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Cystitis and excessive belly licking
Regulars here know Meep has cystitis. I've been noting a thinning of
hair on her belly, about where her bladder is. It isn't self-mutilation - yet - it's just short hairs, but no skin damage. I pointed this out to the vet and she indicated that this could indeed be caused by discomfort from cystitis, but did not recommend any treatment at this time. The treatment she'd suggest is anti-inflammatories, and I guess that's to be avoided for as long as possible, due to the stress this therapy places on kidneys and liver. I'm bothered by this though - it's a visible indication that she's uncomfortable, even if she's not showing clinical signs. She's licked to the point of self-mutilation before, so I'm keeping a close eye on this. She's been eating almost only wet food for a couple of weeks, but it hasn't made a difference to this behavior. Is it too soon? Is there anything I could give her to either make her more comfortable, or at least to keep her from licking? Please don't suggest a second opinion - would if I could. This is the best of the two vet clinics in town. The next nearest is a plane flight away. jmc |
#2
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Cystitis and excessive belly licking
On 19 Aug, 12:40, jmc wrote:
Regulars here know Meep has cystitis. I've been noting a thinning of hair on her belly, about where her bladder is. It isn't self-mutilation - yet - it's just short hairs, but no skin damage. I pointed this out to the vet and she indicated that this could indeed be caused by discomfort from cystitis, but did not recommend any treatment at this time. The treatment she'd suggest is anti-inflammatories, and I guess that's to be avoided for as long as possible, due to the stress this therapy places on kidneys and liver. I'm bothered by this though - it's a visible indication that she's uncomfortable, even if she's not showing clinical signs. She's licked to the point of self-mutilation before, so I'm keeping a close eye on this. She's been eating almost only wet food for a couple of weeks, but it hasn't made a difference to this behavior. Is it too soon? Is there anything I could give her to either make her more comfortable, or at least to keep her from licking? Please don't suggest a second opinion - would if I could. This is the best of the two vet clinics in town. The next nearest is a plane flight away. jmc i think it is a case of 'trest the cystitis and the licking to excess will then stop' AFAIK she is licking that spot because she is in great pain and discomfort there and it is the only way to distract herself from the pain inside, so if the cause of the pain is sorted out ie the cystitis, then she will no longer have the need to lick there so much as the pain will have gone. is your vet not treating her for cystitis? if not why? demand to know why, and also ask about painkillers for your cat, a doctor wold give a human patient in such pain some sort of painkiller so why not for a cat who is obviously is a great of distress. please go back to your vet and ask about this, your cat is obviously in pain and the vet can do something to help if they can be bothered. bookie |
#3
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Cystitis and excessive belly licking
On 19 Aug, 12:40, jmc wrote:
Regulars here know Meep has cystitis. I've been noting a thinning of hair on her belly, about where her bladder is. It isn't self-mutilation - yet - it's just short hairs, but no skin damage. I pointed this out to the vet and she indicated that this could indeed be caused by discomfort from cystitis, but did not recommend any treatment at this time. The treatment she'd suggest is anti-inflammatories, and I guess that's to be avoided for as long as possible, due to the stress this therapy places on kidneys and liver. I'm bothered by this though - it's a visible indication that she's uncomfortable, even if she's not showing clinical signs. She's licked to the point of self-mutilation before, so I'm keeping a close eye on this. She's been eating almost only wet food for a couple of weeks, but it hasn't made a difference to this behavior. Is it too soon? Is there anything I could give her to either make her more comfortable, or at least to keep her from licking? Please don't suggest a second opinion - would if I could. This is the best of the two vet clinics in town. The next nearest is a plane flight away. jmc also your vet sounds like a cretin, if your cat is in such discomfort now that they are continually lickign a spot to relieve the pain it is obviously time that treatment for the cystitis started. |
#4
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Cystitis and excessive belly licking
I'm bothered by this though - it's a visible indication that she's uncomfortable, even if she's not showing clinical signs. She's licked to the point of self-mutilation before, so I'm keeping a close eye on this. She's been eating almost only wet food for a couple of weeks, but it hasn't made a difference to this behavior. Is it too soon? Is there anything I could give her to either make her more comfortable, or at least to keep her from licking? While I admit that I don't know a lot about Meep's condition, it does sound like she's uncomfortable. Have you asked your vet about her taking a low-dose pain medication, that you could give when she starts licking? It may or may not work, but it might be worth a try. The only thing you could probably do to stop the licking is have her wear an E- collar, but that might make her stressed and end up making things worse. Poor gal. Hope she's feeling better soon. |
#5
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Cystitis and excessive belly licking
On Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:10:43 +0930, jmc
wrote: Regulars here know Meep has cystitis. I've been noting a thinning of hair on her belly, about where her bladder is. It isn't self-mutilation - yet - it's just short hairs, but no skin damage. I pointed this out to the vet and she indicated that this could indeed be caused by discomfort from cystitis, but did not recommend any treatment at this time. The treatment she'd suggest is anti-inflammatories, and I guess that's to be avoided for as long as possible, due to the stress this therapy places on kidneys and liver. JMC, I'm feeding my cat wild pacific canned salmon AS an anti-inflammatory, from its high omega 3 content. You might try that. I'm bothered by this though - it's a visible indication that she's uncomfortable, even if she's not showing clinical signs. She's licked to the point of self-mutilation before, so I'm keeping a close eye on this. She's been eating almost only wet food for a couple of weeks, but it hasn't made a difference to this behavior. Is it too soon? Is there anything I could give her to either make her more comfortable, or at least to keep her from licking? If your cat were human, I'm sure cranberry juice would be recommended as a home remedy for cystitis. I don't know if cats will even drink cranberry juice. I would really like to know if anyone has tried this, as my cat has cystitis too, imho, as there is blood in his urine. Considering that cats are carnivores, what they like is surprising. I wouldn't have imagined that my cat would like boiled broccoli, but, as it turns out, he LOVES it! I only give him a little bit of the florets, and he actually likes it BETTER than salmon. Catman Please don't suggest a second opinion - would if I could. This is the best of the two vet clinics in town. The next nearest is a plane flight away. jmc |
#6
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Cystitis and excessive belly licking
JMC, I'm feeding my cat wild pacific canned salmon AS an
anti-inflammatory, from its high omega 3 content. You might try that. This is a bad idea and you should stop feeding your cat canned salmon. Fish is high in magnesium and is thought to contribute to urinary tract crystal formation. Also, the cat probably isn't eating enough quanitity of salmon to offer any kind of Omega-3 benefit. An Omega- fatty acid supplement might be helpful, but it should be one formulated specifically for cats. One brand that is very good is Eicosaderm. Countrysidepet.com has a good price on these. You should read this artlcle about managing urinary tract issues in cats: http://community-2.webtv.net/getcathelp/urinarytract/ A good diet you might try is Nature's Variety raw (www.naturesvariety.com). A high-protein raw diet tends to acidify the urine naturally and might be helpful to you. Feeding raw takes a bit of care, but it's not difficult. I feed this brand myself with great results. If you have any questions about raw diets, please email me. |
#7
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Cystitis and excessive belly licking
Sorry to hear that your kitty is sick. Cystitis can be difficult to treat. My
cat had recurring UTIs for almost a year before we got it under control. After switching vets I was advised that he should be given a 30 day course of antibiotics to ensure that the infection is completely gone. Treating for 7- 10 days usually is enough to get rid of the symptoms for a while but not always enough to completely cure the infection, particularly for interstitial cystitis. A 30 day course of zeniquin finally cured my kitty. He suffered for almost a year with UTIs but has been healthy for a couple of years now. Best of luck. Let us know how Meep gets along. Johnna jmc wrote: Regulars here know Meep has cystitis. I've been noting a thinning of hair on her belly, about where her bladder is. It isn't self-mutilation - yet - it's just short hairs, but no skin damage. I pointed this out to the vet and she indicated that this could indeed be caused by discomfort from cystitis, but did not recommend any treatment at this time. The treatment she'd suggest is anti-inflammatories, and I guess that's to be avoided for as long as possible, due to the stress this therapy places on kidneys and liver. I'm bothered by this though - it's a visible indication that she's uncomfortable, even if she's not showing clinical signs. She's licked to the point of self-mutilation before, so I'm keeping a close eye on this. She's been eating almost only wet food for a couple of weeks, but it hasn't made a difference to this behavior. Is it too soon? Is there anything I could give her to either make her more comfortable, or at least to keep her from licking? Please don't suggest a second opinion - would if I could. This is the best of the two vet clinics in town. The next nearest is a plane flight away. jmc -- Message posted via CatKB.com http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200708/1 |
#8
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Cystitis and excessive belly licking
On Tue, 28 Aug 2007 13:57:35 -0700, "Rene S."
wrote: JMC, I'm feeding my cat wild pacific canned salmon AS an anti-inflammatory, from its high omega 3 content. You might try that. This is a bad idea and you should stop feeding your cat canned salmon. Fish is high in magnesium and is thought to contribute to urinary tract crystal formation. Also, the cat probably isn't eating enough quanitity of salmon to offer any kind of Omega-3 benefit. An Omega- fatty acid supplement might be helpful, but it should be one formulated specifically for cats. One brand that is very good is Eicosaderm. Countrysidepet.com has a good price on these. You should read this artlcle about managing urinary tract issues in cats: http://community-2.webtv.net/getcathelp/urinarytract/ A good diet you might try is Nature's Variety raw (www.naturesvariety.com). A high-protein raw diet tends to acidify the urine naturally and might be helpful to you. Feeding raw takes a bit of care, but it's not difficult. I feed this brand myself with great results. If you have any questions about raw diets, please email me. Thanks, Rene. A raw meat diet makes a lot of sense. Feeding cats grains is a REALLY dumb idea, imho. The magnesium issue certainly complicates feeding salmon. I'll have to look into that a LOT more. Thanks for the headsup. Catman |
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