Cat advice on an older cat

I have a calio and she is about 16 years old. I"ve had her since she was a baby. I was a baby then too. She eats well, drinks well, cuddles up to me and is very lovable. What concerns me is a lum on her head. She had two of them. Each on both temples. The one that she never scratched at or bothered is not there anymore. The one she scratches at and messes with every day is still there. It bleeds all the time cause she scratches at it when it gets a scab. It swells up after a while. It's pretty big too. She started chewing on the end of her tail. The tip of it is bold. I put an e-collar on her to keep her from scratching. I don't like doing that to her cause it makes her a bit disabled in a way. She walks funny and runs around like a drunk cause the cone gets in her way. She can now jump extremely high due to the cone being in the way when she wants to get on the big blue container in my closet. You know how animals look when you put shoes on their feet. How they lift it really high. She does that when the e-collar is on her. She twitches her head alot cause she cant scratch anymore. She did develop a good scab on the lump. The swelling when down a bit in 2 to 3 days. I can't afford to take her to the vet cause I'm broke and I don't have a job right now. I don't want to take her to the shelter cause I know what they will do to her. She's too much of a suck up to me to have her put down. I don't know how to put a bandage on her head and what materials to use. Not sure if that is better than the e-collar. If I leave the e-collar on it will be a long time before I decide to take it off. I was upset and confused last night and took it off of her last night. That was a huge mistake. She started scratching her head really hard and blood gushed every where. Now it has to heal all over again. It's a bit swollen again too. Is it bad to leave the e-collar on for more than a month. I was thinking one to two months or more till it shrinks down all the way if it does like the one on the other side. Is there any meds or creams that you think would help it heal faster? Any advice would help. She is old and things are expected with age. She's still young to me.

 

Can you call around no-kill shelters for recommendations to low cost clinics or even local vets who may give you discounts or payment plans? Your kitty sounds like she needs immediate medical attention to relieve her discomfort.

 

does she go outside at all? Could be an abcess which she would need antibiotics for. At that age regular checkups are so important.

 

I have no money right now so I can't take her to a vet or clinic. I am doing my best to get back to working. Till the I can't take her.

She is not an outside cat anymore. She was at one point. I noticed a small patch of fur missing. then it got to be a bigger patch. Then I noticed a big brown spot getting darker and darker till it turned almost deep red. I took care of that by bringing her in and giving her several baths. she got better. Then got back to losing hair and having blotches. She pulls her hair out. I need to check her gums for the color of it. Cause I have a puppy who had discolored gums. She was taken to the vet for poop check and they gaver her all the up-dated shots. (puppy that is) They checked her gums and said it was because of the fleas. The flea collars are no good and the products you buy at the store are toxic. Like advantage. They said it was best to get stuff from the vet They gave her a pill and the fleas all died with in 30 mins and her gums were better and she was way more active and didn't scratch as much. I'm thinking maybe fleas are some of the causes for my cat plucking, scratching and biting. Her hair loss did start from her being out and That is also when I noticed a lump on her head. At the time I was not able to take her to the vet either cause of my money problem and my father will not take her because he doesn't want to spend a whole lot on my cat.
Whats abcess? Do you know if I could get the antibiotic over counter? Is it a shot? Is it like a cream? Do you know if they would give me the antibiotic at the vet without having to get her checked?

Another question on a behavior. I touch or rub a certain spot on her forhead. She starts to twitch from that and the skin above her eyes pull back. Sometimes her head shakes so bad it's like seziures almost. I don't do that much, cause I'm confused as if it's a good thing or a bad thing. Does that mean she is very sensitive on that area and she might like it? Do you think it's bad to touch that part of her head. I did that one night a few times. Next day when i woke up and got out of bed my cat perked up soo fast from laying down and looked at me. *meow* That was kind of cute. She was loving up to me even more. But I'm still confused about her reaction and body language when rubing or touching her head.

I dont let my cat out of the house anymore. She stays in my room all the time. Sometimes goes in my brother's room or my dad's room. She's been a tiny bit more perky lately, since I've been hand feeding her. Well more like holding the bowl for her. She eats more that way. She's old and deserves extra spoiling.

 

It may be possible, from what you describe with the twitching almost seizure like if she has ear mites....this could also accout for the scratching in the temple area. Ive seen cats literally tear themselves to pieces around the head over this as ear mites are extremely itchy. BUT it could be a number of different things....could be more than just one problem. I would call around as vene said and see if you can find a low cost place. Antibiotics over the counter sometimes can create more problems than they solve and if you dont know if she has abacterial infection, maybe she doesnt then your wasting your money.

 

Did you check your cat's ears for ear mites? It looks like blackish dust inside the ear or like dirty ear wax but alot of it. If you see that that's ear mites and it can kill a cat because the mites eat away to the eardrum and through to the brain. The fact that your cat has lumps on either side of her head- if it's just in front of the ears- where there's less hair- cats scratch there if they have earmites and can't reach them deep in the ear canal If they scratch enough they can break the skin and cause infection which is probably what you're seeing. Please check for ear mites first. You can something from the vet for that.( Look for pm from me)

 

I will try to call the vet closest to me and see if they have that stuff and find out what it cost. I hope my dad can help me pay for them. I'll just have to pay him back when I get a job. Yes the lump in in front of the ear where there is less fur. I need a flash like to really look into her ears. Maybe I can try to swab her ear to see what comes out. I will be as careful as I can. Other than that she acts like a normal cat.

 

in order to keep your costs down you can gentle swab the inside of her ear and take that in...that way no office visit

 

It's not gonna be easy with the swab. I did get it in her ear a tiny bit. She shook. I looked at the swab and saw a tiny bit of brown stuff. I may just take the collar off first then put her in the head lock and get it cleaned. I don't think my dad would be much of a help. I try to get him to hold our puppy down while I cut knots off her of belly. He would rather play with her, and doesn't know how to hold on tight enough so she won't get away. Thank you so much. This has been bothering me for the longest of time. Now I have something to work with. I really do appreciate it greatly.

 

That was a bad idea for right now. I shouldn't have taken it off. I tried to hold her head as still as I could and she twitched after I tried to get a little bit more out. She pawed her head and broke the scab off again. I'll wait till I get that stuff then swab it. I do feel better now though. I'll keep ya'll up-dated.

 

RE: advice on aged cat

I have one more question to ask..... I was on the pet med website and came across some meds for cat ear mites. They have cleansers and anti-biotics. I have used panalog on my puppy. But that was a prescription from the vet. It worked great and cleared her ears up. But that's for infections. I think I should also use it on my cat too. I was looking at the details on the ones for ear mites and it says "Consult a veterinarian before using this product on debilitated, medicated, aged, pregnant or nursing animals. " So I'm guessing that considers my cat because she is 16 years of age. Maybe I can just try the panalog first and see if that helps any. Do you think it is safe to use these products? I know the stuff at the stores are not all that great and can in-toxicate pets. Has anyone here used any medication products from this company? Where the results good, bad, or reasonable?

 

What company makes it? I just noticed the other day that Hartz makes an over the counter ear mite med, but with the really bad rep that Hartz has (causing many animal deaths), I wouldn't really trust any of their products.

Also, if it is ear mites and the panalog is an antibiotic, it won't do anything and can actully cause problems by creating resistant bacteria.

-Chelle

 

Well I got the olive oil an I had to put up a fight to get it. My dad thinks I'm crazy to listen and stupid to even worry about it. Any way to make long story short. I put the oil in her ears. (lol my lab/greyhound was wagging her tail in her sleep smiling... thats so cute) She shook the first time and the other times she pulled back. Kind of hard holding her and trying to put it in. I did my best. She liked the rubbing of the ear canal. she licked my finger. It had the oil on it. I don't think it would hurt her cause it's all natural. I put the cotton ball in her ear and she licked me for doing that and moving it around trying to get some stuff out. She didn't scratch her head right away. Took about 20 mins for her to decide to do that. I think the oil may have helped to sooth her ears a bit. She is going nuts with licking and nawing all over though. I'm sure she will do that all night. But I'm also sure she will get out of it. Shes cleaning her face right now. She looks happy...er SHE'S FREE! Woo hoo!

 

how old are you? are you in any way disabled?

Your cat is in dire need of vet care. If anything is gushing blood you need to take her in. If you let the infection grow she may have to be put to sleep. Take her in. Talk to your vet and dad. If you can't take care of your pet when shes in dire need then you shouldn't have her. Give her to someone who will help her in time of need.

 

omg. Her bottom is red. she was chewing too hard. It's almost bleeding. The blood from the lump on her head is all over her face. That's what worried me. I don't know if I should put the collar back on or what. I think that itching for so long with no scratching is what made her do all this. :cry: Do you think she will calm down after tonight? Maybe it will clear up She looks soo horrible :cry: I don't know what to do. Her face looks wet like she's a stray. The lump is swollen more and is bloody. Now she is just laying there probably gonna go to sleep. I'll see if she looks any better in the morning. I'll have to give her a bath tomorrow and try the oil again. I guess that is the most I can do for now. Any other advice would be apreciated.

 

Well it's not that much blood. just deep red right now. I can't talk my dad into taking her to the vet. I've been trying for a long time and he will not do it. I don't know anyone who will. I feel the only thing I can do is either see what she does tomorrow or just have her put down. She's 16 years and no I'm not disabled. If I take her myself and walk. It will be very stressful to both of us. It will be hours and hours of walking.

 

put the collar back on her for now so she stops bleeding. Hopefully shes not loosing too much blood. You can't just wait until the morning. Show the blood to your dad and tell him she could be dying and needs to go to the vet. PLease this is so scary I would have already been on my vets doorstop crying. Someone has to look at her if they have a heart. Please try asap. She is in constant pain and animals hide it well. If you love her help her, do everything in your power

something seems to be wrong with you. Take the cat to a no kill shelter. They will try to help her and adopt her out. You are not capable to taking care of her. I don't think you are taking this as serious as you should.

 

it's not alot. It stopped. I love her so much. She can't sit still with the collar on her. She will not be able to sleep tonight. I'm leaning more towards putting her down tomorrow when the shelter opens at 11 am. I can't stand seeing her like this. I'm really thinking of ending her suffering from all the itching and everything. She is pretty old. 16 is a long time. She had a good life and I guess it's now time to end the suffering. I'm trying so hard to be strong and not cry. More than likely my mind is already made up. I will miss her. We were babies together.

there is no no-kill shelter around btw.

 

Before you have her put down, see about handing her over to the local humane society. They may be able to treat her then find her a home with people who can take proper car of her.

-Chelle

 

trust me they will not do that. That is where I am taking her to have her put down. Reason I no longer work for them is because I witnessed 3 kittens be put down for no reason. They had the sniffles but that was it. They will not help my cat find another home. I called them yesterday and told them I'm not longer gonna work for them. They had space for them kittens. They could have put down the aggressive cats rather than those kittens. I watched them die. It hurt me really bad because they had no reason to die. My cat looks sick in her face right now. I put some itch relief cream on her bottom. I hope she can sleep some tonight.