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Post by judypops on Mar 25, 2013 16:39:34 GMT
Morandi has had a skin condition on and off,mostly on since he was about 6 months old.He scratches himself raw constantly.It mainly appears on his cheek and above his eyes.We have been to the vets countless times and all they say it try to treat it before it starts up again.He is constantly on a mixture of steroids and cream to stop the itching, that's probably why he is so mellow,he is always high!  .We have tried changing his food twice ,he was on royal canin then we switched to science plan (recommended by the vets, should've know it wouldn't do anything) and recently to applaws in case it was an allergy to the grain and stuff in the others but no nothing is working. While I'm on easter holidays for the next 2 weeks I'm going to keep him in to see if it's something outside causing it or if it's food related and somebody else is feeding him. Anybody know anything that might help?? Here's some photos:   |
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Post by tonib on Mar 25, 2013 18:54:45 GMT
Oh poor Morandi and you. I haven't got any thoughts as no experience of this sort of thing. Hopefully someone else will have some bright ideas.
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Post by cia on Mar 26, 2013 12:19:46 GMT
Oh my, that looks raw. Try and watch him for as long as you can and see whats sparks his scratching. To leave it raw risks infection - good idea keeping him in. I hope you get some resolve and soon.
Have you tried another vet? A second opinion might be an idea.
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satori
Newbie
Posts: 14 
Pets I own: Sassi, Rolo & Bruno
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Post by satori on Mar 26, 2013 13:16:45 GMT
Poor little chap. I too would get a second opinion; a dermatology referral seems in order. Just one crazy thought, given where the rash is - you aren't using plastic feeding bowls, right?
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Post by Jessie99 on Mar 26, 2013 14:36:41 GMT
Maybe put a little bit of sudocrem on it for now just to ease the pain a little bit, it shouldn't so any harm as it is prescribed for babies too and sensitive skin.
Hope he is okay soon!x
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Post by judypops on Mar 26, 2013 15:23:48 GMT
Poor little chap. I too would get a second opinion; a dermatology referral seems in order. Just one crazy thought, given where the rash is - you aren't using plastic feeding bowls, right? Whats wrong with plastic bowls ?  |
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satori
Newbie
Posts: 14
Pets I own: Sassi, Rolo & Bruno
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Post by satori on Mar 26, 2013 15:51:39 GMT
Poor little chap. I too would get a second opinion; a dermatology referral seems in order. Just one crazy thought, given where the rash is - you aren't using plastic feeding bowls, right? Whats wrong with plastic bowls ? Plastic bowls should not be used for cat feeding or for water. Not only does plastic form hairline cracks that harbor bacteria; many cats are allergic to plastic especially around the mouth and chin. Here's one article that suggests plastic could even be one cause of feline eosinophilic granuloma www.vetlive.com/example-questions/cat-health/eosinophilic-granuloma-complex/It just isn't worth the risk. Best to use stainless steel or paper disposable. |
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Post by judypops on Mar 26, 2013 16:11:34 GMT
Plastic bowls should not be used for cat feeding or for water. Not only does plastic form hairline cracks that harbor bacteria; many cats are allergic to plastic especially around the mouth and chin. Here's one article that suggests plastic could even be one cause of feline eosinophilic granuloma www.vetlive.com/example-questions/cat-health/eosinophilic-granuloma-complex/It just isn't worth the risk. Best to use stainless steel or paper disposable. hmm, thanks for that ,we never considered the bowls a problem,I'll try switching them out. now that i think of it he did get the same thing once on his belly |
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Post by nannycat on Mar 27, 2013 13:52:04 GMT
hi - does look very sore. couple of things come to mind. has the vet taken a scraping of the area to see what is going on? this should show definitely if there is something there aggrevating his neck. or a swab and sending this off? if he has and you are still not getting any resolve i would get a second opinion myself. there is a good sensitive food by health sciences which i have used in the past. also there are some natural herbal remedies which you can get for cats which you can either rub on or put a few drops in water which i have used in past. yes, plastic bowls can be an issue but i think this looks too severe for that. it is good you are keeping him in for a while then you have control to find out exactly what is causing it. i hope he gets better soon, will be interested to hear.
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Post by judypops on Mar 27, 2013 14:11:47 GMT
hi - does look very sore. couple of things come to mind. has the vet taken a scraping of the area to see what is going on? this should show definitely if there is something there aggrevating his neck. or a swab and sending this off? if he has and you are still not getting any resolve i would get a second opinion myself. there is a good sensitive food by health sciences which i have used in the past. also there are some natural herbal remedies which you can get for cats which you can either rub on or put a few drops in water which i have used in past. yes, plastic bowls can be an issue but i think this looks too severe for that. it is good you are keeping him in for a while then you have control to find out exactly what is causing it. i hope he gets better soon, will be interested to hear. Yes we have had a biopsy before which didn't reveal anything. I think a second opinion is in order, I'll ask my parents about the possibility of that . We do have a stray which comes around,not so much a stray as my neighbours cat which he doesn't take care of, who has scabby ears and my sister is adamant that that is the problem but surely if it was contagious Charlie, my other cat, would have gotten it off of either of them. His neck is getting a good bit better even in the 3 days I've kept him in,although i can't let him get too bored or he starts to scratch  |
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Post by gladys on Mar 27, 2013 19:22:58 GMT
Have you thought about going grain free?
I've just put my two cats on to Arden grange sensitive which is potato not rice.
My oldest cat was getting very dry skin and a bit itchy and it seems to have stopped this now.
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Post by judypops on Mar 27, 2013 19:38:49 GMT
He is on grain free ,Applaws.
3 different vets within the 1 practice have looked at him so mam and dad say there's no point going to another vet
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Post by vonnie on Mar 28, 2013 20:56:46 GMT
I think you need to do an allergy test. You need to test both environment and food. Speak to the vet about this but it is pricy and he might have to be off steroids for 6 weeks before the test. Price wise though it'll probably work out cheaper than all the vet visits!
I also think he needs a buster collar to stop being able to scratch the area. It doesnt have to be huge, just enough so he cannot reach to scratch or rub it directly on anything. Without a collar the wounds will not heal properly, as he's likely to scratch them again. They'll also itch as they do heal, so he'll scratch even more!
Changing from plastic bowls could well help too, very good advice there.
If your parents do not want to go down the allergy test route the other thing to do food wise is list ALL the ingredients of the food he is on. Then change to a new one again listing the ingredients. You MUST give each diet change AT LEAST 4 weeks to come into affect. It takes this long to show an allergy. If after 4-6 weeks he still itches try another diet.
After a few months you will hopefully see what works better than others and any common ingredients that affect him.
Remember this takes a long time.
My fellow nurse had this problem with her cat. She was driven to despair as nothing worked and he had a buster collar on for 6 months! Stan was not a happy cat but she persevered and eventually did an allergy test. Now she knows what affects him and he gets pills for the time of year he is affected. She also changed his diet too.
It took almost a year in total but he's doing really well now and is all healed, as his wounds were the same as Morandi's.
Hope this helps.
x x
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Post by deniselynn1959 on Mar 31, 2013 7:11:49 GMT
Just seen your thread and had to reply to it. My cat Toffee has been suffering with this since June 2012. He seemed to get better and then got worse again, so much so that we thought we were going to lose him. We had tried 3 different vets. We took him to a vet which was local to us and must have spent nearly 3k in vet bills, luckily we are insured but nothing worked. No one seemed to know what was causing it, he had allergy tests and we had to use Hills Science plan which he hated and as we had two cats it was difficult to give it to one cat and not the other in the end we gave it to Ozzy as well. Although the vet said she didn't know what it was when we got the cheque back from the pet insurance company it said Cat Dermatitis. We were pulling our hair out with worry and I must have spent hundreds of pounds on different things to try for him. In the end my mum said why don't you look for a vet who specialises in skin problems (why didn't i think of that) Bingo!!!!!! the vet we now take him to got this cleared up on our 2nd visit. He used a different steroid and had his neck shaved and wiped the area with some magic potion. We have been back three times since, the last time because he started scratching again. So all I would say is try another vet. We have had three different vets but we went three times and must have spent less than three hundred pound's and what a difference. I haven't got any photos to show how bad he was, but believe me he was in a bad way. It nearly covered the whole of his head and very time he scratched himself he would shake his head and blood would cover everything. He became a recluse and didn't even want his best mate Ozzy near him. It was so sad. But so pleased to say he is a million times better now. I hope this is of some help to you and that you get Morandi sorted out soon, It can cost a lot of money. Hopefully if you have your cat insured they can help you. We are with Pet Plan and I would highly recommend them.
Denise
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satori
Newbie
Posts: 14
Pets I own: Sassi, Rolo & Bruno
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Post by satori on Mar 31, 2013 9:47:30 GMT
He is on grain free ,Applaws. 3 different vets within the 1 practice have looked at him so mam and dad say there's no point going to another vet No point trying a new vet at random, I agree. As I said earlier, he needs to be referred to a dermatology practice. |
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.We have tried changing his food twice ,he was on royal canin then we switched to science plan (recommended by the vets, should've know it wouldn't do anything) and recently to applaws in case it was an allergy to the grain and stuff in the others but no nothing is working. While I'm on easter holidays for the next 2 weeks I'm going to keep him in to see if it's something outside causing it or if it's food related and somebody else is feeding him.
