Hey folks,
It's been a while since I was last on, but these past few months have been CRAZY with this ridiculous cat of mine, Garbanzo. I'll try to make the explanation brief.
She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and went onto carbimizole. Thyroid level evened out, she gained weight, everything was looking OK. She was throwing up every now and then, but it was an early reaction to the meds and that stopped after a while as well. She very picky about taking her meds, but I make sure she gets it, no matter what.
We went out of town for a week and a half, and our friends who took care of her were not good about making sure she took her pill. As a result, she missed 7-8 doses in 10 days. She was sickly thin and exhausted when we returned
. Needless to say, I've since hired a cat sitter for out of town trips. I nursed her back to health in about two weeks, being super-diligent about feeding, hydration and her pill.
Following that, we went out of town again for a weekend, and when I got back she had started to develop dark scabs around her eyes and in her ears. She was lethargic and wouldn't eat, though the pet sitter noted she ate fine while we were gone. I checked under her collar, and she had scratched a huge, raw sore the size of a nickel where the metal clasp on the collar sat. Assuming it was earmites that had spread badly, I immediately gave her a dose of Revolution (flea med) and took her to the vet the next day.
The vet noted that there was no evidence of fleas or mites, and her sores were a "textbook case" of an allergic reaction to medication. However, she said it was unlikely that her thyroid pill was the source, as the allergy would have shown up the first week or two she started taking it. She got a steroid shot and the cat version of Benadryl. When she got home, she went straight to the food bowl and got her energy back. It was touch and go the next few days, to the point where I almost took her to the vet again, but her sore started to heal and she was eating really well for the next week.
So today we just got back from a three day beach trip (cat sitter again). Her sore looks worse than the first time I discovered it, as she's clearly been scratching and licking at it, and now the area around and above her eyes are swollen and scabby, as well as all over her ears and now her paws!!
Pics (sorry a little fuzzy; she wouldn't stay in one place):
Scabs on her ears:
Neck from the side:
Scabs above/around her eyes:
Paws (one mangy toe on each paw):
I'm convinced that this can't be simply an allergy, as what kind of allergy "spreads" like this, to the paws? After some research I'm pretty sure it's mange or scabies of some sort. Have any of you had kitties with mange before? Are there home remedies?
One final note: I am trying to avoid the vet by ANY means, I mean total last resort. On top of all the other complications, she's part of a medication study for the vet where we get all her meds for free, but she's had to go to the vet a lot for blood work. She's been to the vet at least 7 times in the past three months, and she seems to get even more stressed out and lose hair after every visit, sometimes throwing up. Don't get me wrong, I think my vet is awesome; but even she agrees that it's highly possible that getting stuck in the cat carrier and coming to the vet so much has really stressed her out.
Thanks in advance for any help!
It's been a while since I was last on, but these past few months have been CRAZY with this ridiculous cat of mine, Garbanzo. I'll try to make the explanation brief.
She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and went onto carbimizole. Thyroid level evened out, she gained weight, everything was looking OK. She was throwing up every now and then, but it was an early reaction to the meds and that stopped after a while as well. She very picky about taking her meds, but I make sure she gets it, no matter what.
We went out of town for a week and a half, and our friends who took care of her were not good about making sure she took her pill. As a result, she missed 7-8 doses in 10 days. She was sickly thin and exhausted when we returned
Following that, we went out of town again for a weekend, and when I got back she had started to develop dark scabs around her eyes and in her ears. She was lethargic and wouldn't eat, though the pet sitter noted she ate fine while we were gone. I checked under her collar, and she had scratched a huge, raw sore the size of a nickel where the metal clasp on the collar sat. Assuming it was earmites that had spread badly, I immediately gave her a dose of Revolution (flea med) and took her to the vet the next day.
The vet noted that there was no evidence of fleas or mites, and her sores were a "textbook case" of an allergic reaction to medication. However, she said it was unlikely that her thyroid pill was the source, as the allergy would have shown up the first week or two she started taking it. She got a steroid shot and the cat version of Benadryl. When she got home, she went straight to the food bowl and got her energy back. It was touch and go the next few days, to the point where I almost took her to the vet again, but her sore started to heal and she was eating really well for the next week.
So today we just got back from a three day beach trip (cat sitter again). Her sore looks worse than the first time I discovered it, as she's clearly been scratching and licking at it, and now the area around and above her eyes are swollen and scabby, as well as all over her ears and now her paws!!
Pics (sorry a little fuzzy; she wouldn't stay in one place):
Scabs on her ears:
Neck from the side:
Scabs above/around her eyes:
Paws (one mangy toe on each paw):
I'm convinced that this can't be simply an allergy, as what kind of allergy "spreads" like this, to the paws? After some research I'm pretty sure it's mange or scabies of some sort. Have any of you had kitties with mange before? Are there home remedies?
One final note: I am trying to avoid the vet by ANY means, I mean total last resort. On top of all the other complications, she's part of a medication study for the vet where we get all her meds for free, but she's had to go to the vet a lot for blood work. She's been to the vet at least 7 times in the past three months, and she seems to get even more stressed out and lose hair after every visit, sometimes throwing up. Don't get me wrong, I think my vet is awesome; but even she agrees that it's highly possible that getting stuck in the cat carrier and coming to the vet so much has really stressed her out.
Thanks in advance for any help!