Ask US Anything: Cat with Zits, Cat Hair on Clothes and Ragdoll Cat Yelping in Pain
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Our “Ask US Anything” is a series of posts on the site where I share the questions/concerns/ideas that readers have sent in and then the responses from our readers about those questions/concerns/ideas.
Ragdoll Cat with Zits
Aileen wrote in – “Got another question for you and the floppycats people (sorry for all the questions… But you guys are so helpful and have lots of ideas and experience!). Sorry it’s a bit of a long one…
So I’ve just noticed about a month ago that my 2 year old ragdoll have chin acne – her chin was brownish with little blackhead flecks. I mentioned it to the vet and she gave me microshield soap (chlorhexidine) to dilute and wipe her chin with. She said it was just a cosmetic issue and it’ll be ok even without treatment. I’ve replaced her fountain as that’s the only plastic thing she drinks/eat from. Everything else is stainless steel.
However, I’m noticing that is actually getting worse since I’ve used the soap about 2 weeks now (more and bigger black flecks). I’ve also been using a toothbrush to brush the flecks out of her chin fur for the last week or so. (New toothbrush which I clean with antibacterial soap each time) I’ve included a photo of the toothbrush and cotton buds I used to clean her chin – this is just from today as I clean and brush her chin daily.
My questions are, will it get better as my vet said or should I get a second opinion? And is using the toothbrush ok since it’s made of plastic? (I got the idea from a comment from your video on cat acne) Maybe I’ve made it worse…? I tried using a metal flea comb or my fingernail to pick out the blackheads but it doesn’t get them out. Any advice or suggestions would be great!”
Cat Hair on Clothes
Elaine wrote in asking, “Do you or anyone else know of a treatment that I can put on my black clothes ( I love black) to stop the cat hair from sticking to them.
I brush clothes and keep them in plastic clothes bags, put them on when ready to leave house get into car, and cat hair on them. Cats only in car when in their cat box going to vet. People who visit actually get the hair on their clothes even when not sitting down or near cats. I cant afford the machine that said it clears fur from house.”
I replied:
Of course, we have reviewed a product I love for removing cat hair – OXO Good Grips FurLifter Pet Hair Remover – but it’s not a treatment, per say. I talk about it in our favorite cat products video, which is posted below:
I also posted your question on our Facebook page to see what others had to say, please check that link again in 24 hours as more people reply.
Ragdoll Cat Yelping in Pain
Jennifer wrote in asking me if I would share what her friend had written about her Ragdoll, “Some 7 months ago, my 10 year old Ragdoll Leo started yelping spasmodically in pain. We were on a 3 week holiday with him when we first noticed the problem. It was unrelated to anything we could note other than his change in his environment which he seemed to cope with well, and in fact, enjoy.
On arrival home we took him to the vet (although not our usual one), they thought he had a sore spine given he had been more active during the holiday and jumping onto hard surfaces. This proved not to be true.
Our normal vet has since tested him repeatedly for anything serious, elaborate blood and fecal testing and x-rays proved there were no parasites, bacteria or anything sinister. Overall, bloods were good for an older cat. He is completely well in every other way, happy healthy, eating well and drinking a normal amount of water. He has not lost any weight and he does not vomit frequently.
We eventually associated the pain with wind (which he never suffered before) and before bowel movements. Our much trusted vet concluded he has a lower bowel inflammation, given his symptoms and a small discrepancy in his bloods that might be linked. He does not believe its stress related or caused by his change in environment given his happy disposition.
The process of elimination and trying to find the cause of inflammation is frustrating. I cut out seafood for 3 weeks and there was no improvement. I have put him on a sensitive stomach dry food prescribed by the vet. I’ve tried cooking beef mince and chicken but he is a fussy eater and he is a grazer, so just nibbles away at whim on his kibbles. I haven’t noticed a huge difference with his pain symptoms. I’m confused about cooked meat or raw. I’ve tried every natural food brand without any seafood but I’m still not winning.
Having spoken to some people including the vet, I now suspect a catalyst to his problems may have been a change in his diet about 6 weeks prior to his initial pain symptoms. I found a totally natural Applaws cat food that was pure tuna and prawns with a vegetable setting agent. He guzzled this food enjoying it more than anything I had ever fed him in his 10 fussy years. I tried him on the chicken and a lamb version of the same food and he refused it so he ate the seafood almost daily during that time. He had never been a seafood eater prior to this.
It’s now clearly looking like an IBS problem and potentially a seafood allergy? He swaps between diarrhea and normal motions with no particular pattern. He has little of the other symptoms of IBS and I have not seen anything online about cats yelping in pain from IBS, so again Im confused.
Have you heard of this in ragdolls or older cats before? Do you know of any common sensitivities? He has always had a sensitive tummy but this is very different with the addition of sharp pain.
I’m at my wits end. It’s killing me to see him in pain and not be able to offer a solution for him. He is often hungry as i am feeding him less wet food in an attempt to heal him, the whole situation is miserable.”
So I posted it on Facebook to see what our community had to say:
Enjoy reading common reader inquiries? Check out more of our Ask US Anything here: Ask US Anything
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