make things worse and it could be dangerous to your cat. STOP with the hot baths immediately.
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post #6 of 17
3/10/10 at 5:39am
This was Bella's problem as well. Terrible scabby sores around the base of her tail and neck area. The vet wanted to put her on predisone~I said NO, let's find the cause first. She has food allergies and as soon as I changed her over to organic food the sores vanished. But you have to start at the beginning~~go to you vet first. Good Luck,I am sure it is fixable
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post #7 of 17
3/10/10 at 5:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SweetCharms08 View Post
Okay... uhm, Do they sell them at the local vets? and if it's kitty acne, any idea's what usually causes it?
(my cat has been extremely healthy for the past six years, so this sudden out burst of sores kind of shocks and extremely worries me.. I'm hoping maybe If I talk to the vet, they could tell me how much it will be to bring her in... )
Yes, you get the flea treatments from a vets office.

I doubt very much this is acne. It sounds like an allergic reaction, probably fleas, but could be something else.

Have you changed foods, cat litter or laundry detergent recently? Cleaned the carpets, bought a new couch?

Whatever the cause of this possible allergic reaction, the fact remains that the sores need medical treatment. Please do not use any thing over the counter on your kitty.

Let us know how things go.
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post #8 of 17
3/10/10 at 5:46am
Thread Starter 
If she has food allergies, would giving her soft food every now and then possibly trigger it...? I mean, I adore my kitty so much, and now that I've thought about it, I gave her soft food once ever two days for about a week, and that's when the sores started, then after i stopped giving them to her, they were pretty much gone. I just recently gave her some more soft food about two days ago.. Might that be what's causing these odd sores?
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post #9 of 17
3/10/10 at 5:55am
It's not soft food in general (do you mean canned food?), if she has a food allergy it would be from the ingredients in the food. Canned food is very good for cats, but you would need to narrow down which ingredients are causing the problem.

Read the label on the cans of the food you fed her, and then buy a kind that does not contain those ingredients.

Most common allergens are chicken, fish and wheat. If any of those are in the food you gave her, find one that does not contain those things.

Also avoid foods that have "artificial" anything, or sodium nitrites.

But..the sores need medical attention as they may be or can get infected, and she will need antibiotics and possibly a steriod to help them heal.
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post #10 of 17
3/10/10 at 6:40am
Get help. If money is tight, tell them vet up front and I am sure they will work out a payment plan for you. If you were using any kind of soap when you were doing the baths that could have added to the problem Open sores need treating. You can't do that with topical things because your cat could lick it and be made worse. Take him to the Dr., the sooner the better.
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post #11 of 17
3/10/10 at 6:49am
Thread Starter 
The closest vet to me is about 20 mins away, and they opened about an hour ago. So, soon as my Fiance wakes up, I'm going to use his phone to call them and at least get her looked at. If it's something they can diagnose right away, then maybe it will cost less then 100 dollars, which is what my fiance might be able to help me with, though I hate to ask him to help on his bday...
If things go good, I should be able at least get her checked out and have an estimate of what the problem is, and then I will find out how much it would cost to actually get the correct diagnosis, as well as the treatment, and hopefully be able to talk to my mom and dad about what I can do to make my baby feel better.
Thank you all once again for the advice and I will most defiantly let you know how things turn out.
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post #12 of 17
3/10/10 at 8:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post
It's not soft food in general (do you mean canned food?), if she has a food allergy it would be from the ingredients in the food. Canned food is very good for cats, but you would need to narrow down which ingredients are causing the problem.

Read the label on the cans of the food you fed her, and then buy a kind that does not contain those ingredients.

Most common allergens are chicken, fish and wheat. If any of those are in the food you gave her, find one that does not contain those things.

Also avoid foods that have "artificial" anything, or sodium nitrites.

But..the sores need medical attention as they may be or can get infected, and she will need antibiotics and possibly a steriod to help them heal.
FYI chicken is NOT considered a common allergy ... Fish , Wheat and Soy are the top three and make up over half of all cat food allergies... The highlighted is actually NUMBER 1 on causing irritation issues

Hopefully you are at the vet ... For the future something like www.carecredit.com may be able to help you afford medical bills

Yes Acne can be all over the body but it is Not Common... Do you use plastic dishes?
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post #13 of 17
3/10/10 at 4:43pm
Please read this article about Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex--I'm in rush, but it sounds similar to what you are describing:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/eosi...granuloma.html
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post #14 of 17
3/10/10 at 4:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
FYI chicken is NOT considered a common allergy ... Fish , Wheat and Soy are the top three and make up over half of all cat food allergies... The highlighted is actually NUMBER 1 on causing irritation issues

Hopefully you are at the vet ... For the future something like www.carecredit.com may be able to help you afford medical bills

Yes Acne can be all over the body but it is Not Common... Do you use plastic dishes?

I know you have a lot of knowledge about cat food but everything I have ever read mentions chicken as a common allergen for cats.
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post #15 of 17
3/10/10 at 6:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post
I know you have a lot of knowledge about cat food but everything I have ever read mentions chicken as a common allergen for cats.
some stuff does... but out of data off 300 plus allergy test results only 15 had chicken allergies( these I saw with my own eyes on vet letterhead) ... plus talking with vets around here ( of course like humans it could be high in some areas and nearly non existent in others ).. The few actual studies of food allergies in cats also note it as an allergy but not common...Of course that does not cover those who did trial and error at home( I had one with a raw chicken but not cooked issue ( figure that out )
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post #16 of 17
3/11/10 at 3:40am
Allergies can be weird. My(human) son could eat grapes until they came out his ears and be fine but he would have a horrid bleeding allergic diaper rash if he ate so much as one raisin(he obviously hasn't eaten any in a long time considering he's 7 1/2 and has been potty trained since 3.) He doesn't like raisins so that isn't an issue. Also, what is a top allergen and what the cat is allergic to doesn't help unless you know what the cat is allergic to. Bobby had 47 different food allergies at one time, most to weird things like celery(all it is is cellulose and water), all legumes except peas, soy and peanuts(no peanut allergy), and normal one all fish and shellfish except lobster and crab. He was allergic to beef(gelatin is beef derived) which included gelatin and anything that contained it and there a lot of things that contain it He also has a milk allergy that refuses to go away. I won't go on but he's outgrown most of them.

Allergies can be weird and don't always make sense. Also cooking changes the protein structure so that could be whats up with the chicken thing. I never have figured out the grape/raisin thing.

Also, get your cat to a vet. Only they can figure out what is wrong.

Taryn
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post #17 of 17
3/12/10 at 2:08pm
Are there any updates on this cat.
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