Kitty with severe allergies. Any help is appreciated.

Her name is Beautty. She was 6 when she came into my life. I promised the lady I would keep her name the same. She was rescued from a kitty mill.... who would have thought....I was completely unaware that kitty mills even existed. The lady that originally rescued her fell on hard times and lost her farm house. She had to move to an efficiency apartment. Beautty was hiding in the bathroom closet with a water heater when I picked her up. She has never been very social but she has grown to love me.  I adore her, she is my baby and I don't know what I would do without her. I've tried to give her the best life she could have. I'll post some pictures of when I first got her. She was grey and had no color she weighed 8 lbs, was infested with fleas and had worms terribly! Medicine and Love was able to bring her into her glory. A couple obstacles along the way but nothing her and I couldn't tackle together. And hopefully with any luck this Pemphigus will just be something her and I can put behind us.

BeauttysMom said:

 
Her name is Beautty. She was 6 when she came into my life. I promised the lady I would keep her name the same. She was rescued from a kitty mill.... who would have thought....I was completely unaware that kitty mills even existed. The lady that originally rescued her fell on hard times and lost her farm house. She had to move to an efficiency apartment. Beautty was hiding in the bathroom closet with a water heater when I picked her up. She has never been very social but she has grown to love me.

 I adore her, she is my baby and I don't know what I would do without her. I've tried to give her the best life she could have. I'll post some pictures of when I first got her. She was grey and had no color she weighed 8 lbs, was infested with fleas and had worms terribly! Medicine and Love was able to bring her into her glory. A couple obstacles along the way but nothing her and I couldn't tackle together. And hopefully with any luck this Pemphigus will just be something her and I can put behind us.

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Well, just look at that avatar picture, She IS a Beauty!! 

Good Morning! I said that I would keep this thread updated. My update is not a very good one today. After not even 14 days the depo Medrol is wearing off very quickly. I am going to try extending the prednisone. The prednisone shot is supposed to last between 4-6 weeks. My vet told me that she would not prescribe the triamcinolone this prematurely. The good news is that there has only been a couple hot stops with the pemphigus. Her nose, ears and her neck just a few spots. Her hair is growing back beautifully. She is so playful and active, its so hard for me to believe that she is almost 10 years old. Hopefully we can make it about another week on this shot. I will not watch her become a bloody mess again. She has made such progress its almost incomprehensible how much better she is in just a week and a half. Pictures will follow my post. I am so thankful once again for everyone that has been sending thoughts and prayers for me and my precious baby. Thanks again. Pictures to follow.

~~~ONE HAPPY MOMMY     

Often times vets tend to err on the side of cautious with meds.

It's too bad with some cases since the depo is obviously wearing off now.

Very happy though that she is making such progress, and you are obviously in much better spirits! This is always a good thing

Glad to hear she is still doing pretty good. She has been in my prayers. 

Glad to hear things are improving for her.  Keep us posted.

ditto

Glad to hear that she continues to do so well.  Any chance of seeing some pictures soon?

Another great update! I hope you and your vet are able to find a solution that works for Beautty to keep this under control. Such a relief it must be that she's finally feeling comfortable and being herself again. 

Our kitty has had the same problems as yours. Ours is also a Maine Coon. Half her nose got eaten off. Screw the vets. We went time and again and they did multiple skin scrapings and never found a darn thing. All they did was take our money. If you look in the Merck Vet Manual you will see that something is found in skin scrapings if less than 50% of cases and I would assume even less than that on long haired cats like ours. Google a guy called JR ENTERPRISES, HEARTWORM PREVENTION. He sold us Ivermectin that was in a formula that will not harm MOST cats and dogs. We gave it to all 3 of our cats with great results. The skin lesions went away and the hair started growing back within a week. However this will only get rid of the mites under the skin. You will have to do this once a week for about a month, but at the same time you will need to sulfur dip the cat to kill the ones on her hair. You cat buy vet strength Lime sulfur dip off of Amazon. Its god awful stuff, and you will immediately regret doing it when you smell her but it has to be done. The last thing you will need to do is get her REALLY GOOD food. Her immune response has to be high in order to not get these things again. I wish you the best of luck, and I hope these treatments don't kill or hurt your pet, but just look up what I am talking about, decide for yourself, and don't let your vet talk you out of it. If the next step is putting the cat to sleep, I would do this and give her a fighting chance. Vets just want your money, and they won't cure this. Its all up to the pet owner. I have treated this on 5 animals and myself and my wife. I am sorry, but hit me up if you have any questions...

Bad news everyone. We have a vet appointment scheduled for tomorrow. I believe the kitty has an infection or abscess in her mouth. I called 2 emergency vets and I do not have the money to put down that they require. Her tongue is crooked in her mouth and she is drooling. She is able to drink but has not ate all day. My appointment is not till 5pm tomorrow. Please keep us in your prayers and send some positivity our way. Just when I thought things were getting better and we were closer to a cure now we have another hurdle. I'm not ready to give up and I've got enough fight for the two of us. If money becomes an issue I will figure it out someway.

BeauttysMom said:

 
Bad news everyone. We have a vet appointment scheduled for tomorrow. I believe the kitty has an infection or abscess in her mouth. I called 2 emergency vets and I do not have the money to put down that they require. Her tongue is crooked in her mouth and she is drooling. She is able to drink but has not ate all day. My appointment is not till 5pm tomorrow. Please keep us in your prayers and send some positivity our way. Just when I thought things were getting better and we were closer to a cure now we have another hurdle. I'm not ready to give up and I've got enough fight for the two of us. If money becomes an issue I will figure it out someway.

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Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear this. Hopefully it's something minor.    Your regular vet couldn't see her sooner? Or offer a drop-off option? Does Beautty have FHV or calicivirus?

Sending lots of vibes ..... 

Sending you lots of vibes, & prayer!!!  She can't go too long w/o eating before it becomes dangerous for her. You may have to mix her wet food w/ water to feed her w/ a syringe.

There are threads on here of how to syringe feed. I know Carolina had one. 

I know how it is when fiances are tight, & you have to take care of your baby. Go on line & apply for Care Credit. I did that when I had to deal w/ Angel's cystitis all of a sudden. It was quick & easy.

Payments are very small. (mine were only $25.00 to start).  They will give you the info you need to print out, (account # etc..) to give to your vet, until you get your card in the mail.  

I was so glad I did!!!! 

She will be in my prayers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    

Keep us posted.

Triamcinolone (Kenalog is the trade name) comes in many different forms for humans, including one called Kenalog-Orabase for use inside the mouth. I don't know if this particular form is suitable for cats, but it's worth asking the vet if there is something similar for cats. There must be something that treats sores inside the mouth.

Even though your cat is drinking, watch out for dehydration.

Call your vet first thing in the morning and see if you can get the cat in earlier in the day.

BeauttysMom said:

 
Bad news everyone. We have a vet appointment scheduled for tomorrow. I believe the kitty has an infection or abscess in her mouth. I called 2 emergency vets and I do not have the money to put down that they require. Her tongue is crooked in her mouth and she is drooling. She is able to drink but has not ate all day. My appointment is not till 5pm tomorrow. Please keep us in your prayers and send some positivity our way. Just when I thought things were getting better and we were closer to a cure now we have another hurdle. I'm not ready to give up and I've got enough fight for the two of us. If money becomes an issue I will figure it out someway.

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Think of this as a hurdle that you just have to jump over, rather than a mountain that you have to climb! ...

Many positive vibes and warm thoughts for you both ...  

Thank you! Thank you! I'm staying positive. She is in some pain but I have faith that antibiotics will fix her right up. I was so overwhelmed with all the advice and support I have received from the wonderful people on my thread. To go from what I perceived to be a death sentence to a very treatable disease has been nothing shy of a miracle. I had asked for a miracle and that's what I got. She is my everything and I will fight this till the end. I am extremely confident with assistance of my vet...A little side note... I must say I have the pleasure of working with the kindest and caring vet. She has pets of her own and she has given me her time when I had no one to turn to. I've showed up with little hope and not even a lot of cash. She has not charged me for her time because the costs of medication and food were so much. Beautty and I are lucky to have such a wonderful person. She makes this a little easier. As soon as my finances are straight she is getting a huge thank you card and a bouquet of beautiful flowers. She is our angel!!! I am confident this evening she will be no less than a savior when we visit her. I would hope that every pet owner has the ability to have such a fantastic relationship with their pets health care provider.

BeauttysMom said:

 
Thank you! Thank you! I'm staying positive. She is in some pain but I have faith that antibiotics will fix her right up. I was so overwhelmed with all the advice and support I have received from the wonderful people on my thread. To go from what I perceived to be a death sentence to a very treatable disease has been nothing shy of a miracle. I had asked for a miracle and that's what I got. She is my everything and I will fight this till the end. I am extremely confident with assistance of my vet...A little side note... I must say I have the pleasure of working with the kindest and caring vet. She has pets of her own and she has given me her time when I had no one to turn to. I've showed up with little hope and not even a lot of cash. She has not charged me for her time because the costs of medication and food were so much. Beautty and I are lucky to have such a wonderful person. She makes this a little easier. As soon as my finances are straight she is getting a huge thank you card and a bouquet of beautiful flowers. She is our angel!!! I am confident this evening she will be no less than a savior when we visit her. I would hope that every pet owner has the ability to have such a fantastic relationship with their pets health care provider.

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That is wonderful, and must be such a comfort to you at this time that this lady is both so dedicated and generous with her time ... She does indeed sound like an angel.

It's great when you find a REALLY caring Vet.   We feel the same about ours.  When we took our Sven in for his final visit, Dr. Christina cried right along with us.  I mean sobbing, not just teary eyed. 

I do hope whatever is wrong with Beautty's mouth can be "patched up" quickly so she can get back to healing the rest of herself.  Is she able to eat anything at this point (like pureed canned food with water added to make it soupy)? 

Very much agree with @mrsgreenjeens, the tongue movements make it too painful for her to eat herself, but she is still hungry and would probably be quite grateful for some chicken baby food watered down and syringed. Or pate canned watered down. Kitten pates are alot smoother, goes through the tip alot easier.

Good luck at the vets today and be sure to update.

Vet visit went well. The vet is pleased with the drainage. Her lower jaw is abscessed. No steroids till this heals, got antibiotics to clear this up. I feed her freeze dried raw food so I just added extra water. She's trying very hard to eat and is definitely drinking water. I'll update everyone tomorrow. She's going to have a long night because she is not allowed to sleep in bed with mommy due to the yucky draining. Thanks again all!