auto-immune disease in cats

Hi, I just found your group tonight, and want to know if anyone here has
ever had a cat that developed an auto-immune disease which resulted in
my cats immune system attacking his own body, with inflammation and an
angry growth in the gums around the teeth? My cat Sam has this problem.
My vet, who I trust 100 %, did a laser treatment on the growth and for a
month Sam was ok. He was also on Prednilsone. Now that he is off the
steroids, the growth is returning. Next week he returns for another
laser treatment, and removal of two teeth. I feel horrible because I
know the pain Sam will be in after the laser treatment. He was in bad
pain after the last treatment, for about a week. I love my little Sam
so much, and would be interested in finding someone who has been down
this path before. I'm sorry, I cannot remember tonight what this is
called?

Thank you!
Annie

On Tue, 12 Jul 2011 19:16:26 -0500, (Ann Maree)
wrote:

Hi, I just found your group tonight, and want to know if anyone here has
ever had a cat that developed an auto-immune disease which resulted in
my cats immune system attacking his own body, with inflammation and an
angry growth in the gums around the teeth? My cat Sam has this problem.
My vet, who I trust 100 %, did a laser treatment on the growth and for a
month Sam was ok. He was also on Prednilsone. Now that he is off the
steroids, the growth is returning. Next week he returns for another
laser treatment, and removal of two teeth. I feel horrible because I
know the pain Sam will be in after the laser treatment. He was in bad
pain after the last treatment, for about a week. I love my little Sam
so much, and would be interested in finding someone who has been down
this path before. I'm sorry, I cannot remember tonight what this is
called?

Thank you!
Annie

I once adopted Jackie, a very old cat who had some reaction to either
her own teeth or the bacteria living in the pockets around them. The
only solution was to have all of her teeth pulled, many of which were
broken off below the gum line. She was much better after that and
didn't seem to have much trouble eating.

I would think that the growth is possibly unrelated to the autoimmune
problem, but I'm not a doctor or vet. Jackie did have multiple health
problems, including cancer, so maybe there was a connection. I don't
know what the laser treatment is good for either but maybe it was
developed in the 8 or so years since Jackie died.

We all know that it's tough to decide how or even if to treat cats
since they're so stoic. Just do your best and we'll send out some
Purrs for Sam.

My vet has treated other cats with this same auto-immune disease, and is
having really good luck with a cat named Otis. I am confident he will
take good care of my Sam. I guess I was just hoping to find someone else
who has a cat with this problem. I have an auto-immune disease myself (
Rheumatoid Arthritis ) and have lived with it for years, so I know what
it can do to either a human body or a cat body! Thanks for your reply
dgk and for the cat purrs for Sam! He is only about two years old, and
came as a stray to us about a year ago. He was scared, skin and bones,
and looked as if someone had thrown some type of acid on him. It took
him a few weeks to even let me touch him. Now he is part of my cat
family ( 6 other cats! ) and loved very much!

Annie

Ann Maree wrote:
Hi, I just found your group tonight, and want to know if anyone here
has ever had a cat that developed an auto-immune disease which
resulted in my cats immune system attacking his own body, with
inflammation and an angry growth in the gums around the teeth? My
cat Sam has this problem. My vet, who I trust 100 %, did a laser
treatment on the growth and for a month Sam was ok. He was also on
Prednilsone. Now that he is off the steroids, the growth is
returning. Next week he returns for another laser treatment, and
removal of two teeth. I feel horrible because I know the pain Sam
will be in after the laser treatment. He was in bad pain after the
last treatment, for about a week. I love my little Sam so much, and
would be interested in finding someone who has been down this path
before. I'm sorry, I cannot remember tonight what this is called?

Thank you!
Annie

There are drugs for humans that will fight some of these kinds of
auto-immune diseases. Perhaps you should ask your vet if any of these drugs
will work on cats. I know that there is a drug I can take that will "cure"
my psoriasis. But it will also leave me slightly more subseptable to other
diseases like tuberculosis, so I choose to live with the skin condition.

dgk wrote:
On Tue, 12 Jul 2011 19:16:26 -0500, (Ann Maree)
wrote:

Hi, I just found your group tonight, and want to know if anyone here
has ever had a cat that developed an auto-immune disease which
resulted in my cats immune system attacking his own body, with
inflammation and an angry growth in the gums around the teeth? My
cat Sam has this problem. My vet, who I trust 100 %, did a laser
treatment on the growth and for a month Sam was ok. He was also on
Prednilsone. Now that he is off the steroids, the growth is
returning. Next week he returns for another laser treatment, and
removal of two teeth. I feel horrible because I know the pain Sam
will be in after the laser treatment. He was in bad pain after the
last treatment, for about a week. I love my little Sam so much, and
would be interested in finding someone who has been down this path
before. I'm sorry, I cannot remember tonight what this is called?

Thank you!
Annie

I once adopted Jackie, a very old cat who had some reaction to either
her own teeth or the bacteria living in the pockets around them. The
only solution was to have all of her teeth pulled, many of which were
broken off below the gum line. She was much better after that and
didn't seem to have much trouble eating.

I would think that the growth is possibly unrelated to the autoimmune
problem, but I'm not a doctor or vet. Jackie did have multiple health
problems, including cancer, so maybe there was a connection. I don't
know what the laser treatment is good for either but maybe it was
developed in the 8 or so years since Jackie died.

We all know that it's tough to decide how or even if to treat cats
since they're so stoic. Just do your best and we'll send out some
Purrs for Sam.

My Smokey is so old we had all his teeth removed too. they were mostly
rotten and giving him a lot of pain (he was feral) Now, since he doesn't
have to catch his own food, he really has no need for teeth. His cat food is
already cut up into little bites, and cats generally swallow whatever they
can break up whole anyway. He is a much happier cat without those rotten
teeth, and much healthier too.

Ann Maree wrote:
My vet has treated other cats with this same auto-immune disease, and
is having really good luck with a cat named Otis. I am confident he
will take good care of my Sam. I guess I was just hoping to find
someone else who has a cat with this problem. I have an auto-immune
disease myself ( Rheumatoid Arthritis ) and have lived with it for
years, so I know what it can do to either a human body or a cat body!
Thanks for your reply dgk and for the cat purrs for Sam! He is
only about two years old, and came as a stray to us about a year ago.
He was scared, skin and bones, and looked as if someone had thrown
some type of acid on him. It took him a few weeks to even let me
touch him. Now he is part of my cat family ( 6 other cats! ) and
loved very much!

Annie

Its really wonderful to read about people who have rescued cdats )and other
animals) who were sick, or hurt, or otherwise destined for miserable deaths,
and are now happy and comfortable. My B-K was living on onion rings and
french fried potatoes that people threw at him in that Burger King parking
lot before I rescued him and gave him another 6-1/2 years of really fine
living. Our Smokey was feral and had a miserable disease, and we have had
him over ten years now, and he is still doing fine. These poor creatures
are born into this universe just like you and I are. They didn't choose to
be here, but now that they are, we should do what we can to make their brief
lives as comfortable as possible. I don't believe there is any profession or
pastime that is mare worthy that this.

Ann Maree wrote:
My vet has treated other cats with this same auto-immune disease, and
is having really good luck with a cat named Otis. I am confident he
will take good care of my Sam. I guess I was just hoping to find
someone else who has a cat with this problem. I have an auto-immune
disease myself ( Rheumatoid Arthritis ) and have lived with it for
years, so I know what it can do to either a human body or a cat body!
Thanks for your reply dgk and for the cat purrs for Sam! He is
only about two years old, and came as a stray to us about a year ago.
He was scared, skin and bones, and looked as if someone had thrown
some type of acid on him. It took him a few weeks to even let me
touch him. Now he is part of my cat family ( 6 other cats! ) and
loved very much!

Annie

i have a cat that has some sort of a-i disease. we found the giving him food
that had no corn or wheat in it cleared it up after a few months. we found
that rice is ok, but we try to find food that has no grains or at least
they're listed way down on the list of ingrediants.

I have 6 other cats besides my Sam. Two ( Tom and Poo ) I found in a
trash dumpster behind a restaurant where I worked years ago. They were
only 2 days old. A co-worker helped me get them out, and to the vet I
went! They are now inside spoiled rotten cats! It was fun bottle feeding
them, and raising them from such an early age! Someone had thrown them
in the dumpster. They were 4 kittens, but an employee at the vet's
office took two for herself. They are now 9 years old. Another cat,
Mama, was a stray when we moved to the country years ago. We gradually
took her in as one of the family too, and she had two kittens who are
also part of the family. ( Ranger and Whiner ) The last one, Storm, my
son and I found one stormy night alone on a country road. He was maybe 5
weeks old. We asked around, but nobody ever claimed him, so he became a
member of the family too!

Now we have a stray black cat hanging around........

Annie

chaniarts wrote:
Ann Maree wrote:
My vet has treated other cats with this same auto-immune disease, and
is having really good luck with a cat named Otis. I am confident he
will take good care of my Sam. I guess I was just hoping to find
someone else who has a cat with this problem. I have an auto-immune
disease myself ( Rheumatoid Arthritis ) and have lived with it for
years, so I know what it can do to either a human body or a cat body!
Thanks for your reply dgk and for the cat purrs for Sam! He is
only about two years old, and came as a stray to us about a year ago.
He was scared, skin and bones, and looked as if someone had thrown
some type of acid on him. It took him a few weeks to even let me
touch him. Now he is part of my cat family ( 6 other cats! ) and
loved very much!

Annie

i have a cat that has some sort of a-i disease. we found the giving
him food that had no corn or wheat in it cleared it up after a few
months. we found that rice is ok, but we try to find food that has no
grains or at least they're listed way down on the list of ingrediants.

This is an allergy, and not necessarily an auto-immune disease. An auto
immune disease is when you are allergic to yourself, or something that is
necessary for your life. Like my psoriases. I am allergic to my own skin.
So, my body kills it off and it dries up and crumbles away every few hours,
and I have to keep replacing it. Fortunately, my skin is capable of
replacing itself as fast as my body rejects it, so I don't die as a result
of the allergy. but this is sometimes not the case with other auto immune
diseases. Thius is why I try different foods on my cats and give them the
opportunity to eat a variety of stuff instead of trying to keep them fixed
on any one brand, reguardless of how much other people tell me how
beneficial it is. What is beneficial to one cat may not be so to others.

Bill Graham wrote:
chaniarts wrote:
Ann Maree wrote:
My vet has treated other cats with this same auto-immune disease,
and is having really good luck with a cat named Otis. I am
confident he will take good care of my Sam. I guess I was just
hoping to find someone else who has a cat with this problem. I
have an auto-immune disease myself ( Rheumatoid Arthritis ) and
have lived with it for years, so I know what it can do to either a
human body or a cat body! Thanks for your reply dgk and for the
cat purrs for Sam! He is only about two years old, and came as a
stray to us about a year ago. He was scared, skin and bones, and
looked as if someone had thrown some type of acid on him. It took
him a few weeks to even let me touch him. Now he is part of my cat
family ( 6 other cats! ) and loved very much!

Annie

i have a cat that has some sort of a-i disease. we found the giving
him food that had no corn or wheat in it cleared it up after a few
months. we found that rice is ok, but we try to find food that has no
grains or at least they're listed way down on the list of
ingrediants.

This is an allergy, and not necessarily an auto-immune disease. An
auto immune disease is when you are allergic to yourself, or
something that is necessary for your life. Like my psoriases. I am
allergic to my own skin. So, my body kills it off and it dries up and
crumbles away every few hours, and I have to keep replacing it.
Fortunately, my skin is capable of replacing itself as fast as my
body rejects it, so I don't die as a result of the allergy. but this
is sometimes not the case with other auto immune diseases. Thius is
why I try different foods on my cats and give them the opportunity to
eat a variety of stuff instead of trying to keep them fixed on any
one brand, reguardless of how much other people tell me how
beneficial it is. What is beneficial to one cat may not be so to
others.

perhaps. there are similar a-i diseases in humans. coincidently, my wife has
celiac disease, which is one. a manifistation of this is a skin disorder,
very similar to what is experienced by my, and the OP's, cat.

celiac disease is where the body doesn't have certain proteins to deal with
glutens (present in wheat, rye, barley, and oats) in the intestines, which
causes all sorts of other problems.

however, the good side of this problem is that my wife can safely eat the
cat food.