- Joined
- Jun 24, 2021
- Messages
- 195
I am reaching out about a rescue cat named Henry who has had such a difficult journey. I would really appreciate some guidance.
Henry was trapped in February 2025 for TNR. People in the neighborhood had reportedly been seeing him on the streets for quite some time and said he had been looking very unwell. When he was trapped, he was in such poor condition that his rescuer couldn’t release him. She took him to the ER and then brought him home and nursed him back to health.
Once he was doing well, he was transferred to a rescue. Unfortunately, a few months ago his original rescuer saw him again and found him in very poor condition, so she immediately took him back into her care. With her care, he became healthier again, but he has continued to struggle with significant allergy and ear issues.
Over the last couple of months, his allergies flared badly. He was scratching his face and around his eyes and developed two severe ear infections and continues to have them. He has been going back and forth to vet for treatment.
He continues to shake his head and scratch his ears frequently. His ears produce a significant amount of dark debris/discharge, and his rescuer has been cleaning them daily. Even with the veterinary clinic cleaning his ears at his appointments, there has been so much debris that at times they haven’t been able to clearly see his eardrums.
He also has scarring around his eyes, which is believed to be from scratching so much. He has one eye that is damaged and this happened while in care of the rescue which is very disappointing as we think he probably had a fight with another cat. The vet said it’s scar tissue from an old injury. One of his ears also looked abnormal when he was originally trapped, so we don’t know the history behind that.
Henry has a history of food sensitivities/allergies. He was recently put on Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Salmon & Pea and is now on Hill’s Prescription Diet for food sensitivities. He receives canned food twice a day and is free-fed the dry food.
His rescuer describes him as an incredibly sweet, tolerant cat who allows her to clean and care for his ears despite everything he has been through. I really want to help Henry get to the root of what is causing all of this and, hopefully, get him comfortable and feeling well.
We had homeopathy appointment and hoped to get a remedy on his chronic allergies, itching and recurring ear problems. $230 later we got a recommendation to try to feed him raw rabbit.
We tried to properly transition him to this and he ate a little bit but then stopped. The caretaker now bought Vital Freeze dried rabbit and we are going to try canned rabbit single ingredient food. Not sure if he will be willing to eat this food. We don’t know what go try for food, need to make sure he likes it. I know it can take 30-60 days to see improvement.
Can we just feed him cooked chicken? Or should we try raw duck? Does it really matter what protein it is if it’s freshly cooked food? He is sad and feeling defeated because he cannot roam the house do to other 7 animals in house. Yesterday and today he was sitting in the litter box. Is this from depression? Desperate to help Henry! Any guidance would be great appreciated! I am trying to find him a foster where he can roam the house and not feel shut out. The vet has given repeated covenia anti biotic injection. Two days ago he has been sitting in the litter box which is a sign is he is worse. My heart bleeds for him. Any supplement suggestions? I bought the Pet Healing book by Medical Medium as well to see if we can figure out how to approach his symptoms. Can we cook him some homemade chicken or any other meat? Does it have to be a novel food? THANK YOU!!
Anna Hagopian
@Dr. Jeff @Dr. Christina @Dr. Jean Hofve @Dr. Barbara @Dr. Sara
Henry was trapped in February 2025 for TNR. People in the neighborhood had reportedly been seeing him on the streets for quite some time and said he had been looking very unwell. When he was trapped, he was in such poor condition that his rescuer couldn’t release him. She took him to the ER and then brought him home and nursed him back to health.
Once he was doing well, he was transferred to a rescue. Unfortunately, a few months ago his original rescuer saw him again and found him in very poor condition, so she immediately took him back into her care. With her care, he became healthier again, but he has continued to struggle with significant allergy and ear issues.
Over the last couple of months, his allergies flared badly. He was scratching his face and around his eyes and developed two severe ear infections and continues to have them. He has been going back and forth to vet for treatment.
He continues to shake his head and scratch his ears frequently. His ears produce a significant amount of dark debris/discharge, and his rescuer has been cleaning them daily. Even with the veterinary clinic cleaning his ears at his appointments, there has been so much debris that at times they haven’t been able to clearly see his eardrums.
He also has scarring around his eyes, which is believed to be from scratching so much. He has one eye that is damaged and this happened while in care of the rescue which is very disappointing as we think he probably had a fight with another cat. The vet said it’s scar tissue from an old injury. One of his ears also looked abnormal when he was originally trapped, so we don’t know the history behind that.
Henry has a history of food sensitivities/allergies. He was recently put on Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Salmon & Pea and is now on Hill’s Prescription Diet for food sensitivities. He receives canned food twice a day and is free-fed the dry food.
His rescuer describes him as an incredibly sweet, tolerant cat who allows her to clean and care for his ears despite everything he has been through. I really want to help Henry get to the root of what is causing all of this and, hopefully, get him comfortable and feeling well.
We had homeopathy appointment and hoped to get a remedy on his chronic allergies, itching and recurring ear problems. $230 later we got a recommendation to try to feed him raw rabbit.
We tried to properly transition him to this and he ate a little bit but then stopped. The caretaker now bought Vital Freeze dried rabbit and we are going to try canned rabbit single ingredient food. Not sure if he will be willing to eat this food. We don’t know what go try for food, need to make sure he likes it. I know it can take 30-60 days to see improvement.
Can we just feed him cooked chicken? Or should we try raw duck? Does it really matter what protein it is if it’s freshly cooked food? He is sad and feeling defeated because he cannot roam the house do to other 7 animals in house. Yesterday and today he was sitting in the litter box. Is this from depression? Desperate to help Henry! Any guidance would be great appreciated! I am trying to find him a foster where he can roam the house and not feel shut out. The vet has given repeated covenia anti biotic injection. Two days ago he has been sitting in the litter box which is a sign is he is worse. My heart bleeds for him. Any supplement suggestions? I bought the Pet Healing book by Medical Medium as well to see if we can figure out how to approach his symptoms. Can we cook him some homemade chicken or any other meat? Does it have to be a novel food? THANK YOU!!
Anna Hagopian
@Dr. Jeff @Dr. Christina @Dr. Jean Hofve @Dr. Barbara @Dr. Sara
I was disappointed because I believed we could try a remedy. I will explore the other homeopathic vets you gave me in the past. Can go full on feeding fresh food or does he need to transition to cooked foods? Can we give some variety? 
