First up, as I first wrote about back in August, since July Simcoe has been struggling with some sores and scabbing around her eyes and inside her ear. This typically goes away after a few weeks, but it keeps coming back Over the winter holidays she started developing more scabbing, this time in addition to hear eyes and ears, it was showing up near her tail and back legs. She was also grooming excessively What could be going on?
We went through some rounds of antibiotics and then some Neo-Poly-Dex Ophthalmic for treatment of bacterial infections around her eyes throughout the fall. Unfortunately this didn’t help much, so we eventually scheduled an appointment at the beginning of January with a dermatologist at SFVS where she has been mostly transferred to for more specialized care of her renal failure as it progresses. The dermatologist determined that she’s actually suffering from allergies which are causing the breakouts. She’s now on a daily anti-allergy pill, Atopica. The outbreaks haven’t returned, but now she seems to be suffering from increasing constipation, which we’re currently trying to treat by supplementing her diet with pumpkin mixed with renal diet wet food she likes. It’s pretty clear that it’s causing her distress every time it happens. It’s unclear whether they’re related, but I have a call with the dermatologist and possibly the vet this week to find out.
As for her renal failure, we had an appointment on January 16th with the specialist to look at her levels and see how she’s doing. Due to the constipation we’re reluctant to put her on appetite stimulants just yet, but she is continuing to lose weight, which is a real concern. From November she was down from 8.9 to 8.8.
Her BUN and CRE levels also are on the increase, so we’re keeping a close eye on her.
Her next formal appointment is scheduled for April, so we’ll see how things go over the next month and a half. Behavior-wise she’s still the active and happy kitty we’re accustomed to, aside from the constipation.
Still getting into my freshly folded laundry and claiming my suitcases every time I dare bring them out for a trip away from her!