Fish Allergy linked to Stomatitus

bellacat said:

 
HI,

I now feed raw rabbit and heart mix  turkey and heart mix which is the favourite for all my cats and lamb and heart mix and sometimes Ziwipeak lamb or venison canned and dried raw which does have green lipped mussel oil in it  which is seafood but that doesn't seem to affect her. I buy the raw food in blocks its cut up into serving size amounts which I defrost and it has bone etc already ground up in it.

She is coping really well and is like a different cat but it did take a while and she will probably have long term affects from not getting enough nutrition. Previously her gums were very inflamed and red and there was pus in her mouth and she was pretty miserable - having steroid shots frequently and her coat was dull she was very skinny - she did improve a lot after we took her off fish and then when her remaining teeth came out the second time  I really can't fathom why the vet left that one tooth in the back as it caused her so much misery.

She doesn't ever gag now and her gums look normal minus the teeth her coat is shiny and she has gained weight - I think we have been lucky I also think the most natural diet possible is the best.

Click to expand...

That is wonderful that Lea is doing so well! If I'm understanding correctly it appears that Lea's stomatitis had two known contributing factors; her teeth and her fish allergy. It's fantastic that you were able to give her relief and without any long-term medication therapy. That is truly a success story. 

txcatmom said:

To answer your question, Susank, Lucy is doing quite well, but needed more than a diet change. She eats raw (chicken, rabbit and turkey) but still needs meds to keep her stomatitis under control. Thankfully, there is a clinic in Dallas that will work with cats long distance. She uses their proprietary cocktail of meds (non- steroidal) and it keeps her in remission. Even though a natural diet didn't totally cure her, I believe in feeding all my cats the most natural diet I can manage. And I'm sure that is helping Lucy.

Click to expand...

Apologies for making you repeat yourself if you've already answered these questions in another thread, but does Lucy still have her teeth and how long has she been on the Dallas syrup? Also, are you still giving Lucy the salmon oil? 

Apologies for making you repeat yourself if you've already answered these questions in another thread, but does Lucy still have her teeth and how long has she been on the Dallas syrup? Also, are you still giving Lucy the salmon oil?

Click to expand...

Lucy had her teeth behind the canines extracted. So she still has some teeth left. She's been on the Dallas syrup for about one year now. She does still get the salmon oil.

Try Ziwipeak if you can get it - its very close to feeding raw and no grain or fillers.

Just be careful with By Nature & EVO brand canned foods. My cats did well on the By Nature canned foods until the company's recent changes in formulation. These changes triggered MAJOR poop problems months ago in both of my cats that are only recently improving with a switchover to raw. This new formulation arrived in smaller cans, was dripping with gravy, and didn't even look like the same food. Also, I was feeding EVO (and still am to my healthier cat until all cases are gone) - one of the best foods out there (so I thought) - but apparently this '95% meat' food is in reality mostly fat with very low protein content. I'm just hoping 95% meat Nature's Variety Raw doesn't fall into that same niche. Here's a good link:

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=cannedfoods

We recently adopted a 3 yr old female torbie cat from a shelter.  Quinn had a tough life so far.  She came from a hoarder to the shelter, was extremely underweight, with lots of hair loss and bloody teeth & gums, and two pregnancies and a URI.    After she chose me (crawled on my shoulder and fell asleep), we were signing papers and getting ready to go,  they told me her dental was all done. "Oh good, they'll be all clean", I said.  "No, they are all gone."  All her teeth had been removed except for 3 canines.  Of course by then I was already smitten.   Quinn (as we named her) is the sweetest, most loving little creature I have ever met.  When we got home I was reading her medical papers and saw the word "stomatitis".  After researching and finding out what it was,  we prayed that removing her teeth was the answer.  At her first Vet visit her gums were red and she was still sneezing.  The sneezing and stuffy nose has gotten worse.  I am going to take her off of fish which she has been on for 2 weeks (she loves it).  Canned food only.  The Vet thought the sneezing and congestion was connected with the stomatitis.  Gave an eye drop and Lysine.  She loves the Lysine.  Since with us 2 months, she has gained 1 lb, her coat looks beautiful and  she's playing, probably for the first time in her life.  Has anyone else had good results by removing fish?    

First things first @tandlcarp, you are a wonderful angel for taking sweet Quinn in and giving her such a wonderful home and a chance at happiness! What a lucky little girl she is. I LOVE hearing stories of  kindness such as yours.

I have had Simon, my stomatits guy, off of fish since Jan. 2014 and he was doing really well until 2 weeks ago. He had a flare-up which then subsided after a week. His last flare-up prior to this was Aug. 2013. Tonight, I again noticed a little drool while he was eating. I don't know if taking him off of fish has helped, but it sure hasn't hurt. Are you giving her the Lysine chews? I've wondered about those, if my toothless fellow would be able to gum them.

Thank you for your kind words.  It's a joy to watch little Quinn blossom.  She has a big round basket with fluffy blankets and we drag it where ever the sun is coming in  so she can sun bath.  Yes, I'm giving Lysine chews. The first time she kept rolling it around in her mouth and spitting out, then swallowed it.  Now I break it up in smaller pieces, it's pretty soft.  When she hears the package she comes running.  Today is day 1 of no fish.  She's not crazy about the chicken canned food I got and totally refused the frozen turkey food. 

I hope that the no-fish diet will help her. My philosophy was that it was something relatively easy to do and that I could implement immediately, so it sure wouldn't hurt to give it a try.  In Quinn's situation, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the wonderful love she's getting in her new home (and those fantastic sun baths) wouldn't be enough to overcome her problem.

In Simon's case, the chews would be much easier for me to administer  than is the powder, so I think I'll give the chews a try, thank you for that info.

If you're like me, after reading SOOOOOOOO much about all of the stomatitis cause/prevention/treatment theories, I ended up more confused and undecided than when I started. I'm pretty sure that with Simon I'm looking at something in addition to, or besides, a fish allergy because here it is, spring again, and we're having another episode. But... this episode is so far mild in comparison to last year's (I pray it stays so). Of course, he has very few teeth left this spring, too!

I sure hope Simon's episode will be mild. He is blessed to have you in his life.   What symptoms does he have?  Quinn won't let me look in her mouth.  When she yawns I can see somewhat.  Do you think the sneezing/nasal congestion is connected with the stomatitis?  I'm with you,  the more I read, the more frustrated I feel.  The Lysine is meant to build up her immune system, so I guess that would help the sneezing too. Guess it just takes time, but it's difficult seeing them in distress. Canned Duck by Merrick was a hit.  But today, lots of sneezing and mouth breathing.  

I guess I have to remember that she's had such trauma (teeth surgery and being spayed while pregnant, then the URI)  only a short time ago, within the last 2 months.  It might take awhile for everything to settle down, right?  

I sure hope Quinn's breathing has gotten better by now. Poor little girl is having a rough time right now. No doubt between the low body weight, the spay, and the shelter environment her immune system was through the floor. I can only imagine how she is blossoming with all of that good food and TLC.    There's some thought that stomatitis and calicivirus are often found together, so maybe that's what your vet is thinking. We'll just hope that after you get her through this rough patch and her immune system boosted back where it should be that the stomatitis will resolve. 

Simon is a semi-feral so, like your little Quinn, looking in his mouth only happens when he yawns and I'm in the right place at the right time AND have some glasses on! All of those things don't come together very often.    Nothing yet has stopped him from eating, so the only indicators I have that all is not well are drooling and lack grooming.

@tandlcarp  - Just wondering how Quinn is doing?

Quinn is much better, still sneezing sometimes, but her breathing is much better.  I can tell she's feeling well as she is now racing around the house and very playful.  I think there are a couple patches in her mouth that are a little reddish.  Can't get a good look. Thank you for asking.