Weird Paw Condition - Vet Can't Diagnose

[lemondrop]

IMG_20150716_104435_952.jpg

• lemondrop
• Jul 16, 2015

This is what it looks like. Just a small pink bump so far.

Thanks, goholistic. Last summer went at this pace with him, too, except it stayed on his paws.
His water bowl is stainless steel. He gets his wet food from a ceramic dish and I have three plastic puzzle feeders I use for the dry food they still get. Nothing in this setup has changed, so it seems odd that he would only have these problems in the summer if that's the issue.

 

[lemondrop]

Mendel and I went to the vet yesterday morning. I specifically made the appointment with our usual vet at the same clinic and it went really well! She brought up eosinophilic granulomas before I mentioned it, which was exactly what I was hoping for. We talked about several treatment options and theirs pros and cons. We ended up doing just the short-term steroid injection (without antibiotics) this time, but we agree that it if it keeps coming back at this frequency, then we need to work out a more sustainable treatment plan for him.

He had his injection yesterday morning and his lip was noticeably better already when I woke up today! I think as long as I can make appointments specifically with this vet, I'll stick with this clinic. It has a cats-only waiting area, which is hard to find in my area, so I don't want to leave it if I'm not forced to.

I'm so happy to finally have a real diagnosis verified by my vet!

 

[irena]

Did your cat have any vaccinations in the past year before this issue started?  Vaccine damage can show up even up to year later.  Two months ago my cat had his teeth cleaned.  They gave him a rabies shot saying it was protocol.  My cat is an indoor cat and has not been vaccinated since he was a kitten.  Two months later, he developed a foot condition also.  The vet confirmed my diagnoses as Plasma Cell Pododermatitis (pillow foot).  To shorten this up, I refused the antibiotics and cortisone and chose holistic options.  He is doing quite well with homeopathic remedies and olive leaf extract.  I am currently treating him for vaccine damage and am working on boosting his immune system.  I found a vet near by that does acupuncture and I will take him for 3 visits one week apart.  I've had good luck with this before with a dog that was vaccine damaged. She only needed 2 visits.   I do energy work (Reiki is a common modality of this type) on my cat. He has received a treatment 4 days in a row to date.  It has only been few days and he is remarkably better since I started with the homeopathic, energy work and olive leaf.  

Your cat might have something different, but it is worth considering the vaccine issue.  I also suggest that if your cat is immunocompromised, that you never vaccinated him again.  Keep in mind that antibiotics and cortisone will only weaken then immune system more.  I would suggest finding a holistic vet.  It is your best option in getting off the cycle of flare-up, cortisone, flare-up, cortisone, etc. 

Diet is also extremely important.  I would never feed my cat dry food knowing what I know now.  Top quality canned food, home made food and raw food diet are much better options. I alternate canned and homemade.  I occasionally feed raw just to keep certain digestive enzymes active in his body.  I have never had a problem with worms or parasites with raw food, though I would never feed raw pork.