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Swollen bottom Lip, Runny Eyes, Itchy Ears
Hi, My older female cat, shes 11, occasionally gets these same symptoms: Her Bottom Lip will swell, it is the lip and not the gums. And she has runny eyes (it is a clear discharge) and she has itchy, waxy ears.
If she were a human I would think that she has hay-fever or some other allergy. But I am unable to identify what it could possibly be. As I said this does happen occasionally and each time terrifies me - as in the past she had the calicivirus - for which she was hospitalized over 10 days and was in critical condition. As a result she is on a daily regime of L-Lysine to keep the calicivirus under control.
She is also on a raw, natural diet with No poultry (I have identified she is allergic to poultry). Her food is a mixture that I try to vary; last week was Lamb, Beef, Veal, Pork with pork fat, pork liver, pork kidney, goat heart, raw egg with sweat potato and kale.
Her food this week is Veal, Pork, Beef with veal heart, veal liver, pork fat, pork kidney with parsley, kale and peas (she loves!). To this I add cartilage, herbal calcium, psyllium, and every 5 meals I add one capsule of omega 3 (which is split between my 2 cats). I also give her Immuni-DMG Liquid when she has any issues (ears itching etc.).
Her water dish is glass, food dishes are china, her litter is BlueBuffalo all natural walnut (so no artificial nasties to be allergic to).
What am I missing? She is really uncomfortable right now and I am worried! The ears bother her most - the lip does not seem to bother her at all - there is no sensitivity when I touch it. I do clean her ears and use an ear drop that I received from the vet - but she is clearly producing too much wax.
Please help! I hate to see her distressed. Thank you for any advice.
If she were a human I would think that she has hay-fever or some other allergy. But I am unable to identify what it could possibly be. As I said this does happen occasionally and each time terrifies me - as in the past she had the calicivirus - for which she was hospitalized over 10 days and was in critical condition. As a result she is on a daily regime of L-Lysine to keep the calicivirus under control.
She is also on a raw, natural diet with No poultry (I have identified she is allergic to poultry). Her food is a mixture that I try to vary; last week was Lamb, Beef, Veal, Pork with pork fat, pork liver, pork kidney, goat heart, raw egg with sweat potato and kale.
Her food this week is Veal, Pork, Beef with veal heart, veal liver, pork fat, pork kidney with parsley, kale and peas (she loves!). To this I add cartilage, herbal calcium, psyllium, and every 5 meals I add one capsule of omega 3 (which is split between my 2 cats). I also give her Immuni-DMG Liquid when she has any issues (ears itching etc.).
Her water dish is glass, food dishes are china, her litter is BlueBuffalo all natural walnut (so no artificial nasties to be allergic to).
What am I missing? She is really uncomfortable right now and I am worried! The ears bother her most - the lip does not seem to bother her at all - there is no sensitivity when I touch it. I do clean her ears and use an ear drop that I received from the vet - but she is clearly producing too much wax.
Please help! I hate to see her distressed. Thank you for any advice.
Thank you all so much for you kind and thoughtful responses!
It has now been just over one week and her ears have stopped itching and eyes stopped watering - but her lip is actually getting a bit worse.
I have stopped all of the human snacks (breaks my heart to see her begging for them) watched cross contamination and started eliminating things from her diet.
I am grateful that such a forum exists!
It has now been just over one week and her ears have stopped itching and eyes stopped watering - but her lip is actually getting a bit worse.
I have stopped all of the human snacks (breaks my heart to see her begging for them) watched cross contamination and started eliminating things from her diet.
I am grateful that such a forum exists!
I meant to also say......perhaps try eliminating the raw egg?
some kitties react to eggs....
in Nemo's diet I use only the yolk...and its for help emulsifying hairballs...
otherwise egg isn't really a diet requirement....especially since your Kiamha has a poultry allergy...
some kitties react to eggs....
in Nemo's diet I use only the yolk...and its for help emulsifying hairballs...
otherwise egg isn't really a diet requirement....especially since your Kiamha has a poultry allergy...
FM......I too use pork for the main ingredient for Nemo's diet(homemade)...he's been on this for 2.5 yrs. I'm not lucky enough to be able to buy free range/anti/horm free here...
He has never had any reactions to this diet...
Pork from what I've read has the same nutritional/consistency of a mouse....lol. now I wonder who does those comparisons...?????
I do know vension is highly recommended Kiamha, however from the sources I've tried(commercial) I could never get my kitties to eat it...
Chicken is supposedly the highest allergy related food and that is basically b/c its in nearly everything commercial....even some of the other cans that are marked beef or fish still have a chicken base.
So like any allergy's continued exposure can cause a reaction, found this out when my other cat Sami developed a chicken allergy...became necessary for him to be on a fish diet until his skin cleared after it did I am now able to give him chicken rotated with other meats...
Kiamha you have your kitty on an excellent diet IMO.....and rotating is the best concept to follow!!!!
my suggestion to do the elimination trial was just to find out IF incase it was one particular protein causing the issues...
He has never had any reactions to this diet...
Pork from what I've read has the same nutritional/consistency of a mouse....lol. now I wonder who does those comparisons...?????
I do know vension is highly recommended Kiamha, however from the sources I've tried(commercial) I could never get my kitties to eat it...
Chicken is supposedly the highest allergy related food and that is basically b/c its in nearly everything commercial....even some of the other cans that are marked beef or fish still have a chicken base.
So like any allergy's continued exposure can cause a reaction, found this out when my other cat Sami developed a chicken allergy...became necessary for him to be on a fish diet until his skin cleared after it did I am now able to give him chicken rotated with other meats...
Kiamha you have your kitty on an excellent diet IMO.....and rotating is the best concept to follow!!!!
my suggestion to do the elimination trial was just to find out IF incase it was one particular protein causing the issues...
Thank you for your reply. You are completely correct I need to be much more careful about the grain. Her food obviously does not contain any - but I will stop sharing my crackers with her.
But regarding the treats, giving her raw meat isn't a treat is her meal.
I've read from several sites that pork is the least likely to be an allergen. And I only buy free range, antibiotic and hormone free.
But if your suggesting not feeding beef or pork - what is left?
But regarding the treats, giving her raw meat isn't a treat is her meal.
I've read from several sites that pork is the least likely to be an allergen. And I only buy free range, antibiotic and hormone free.
But if your suggesting not feeding beef or pork - what is left?
Somehow I missed this, but I believe your kitty has a grain allergy, too. It's super important to give her a grain free food, and grain free snacks.
Something like Wildside Salmon is a good treat/snack, because it doesn't have anything in it besides salmon. It is simply freeze dried, so it has the texture that a lot of cats prefer over other dried salmon treats.
You can also give raw meat as a treat. If you're cutting it up for yourself, save a few bites for the kitty as a treat. That way you know what you're giving to your kitty, and you know for sure that it is grain free.
As with any human who has gluten intolerance, though, make sure your cutting board surface and your cutting knives don't have any type of grain touching them whatsoever, so you can avoid cross-contamination. Just like humans are affected if something they're allergic to has come into contact with their supposedly non-allergenic food, animals will be affected, too.
Consider not giving any beef to the cat, too, because I've been reading that beef can be allergenic for cats with allergies.
As with people with chronic health conditions, don't give your cat pork. One way to look at it is this: None of the healthy cat food brands use pork.
Something like Wildside Salmon is a good treat/snack, because it doesn't have anything in it besides salmon. It is simply freeze dried, so it has the texture that a lot of cats prefer over other dried salmon treats.
You can also give raw meat as a treat. If you're cutting it up for yourself, save a few bites for the kitty as a treat. That way you know what you're giving to your kitty, and you know for sure that it is grain free.
As with any human who has gluten intolerance, though, make sure your cutting board surface and your cutting knives don't have any type of grain touching them whatsoever, so you can avoid cross-contamination. Just like humans are affected if something they're allergic to has come into contact with their supposedly non-allergenic food, animals will be affected, too.
Consider not giving any beef to the cat, too, because I've been reading that beef can be allergenic for cats with allergies.
As with people with chronic health conditions, don't give your cat pork. One way to look at it is this: None of the healthy cat food brands use pork.
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Hi Kiamha and welcome...
Jade receives L-Lysine on a daily basis also. It's made quite a difference; however, she was still vomiting and having some serious episodes until I eliminated treats all together.
As furmomof5 said, it only takes a little to set off an allergy, so see if cutting out all treats for a few months makes a difference.
Keep us posted :)
Jade receives L-Lysine on a daily basis also. It's made quite a difference; however, she was still vomiting and having some serious episodes until I eliminated treats all together.
As furmomof5 said, it only takes a little to set off an allergy, so see if cutting out all treats for a few months makes a difference.
Keep us posted :)
I have no idea what grain it is that causes my boy to break out. Vet said it looked like a grain allergy, so he was put on a grain free wet food diet (I use Natural Balance). No issues since I changed his diet 3 years ago. I have noticed that whenever he sneaks some of the stray kitty's food his face breaks out, so it doesn't take much if there's an allergy there.
hi Kiamha I posted this site once before, its a good chart and has good photos of the side effects of FOOD ALLERGIES....
good for referance however I DO NOT agree with some of the so called 'natural' treatments they talk abt. everything you put on a cats skin they will lick and ingest...we need to be very careful with what a cat can and cannot have safely.
all grains are potential allergens for cats, especially corn. I don't know what you are missing b/c like furmom says you have her on a great diet...start eliminating and stay on one meat source and after a few weeks depending on if she remains reacting or not...try another. unfortunately thats the only way to find out what is causing her reaction...
http://www.cat-health-guide.org/cat-allergy-symptoms.html
good for referance however I DO NOT agree with some of the so called 'natural' treatments they talk abt. everything you put on a cats skin they will lick and ingest...we need to be very careful with what a cat can and cannot have safely.
all grains are potential allergens for cats, especially corn. I don't know what you are missing b/c like furmom says you have her on a great diet...start eliminating and stay on one meat source and after a few weeks depending on if she remains reacting or not...try another. unfortunately thats the only way to find out what is causing her reaction...
http://www.cat-health-guide.org/cat-allergy-symptoms.html
Hmmm.. actually you raise a very good point. I do give her snacks occasionally - muches of what I am eating. crackers, popcorn. These are all gluten free - but are made of rice, corn oats. What grains are the problem for you?
Thanks!
Thanks!
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