Conference misery::feline_v1

    I wish I had more concrete advice to offer, but the only thing that
    comes to mind is, is she staying on the antibiotics long enough?  I
    believe it's necessary to take them for two weeks (guys, is that
    right?) even though the symptoms may disappear much sooner.  otherwise
    the problem will recur.  I can believe that recurring cystitus (she may
    have a low leverl of it that doesn't produce obvious symptoms) might
    make her miserable enough to display the other symptoms (stres can
    cause hair loss.)  Please let us know how she's doing.
    

    Also, if the antibiotic is the same one each time, and she is not on it
    long enough, then the bacteria causing her problem may be building up
    immunity to the antibiotic and becoming a resistant strain.  If that's
    the case then a switch to another antibiotic would help.
    
    Also, your vet could get a urine sample and culture it, then do
    sensitivity tests on it to find out exactly which antibiotic will kill
    whatever bacteria she has.  This costs a little more than just trying
    different antibiotics till you hit on the right one, but it is more
    effective and takes less time.
    
    Jo

    The hair loss that you described in .0 sounds like it may have just
    been feline endocrine alopecia, which just means "hair loss" and has
    many different causes.  Stress can be one of them.  The hair loss is
    mainly in the lower abdommen, back legs, and base of tell area.  My
    husband describes this as "monkey butt" (hope no one is offended, but
    this does look kind of like that).
    
    Feline endocrine alopecia can sometimes be the first symptom in a cat
    that has or is developing a thyroid problem called Hypothyroid.  It was
    for our Joui.
    
    Jo

    Your cat sounds like Barney.  He is now 9.5 years old and over the
    years has had recurring bouts of cystitis (FUS), the last being this
    summer.  For feeding, I give him (along with my other 2) either 9-Lives
    or Kal Kan (or Whiskas or whatever it's called now) and Fromm dry cat
    food (very similar to Iams or SD, but much cheaper and ok'd by my vet). 
    This seems not to cause any problems.  I'm not sure what caused his
    problem this summer, but I think it might have been do to extreme
    temperature changes (a/c inside, hot &  humid outside) and his body did
    not react well (?).  I called the vet and had him put on Uroeze and
    prednazone (usual treatment for him).  This time it longer to get
    better and the vet thought, due to his age, kidney stone... but Barney
    heard that and got better real quick for me.  Also, since the winter,
    he was literally pulling out his fur at the base of his back.  Both the
    vet and I think this was stress related (due to competition he felt
    from my daughter).  This has since cleared up (he realizes Jackie gives
    him more attention and is gentle with him now, and he likes it).
    
    Anyway, I suppose the frequent recurring bouts could be an underlying
    cause but your vet would have to find that.  Next time you speak with
    your vet, you might want to ask about your cat's diet.  My cats hated
    the SD canned food and it was such a waste of money for me.  I called
    9-lives and got sheet from them that gave me the mineral (and fat)
    breakdown of their popular foods.  I'm sure other cat food companies
    will be as accomodating if you explain your dilemma to them... they
    certainly do not want to lose a customer.
    
    Mary
    
    PS - I just remembered... Barney's last bout with FUS came right after
    I gave him a can of that free Purina cat food that comes in Control cat
    litter.    

    Thank you all for your replies.
    
    Yes, I guess the stress from the cystitis could have made her coat come
    out (monkey-butt describes it well!).  She's not ill exactly, but she's
    not well either.
    
    The vet did think she was developing hypothyroid, and she was
    blood-tested for it, but the test was negative.
    
    Anyway, I'm waiting for the results of the second blood test today.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Helen.

    Well, we have the blood test results, and are no wiser.  As the vet put
    it, the test results are "really peculiar" (your animals never get
    anything normal, do they? he said), but don't really indicate anything
    definite.  Cell counts are fine, and liver and kidney function are fine
    (thank goodness).
    
    However, it looks as if she might have some sort of generalised
    allergic condition.  The cystitis is a symptom of this, not a cause.
    
    The best he could suggest was that we put her on cortisone for a few
    days, to boost her appetite, and then try an exclusion diet.  we are
    both away until Sunday, so the cats will be in a cattery, and Dora will
    have her prednisone there.  Starting Monday, I am going to put her (or
    try to put her) on a lamb and rice only diet for a few days, and see
    what happens.  The most likely thing to happen will be that she won't
    eat it, and that will be that.
    
    I am also planning to ask for a referral to a homeopathic vet.
    
    Have any of you experienced anything similar?  The vet really was
    baffled, and so were the other three vets in the practice!
    
    Thanks,
    
    Helen
    
    [Footnote: Dora is 9 years old, and has made a career out of being
    Eccentric since day 1.  She is streets ahead of any of my other cats,
    past or present, in general battiness.  I would not expect her to catch
    any normal disease].  
    
    

    I went through this with my cat before we diagnosed her as hypothyroid. 
    We had to do a special test called a _something_ stimulation test in
    order to diagnose it since on the regular bloodwork she came back
    normal for thyroid.  Her symptoms did not include cystitis though.  Her
    symptoms were monkey butt, poor coat texture, skin rashes and lesions
    on her face, ears, chest and front legs.  We thought she had an allergy
    and she was put on lamb and rice for several months.  But, she never
    got any better.  That was when the vet decided to do the stimulation
    test.  That test showed her to be borderline hypothyroid so we put her
    on a low dose of thyroid medication and she improved.  She is no longer
    a monkey butt.  She does occassionally get rashes, but we have since
    found that she does have an allergy to airborne molds.
    
    Here in the states they have just introduced a new prescription lamb
    and rice diet made by Hill's Pet Products.  I entered a note about it a
    few days ago. You should be able to find it by doing a "dir" at the
    notes prompt.
    
    Jo

    Thanks, Jo, we can get quite a lot of US food over here now, so perhaps
    there's a chance I won't have to start cooking!
    
    Dora hasn't had any rashes or lesions - just the coat loss, which seems
    to have stop.  Did your cat have what I can only describe as fainting
    fits?
    
    Helen

    No fainting fits or other symptoms.  Her symptoms were all superficial
    and easily treated.  I did have to cook her lamb and rice though, since
    at the time there were no commercially available lamb and rice cat
    foods.  Now there are two, Lick Your Chops brand, and the new Hill's
    Science Diet formula d/d.
    
    I think the stimulation test was called TSH Stimulation but I wouldn't
    swear to it.  It was a long time ago.  I do recall at the time that I
    had the option to try her on the thyroid medication without testing
    just to see if her condition improved (the theory being that if she
    wasn't hypothyroid the medication wouldn't help her condition).  I went
    ahead with the testing anyway.  When the test came back borderline, we
    decided to go ahead and put her on the medication to see if it would
    help.  It does.  The medication is called Cytobin and she gets 1/2 a
    tablet a day.  Can't recall the strength right off hand though.
    
    Jo