- Tighie: 6 mos old (4/21/23!) spayed, 6.5lbs, female domestic short-hair (likely mixed with egyptian mau)
- What's their BEAM (behavior, energy, appetite, mood)
- B- follows us around the house (now that her sibling is quarantined with a parasite), hiding a little more, running w tail poofed when medecine/ treatment time. becoming more vocal, though with barely audible meows (like her voice is caught in her throat). sometimes scares from looking at walls, or human parents walking near. has started to jump at doorknobs and scratch walls (we need to buy another vertical, not horizontal scratcher)?
- E- high energy, can play for 40+ minutes at a time, though she can mouth open pant or not stop when she gets winded/out of breath. seems to be more lethargic (but could also be that her sibling kitten is quarantined)
- A-formerly has LOVED food and loves new food. now finicky the last week, not finishing her plate even if 1/4 cup, except when we introduced Instinct food can- gobbled it up. potentially could become dehydrated - grey-ish gums and doesn't drink water outside of food usually. (we add 1-2 tbsp)
- M-adventurous, skittish, curious, empathic, sometimes territorial, can have food scarcity (maybe from growing up with other bigger cats, who potentially bullied her, potentially has been abused?). much less hesitant or skittish and more confident than when we first got her from her foster home.
- Diet - wet Rawz, Nulo food with greenies, churros, treats. some pumpkin, slippery elm, MCT oil (w CBD sometimes), probiotics (purina's flora fauna and jarrow's s. boullardi + MOS). added hill's GI microbiome food since advised to do for the next 6 mos by vet (even though she doesn't have diarrhea, just some smaller segmented poop). we are currently trying to find a vet we trust more. sometimes a small amount (1/4 tspn - 1 tspn) nettle tea or leaves given with food for wheezing, though it didn't have a strong effect.
- Vaccination history / exposure to toxins, other medication - attached
- Primary problem, when it began and if there was anything else happening around that time
- After figuring out diarrhea problems for our other kitty (Panther - ended up being parasites), and multiple vet visits in which we couldn't be in the room so don't know totally what happened
, as well as 2-3 new outdoor backpack park visits- we took Tighie to the vet to make sure she didn't get the parasite from her sibling. She was actually instead diagnosed with overgrowth of Clostridium and we were told she had highly inflamed red gums (which we hadn't noticed before nor had the vet who saw her a month before?! Can it really grow that fast or did our vet not look closely enough?). She was injected with 10 day Convenia (12 days ago) but no major shift in inflamed red gums hopefully they are a symptom of a easily treatable URI and not stomatitis which seems to have more intense consequences like taking out her teeth?! - the issue has not been determined yet. She was also advised to take Metronidazole even though no major diarrhea?! So we haven't given her that to avoid chemical overload. - Yesterday she scooted on the floor and left some soft stools there. Wondering if she may be constipated …. or if her glands are swollen? The vet just says to keep taking the diet without actually hearing that the usual symptom of diarrhea from clostridium isn’t actually occurring right now (or so minimal we aren’t noticing). Her poop sometimes comes out in segments but also sometimes more like normal logs. To me that would signal getting close to constipated bc of all the fibers in the hills microbiome diet. They say she needs fiber but I feel there are healthier ways to get there by adding supplements into her regular food (psyllium husk, butternut squash, pumpkin, slippery elm etc?)
- after one park visit in which we stayed out longer than we intended to (1 hour plus the drive), i noticed she was panting. when i got home i gave her a 1-2ml syringe of water, with .25 ml CBD oil, but don't know if she was still highly stressed as i didn't know at that time cats pant when distressed. (first time cat / kitten owner learning as i go!) i may have pushed her harder in some areas than cats are meant to be pushed working on my patience!!! These cats have been great teachers.
- since we've gotten her, she has always wheezed, and seemed to have trouble breathing, with protruding third eyelid, usually not more than 1/4 her eye. but now sneezing as well, more lethargic, more irritable, sometimes seems to have pain in stomach or back paws (bites gently or meows loudly when touched there).
- Is the condition better or worse from exercise, heat, cold, time of day, certain foods, emotional upset, being touched, excitement, etc?
- her eyelid, when we just wake up, seems to be less protruding. we sleep with the AC on so it does get cold / cooler at night (65-72 degrees?).
- she seems to like getting steamed (the last 2 days, i have gently held her on my shoulder over a pot of water)
- her eyelid also seems to protrudes a bit more when she seems stressed. we also think she sneezes a bit more in the morning / afternoon (but often that is when we steam her- related?)
- don't know if brushing with coconut oil + enzymatic toothpaste is helping her gums yet. moved from doing every few days to every day (sometimes 2x a day if poss).
- pants a lot after /during exercise. we encourage her to take breaks and not over-do it.
- Diagnosis; vaccine +meds; Current and previous treatment- some info attached, some described.
Last edited:
