Conference misery::feline_v1

Suzanne,    
    
I had this with Daisy when she was a kitten.  It kept happening and
the vets kept giving me antibiotics and eye cream and it would
eventually go away.  But it must have come back 2 or 3 times.
And over time, the antibiotic caused Daisy to get diarrhea (which
seems to be a fairly common side effect, but distinctly unpleasant
in a long-haired cat).  Daisy would get very paniced when this happened 
because it was very difficult for her to see and she was acting like a 
sick kitty.

Turned out I read something in this very notesfile about Pookie the
Persian having eye allergies from Tidy Cat 3, which was the litter I 
was then using.  Ever since I stopped using that litter and went to 
unscented (I use Kleen Kitty unscented in the red bag) there have 
been no problems.

This may or may not be your kitty's problem, but it's worth a try if
that's the kind of litter you use.

Best of luck
Pam

    Actually we did just change litters - we are now using fresh step
    because they stopped carrying our regular brand.  I'll definitely
    switch to an unscented just incase that is causing the problem.
    Thanks much Pam - I didn't even think of the litter change.
    
    Suzanne

    It is still a good idea to have her see the vet.  Feline Herpes
    (no relation to people Herpes) can cause ulcerations on the cornea.
    Feline Herpes is the same virus as Rhinotracheitis, an upper
    respiratory infection.  You didn't mention any upper respiratory
    symptoms though.  It could be any number of things, so your vet
    would be a good place to start to help figure out what it is.
    
    Jo

    Is there anything that can be given along with the antibiotic that would
    prevent the diarrhea?  Tidbits of cheese, perhaps?
    

    Well she went to the vet.  The vet said it was white blood cells - a
    reaction to something but he didn't know what.  Koko was in a few
    weeks ago for her yearly shots - he said it might have something to do
    with that.  I'm going to change to unscented litter anyway.  She's not
    on an antibiotic but he gave her some ointment for her eyes - it's
    suppose to prevent the blood cells from damaging her eye.  The poor
    thing hates it though - she keeps trying to clean it off and then she
    starts salivating.  Any ideas on how to prevent her from doing this?
    
    Thanks for the help.
    
    Suzanne

    If it's crucial that the medicine stay in the eye, would one of those 
    Elizabethan collars prevent her from reaching her eyes with her paws?
    I assume she salivates because she licks the medicine off her paw;
    Holly salivated an unbelieveable amount when she was given a particular
    antibiotic, whose name I forget, once.
    

    RE: 6
    
    Yes, she's getting the stuff on her paws and then licking it off.
    What's an Elizabethan collar?
    
    Has anyone used this type of ointment before - it dialates the pupil.
    We put a small amount in Friday night and it was still dialated this
    morning.  Just wondering if anyone knew how  long it would last.
    
    Other than her pupil being huge in one eye - she seems ok - she just
    looks funny.  The "cloud" is getting smaller and has broken up a bit,
    so I guess she is on the road to recovery.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Suzanne

RE: Note 3006.4 by CIRCUS::KOLLING 

    Is there anything that can be given along with the antibiotic that would
    prevent the diarrhea?  Tidbits of cheese, perhaps?
    
Karen,

Nothing that I'm aware of.  Daisy gets diarrhea from Amoxicillin which
is apparently a very common side effect.  At the time, the vet said to
continue the medication despite the diarrhea.  The only thing that works
is Kaopectate, but that binds her up so I would only give it every few
days.  I also mixed rice in with her wet food, but it's really only the 
Kaopectate that works.

If she ever needs an antibiotic in the future, I'll just ask them to
try a different one.

Pam

    Give the cat yogurt. Antibiodicts kill bacteria in the body and
    there is a "natural" amount of bacteria in the bowles and when
    this is killed along with the other you need to put it back. Yogurt
    is a natural bacteria. 
    
    When people have to take antibiodics for a period of time the same
    thing happens and the same cure works. However some people I know
    wouldn't put yogurt in their mouth so we go to the health food store
    and buy (sp) Asadophlis capsules. (I personally would rather eat
    the yogurt).
    
    Barbara

    An Elizabethan collar is a large round thing that goes around the
    cat's neck (think of the ruff-thpe thing in pictures of Elizabeth I.)
    It prevents the cat from reaching areas that have to heal, but I am not
    sure what areas exactly it protects.  You might call your vet and ask
    if he thinks it's advisable.
    

    The collar prevents the cat from getting any part of it's body near
    it's face or mouth.  We had to use one on Joui for awhile.  It is
    difficult to have the strength to leave it on the cat, when the
    cat is very upset, and keeps walking backwards trying to get out
    of it.  But, it does the job and does it well.
    
    Jo

    re: dilated pupils - you're using Atropine, right?  We had some
    problems with Bumpy-tail for a few years in a row.  She'd get patches
    of white on her cornea - scar tissue??  The treatment was atropine
    and antibiotic ointment.  The vet felt it was an allergy and after
    recurring for 3 years in a row, it never came back.
    
    re: cat litter - I find that mixing a 1/2 small box of baking soda
    in with the litter significantly extends the life of the litter.
    With six cats this gets important!
      Nancy DC
    

    Nancy, I mix lots of baking soda in with the litter too.  I can
    go for a week max until the box requires changing as long I scoop
    dilligently in between (Kelsey makes sure I do so it's not a problem).
    
    --R.
    

    Re .13
    
    	I have 2 kittens and I used to mix baking soda in with the litter,
    but I tried a new kind of litter (TIDY CAT 3) and I don't use the
    baking soda anymore.  The color of the litter is an olive drab
    greenish-gray and it has a slight scent to it.  I change the litter
    once a week (and like yourself) I sift it everyday, and after the
    week I replace it.  This litter is great!!!  I suppose that you
    could go longer than a week, but I won't.
    
    			Paul 

    I used to use Tidy Cat 3 then switched to Johnny Cat which the cats
    seem to like better.  I don't think we could go longer than a week
    without changing it though!  The last time I changed the box I had
    let it go a week and *1 day* and Kirby let me know by doing his
    lumps on the carpet piece outside of the box!!  Subtle.  And he
    did this right in front of me too.
    

    I use Tidy Cat 3 AND add baking soda.  With six cats I"ll do anything
    to avoid changing the boxes every day  :-)  Besides, I REFUSE to
    tolerate catbox odor especially in the diningroom!
      Nancy DC
    

    If you are using Tidy Cat 3, be on the look out for eye problems.
    Seems that a lot of cats (particularly Maine Coons, and the native
    domestic longhairs in the New England area) are allergic to the stuff.

    Deb

    RE: 17
    
    I guess that's what I need to look out for since Koko is just getting
    over an eye irritation?  Does anyone have a good recommendation?
    
    BTW Koko's eye is almost back to normal and the cloud is shrinking.I
    just want to prevent it from happening again so I'd like to try a new
    litter.
    
    Suzanne

    It's interesting how cats can be so different.  My Birmans are
    sensitive to the dust in most litters, and so we use either Tidy
    Cat 3 or Scamp now.  The Jonny Cat wrought havoc with their eyes,
    but have never had a problem with the Tidy Cat.
    
    Jo

    Gee Nancy, sounds like you almost qualify for a 'swimming pool' - that
    doesn't need changing every day!
    
    E.T.

    
    has anyone else here tried a cat litter called "ever clean"?
    
    it is fine-grained, like sand.  it formz into a ball when liquid hitz
    it, so the urine doez not reach the bottom of the box and form
    bacteria. when you scoop, the urine ballz are scooped up with the solid
    waste and, voila...clean litter again.
    
    i have never had to replace the whole box; i just refill when the box
    getz low so i can maintain the 2" depth.  according to the adz, the
    litter need never be thrown out...
    
    this is very new in our area (atlanta). stella and stanley have been
    using it about 3-4 monthz now.  they don't seem to have any trouble
    with it; haven't had any accidentz or anything.
    
    i am curious if anyone else has used it and--more importantly--has
    anyone heard of any problemz associated with it?  when i took stella in
    for her 20,000 mile check up, i asked the vet if she had heard anything
    negative about the product. so far, so good.  i certainly am pleased at
    not having to lug around the 25 lb. bagz of litter...
    
    diane, stella & stanley
     
    

    There's a discussion of it in here somewhere.  My crew uses it.  The main
    problem is the the way it tracks to a fairly wide distance, which I've
    controlled by putting a washable high pile scatter rug under it.
                 

    re: .21  The other problem is if you have a multi-cat household
    the balls get crushed before they can be removed.  But it seems
    to work well for one or two cat households.
      N
    

    I just use the regular kitty litter brand w/"healthguard".  It's
    fairly cheap, is 99% dust free and doesn't soak up or smell bad in two
    days.  I like it much better than Tidy Cat 3, which I can't tolerated
    (the girls are very adaptable - they'll use whatever litter doesn't
    give me an asthma attack!), and it will last about a week between
    changings!
    
    Mary-Michael