PJ has a sore face :(

prairiepanda

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My poor kitty has had so many issues lately. Now she's started to complain when I pet her face. She seems fine when I gently pet her forehead, cheeks, etc. but whenever my hand touches her "eyebrow whiskers" she meows and turns away as if it hurts. Normally she loves me petting her face! I dug around in the fur at the base of her eyebrows, which she really didn't like, and couldn't find anything visibly wrong. She's acting perfectly normal otherwise; it's only when we touch the eyebrow whiskers that she gets upset. It's very rare for her to complain like this. Even in the past when a mean cat scratched up her face she didn't have any problems letting us pet her and treat her wounds. Something is obviously bothering her.

It's getting to be a bit too cold to walk to the vet, so I'll have to wait until somebody can drive me. But until then, does anyone here have any idea what the problem might be? 
 

mservant

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I've never heard of anything like this but whiskers and eyebrow hairs are very sensitive and have a strong nerve supply as cats use them to navigate and judge space.  If she is reacting as if she is in pain and does not want these touched it could be quite serious for her as they will touch things as she moves about, eats and drinks.  Does she have the same reaction for both sides of her face or just on one? It may just be a skin iritation or perhaps an infection in the hair follicle or tiny mites, but what ever is causing it will cause her difficulty and discomfort. As they are very sensitive it could also be a response if she is feeling you touch her hair and she has discomfort say in her forehead or sinus or ears?  I don't know what her other health problems have been but sometimes unexpected things can be related.  

See what other responses you get but I think it would be a good idea to have a vet look at her to see if they can find anything.  It is good that you have noticed her reaction and how it is different to her normal behaviour.  Keep an eye on her to make sure she is eating and drinking in case her eyebrows are touching the edges of bowls or anything and putting her off as not eating or getting deydrated could make her sick in other ways.    
 
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prairiepanda

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It is on both sides of her face, and there doesn't seem to be any other symptoms(nothing else out of the ordinary). I had considered sinus pain, but she doesn't mind me applying pressure to her nose or between her eyes. It's really just her eyebrows. An infection there would probably be quite painful, with all the nerves gathered there... Thankfully her eyebrows don't touch anything when she eats or drinks. It sometimes makes her uncomfortable when she's laying down, though, and she has to adjust her position to keep her eyebrows pointed up. Poor kitty :(
 

peaches08

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Because of what's nearby (eyes, brain), I'd see if I could get her an appointment soon. Keep us updated!
 

mservant

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Yes, she must feel really fed up even if it isn't hurting all the time.  I've had a look around on line too and  can't find any information, though I have to confess to not being the best at web searches!   I still think it would be worth a chat / visit for the vet to have a look when you can get there.  It doesn't sound like an emergency but there's certainly something not right and which she can't be happy about (or you).  Imagine no head butts.or head pampers :-(  

As long as she is eating and taking fluids OK, and no other changes I would give the vet a call when you can figure out how to get her there.  There may well still may be others here who have more experience too.

Fingers crossed maybe it is some temporary thing that goes away on its own over a day or something like when we can get a tingly nerve when something'sgot a bit trapped.  Very interested to hear how it works out and what's causing it.
 
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prairiepanda

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We've got an appointment on Saturday morning. Hopefully it will be okay to wait. I noticed that the right side seems to bother her more than the left, when I try each one individually.

I took a couple hair samples from her eyebrows as well as apparently unaffected areas of her face and did not find anything of concern under the microscope. I also dragged a clean  boar bristle brush through her eyebrows and prepared some slides from that, but did not find any evidence of mites or fungal activity. I tried sticking my handheld scope up against her face, but couldn't see past the hair in the area of interest. I did however get a look at the skin nearby where the fur is less dense, and I didn't see any irritated follicles or skin damage. Everything looks healthy on the outside. It must be something internal. I wonder if it's something like a bruise that hasn't shown itself on the surface yet? I do hope it is something trivial...

I'll pay close attention to her eyes, ears, and nose to see if they start showing any signs of change, but so far we're doing good.
 

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Maybe PJ ran into something? My poor kitty rammed his face into the wood bedframe once when he was flying around like a maniac. He bounced back pretty quick, but I knew he hurt himself cause he sat there looking at the frame for a moment, growling and his face was tensed like he ate lemon or something. He didn't want me touching him there for awhile, but he was okay.
 

mservant

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Maybe PJ ran into something? My poor kitty rammed his face into the wood bedframe once when he was flying around like a maniac. He bounced back pretty quick, but I knew he hurt himself cause he sat there looking at the frame for a moment, growling and his face was tensed like he ate lemon or something. He didn't want me touching him there for awhile, but he was okay.
  That sounds like it was a pretty hard hit!  I have to apologize because I couldn't help laughing as I pictured your little boy whirling about and pulling the lemon face, but it was only once I knew he was OK.
 
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mservant

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Wow prairiepanda, you have certainly had a good look.  I don't think I'd know where to start, and certainly don't have the tools to inspect that closely.  It's good you haven't been able to see anything I guess, on the basis that I am hoping it is maybe just that she has bumped herself hard like fluffybeard's kitty. Whisker hairs have such a sensitive nerve supply so it could well be that she's done something to feel sore in that general area. I'm glad you've managed to get a quick appointment and hope your vet can give you some reassurance,  our cats always seem to sense when we're worried and then they get all worried too.  The important thing here is that you have been really attentive and noticed something unusual and not quite right for your cat, there are no other signs that you have been able to see, and you are checking it out thoroughly as quickly as you can. If it is nothing you will be reassured and happy for your cat and if the vet sees it as a sign of something they want to look in to then your cat is getting very prompt attention.

Please let us know how the appointment goes.  Sending vibes for you and your kitty for a calm and positive vet visit. 
 
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prairiepanda

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Wow prairiepanda, you have certainly had a good look.  I don't think I'd know where to start, and certainly don't have the tools to inspect that closely.  It's good you haven't been able to see anything I guess, on the basis that I am hoping it is maybe just that she has bumped herself hard like fluffybeard's kitty. Whisker hairs have such a sensitive nerve supply so it could well be that she's done something to feel sore in that general area. I'm glad you've managed to get a quick appointment and hope your vet can give you some reassurance,  our cats always seem to sense when we're worried and then they get all worried too.  The important thing here is that you have been really attentive and noticed something unusual and not quite right for your cat, there are no other signs that you have been able to see, and you are checking it out thoroughly as quickly as you can. If it is nothing you will be reassured and happy for your cat and if the vet sees it as a sign of something they want to look in to then your cat is getting very prompt attention.

Please let us know how the appointment goes.  Sending vibes for you and your kitty for a calm and positive vet visit. 
Thanks. I've had 14 years to figure out how PJ communicates, so it always catches my attention when she does something out of the ordinary. My roommate's kitten, however, is impossible for me to read and always makes me wonder if he's trying to tell me something. But it's certainly nice having my microscopy tools around when my pets start doing weird things. Best grad presents ever! I'm a microbiology major, so I've had a lot of practice identifying things under the 'scope. The vet can do more than me, though, and they'll be able to set my mind at ease more than anything I can do at home.

Anyway, PJ's sensitivity seems to have gotten a bit worse today. I called the vet to let them know how she's doing and gave them the results of my microscopy, and they said the x ray machines will be free tomorrow if they decide it's necessary. Guess we'll see what happens!
 

mservant

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I'll be thinking of you.  Honestly I think you're brilliant for noticing how sensitive she was when you touched her eyebrows and got straight to checking it out.  It's that stay calm, it's probably nothing just a bump or a funny sensitive bit of skin that's always hard with animals because they can't tell you what's happening.   Even if it's nothing you know you need to check because like peaches08 says, eyebrows are close to important things and they have a strong nerve supply so could be giving you an indicator of something less obvious, and you love your cat.  

Bodies are incredibly complex and so are all the organisms around us: I was thinking about how viruses affect us as humans after my last post, and how we can get tingling and severe pain from herpes virus in its varying forms  (as can cats in the feline strain),  I'm sure there will be other viruses that can have similar effects and cause nerve pain and maybe without the blistering.  Vets are the people who are going to know how to check everything out and it sounds like you have a decent vet that's willing to do that which is great.

 
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prairiepanda

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Today's appointment was inconclusive, but we're narrowing down the possibilities. X rays came up clear, and we took blood to test for signs of infection or thyroid problems(the vet wasn't very clear on why we're looking at the thyroid, but senior pets get 25% off blood work this month so I don't mind). I'll have results on the bloodwork in a couple days, and in the meantime I'll keep watching for signs of sinus trouble. The vet suggested that PJ's sensitivity might be a behavioral change rather than a sign of pain, and offered to try painkillers for a couple days to verify whether PJ is feeling pain, but I declined because PJ doesn't do well with painkillers. We'll see what happens in the next few days.
 

mservant

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Thyroid might be because it is so common to have issues and signs can be as simple skin sensitivity and iritability so good to rule out.  Good to know there's a clear Xray, I hope that gave you some reassurance. 

Try and relax and give PJ a little break from the poking, proding and microscopic inspection.  How about giving PJ and yourself a few treats to help with the relaxation?  I reckon that is the best thing both of you can do while you wait for the blood results.  
   
 
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prairiepanda

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PJ gets to help me study for finals over the next couple weeks by chilling on my lap, so we've got plenty of relax time lined up :)

I'm really eager to get the results from the bloodwork back now, though, because suddenly PJ is mega drooling! She's always drooled a bit in her sleep, but today she keeps waking up with a soggy face! I'll have to call the vet and let them know.
 

feralvr

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Aw - your poor PJ!!! I don't really have a clue as to why her face would be sore by the eyebrows and thought maybe she ran into something like another poster mentioned. BUT, since you mention drooling, then I am thinking it may be all connected somehow. One question comes to mind though, Does PJ suck wool, fleece, etc? Because that will cause a kitties mouth to become soggy with some drooling. It does sound, though, like something more is going on and I hope you can get to the bottom of it quickly. :cross:

Keep us posted on that blood work. Usually, quite helpful in diagnosing and a good start. :nod: :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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prairiepanda

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PJ doesn't suck on anything. Is that common? It sounds cute!
I should be hearing about the bloodwork today or tomorrow(we couldn't do in-house bloodwork because they aren't equipped for the extra thyroid test, and we missed the courier on Saturday). PJ doesn't complain vocally anymore about her head, but her body language and facial expressions tell me it's still bothering her just as much. Hopefully she won't just get used to it, because it would be pretty hard to tell if she's getting better...
 

mservant

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Hope the results come soon and give something to help with the worrying and not knowing what's going on. Will think of PJ on your lap helping you to study. Stroking animals is supposed to help us relax so here's to lots of PJ cuddles while you wait.

You don't want her to uck on fabric or anything, it makes your clothes go all soggy and theyget holes in them!  Thankfully I never had a cat that did it but used to go round to a friends and always came home with soggy patches on my jumpers. Eeugh!

Let us know how things are going.  
 
 
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prairiepanda

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The results of the blood work are all perfectly normal, and now we're not completely sure what direction to move in next. The vet mentioned that we could try a CT scan to get a better look, but they're reluctant to do this because I'm a student and it would be expensive. We talked about having a nerve specialist examine PJ to assess her for nerve damage. The vet will give me a quote on that tomorrow. They also brought up again the idea of a 2 or 3 day trial of painkillers just to verify that PJ is in pain(the vet hasn't been able to see first hand what I'm talking about because PJ acts completely different during her vet visits; she HATES going there after being hospitalized a while ago) but I really don't trust Metacam.

PJ had a very thorough examination of her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and everything looks healthy except for some itchiness in her ears. Her ears get dry in the winter and she has moisturizing drops for that, so it's pretty normal for her to scratch her ears more this time of year but we're going to pay close attention to that anyway. 

The topic of allergies came up, and since nothing else has changed at home we got talking about diet. PJ was off her usual food for a couple months(she was briefly ill and needed more calories, and got addicted to the higher calorie food so it took a while to get her back on her usual stuff) and just started eating her old food again a few days before this all started. In addition to kibble, I also introduced home-cooked cat food as recommended by users on this forum(she usually gets it for 1 meal, 5 days a week), but that was started about a month ago and consists only of ground turkey, TC Feline, and egg yolks so I think it's okay. But PJ's usual kibble(an Orijen blend) is very different from the more palatable high-calorie kibble(Pro Plan Kitten 
) so the vet thinks it might be possible that PJ developed a sensitivity to something in her old food while she was off of it.

In short, we can either bring in a nerve specialist, get a CT scan, try painkillers, or investigate food allergies next. The vet is leaning towards food allergies, but I'm pretty sure that's more to do with cost than anything else. They're always trying to save me money. It wouldn't hurt to investigate the food thing, but since that would take a long time to identify I'd like to keep eliminating other possibilities in the meantime just in case.

I'm not sure what to think. It's really sad to see PJ flinch and grimace when someone kisses her on the forehead 
 
 
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peaches08

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You could try an elimination diet. Don't have much to lose there!

I understand your reluctance to use metacam...is there another painkiller to try? The ear thing may be deeper than we think?
 
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