[shapeshifter]

Hi again all,

Since my last post I managed to take my quite wild rescue Sam to the vet (without sedation!). Although I'm a little concerned that the vet (a new one I'm trying via recommendation) didn't seem to take a very close look at all (I think he was afraid of Sam!) and prescribed Convenia 14 day long acting antibiotic. That was 3 days ago and although it's perhaps a bit early to tell it seems some of his symptoms are getting worse, or at least changing. I'm still wondering what it is we're dealing with and managed to take some photos and was wondering if any of you can recognise these symptoms on his ear and nose, scabby, occasionally weeping and either swollen like his ear or almost looks eaten away like on his nose. He also has scabs on his tail and is pulling out his fur on his lower back and tail around the scabs. Poor little muffin

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[fleabag]

It looks like a contact allergy to me...the vet may feel it is infected so the antibiotics...it's early days and often things DO appear to get worse before they get better ..I'd just keep a close eye on him and ring your vet again if it doesn't seem to improve.

[Furkidz]

I hope I'm wrong - but it could also be pemphigus.
If it is, it should respond well to cortisone.

I'd get your vet to run some tests.

[shapeshifter]

Thanks so much guys! It's comforting to get your responses, I've been fretting.

I did notice him licking sandy dirt a number of times a day... quite peculiar.

[shapeshifter]

Greetings CW

I thought it worth documenting my progress with Sammy's yet to be diagnosed skin condition.

I emailed those photos to the vet who suggested waiting a little longer and if it continues to get worse then bring him in for a general anesthetic and a shave to expose his lesions... fair enough but for some reason I don't feel comfortable with this vet (he was brand new to me, recommended by someone else) and the way he barely looked at Sam's sores before administering Convenia. So if and when we return to the vet it'll be a visit to the vet I used to take my old ladies to before they passed on.

In the meantime I plan to start trying some homeopathics which, if they work for us, sound ideal as Sammy comes from particularly wild stock (a well established feral colony at the back of Gladesville hospital) and the possibility of being able to treat him topically but not actually on his wound sounds too good to be true. Since developing his lesions I've tried a number of times to apply different things to his sores with little or no success; he can smell F10 from metres away and runs off, he gets awfully spooked by the sound of spray bottles and doesn't trust cotton balls when he see's them coming! The closest I came was sneakily using a dropper to apply colloidal silver but after he realised what was going on, broke out of my very firm grip and avoided me for the next 24 hours. Hence my initial panic when I thought we were dealing with something as hands-on as ringworm! Allthough my panic has been just as bad realising it's possibly something more sinister than ringworm, I'm dreading pemphigus or a similar autoimmune condition.

So am waiting for Skin Allergy Relief to arrive from HAMPL as a first course of action. http://www.holistica...ula-remedy.html
The homoeopath from HAMPL also recommended I use
www.holisticanimalmedicines.com/chemical-detox-cleansing-body-remedy.html
www.holisticanimalmedicines.com/skin-formula-remedy.html
Do tell me if I'm out of line posting details such as this, I just thought it worth documenting in case some else comes across a similar situation (wild cat with stubborn skin condition).

I'm so grateful for the support I've received from a number of you so far (including when I first discovered CW a few years ago when I was grieving the loss of my precious grand dame of 20 years). It's all a bit easy for us ferals to feel a bit inferior amongst so many of such fine pedigree! So we're very grateful that there's a place for us here!

Jo, Samwise and Mr Frodo

[charleycat]

Sounds great. Keep us posted on the progress - hopefully things will be picking up in a few days. In the meantime you could always add a few drops of Rescue Remedy to the water to help calm him down a bit....

[Sherin]

Hope he gets better.

I know of a breeder who has a cat who was allergic to mosquito bites and he has scabs on his ears.

[kittycoo]

In the meantime I plan to start trying some homeopathics which, if they work for us, sound ideal as Sammy comes from particularly wild stock (a well established feral colony at the back of Gladesville hospital) and the possibility of being able to treat him topically but not actually on his wound sounds too good to be true. I'm so grateful for the support I've received from a number of you so far (including when I first discovered CW a few years ago when I was grieving the loss of my precious grand dame of 20 years). It's all a bit easy for us ferals to feel a bit inferior amongst so many of such fine pedigree! So we're very grateful that there's a place for us here!

Jo, Samwise and Mr Frodo

Oh I can thoroughly relate as my Riley comes from feral stock too and being able to administer anything to her is near impossible. Thankfully apart from recent (re-spaying ) surgery I haven't had many problems with her. They make those ferals tough you know.
Although I have to take her to the vet to get her stitches out today and do not fancy my changes of getting her into the cat carrier.

Good luck with the HAMPL products, I know in my Samson's case they have been a lifesaver, so I hope they do wonders for your Sammy.

Hugs, and keep us informed .

Carmen xx

[Heather Sharada]

I think you are on the right track with this cat - given he can't be handled easily then the Homoeopathic treatments may well be the answer.

He is lucky to have you caring for him....good luck for a positive response.

You can mention the Homoeopathic people and perhaps even their recommendations - as they don't indicate what is in them.....but everybody needs to be aware that Homoeopathy works on similarity and it is not necessary that one size fits all....in other words all cats need to be individualised.......to match a remedy.

[shapeshifter]

Thanks for posting Carmen! It's nice to meet another 'feral mum'! Best of luck getting Riley into the carrier, I know how stressful that can be! Indeed I was in tears the other week at the idea when I realised Sammy needed to see the vet. Luckily come vet day he was having a very relaxed morning and it turned out much easier than expected. Since then I've then made a point of not putting the carrier away so as to avoid it's presence being directly associated with vet visits. I also make a point of moving it around into different spots where the boys usually hang out so that on vet day the carrier appearing in a different position doesn't trigger anxiety. Ah, wild cats, they're a challenge but one I love! When I'm not in tears that is!

Thanks also for letting me know you had success with HAMPL, that's great to hear. My delivery just arrived today. They suggested using 3 remedies at once however I chose to just start with one as Sammy will usually run just from when I apply spot-on flea treatment like Advocate so I don't like my chances of being able to apply 3 different droppers 4 times a day! But one 4 times a day I'm hoping I can manage

Nice to hear from you Heather and thanks for your support

This post has been edited by shapeshifter: 20 November 2009 - 02:06 PM

[aboutTaya]

Wishing you oodles of luck and some too. I will be following Sammy's progress and hoping for good results.

[kittycoo]

Thanks for posting Carmen! It's nice to meet another 'feral mum'!Thanks also for letting me know you had success with HAMPL, that's great to hear. My delivery just arrived today. They suggested using 3 remedies at once however I chose to just start with one as Sammy will usually run just from when I apply spot-on flea treatment like Advocate so I don't like my chances of being able to apply 3 different droppers 4 times a day! But one 4 times a day I'm hoping I can manage

Glad you got your remedies and now you can spring into action. Good Luck with that.
Riley is my only feral amongst my trio, but yeah it can be a challenge but I have seen so much improvement in her over a year that it was all worth it. I am thinking of getting some remedies from HAMPL especially for ferals, for their fears etc. Have a snoop around the HAMPL site and you will see there are a few things you can try on ferals.

Samson has so many remedies . I mostly only put one or two of them on his skin.
The others I add a few drops in a teaspoon of egg yolk mixed with filtered water. I then syringe it into his mouth. I have about three or four syringes lined up each containing their different formulas and I give them to him quickly one after the other. Zip, Zip, Zip... It seems to work for us. He gets his remedies, his yummy yolk and water to help his bladder problems. So win , win and win.

I even found that I could syringe some remedy into Riley's ( feral) mouth after her recent op. It was easier for me to do that quickly rather than separate her fur and putting it on her skin.She seems to have a thicker coat than the others. She wont sit for too long . I have become the master of syringes these days.

Could you put some of the remedy in Sammy's water bowl? Or mix it in his food?

Good luck and I look forward to hearing the results. Remember to keep the good people at HAMPL informed of Sammy's progress so they can give you further advice if need be. THey are very good like that.
Like Heather said, homeopathy works on similarity etc. You need to fine tune what works for Sammy.

Fingers crossed.
Carmen xx

This post has been edited by kittycoo: 20 November 2009 - 05:23 PM

[shapeshifter]

Woohoo! That is working! I've been able to apply homeopathic drops to Sammy twice already without a problem! Indeed it was almost strange...he didn't even seem to notice...makes me wonder if things like Advocate sting the skin a little or perhaps just the rough edge of the applicator startles him whereas the dropper doesn't touch his skin. Also the free multi supplement in pill form tucked in a bit of meat went down no worries! Not like the Periactin which got spat out last week!

Next prayer is that these homeopathics might actually work! Although, and it's hard to tell what's responsible, but today I did notice his lesions seem to be drying up and looking better. His nose in particular is looking much less painful. Things I've tried that might be worth noting are:
*Change of diet from Royal Canin Fit to 100% raw food (mostly roo but sometimes a little lamb and beef, however I'm phasing that out at the recommendation of HAMPL)
* Colloidal silver in water bowl (can any one recommend a colloidal silver/water ratio for a 16-20ppm solution? Hmm, am I allowed to ask that kind of question or should I PM it?)
* One application of colloidal silver to lesion on the ear (which is now healing). Would've applied more except he got awfully upset and I can't afford him avoiding me when he's unwell.

And then it could be the antibiotics finally kicking in, although they were administered via a one off injection over a week ago. Can they take that long to take effect?

Nighty night!
Jo, Sammy and Mr Frodo

[my4cats]

You are doing a wonderful job! Im so glad it is starting to improve. It certainly looks to be very sore for the poor fellow.

[burmeselover]

And then it could be the antibiotics finally kicking in, although they were administered via a one off injection over a week ago. Can they take that long to take effect?

My boy Jasper was given the Convenia injection for a nasty miliary dermatitis (scabbing all over his back with hair falling out in clumps). It took about a week before I noticed his skin starting to improve. Convenia is an antibiotic that treats skin infections really well and it's a wonderful addition to the antibiotics available to Vets because it can be given as a once-off injection that lasts 2 full weeks. (I'm a Vet Nurse and have seen excellent results with this medication.)