My (runt of the litter) 2.5 year old cat has been suffering from some sort of problem that no vet in the area can seem to pin point what it is. We have spent upwards of $4,000 at this point, and still have no idea.
It started out about a year ago (coincidentally we got our dog right around the same time). She started chewing out her fur down her spine, and on her legs. She suddenly lost half of her body weight, and started drinking tons of water. We immediately brought to the vet and they ran kidney, and diabetes testing on her which both were negative. Then, they sent us to a specialist for an ultrasound, chest X-ray, lymph node biopsy, etc... As she had a temperature, slightly enlarged spleen, and an abnormally large count of globulins. They said that they knew right away it wasn't cancer because all of her globulins were the same... And if it were cancer they'd all be different. They also said they didn't get anything conclusive from any of the tests she had, and said they were worried it was FIP- which can be incredibly difficult to diagnose. The catch: throughout ALL of this she has been acting 100% normal in regards to playing and cuddling and socializing with my other 2 cats, and dog.
We decided that we were going to wait it out a few months since we didn't want to blow through our pet savings when no one was giving us an answer one way or another, and kept telling us they may never figure it out before she passes if in fact it's FIP.
I decided to run 12 wk long food trials to see if it's a food allergy... And after the first food switch she started eating more, and gaining weight, but still was chewing out her hair. I then switched her food yet again to a new protein and carb source and took her to a new vet 3 weeks ago.
This new vet told me it's definitely not FIP, she'd be dead by now. It seems more like an allergy but that it may take a while to pin point, if ever. This new vet ran all the blood tests again and nothing showed up abnormal this time except her globulins- but even the globulins dropped from a 9.5 to a 6. The vet told me I'm doing everything right with my food trials.... I even switched the litter to "worlds best" litter that is unscented and dust free, just incase that was a contributing factor.
The vet put the cat on a small Zyrtec dosage, prednasone, and a chewable "treat" for healthy skin. Initially she got worse... The worst it had ever looked. Now, as of the past few days I can tell it's probably starting to grow back in.... But she has this one 2" scab that she keeps licking raw.
All the while she is still super cuddly and playful and eating tons of food.
Anyone ever have anything remotely similiar happen?
It started out about a year ago (coincidentally we got our dog right around the same time). She started chewing out her fur down her spine, and on her legs. She suddenly lost half of her body weight, and started drinking tons of water. We immediately brought to the vet and they ran kidney, and diabetes testing on her which both were negative. Then, they sent us to a specialist for an ultrasound, chest X-ray, lymph node biopsy, etc... As she had a temperature, slightly enlarged spleen, and an abnormally large count of globulins. They said that they knew right away it wasn't cancer because all of her globulins were the same... And if it were cancer they'd all be different. They also said they didn't get anything conclusive from any of the tests she had, and said they were worried it was FIP- which can be incredibly difficult to diagnose. The catch: throughout ALL of this she has been acting 100% normal in regards to playing and cuddling and socializing with my other 2 cats, and dog.
We decided that we were going to wait it out a few months since we didn't want to blow through our pet savings when no one was giving us an answer one way or another, and kept telling us they may never figure it out before she passes if in fact it's FIP.
I decided to run 12 wk long food trials to see if it's a food allergy... And after the first food switch she started eating more, and gaining weight, but still was chewing out her hair. I then switched her food yet again to a new protein and carb source and took her to a new vet 3 weeks ago.
This new vet told me it's definitely not FIP, she'd be dead by now. It seems more like an allergy but that it may take a while to pin point, if ever. This new vet ran all the blood tests again and nothing showed up abnormal this time except her globulins- but even the globulins dropped from a 9.5 to a 6. The vet told me I'm doing everything right with my food trials.... I even switched the litter to "worlds best" litter that is unscented and dust free, just incase that was a contributing factor.
The vet put the cat on a small Zyrtec dosage, prednasone, and a chewable "treat" for healthy skin. Initially she got worse... The worst it had ever looked. Now, as of the past few days I can tell it's probably starting to grow back in.... But she has this one 2" scab that she keeps licking raw.
All the while she is still super cuddly and playful and eating tons of food.
Anyone ever have anything remotely similiar happen?
