Cat health summary
Nov. 1st, 2010 05:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stephbgHave just returned from the annual trip to Disneyland the vet for the cats' annual shots and once-over. The news is definitely mixed.
Cally
Cally is in extremely good condition for her age, apart from the arthritis which is currently under control. Good thing it hasn't been raining. When next she stiffens up there are a few new products on the market to try to keep her comfortable.
Pumpkin
Pumpkin is a little wheezy, but it's most likely a touch of hayfever. He gets coughing fits occasionally which I used to think were a prelude to vomiting. He very obligingly had a coughing fit just before going to the vet so he had something for Show and Tell. Long term issue, no action required unless it gets worse.
Princess Twinkle Toes
Princess provided the slightly nasty surprise this time around. Despite being about four years younger than Cally (13/14 ish to Cally's 17/18ish) she's showing more signs of age. Going in I was most concerned about the self-inflicted scratches around her neck but was not expecting a probable diagnosis of age-onset food allergies. Sigh, like mother like daughter. The vet even commented on how often pets and owners share non-transmissible conditions like diabetes.
Step 1: Princess has had a shot of cortisone which should give her a week or so of relief if she does in fact have an itch. If the problem goes away, it's not psychological. For a week, I watch and do nothing different.
Psychological would be easier to treat frankly, because we all know how much fun it can be trying to isolate a food allergy on an elimination diet. That's one hell of a Step 2. And what one cat eats they all eat. The best bit? Each cycle takes 10 weeks, and the likely allergens are the common proteins and wheat (which is everywhere), not to mention colours and preservatives and all the fun stuff I can't tolerate.
It's not looking good. It might not be possible to isolate and manage the cause and the vet basically told me that if the condition becomes chronic (which it might already be) cats can tear themselves apart and then... you know... An ellipsis :-(
PS On the sort of bright side I asked the vet if she was from Texas, because her accent reminded me of both![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
anysia and Elizabeth Moon. Nope, she was born in Sydney to an Australian mother, but her father was from New Mexico. Perhaps I shouldn't have said "Near enough" because I got bombarded with slightly aggressive Texas-is-inferior-to-New-Mexico jokes. Oops. I still count it a win in accent identification.
Cally
Cally is in extremely good condition for her age, apart from the arthritis which is currently under control. Good thing it hasn't been raining. When next she stiffens up there are a few new products on the market to try to keep her comfortable.
Pumpkin
Pumpkin is a little wheezy, but it's most likely a touch of hayfever. He gets coughing fits occasionally which I used to think were a prelude to vomiting. He very obligingly had a coughing fit just before going to the vet so he had something for Show and Tell. Long term issue, no action required unless it gets worse.
Princess Twinkle Toes
Princess provided the slightly nasty surprise this time around. Despite being about four years younger than Cally (13/14 ish to Cally's 17/18ish) she's showing more signs of age. Going in I was most concerned about the self-inflicted scratches around her neck but was not expecting a probable diagnosis of age-onset food allergies. Sigh, like mother like daughter. The vet even commented on how often pets and owners share non-transmissible conditions like diabetes.
Step 1: Princess has had a shot of cortisone which should give her a week or so of relief if she does in fact have an itch. If the problem goes away, it's not psychological. For a week, I watch and do nothing different.
Psychological would be easier to treat frankly, because we all know how much fun it can be trying to isolate a food allergy on an elimination diet. That's one hell of a Step 2. And what one cat eats they all eat. The best bit? Each cycle takes 10 weeks, and the likely allergens are the common proteins and wheat (which is everywhere), not to mention colours and preservatives and all the fun stuff I can't tolerate.
It's not looking good. It might not be possible to isolate and manage the cause and the vet basically told me that if the condition becomes chronic (which it might already be) cats can tear themselves apart and then... you know... An ellipsis :-(
PS On the sort of bright side I asked the vet if she was from Texas, because her accent reminded me of both
anysia and Elizabeth Moon. Nope, she was born in Sydney to an Australian mother, but her father was from New Mexico. Perhaps I shouldn't have said "Near enough" because I got bombarded with slightly aggressive Texas-is-inferior-to-New-Mexico jokes. Oops. I still count it a win in accent identification.
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Date: 2010-11-01 09:37 am (UTC)