Thursday, April 23, 2009

Second Update on my Cat Kiki' Allergies

Here's another pet update: My cat Kiki is better than she had been. She lost her Elizabethan collar a few days ago and I didn't bother getting another one since she seemed better. She was well enough to sit outside for the 2 nice super-hot days we've had - and how happy she was to hear the birds, feel the sun, and just sleep outside. Then the yesterday she had a setback - suddenly she developed a hot spot on her side. She started ripping out her fur in that area, and the skin actually had welts, like hives. I dapped this area with peroxide and applied some of the Tea Tree lotion. I also gave her 2 mg of antihistamine, which seemed to help her. On her own volition, she stayed indoors, hid behind the radio and rested. Today, she seemed better but was still itchy. I gave her a Selsun Blue bath, which helped her a lot. She was able to go out and carry on with her usual activities.

She is old, and is in a frail condition. She will need daily antihistamine, and will need a bath every 5-7 days. She gets her Advantage or Frontline for fleas, she's allergic not just to fleas but to other things. I suspect it's some pollen or something outside. But she loves the outdoors so much I can't bear turning her into a 100% indoor cat. She stays near the house, and I'm observing her to see if the daily antihistamine and weekly baths keep her allergy in check.

I continue to give her an egg yolk every day. She loves this very much, so I'm able to give it to her as is, or with a bit of olive oil, or mixed with her food and Immugen and even her anithistamine, although it's better to pry open mouth and pop the antihistamine into her throat.

It's touch and go. She's an old cat, but as long as she can still be happy listening to the birds, or getting her ears rubbed, I'll do my best to keep her comfortable. If she should be in pain, or her quality of life goes down, or if she's plain miserable all the time, then it'll be time to put her to sleep. It makes me sad thinking about this, but she is 16 years old and that's very old in cat years.

No comments: