Sad, Lucas is sick :(

Hello everyone:

I'm feeling  sad and worried because my darling baby Lucas is sick.  He is allergic to food and I've been doing food trials, he tried chicken on November 5 and had a bad allergic reaction, once I stopped with the chicken and started him again on Hills z/d dry he got better.  So I don't know if what he is having now is still a reaction to the chicken he ate that day. 

The problem is he has a fever, his eyes are red and swollen and the eyes look crusty, I really don't know how to describe them in english, my; first language is spanish.  He looks like he has an eye infection. 

Sometimes I feel like I will have to accept that Lucas will never be able to stop taking the prednisolone everyday. I've been trying to wean him off it for some time and I just recently started giving him 2.5mg every other day. I think he needs it everyday and that is what is making him sick.  He has been vomiting and he looks sad, he has been drinking a lot of water and he is just plain depressed.  I think my first vet was right and Lucas has a type of Lupus. 

It is a fact that Lucas has food allergies and the prednisolone doesn't help with that because he was on high doses of prednisolone before and it never helped, but it is a fact that Lucas can't be without prednisolone everyday.  I'm thinking that maybe I could try giving him a low dose everyday, Iike 1.25 mg a day.  I need to try that .

I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight, I can't when I see my baby like this.

Tammy

hno: Tammy . I am really sad to hear sweet Lucas is having a flare-up. I do know that Prednisone is not as hard on cat's as it is on dog's. So I would think, if Lucas needs the Pred, then he should have it. I stopped Pipsqueak's Pred (2.5 mg./day) and his chin is looking like it might have a flare-up . If I have to, I will keep him on Pred too.

I am sorry about the chicken and it really could still be a reaction from that (Nov. 5). It might have started his immune response to go nuts :dk: and will take quite a few days to recover . I don't know for sure on this, it just makes sense to me :nod: Loads and loads of vibes to you and Lucas. I DO know how awful we feel and lose sleep when our babies are unwell, again :shame:

Oh Tammy, it's just so frustrating!!!!

If Lucas feels better on the prednisone, then put him on the prednisone. This just isn't worth it! Tuxie's on steroids for life. I know they come with risks, but it's better than seeing our babies suffer. :heart3:

Thank you Lauren and Laurie, you both always make me feel better and give me hope to keep helping Lucas, it has been very difficult for me to accept that Lucas has to be on pred for life, is just that I love him so much that I want the best for him, but perhaps the pred is what is best for him.  I went ahead and gave it to him, the 2.5mg.  I wanted him to sleep in my bed tonight like he does every night so I could watch him, but he doesn't want to, he is angry and he doesn't want anyone to touch him or even talk to him, that is how bad he feels.  He looks like he is in pain too.  I guess his body aches because of the fever.

Yes, it could still be the allergic reaction what is making him feel so awful, but I still gave him the pred, just in case.

I think I will have to chang my goal, it was to wean Lucas off pred,I guess now it will have to be to keep him in the lowest dose possible.

Hugs! 

Tammy

Tammy, with eye gunk and a fever, he may need to go to the vet. See how he is tomorrow... but he may need antibiotics.

Oh Yes Laurie, that is exactly what I'm planning on doing.  I will see how he is tomorrow.  Lucas gets a lot of fevers and they normally stop when he gets the pred, but since his eyes are looking bad he might need to go to the vet. I just hope our vet opens tomorrow, Veteran's Day. 

I think most vets are open on Veterans Day :cross:. Hoping Lucas is feeling more chipper in the morning. More of these tonight

Thank you!  I'm happy to say Lucas is feeling a little better today.  His eyes are not looking very good, but the do look better than yesterday.  The prednisolone did the trick. I will keep updating.

Oh another topic, I woke up this morming and took Fuzzy outside, he likes to go outside for a little bit in the mroning, well, I  went out with him and he saw a bird, a big black one and he jumped onthe fence and catch the bird when the poor thing was flying past him, it was something I"ve never seen him do, I'm so sad for the bird, but it was crazy because Fuzzy can't see very well, he is crossed eye and his pupils are permamently dilated and he can't see well during the day, wow!  he took the bird and just walked back inside with the bird in his mouth and put him on the floor.  Then he went to his food and started eating.  I took the bird and tried to help it, but it was too late...

Hugs , Tammy

Good the fever's gone.

Do you give him L-lysine regularly? It's inexpensive and easy to do. :nod: 1/4 teaspoon of the NOW powdered L-lysine split into 1/8 in the morning and 1/8 at night (500mg) is safe and may help. :nod: Just sprinkle it on wet food - it has no taste.

I am glad to hear Lucas is a little better this morning!!! The Pred did work then. to you and :rub: to Lucas today! I hope he continues to improve over the next twenty four hours :cross:

AND FUZZY!!! Wow. It is amazing how quickly the cat's can jump up and snatch a bird even if they can't see well. Impressive. AWWW RIP little black bird .... I am sure Fuzzy was very proud and thought your would appreciate the gift.....

Hi Laurie, no I haven't given that to Lucas, but I've read about it.  I will get it and try giving it to him as soon as I can find out what canned food he can eat, right now he is on dry z/d.  Lucas is very picky and always finds out that I've put something on his food.  I tried giving him Feline Transfer factor some time ago,and he wouldn't touch it.  I also tried doing that with  the Herbal Formula he was taking and I failed.  But maybe this one will work  since it has no taste.

I'm not taking him to the vet today, he is looking much better and happy today, he even purred when I pet him.  The reason I wait to take him to the vet is that this has happened a million times and is because he needs the pred.  And is he doesn't have a fever now, I prefer to wait, he has been on so many antibiotics that is scary. 

Tammy

Thank you Lauren  I'm just relieved to see him doing better today.  He ate and he is sleeping now,he is such a cute boy, I just love him soo much  And that Fuzzy really surprises me.  Not so long ago I had to take him to the vet because he had what looked like an eye ulcer or a hole in one of his eyes, I was so worried because he has enough eye problems, but I gave him the antibiotics and eye drops and it just dissapeared, is like a miracle because it was really bad,I mean, you could see a hole in his cornea,and now it looks perfect. 

Tammy

Lucas's eyes are still looking bad, I'm taking him to the vet today, he needs antibiotics. 

I hope Lucas starts to feel better soon

And RIP black bird but WAY TO GO Fuzzy!  It's so fun watching cats be cats.

Tammy and for Lucas :rub:. Let us know how it went. Your baby will feel better soon :heart3:

Feralvr said:

Tammy and for Lucas :rub:. Let us know how it went. Your baby will feel better soon :heart3:

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Oh, I'm so sorry! !!!!

Hi, I know how sad it is when you hope your kitty can do without help. I thought the exact same thing. But it seems to me your Lucas should stay on the zd dry for now since he is not reacting to it so much, and that way his immune system has a chance to recover and get strong.

On the prednisone, I wonder if your vet can give him a shot each month instead of the prednisone pills. That way it should be a little easier because it should mostly bypass his digestive system. My Curly needed a LOT of time to stabilize on both his food and his steroid shot. He needed some time to feel normal and to not be so inflamed and feeling sick. 

I introduced the allergy pills while he was getting steroid shots. They contain the vitamin C that boosts his immune system too. Someone also mentioned giving Lucas L-lysine. Curly is at the adoption center and they are giving him L-Lysine along with his allergy pills and his special food.

I think your Lucas might have a chance to feel a lot better and to get stable if you ask your vet to do a once-a-month steroid shot, plus the zd dry food, and the allergy pills, plus L-lysine. My FIV group also recommends I think lactoferratin. I need to go back and see the exact description. Curly is not getting this now, but he would be even better if he was. 

I know what you mean about accepting the situation. I don't know if your Lucas is FIV+ or not, but skin allergies and skin immune reactions are extremely common in FIV+ cats, and my experience with Curly was/is that I had to give him all the things to help him stabilize over at least three-six months. During that time I also gave him the allergy pills, hypoallergenic wipes, and kept him on food he did not react to. The vitamin C is in the allergy pills. I could have also given him the L-lysine and it would have been more helpful but I did not. 

Like you, I wanted to see him get well and I wanted things to move a lot faster than they did- in my case especially because Curly is a foster boy and was in a foster room by himself. I needed him to get well even to be considered for adoption. I wanted him to catch the train for his adoption. I learned, frustratingly, that I had to just take my time and focus on baby steps to just clear up his allergies and itching and to get him on the allergy pills and let everything slowly get better. It drove me crazy because he had to be in his own room all this time.

It was also a huge help to get the steroid/prednisone shot instead of pills- why make the kitty eat pills which just causes more stress. Maybe a shot will do the trick. I would look at a regimen of slow, steady improvement and try to get the shot, still give him the zd dry, incorporate the allergy pills and L-lysine, so his immune system can improve to where he is strong overall. Then, 4-5 months from now, you can begin to introduce alternative foods and see if he can eat them. You will know right away after a day or two and if it doesn't work you can switch back fast and it will not be a horrible plunge like it is now.

I hope my experience with Curly over the last 10 months will save you some time. He is now in the adoption center, he gets occasional steroid shots, they feed him the allergy pills and l-lysine, and have found a dry turkey food that he does not react to. I NEVER thought I would see the day where he would be at this point. Good luck with your Lucas. He is lucky to have such a dedicated mom.