eosinophilic granuloma complex, heat and me venting

(Ginger-lyn Summer) wrote in message ...
On 18 Nov 2003 04:31:31 -0800, (-L.) wrote:

"Lauralai" wrote in message ...
hi
here's the back ground

Get the cat spayed ASAP.

Eosinophilic granuloma complex is easily treatable. The vet will only
have to look at the lesions to diagnose them. It usually occurrs
during an allergic reaction - to fleas, to plastics (such as water
bowls), to cleaning supplies or insecticides, or food, so finding out
what may be triggering it is key to controlling it. It is a life-long
condition. It is treated with prednisone, usually.

Good luck,
-L.

I second this. Spaying is important, and I'm not sure why the EGC
should prevent that, although of course, your vet should be the final
authority on this. I have a cat with EGC, and the info above is what
I also understand (actually, I just learned from this post about some
of the possible allergens). From what I understand, it is an
autoimmune disease, and is generally easily treatable, although
treatment may need repeated. My guy's cleared up after a couple of
cortisone shots, but is back, so he will need to go back in again to
get the shots.

Question: can treating it with prednisone tablets every so often
prevent it? Just curious on that one.


Actually the best method of treatment is Depomedrol injection. I
wrote pred by mistake as I'm taking pred now. ;p Cortizone
derivatives won't "prevent" it, so to speak, but it will make it clear
up and stay away for quite awhile - some cats have chronic outbreaks
and an allergen cannot be determined. Some vets feel there is an
autoimmune response/component to the disease. The bottom line is they
don't really know *what* the cause is, though. Kitties can live a
long time with it - mine has had hers since she was adopted - 13 years
ago. Until now, her outbreaks were well controlled. Lately she has
had more of them, possibly dur to failing health with old age.

HTH,
-L.

(Ginger-lyn Summer) wrote in message ...
On 18 Nov 2003 04:31:31 -0800, (-L.) wrote:

"Lauralai" wrote in message ...
hi
here's the back ground

Get the cat spayed ASAP.

Eosinophilic granuloma complex is easily treatable. The vet will only
have to look at the lesions to diagnose them. It usually occurrs
during an allergic reaction - to fleas, to plastics (such as water
bowls), to cleaning supplies or insecticides, or food, so finding out
what may be triggering it is key to controlling it. It is a life-long
condition. It is treated with prednisone, usually.

Good luck,
-L.

I second this. Spaying is important, and I'm not sure why the EGC
should prevent that, although of course, your vet should be the final
authority on this. I have a cat with EGC, and the info above is what
I also understand (actually, I just learned from this post about some
of the possible allergens). From what I understand, it is an
autoimmune disease, and is generally easily treatable, although
treatment may need repeated. My guy's cleared up after a couple of
cortisone shots, but is back, so he will need to go back in again to
get the shots.

Question: can treating it with prednisone tablets every so often
prevent it? Just curious on that one.


Actually the best method of treatment is Depomedrol injection. I
wrote pred by mistake as I'm taking pred now. ;p Cortizone
derivatives won't "prevent" it, so to speak, but it will make it clear
up and stay away for quite awhile - some cats have chronic outbreaks
and an allergen cannot be determined. Some vets feel there is an
autoimmune response/component to the disease. The bottom line is they
don't really know *what* the cause is, though. Kitties can live a
long time with it - mine has had hers since she was adopted - 13 years
ago. Until now, her outbreaks were well controlled. Lately she has
had more of them, possibly dur to failing health with old age.

HTH,
-L.

(Ginger-lyn Summer) wrote in message ...
On 18 Nov 2003 04:31:31 -0800, (-L.) wrote:

"Lauralai" wrote in message ...
hi
here's the back ground

Get the cat spayed ASAP.

Eosinophilic granuloma complex is easily treatable. The vet will only
have to look at the lesions to diagnose them. It usually occurrs
during an allergic reaction - to fleas, to plastics (such as water
bowls), to cleaning supplies or insecticides, or food, so finding out
what may be triggering it is key to controlling it. It is a life-long
condition. It is treated with prednisone, usually.

Good luck,
-L.

I second this. Spaying is important, and I'm not sure why the EGC
should prevent that, although of course, your vet should be the final
authority on this. I have a cat with EGC, and the info above is what
I also understand (actually, I just learned from this post about some
of the possible allergens). From what I understand, it is an
autoimmune disease, and is generally easily treatable, although
treatment may need repeated. My guy's cleared up after a couple of
cortisone shots, but is back, so he will need to go back in again to
get the shots.

Question: can treating it with prednisone tablets every so often
prevent it? Just curious on that one.


Actually the best method of treatment is Depomedrol injection. I
wrote pred by mistake as I'm taking pred now. ;p Cortizone
derivatives won't "prevent" it, so to speak, but it will make it clear
up and stay away for quite awhile - some cats have chronic outbreaks
and an allergen cannot be determined. Some vets feel there is an
autoimmune response/component to the disease. The bottom line is they
don't really know *what* the cause is, though. Kitties can live a
long time with it - mine has had hers since she was adopted - 13 years
ago. Until now, her outbreaks were well controlled. Lately she has
had more of them, possibly dur to failing health with old age.

HTH,
-L.

In ,
PawsForThought composed with style:
From: "Cheryl"

I've had nothing but health troubles for my cats since I bought
my current house. Before I bought the house I never knew the
things I know now and my cats are on decent diets but they are
still having problems I've never seen before. I got a fish over
the weekend (a Betta) and after 3 days it died. I used the
water treatment that neutralizes chlorine. But it still died.
Granted, it could have already been sick before I got it but I
can't help but wonder if my tap water is to blame for all of my
cats problems.

Sorry to hear about your fish, Cheryl
Have you ever had your house tested for black mold?

I've been thinking about that. I started asking about it in a post in
another thread earlier but I don't know what to ask for, who to ask,
or what to look out for when having an inspector in. As I posted, I
had termites and I do believe termites and moisture go hand in hand.
I monitor the RH level in my downstairs and run a dehumidifier. I
should go ask about this in the alt dot home dot repair group. I am
highly allergic to mold, though, and I don't feel any ill effects
myself in the house.

In ,
PawsForThought composed with style:
From: "Cheryl"

I've had nothing but health troubles for my cats since I bought
my current house. Before I bought the house I never knew the
things I know now and my cats are on decent diets but they are
still having problems I've never seen before. I got a fish over
the weekend (a Betta) and after 3 days it died. I used the
water treatment that neutralizes chlorine. But it still died.
Granted, it could have already been sick before I got it but I
can't help but wonder if my tap water is to blame for all of my
cats problems.

Sorry to hear about your fish, Cheryl
Have you ever had your house tested for black mold?

I've been thinking about that. I started asking about it in a post in
another thread earlier but I don't know what to ask for, who to ask,
or what to look out for when having an inspector in. As I posted, I
had termites and I do believe termites and moisture go hand in hand.
I monitor the RH level in my downstairs and run a dehumidifier. I
should go ask about this in the alt dot home dot repair group. I am
highly allergic to mold, though, and I don't feel any ill effects
myself in the house.

In ,
PawsForThought composed with style:
From: "Cheryl"

I've had nothing but health troubles for my cats since I bought
my current house. Before I bought the house I never knew the
things I know now and my cats are on decent diets but they are
still having problems I've never seen before. I got a fish over
the weekend (a Betta) and after 3 days it died. I used the
water treatment that neutralizes chlorine. But it still died.
Granted, it could have already been sick before I got it but I
can't help but wonder if my tap water is to blame for all of my
cats problems.

Sorry to hear about your fish, Cheryl
Have you ever had your house tested for black mold?

I've been thinking about that. I started asking about it in a post in
another thread earlier but I don't know what to ask for, who to ask,
or what to look out for when having an inspector in. As I posted, I
had termites and I do believe termites and moisture go hand in hand.
I monitor the RH level in my downstairs and run a dehumidifier. I
should go ask about this in the alt dot home dot repair group. I am
highly allergic to mold, though, and I don't feel any ill effects
myself in the house.

Ours eats both canned & dry food. So we use a canned food with gravy,
and mix in the contents of the capsule (yes, emptied out), along with
a probiotic. The problem was originally pretty bad when first
observed, with the swollen lip interfering with the teeth, etc., so he
had a cortisone shot only that first time. While we have some
prednisone tablets in case of an outbreak outside convenient vet
hours, we have never had to resort to them. If for some reason he
focusses on the dry food for a while, and is not eating the
supplemented canned food, we'll see a little bit of swollen lip and/or
chin. However, it is never severe, and is always controlled when he
gets his L-Lysine in.

Kevin

PawsForThought wrote:

From: Kevin Krell

My cat often gets the pink lower lip in about the 4th photo on that
page. Diagnosed by the vet visually, pretty classic, looked just like
the photo in his book. Soemtimes you will see sores on the backs of
the legs. We were told it was probably an allergic reaction (possibly
flea allergy), and was also associated with stress. We've
successfully kept it under control (for 1 year) by supplementing his
diet with 500mg of the amino acid L-Lysine daily. L-Lysine is used to
prevent eruption or shorten appearance of oral herpes (cold sores).
I'm not sure why it works. It's also interesting to note that Herpe
outbreaks are more likely to occur when an individual is particularly
stressed.

Hi Kevin,
I'm glad to hear the lysine works for your cat. I'm just curious, do you empty
the capsule into his food to give it to him? He doesn't mind the taste?

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

Ours eats both canned & dry food. So we use a canned food with gravy,
and mix in the contents of the capsule (yes, emptied out), along with
a probiotic. The problem was originally pretty bad when first
observed, with the swollen lip interfering with the teeth, etc., so he
had a cortisone shot only that first time. While we have some
prednisone tablets in case of an outbreak outside convenient vet
hours, we have never had to resort to them. If for some reason he
focusses on the dry food for a while, and is not eating the
supplemented canned food, we'll see a little bit of swollen lip and/or
chin. However, it is never severe, and is always controlled when he
gets his L-Lysine in.

Kevin

PawsForThought wrote:

From: Kevin Krell

My cat often gets the pink lower lip in about the 4th photo on that
page. Diagnosed by the vet visually, pretty classic, looked just like
the photo in his book. Soemtimes you will see sores on the backs of
the legs. We were told it was probably an allergic reaction (possibly
flea allergy), and was also associated with stress. We've
successfully kept it under control (for 1 year) by supplementing his
diet with 500mg of the amino acid L-Lysine daily. L-Lysine is used to
prevent eruption or shorten appearance of oral herpes (cold sores).
I'm not sure why it works. It's also interesting to note that Herpe
outbreaks are more likely to occur when an individual is particularly
stressed.

Hi Kevin,
I'm glad to hear the lysine works for your cat. I'm just curious, do you empty
the capsule into his food to give it to him? He doesn't mind the taste?

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

Ours eats both canned & dry food. So we use a canned food with gravy,
and mix in the contents of the capsule (yes, emptied out), along with
a probiotic. The problem was originally pretty bad when first
observed, with the swollen lip interfering with the teeth, etc., so he
had a cortisone shot only that first time. While we have some
prednisone tablets in case of an outbreak outside convenient vet
hours, we have never had to resort to them. If for some reason he
focusses on the dry food for a while, and is not eating the
supplemented canned food, we'll see a little bit of swollen lip and/or
chin. However, it is never severe, and is always controlled when he
gets his L-Lysine in.

Kevin

PawsForThought wrote:

From: Kevin Krell

My cat often gets the pink lower lip in about the 4th photo on that
page. Diagnosed by the vet visually, pretty classic, looked just like
the photo in his book. Soemtimes you will see sores on the backs of
the legs. We were told it was probably an allergic reaction (possibly
flea allergy), and was also associated with stress. We've
successfully kept it under control (for 1 year) by supplementing his
diet with 500mg of the amino acid L-Lysine daily. L-Lysine is used to
prevent eruption or shorten appearance of oral herpes (cold sores).
I'm not sure why it works. It's also interesting to note that Herpe
outbreaks are more likely to occur when an individual is particularly
stressed.

Hi Kevin,
I'm glad to hear the lysine works for your cat. I'm just curious, do you empty
the capsule into his food to give it to him? He doesn't mind the taste?

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

From: Kevin Krell

Ours eats both canned & dry food. So we use a canned food with gravy,
and mix in the contents of the capsule (yes, emptied out), along with
a probiotic. The problem was originally pretty bad when first
observed, with the swollen lip interfering with the teeth, etc., so he
had a cortisone shot only that first time. While we have some
prednisone tablets in case of an outbreak outside convenient vet
hours, we have never had to resort to them. If for some reason he
focusses on the dry food for a while, and is not eating the
supplemented canned food, we'll see a little bit of swollen lip and/or
chin. However, it is never severe, and is always controlled when he
gets his L-Lysine in.

That's great to hear, Kevin. I know I've heard about other cats being helped
by Lysine too. I just heard that it tasted pretty bitter so wondered how a cat
would tolerate it.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm