I have THE WORST feeling in the pit of my stomach

[yosemite]

Originally Posted by jcribbs

go to this link.
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp

It is an online vet manual. You might find something a vet is missing concerning ph levels.

I hope it turns out good for you and for the kitty. I don't know anything about the possible problems a FIV/FeLV cat can have but you might find something they are missing.

One more thing too.... Athletes feet is a fungus like just like a ringworm ... You can use people ointment in Walmart for athletes feet to treat ringworms on your cat or any other animal. This came to me from a vet when I adopted a cat with ringworms. It worked... Make sure you cover the spot completely and go slightly outside the edges of the ring...

Is it safe for the cat to lick off? I'd be concerned about that if it was in a place the cat could reach to lick or any other cats could lick.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Is it safe for the cat to lick off? I'd be concerned about that if it was in a place the cat could reach to lick or any other cats could lick.

Most of these creams asorb quite quicklyand the inactives are fairly benign

... I asked cause my vet said cortaid for a hot spot

 

[beandip]

I hope the prednisone helps.

The merck link that jcribbs gave is a good reference.

What are your feelings on the hairball meds 2x a day? Do you feel like it helps her? Personally, that seems like too much/too often to me.

From that Merck manual

...

Lubricant Laxatives:
These act by coating the surface of the feces with a water-immiscible film and by increasing the water content of the feces to provide a lubricant action. Lubricant laxatives usually contain mineral oil or white petroleum. Chronic use may reduce intestinal absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and cause a granulomatous enteritis. Mineral oil is very commonly used in horses and cattle, and commercial products are available to promote passage of hairballs in cats.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/in.../bc/190308.htm

I agree that it's very possible that her vomiting issues could be related to how she eats. A change in diet helped Momma quite a bit, but I do still need to watch her closely and just drop very small bits of food on her plate a little at a time. I wait and make sure she licks the plate clean before I offer her any more, forcing a bit of a break. Also, I'm not sure about Damita but Momma has no sense of "full"...so I can't rely on that to know when to quit. She gets 3/8 of a can of NB 2x a day, that's it. 4.5oz doesn't seem like much food, but she's maintaining @ 7.5lbs, not vomiting, and consequently a much happier cat so until it doesn't work anymore, I'm sticking with that.

Regarding the pH...have you ever been able to check her urine pH at home? I do think that stress affects that so if she always has a high pH but no other bladder problems, it makes me wonder if it's just stress

 

[white cat lover]

The hairball meds help, she now passes hair in her poo, not vomiting it out. She would actually vomit/regurgitate more without hairball meds. And what I've got is a dose 2x a day, I think. We will see about long term usage, this stuff is supposedly safe long term....

Her pH is down to 6.5, NORMAL!!

I think I forgot that yesterday.

And no, I won't use anything to treat her ringworm. I'm going to be stubborn about that.....because every time I treat it, the ringworm comes back. There has to be a reason it keeps coming back, so I plan to focus on the underlying problem.

 

[jcribbs]

so glad to hear her ph is back to normal.... That is great news!!

And before you definately decide not to treat the ringworm, do some reading on long term ringworms..... And over the counter option from walmart might eliminate the problem so she would not have to keep taking steroids.. They can have major complications with long term usage. Much worse than an fungus foot medication. It's more expensive too.

The ringworm fungus has to be killed in order for it not to come back.. It doesn't just go away. Is she an indoor cat or an in/out cat? She might be getting in some area that has this particular fungus growing. It can live in some soil depending on the area. You would have to do some reading on it... Ringworms are also contagious... They can be spread.... It can cause an animal to lose their hair.

I rescued a cat once..... My Festus. He was absolutely covered in ringworms the first time I saw him... And I mean covered... I put several tubes of fungus meds on him and his hair grew back and his is beautiful now.... I had to treat him as he was around my others and I didn't want them getting the same thing. There are also different types of ringworms. One med might not kill one type of fungus. You just keep trying. You can't give up. They itch really bad... It can get under their claws and spread via that route too. Ringworms can be serious.

And I also hope the hairball meds continue to work.... There is also hair ball formulated food as well... Dont' know if it would work in your case but it's might be worth a shot to get her off meds......

It sounds like you are getting it all under control and that is good.

wish you the best!

 

[white cat lover]

I've read up on ringworm. The house is cleaned/disinfected like weekly. She is indoors only & all other animals are now immune to ringworm. Foster kittens are only held with clean hands & never the same clothes from the "other kitties".

The steroids aren't long term. That option was ruled out already. I guess we are using them to see if they boost her immune system & that is the problem.

 

[beandip]

I'm among those who thought the steroids were a good idea for Damita...however, I'm confused because steroids suppress the immune system.

 

[white cat lover]

Originally Posted by beandip

I'm among those who thought the steroids were a good idea for Damita...however, I'm confused because steroids suppress the immune system.

OK. I need to do some research. The vet said he thought she had a suppressed immune system, so tried the Prednisone. Maybe I mis-understood him. I will call Monday to speak with him, armed with information!

 

[jean44]

I agree with beadip. Prednisone is immune system suppressive. My Eric has been on Prednisolone for his asthma since 2001 so I've studied the drug.

Here are a couple of articles about Prednisone.
http://www.petplace.com/article-prin...y.aspx?id=1553
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/prednisone.html

Good luck with Damita. I hope this vet can find a solution to her problems.

 

[white cat lover]

I plan to talk to the vet on Monday....Dorian needs to be seen anyways, so hopefully they can get him in. There was some condition he said it's possible she had & Pred was the treatment. So maybe I mis-understood his intentions?

 

[jean44]

Originally Posted by white cat lover

I plan to talk to the vet on Monday....Dorian needs to be seen anyways, so hopefully they can get him in. There was some condition he said it's possible she had & Pred was the treatment. So maybe I mis-understood his intentions?

Sounds like a good idea. It's possible that the vet wants to suppress her immune system if he thinks it is attacking her body. Pred is also an anti-inflammatory so he may be thinking of using it for that purpose. I'll be interested to hear what his thinking is.