- Joined
- Feb 22, 2021
- Messages
- 1
Hi, all. new member, first time posting and would really welcome help with my kitty. Sorry that it’s so lengthy, but I wanted to give as much detail as possible.
Background: He is a former feral, approximately 10 years old, neutered and in the house (indoor only) for the past five years. His name is Puss. He’s an American Shorthair weighing approximately 15 pounds. Prefers being around me and my husband to being alone, only hides when company or repair people come into the house. Mostly low energy, lazy player… likes to swat instead of chase. Good appetite when he likes the food. He had a FVRCPC vaccine in 2017 and that was his only vaccine ever.
Was diagnosed about a year and a half ago with diabetes. We did a complete turnaround with his diet and we were able to get him into remission about four months after the diagnosis. He was on .5 units of Lantus until remission. We still test his BG once every 4-5 weeks. He had routine bloodwork done in September – everything in the normal range. He eats only wet and freeze dried food, both chicken and some fish. Beef not too often. I only buy food with very low carbs – 4% or less. His treats are freeze dried chicken. Almost all human grade.
My current problem started months ago. We noticed that he was licking a spot in the crease of his left hind leg. Started out slowly, but then more often. The result was a red, raw area where he had literally licked away his fur. Took him to the vet a few times and she gave him Convenia and a topical steroid and thought that would clear it up. She finally suggested taking him to a dermatologist, which we did. The dermatologist thought that he had a flea allergy. Of note, I brush him often and have used a flea comb and haven’t seen any evidence of fleas. She suggested flea medication (Revolution) and that he wear an e-collar to stop him from licking until it cleared up. He was miserable with it. We tried three different ones with the same reaction. Depression. She wanted us to give him Atopica, but we declined due to his diabetes situation. She later gave us Duoxo to use, which helped. I gave him the Revolution for 3 months and then stopped it. Before this started, he was getting Jackson Galaxy’s Para Outta-Site drops for flea prevention and I thought it was working. Since we haven’t noticed any flea activity (on him or in the house), wondering if this could be something other than a flea issue.
Currently, I give him Zyrtec and omega fish oil daily and have just started him on a probiotic. Topically, I’ve tried witch hazel mixed with Vetrericyn, calendula ointment and aloe to help relieve the itch. None seem to be really working, but perhaps I’m not giving any of them a proper chance to work.
Over time, there have been periods where we notice improvement… the redness fades and the wound appears to be drying out (just about cleared up), but then there are relapses where his renewed licking results in the original red sore, although not as bad as initially.
He’s gentle, sweet and loving and other than the excessive licking seems as happy as ever. No stress points that we can see.
I had a brief conversation with Dr. Jeff earlier, but hoping this sounds like something that others have encountered and may be able to offer some additional guidance. Thanks for listening.
Background: He is a former feral, approximately 10 years old, neutered and in the house (indoor only) for the past five years. His name is Puss. He’s an American Shorthair weighing approximately 15 pounds. Prefers being around me and my husband to being alone, only hides when company or repair people come into the house. Mostly low energy, lazy player… likes to swat instead of chase. Good appetite when he likes the food. He had a FVRCPC vaccine in 2017 and that was his only vaccine ever.
Was diagnosed about a year and a half ago with diabetes. We did a complete turnaround with his diet and we were able to get him into remission about four months after the diagnosis. He was on .5 units of Lantus until remission. We still test his BG once every 4-5 weeks. He had routine bloodwork done in September – everything in the normal range. He eats only wet and freeze dried food, both chicken and some fish. Beef not too often. I only buy food with very low carbs – 4% or less. His treats are freeze dried chicken. Almost all human grade.
My current problem started months ago. We noticed that he was licking a spot in the crease of his left hind leg. Started out slowly, but then more often. The result was a red, raw area where he had literally licked away his fur. Took him to the vet a few times and she gave him Convenia and a topical steroid and thought that would clear it up. She finally suggested taking him to a dermatologist, which we did. The dermatologist thought that he had a flea allergy. Of note, I brush him often and have used a flea comb and haven’t seen any evidence of fleas. She suggested flea medication (Revolution) and that he wear an e-collar to stop him from licking until it cleared up. He was miserable with it. We tried three different ones with the same reaction. Depression. She wanted us to give him Atopica, but we declined due to his diabetes situation. She later gave us Duoxo to use, which helped. I gave him the Revolution for 3 months and then stopped it. Before this started, he was getting Jackson Galaxy’s Para Outta-Site drops for flea prevention and I thought it was working. Since we haven’t noticed any flea activity (on him or in the house), wondering if this could be something other than a flea issue.
Currently, I give him Zyrtec and omega fish oil daily and have just started him on a probiotic. Topically, I’ve tried witch hazel mixed with Vetrericyn, calendula ointment and aloe to help relieve the itch. None seem to be really working, but perhaps I’m not giving any of them a proper chance to work.
Over time, there have been periods where we notice improvement… the redness fades and the wound appears to be drying out (just about cleared up), but then there are relapses where his renewed licking results in the original red sore, although not as bad as initially.
He’s gentle, sweet and loving and other than the excessive licking seems as happy as ever. No stress points that we can see.
I had a brief conversation with Dr. Jeff earlier, but hoping this sounds like something that others have encountered and may be able to offer some additional guidance. Thanks for listening.
