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- Jun 7, 2018
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hi everyone. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this.
I have an issue we've been trying to deal w/ with my cat since April and I'm just lost on it.
Mittens is 7 and we have had her since she was a baby (6 months old). She showed up on our door step and we took her in and that was the end of it. My husband and I don't have kids so she is our lives. She has been healthy and we haven't had any issues until earlier this year.
In April I found a growth on her arm and the vet tested it and said we should have it removed. It came back as a low grade mast cell tumor and we were told just to watch it and to make sure it didn't come back. The entire situation was stressful for obvious reasons, but I am overly paranoid about her and freak out xs a million if anything does happen.
She got the stitches removed and then dug at her arm and grossed it out, so she went back in the cone which at that point she had now been in it for 3 weeks. Finally her arm looks fine and no more cone until like 3 weeks later when I look at her thumb paw on the same arm as her tumor was removed and the area surronding her nail is all red, swollen, pussy and huge looking. Back to the vet we went who said it may have been a nailbed infection so she gave her an antibiotic shot and said it lasted for 2 weeks. It cleared it up but not fully, so we went back and she gave her another 2 week antibiotic shot. To make it all worse this all happened while we were about 2 weeks out from a cross country move. While she had this nail infection she went back into the cone for about another month. So now like 2 months in the cone. We get to our moving state and the nail still looks weird, so we go to another vet who gives us a steroid cream and it cleared it up. Except then like 2 months later it's back but now on the other paw but same thumb paw nail. Back to the vet who says steroid cream and cone to clear it up. Clears it up and now 2 weeks later it's back AGAIN. At this point I am at a loss. When she licks it it's getting red and irritated and like blistery where pus comes out because she licks it so much. Our new vet said he could try sticking a needle in it to see if he can get any cells from it but that he'd have to half sedate her for that and didn't even know if he'd be able to get any info from it. Other option he said was remove those two claws because he said she has a fold on each of those that he thinks may be why it's getting red and irritated because she licks so much and bacteria could be getting in there and flaring it up. I obviously do not want to remove her claws but I am at a loss and am so over this entire thing as I'm sure she is too. The last time we were there for this a few weeks ago he said some cats have ocd when it comes to cleaning and she may be one of them and it just may be a psychological issue where she just obsessivley cleans herself and for some reason licks her thumb paws raw, but it came out of nowhere. This happened before we moved. But what am I supposed to do? Everytime she irritates it throw the steroid on and give her the cone for like 5 days until it heals? It is freaking me out because I'm pretty sure it gets infected and I have terrible anxiety issued because my Grandma passed away from an infection she had while getting treated for breast cancer (not the same thing, I know) but I hear infection and always go back to that. And this happens frequently to her nail so everytime that's a new infection and it makes me paranoid that it's going to do something more to her.
Mittens is my life so I'm just super worried about anything happening.
Has anyone ever had an issue like this at all with cats licking themselves to the point of blisters that get infected and gross? Any ideas or advice? Thank you all SO much.
I have an issue we've been trying to deal w/ with my cat since April and I'm just lost on it.
Mittens is 7 and we have had her since she was a baby (6 months old). She showed up on our door step and we took her in and that was the end of it. My husband and I don't have kids so she is our lives. She has been healthy and we haven't had any issues until earlier this year.
In April I found a growth on her arm and the vet tested it and said we should have it removed. It came back as a low grade mast cell tumor and we were told just to watch it and to make sure it didn't come back. The entire situation was stressful for obvious reasons, but I am overly paranoid about her and freak out xs a million if anything does happen.
She got the stitches removed and then dug at her arm and grossed it out, so she went back in the cone which at that point she had now been in it for 3 weeks. Finally her arm looks fine and no more cone until like 3 weeks later when I look at her thumb paw on the same arm as her tumor was removed and the area surronding her nail is all red, swollen, pussy and huge looking. Back to the vet we went who said it may have been a nailbed infection so she gave her an antibiotic shot and said it lasted for 2 weeks. It cleared it up but not fully, so we went back and she gave her another 2 week antibiotic shot. To make it all worse this all happened while we were about 2 weeks out from a cross country move. While she had this nail infection she went back into the cone for about another month. So now like 2 months in the cone. We get to our moving state and the nail still looks weird, so we go to another vet who gives us a steroid cream and it cleared it up. Except then like 2 months later it's back but now on the other paw but same thumb paw nail. Back to the vet who says steroid cream and cone to clear it up. Clears it up and now 2 weeks later it's back AGAIN. At this point I am at a loss. When she licks it it's getting red and irritated and like blistery where pus comes out because she licks it so much. Our new vet said he could try sticking a needle in it to see if he can get any cells from it but that he'd have to half sedate her for that and didn't even know if he'd be able to get any info from it. Other option he said was remove those two claws because he said she has a fold on each of those that he thinks may be why it's getting red and irritated because she licks so much and bacteria could be getting in there and flaring it up. I obviously do not want to remove her claws but I am at a loss and am so over this entire thing as I'm sure she is too. The last time we were there for this a few weeks ago he said some cats have ocd when it comes to cleaning and she may be one of them and it just may be a psychological issue where she just obsessivley cleans herself and for some reason licks her thumb paws raw, but it came out of nowhere. This happened before we moved. But what am I supposed to do? Everytime she irritates it throw the steroid on and give her the cone for like 5 days until it heals? It is freaking me out because I'm pretty sure it gets infected and I have terrible anxiety issued because my Grandma passed away from an infection she had while getting treated for breast cancer (not the same thing, I know) but I hear infection and always go back to that. And this happens frequently to her nail so everytime that's a new infection and it makes me paranoid that it's going to do something more to her.
Mittens is my life so I'm just super worried about anything happening. Has anyone ever had an issue like this at all with cats licking themselves to the point of blisters that get infected and gross? Any ideas or advice? Thank you all SO much.
