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- Oct 31, 2003
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I am a first time poster, and I will apologize right away for this might be long. I have a 12-year old cat, who for the most part has been a wonderfully healthy cat. Over the past few weeks, there have been some symptoms/issues...none of them serious on their own but added up are making me crazy. I have called or visited the vet 4 times in the past month and I am beginning to believe that I am the one that needs to be medicated. Their only conclusion, and they are sticking to it, is stress. My b/f has been traveling for the past month, so they think my cat, Autumn, might be missing him. Anyway, let me know if this all sounds like stress to you and I should just chill out.
It all started with an inflamed patch of skin on his belly...pink, crusty, hair loss. Vet found no critters and decided that it was likely an allergic reaction. Autumn was given an anti-inflammatory injection and that patch cleared up...still naked there though. I noticed some weight over the next week...he dropped 6 ounces in less than a week without any vomiting. (I monitor his weight carefully because I think he is too skinny to begin with...weighed 12 pounds 3 years ago and now weighs 9 pounds). Plus, he just wasn't acting himself...he usually follows me everywhere, sleeps on my pillow and won't leave my lap for anything, but he started hiding and ignoring me. So, I took him back to the vet for a blood test...everything came back normal. Since that visit, he has stopped grooming his back (it's like an oil slick), his weight keeps bouncing around, he is losing tufts of fur (no bald spots, just thinning fur), he has sweaty pads, and I have found a couple of scabs around his head (could be from "playing" with his sister). His personality is somewhat more normal this week...he hangs out on my lap and sleeps with me again but is still more aloof than usual.
Any thoughts? Stress, allergies, critters (maybe the vet missed it), ringworm, etc? Please feel free to tell me that I am a crazy woman. This cat (along with my other cat Onyx) mean the world to me and I am just not willing to take any chances, but I am soon going to lose credibility with my vet's office (the boy who cried wolf analogy would apply).
My b/f will be home tomorrow, so we can obviously see if there are any improvements over the next week.
Thanks,
Sara
It all started with an inflamed patch of skin on his belly...pink, crusty, hair loss. Vet found no critters and decided that it was likely an allergic reaction. Autumn was given an anti-inflammatory injection and that patch cleared up...still naked there though. I noticed some weight over the next week...he dropped 6 ounces in less than a week without any vomiting. (I monitor his weight carefully because I think he is too skinny to begin with...weighed 12 pounds 3 years ago and now weighs 9 pounds). Plus, he just wasn't acting himself...he usually follows me everywhere, sleeps on my pillow and won't leave my lap for anything, but he started hiding and ignoring me. So, I took him back to the vet for a blood test...everything came back normal. Since that visit, he has stopped grooming his back (it's like an oil slick), his weight keeps bouncing around, he is losing tufts of fur (no bald spots, just thinning fur), he has sweaty pads, and I have found a couple of scabs around his head (could be from "playing" with his sister). His personality is somewhat more normal this week...he hangs out on my lap and sleeps with me again but is still more aloof than usual.
Any thoughts? Stress, allergies, critters (maybe the vet missed it), ringworm, etc? Please feel free to tell me that I am a crazy woman. This cat (along with my other cat Onyx) mean the world to me and I am just not willing to take any chances, but I am soon going to lose credibility with my vet's office (the boy who cried wolf analogy would apply).
My b/f will be home tomorrow, so we can obviously see if there are any improvements over the next week.
Thanks,
Sara