Help my friend's cat!

My friend in NYC has a lovely black tortie who keeps chewing herself
raw! She's been to the vet several times, but nothing seems to be
working. Does anyone here have suggestions that she might try?
Keep in mind that she's got mobility problems and is very short of
cash, but she's willing to do almost anything to help her baby feel
better.

Thanks,
Jane
- owned and operated by the Princess Rita

What has been done steroids shots, medication, allergy test ???????

if none of the above has been done than a new vet is a definite

"Jane" wrote in message
...
My friend in NYC has a lovely black tortie who keeps chewing herself
raw! She's been to the vet several times, but nothing seems to be
working. Does anyone here have suggestions that she might try?
Keep in mind that she's got mobility problems and is very short of
cash, but she's willing to do almost anything to help her baby feel
better.

Thanks,
Jane
- owned and operated by the Princess Rita

Jane wrote:
My friend in NYC has a lovely black tortie who keeps chewing herself
raw! She's been to the vet several times, but nothing seems to be
working. Does anyone here have suggestions that she might try?
Keep in mind that she's got mobility problems and is very short of
cash, but she's willing to do almost anything to help her baby feel
better.

When Nikki used to chew off her fur around her legs, it turned out she
had hyperthyroidism. Has your friend's cat been tested for that? It's
easy to treat as long as the cat isn't too hard to pill. The pills are
very bland, so it works very well to crush them and mix them into food
or a small treat of e.g. cream.

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban.
In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.

"Jane" wrote in message
...
My friend in NYC has a lovely black tortie who keeps chewing herself
raw! She's been to the vet several times, but nothing seems to be
working. Does anyone here have suggestions that she might try?
Keep in mind that she's got mobility problems and is very short of
cash, but she's willing to do almost anything to help her baby feel
better.

Thanks,
Jane
- owned and operated by the Princess Rita



Without reading any replies first, it sounds like something has stressed the
cat. But hey, I'm not a vet. I just know stressed cats (and birds, heheh)
tend to gnaw at themselves, pull out hair, etc. Has something in the
household changed? Does she have someone new spending a lot of time in the
apartment? New boyfriend/girlfriend? Any sort of new things like a change
in washing machine detergent which might trigger unknown allergies?

At any rate, the cat should be taken to a vet. I know what it's like to be
short of cash. But sometimes if you explain the situation to a vet they
will work out payment arrangements. I had to do that with my dog (Sampson
RB 1999) and they were more than happy to work with me paying off his bills.

Jill

On Dec 16, 10:18*am, Jane wrote:
My friend in NYC has a lovely black tortie who keeps chewing herself
raw! *She's been to the vet several times, but nothing seems to be
working. *Does anyone here have suggestions that she might try?
Keep in mind that she's got mobility problems and is very short of
cash, but she's willing to do almost anything to help her baby feel
better.

Thanks,
Jane
- owned and operated by the Princess Rita

Jane, ask her if there is any change in the household. Yoda chews the
inside of his
front leg if he is stressed. He did it the last two times I took in
kittens temporarily.
He did it when our adult son moved in with us. (I was ready to chew my
own leg off too, during
that time :-)
Wish I had some suggestions. Good luck to your friend.
Sherry

On Dec 16, 10:52*am, "jmcquown" wrote:
"Jane" wrote in message

...

My friend in NYC has a lovely black tortie who keeps chewing herself
raw! *She's been to the vet several times, but nothing seems to be
working. *Does anyone here have suggestions that she might try?
Keep in mind that she's got mobility problems and is very short of
cash, but she's willing to do almost anything to help her baby feel
better.

Thanks,
Jane
- owned and operated by the Princess Rita

snipped

At any rate, the cat should be taken to a vet. *I know what it's like to be
short of cash. *But sometimes if you explain the situation to a vet they
will work out payment arrangements. *I had to do that with my dog (Sampson
RB 1999) and they were more than happy to work with me paying off his bills.

Jill

"She's been to the vet several times, but nothing seems to be
working. "

Sherry

On Dec 16, 11:40*am, "Matthew"
wrote:
What has been done *steroids shots, *medication, allergy test ???????

if none of the above has been done * than a new vet is a definite


She's had several steroid treatments, usually pills, with very little
response. I don't know about the changes in the household, except
that my friend lives alone with her cat, and almost nobody except
her goes in and out. yes, my friend is stressed because of the
unsettled nature of her life (living on disability and what little
money she can pry out her freelance work for her ex), but
other than that, it's not like there are a lot of people going in
and out. She goes out for groceries and to do laundry, and
that's about it. It's a very quiet life in general.

She's unsure about the long-term effects of steroids on cats.
Can someone explain what they are?

Jane

"Sherry" wrote in message
...
On Dec 16, 10:18 am, Jane wrote:
My friend in NYC has a lovely black tortie who keeps chewing herself
raw! She's been to the vet several times, but nothing seems to be
working. Does anyone here have suggestions that she might try?
Keep in mind that she's got mobility problems and is very short of
cash, but she's willing to do almost anything to help her baby feel
better.

Thanks,
Jane
- owned and operated by the Princess Rita

Jane, ask her if there is any change in the household. Yoda chews the
inside of his
front leg if he is stressed. He did it the last two times I took in
kittens temporarily.
He did it when our adult son moved in with us. (I was ready to chew my
own leg off too, during
that time :-)
Wish I had some suggestions. Good luck to your friend.
Sherry


You conveniently snipped the part where my other reply asked her about new
stressors. (I missed the part about having been to several vets.) Excess
stress. It seems to me like something is stressing this cat out.

And she did say the friend can't afford a vet. Some DO work out payment
arrangements if necessary.

Jill

"Jane" wrote in message
...
My friend in NYC has a lovely black tortie who keeps chewing herself
raw! She's been to the vet several times, but nothing seems to be
working. Does anyone here have suggestions that she might try?
Keep in mind that she's got mobility problems and is very short of
cash, but she's willing to do almost anything to help her baby feel
better.


I'm only drawing on my dog experience here, but I expect a lot of it could
apply to cats.
Skin problems are can be difficult to resolve. Steroids are an easy way out
for the vet by not finding out what it causing it, just masking the
symptoms. I know why they do it, it takes so much time, so many tests, so
much money.
It is often due to an allergy of some kind, sometimes to cleaning products.
Wash all laundry in hypo-allergenic products suitable for babies. Do not
use biological powder.
Do not use "clean n vac" type products (powder to sprinkle on the carpet to
make it smell nice and then be hoovered up)
In fact, examine all the cleaning products you use in your home that you cat
could have come into contact with.
Food Allergies. Another possibility. Lamb and rice is the least allergenic
food there is. Start from that for two weeks, symptoms will subside if
that's the problem, and gradually introduce the usual food back. If
symptoms return, there's the culprit.
It's a long process of elimination really.
It can be psychological (and it's even more difficult to get to the bottom
of that.)
It can usually be sorted with much effort on meowmies part doing the
Sherlock Holmes thing.
My vet hates skin problems if they are not an obvious thing like flea
allergy, mange n stuff.. He says his heart sinks - and well may it. It's
not easy to know what it can be.
Ask your friend to try what I've said above for a few weeks and report back.

Tweed

"Jane" wrote in message
...
My friend in NYC has a lovely black tortie who keeps chewing herself
raw! She's been to the vet several times, but nothing seems to be
working. Does anyone here have suggestions that she might try?
Keep in mind that she's got mobility problems and is very short of
cash, but she's willing to do almost anything to help her baby feel
better.

I hope the anything includes taking the cat to a vet. We've had
similar problems with our cats that have been helped with steroid
injections.

Jo