here's the situation -- i'm hoping one of you has dealt with something similar.
bertie, one of my favorite feral boys, is about 1 and a half years old. he's neutered and current on his vaccinations. he's always been a very healthy, happy looking boy until about 3 or 4 weeks ago. and then that dreaded 3rd eyelid started showing up. it was about this time i realized he'd lost a bit of weight. not a scary amount -- he just wasn't as round as i remembered him being. he also seemed a little less energetic. we were also having a heat wave here, so i thought maybe it was just some dehydration.
i waited about a week, and when the eyelids stayed the same (covering almost half of his eyes, equal on both sides), i nabbed him and brought him in to my vet. this was certainly a scary experience for a boy that only lets one person (me) touch him, and not very often. he did wonderfully, however!
anyway, he weighed 9.5 lbs, is negative for FELV/FIV, shows no other outward signs of illness, has gorgeous teeth, his organs all "feel" normal, and his bloodwork came back absolutely perfect. the vet gave him a convenia antibiotic shot in case it was some sort of infection, and gave him some sub-q fluids with vitamin b. i dosed him with revolution, de-wormed him and also changed the feral cats' food. they had been eating a fish-based purina one dry food -- so i switched over to the chicken and rice in case it was a weird food allergy. i also switched over to all poultry friskies flavors for their wet food.
now, 2 and a half weeks later, nothing has changed!! those d@mn eyelids are still ever present, he still seems slightly skinnier than usual (although has not lost any more weight), and he still seems somewhat more lethargic than usual. he eats healthily at every single meal -- never misses one. his coat still looks healthy and shiny -- so he's taking care of himself and doesn't have that roughed up look they seem to get when they're feeling sickly.
so anyway, please help! the vet was a *huge* stress on bertie, so it's not like a weekly visit with a battery of tests is an option for him. i also have a large indoor feline family, so i have to be careful with my money. that being said, i still love bertie like he's my own, and if we can pinpoint the issue -- i'll pretty much do anything i can to make it better.
to give some more info -- the eyelids are not at all inflamed. he has not a bit of nasal or eye discharge, and i've never heard him sneeze/wheeze/cough/etc. in his life, and i've known him from a wee kitten! i've never seem him vomit or have diarrhea, but he IS a feral cat, so i guess there's a lot of his life that i don't see.
any ideas??
i'm a huge fan of natural remedies, too -- so if you have any thoughts along those lines, i'd love to hear them.
bertie, one of my favorite feral boys, is about 1 and a half years old. he's neutered and current on his vaccinations. he's always been a very healthy, happy looking boy until about 3 or 4 weeks ago. and then that dreaded 3rd eyelid started showing up. it was about this time i realized he'd lost a bit of weight. not a scary amount -- he just wasn't as round as i remembered him being. he also seemed a little less energetic. we were also having a heat wave here, so i thought maybe it was just some dehydration.
i waited about a week, and when the eyelids stayed the same (covering almost half of his eyes, equal on both sides), i nabbed him and brought him in to my vet. this was certainly a scary experience for a boy that only lets one person (me) touch him, and not very often. he did wonderfully, however!
anyway, he weighed 9.5 lbs, is negative for FELV/FIV, shows no other outward signs of illness, has gorgeous teeth, his organs all "feel" normal, and his bloodwork came back absolutely perfect. the vet gave him a convenia antibiotic shot in case it was some sort of infection, and gave him some sub-q fluids with vitamin b. i dosed him with revolution, de-wormed him and also changed the feral cats' food. they had been eating a fish-based purina one dry food -- so i switched over to the chicken and rice in case it was a weird food allergy. i also switched over to all poultry friskies flavors for their wet food.
now, 2 and a half weeks later, nothing has changed!! those d@mn eyelids are still ever present, he still seems slightly skinnier than usual (although has not lost any more weight), and he still seems somewhat more lethargic than usual. he eats healthily at every single meal -- never misses one. his coat still looks healthy and shiny -- so he's taking care of himself and doesn't have that roughed up look they seem to get when they're feeling sickly.
so anyway, please help! the vet was a *huge* stress on bertie, so it's not like a weekly visit with a battery of tests is an option for him. i also have a large indoor feline family, so i have to be careful with my money. that being said, i still love bertie like he's my own, and if we can pinpoint the issue -- i'll pretty much do anything i can to make it better.
to give some more info -- the eyelids are not at all inflamed. he has not a bit of nasal or eye discharge, and i've never heard him sneeze/wheeze/cough/etc. in his life, and i've known him from a wee kitten! i've never seem him vomit or have diarrhea, but he IS a feral cat, so i guess there's a lot of his life that i don't see.
any ideas??
i'm a huge fan of natural remedies, too -- so if you have any thoughts along those lines, i'd love to hear them.
