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- Jan 10, 2016
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About three months or so ago I adopted three kittens from an SPCA satellite home. Two came home the end of September and one came home about a month later as she is a little younger and didn't weigh enough to be spayed, then she stopped eating and dropped weight for no apparent reason (they did all kinds of tests but found nothing physically wrong - personally I think she was depressed as the day I brought her home she did a complete 180 and I never once had a problem getting her to eat - she was so high energy when I first met her, then when she stopped eating I went to visit her and she was so lethargic - not at all like the energetic little ball of love I first met! But after bringing her home when she was spayed at just barely two pounds, after agreeing to monitor her eating and to weigh her daily to make sure she was gaining, she was completely fine and returned to being energetic, happy and very affectionate). They've all had all their shots, been spayed and have been de-wormed.
Just a couple of days ago out of nowhere I noticed that the youngest, Faerydae, has a swollen lower lip. She doesn't seem to be in any pain and it isn't affecting her behavior or appetite but it was quite alarming regardless. So to the interwebs I turned to investigate what this could be! Best guess is EGC (Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex). As I understand it, it's fairly common for kitties to develop allergic reactions to plastic or possibly their food. While they eat out of glass bowls, their older "brother" (a short hair foundling that turned up on my doorstep about 4 months before I adopted my 3 babies) and their "mommy cat" (an adult Calico belonging to my roommate, none of the five are actually related) share a plastic dish that she may be snitching from when no one is looking. I feed them all at the same time and try to make sure they stay at their own dishes but that doesn't mean she doesn't go back during the day and pick at what may be left. They also all share a large plastic water dish - which my other roommate's dog uses too. So we've switched out the plastic dishes hoping that will help.
I don't think it's a food allergy as I feed them all a grain-free kibble formulated for indoor kittens, except for the two older ones but they are also on a grain-free diet. I also make a home made wet food of pureed chicken scraps for them as an occasional addition which they all love but she especially goes nuts for. Anyway as I said we switched out the plastic dishes for glass today but also just today I discovered more small lumps, this time on the top of her shoulder. I suppose this could also be EGC as there are other types that are reported to appear just about anywhere on a kitty, but I'm concerned with how closely together they appeared, time-wise. Again, she doesn't seem to be in any sort of pain or discomfort, it's not at all inhibiting her mobility or affecting her behavior and her appetite hasn't changed.
Does anyone have any insight on how I might try to safely treat this at home? I read that 5mg of Zyrtec daily should help if it's an allergy but I'm kind of loathe to give her something that she may not need. For that matter, does anyone else know if this might be something besides EGC? The pictures others have posted of their kitties with swollen lower lips look exactly as Faerydae's does which is why I'm fairly sure it's EGC but still...I'd appreciate other opinions.
I pretty much live paycheck to paycheck and right now I'm broke so I unfortunately can't afford to take her to the vet I already had to pay money I wasn't expecting to for a fecal test for worms (even though they were supposedly de-wormed by the SPCA) which turned up positive, so I then had to administer two rounds of worm medicine. All of the cats were treated at that point too, not just the three babies, as I realized it would be pointless to treat three of them but not the two older ones - they'd just pass the worms back and forth otherwise. Starting next month they'll be resuming a monthly treatment with Revolution topical flea, tick and worm protection.
If the lumps haven't disappeared or at least reduced by the time I get my tax return next month than I will take her to the vet for tests - I'm just trying to keep my little baby safe and healthy as best as I can while keeping my bills paid in the meantime. Post-holiday is always an especially tough time of year as I have a seven-year-old son and am a single mom with NO support whatsoever. Thank you for any insight anyone might be able to offer.
Just a couple of days ago out of nowhere I noticed that the youngest, Faerydae, has a swollen lower lip. She doesn't seem to be in any pain and it isn't affecting her behavior or appetite but it was quite alarming regardless. So to the interwebs I turned to investigate what this could be! Best guess is EGC (Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex). As I understand it, it's fairly common for kitties to develop allergic reactions to plastic or possibly their food. While they eat out of glass bowls, their older "brother" (a short hair foundling that turned up on my doorstep about 4 months before I adopted my 3 babies) and their "mommy cat" (an adult Calico belonging to my roommate, none of the five are actually related) share a plastic dish that she may be snitching from when no one is looking. I feed them all at the same time and try to make sure they stay at their own dishes but that doesn't mean she doesn't go back during the day and pick at what may be left. They also all share a large plastic water dish - which my other roommate's dog uses too. So we've switched out the plastic dishes hoping that will help.
I don't think it's a food allergy as I feed them all a grain-free kibble formulated for indoor kittens, except for the two older ones but they are also on a grain-free diet. I also make a home made wet food of pureed chicken scraps for them as an occasional addition which they all love but she especially goes nuts for. Anyway as I said we switched out the plastic dishes for glass today but also just today I discovered more small lumps, this time on the top of her shoulder. I suppose this could also be EGC as there are other types that are reported to appear just about anywhere on a kitty, but I'm concerned with how closely together they appeared, time-wise. Again, she doesn't seem to be in any sort of pain or discomfort, it's not at all inhibiting her mobility or affecting her behavior and her appetite hasn't changed.
Does anyone have any insight on how I might try to safely treat this at home? I read that 5mg of Zyrtec daily should help if it's an allergy but I'm kind of loathe to give her something that she may not need. For that matter, does anyone else know if this might be something besides EGC? The pictures others have posted of their kitties with swollen lower lips look exactly as Faerydae's does which is why I'm fairly sure it's EGC but still...I'd appreciate other opinions.
I pretty much live paycheck to paycheck and right now I'm broke so I unfortunately can't afford to take her to the vet I already had to pay money I wasn't expecting to for a fecal test for worms (even though they were supposedly de-wormed by the SPCA) which turned up positive, so I then had to administer two rounds of worm medicine. All of the cats were treated at that point too, not just the three babies, as I realized it would be pointless to treat three of them but not the two older ones - they'd just pass the worms back and forth otherwise. Starting next month they'll be resuming a monthly treatment with Revolution topical flea, tick and worm protection.
If the lumps haven't disappeared or at least reduced by the time I get my tax return next month than I will take her to the vet for tests - I'm just trying to keep my little baby safe and healthy as best as I can while keeping my bills paid in the meantime. Post-holiday is always an especially tough time of year as I have a seven-year-old son and am a single mom with NO support whatsoever. Thank you for any insight anyone might be able to offer.
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