My cat has a licking problem. It reminds me of the movie Sunshine Cleaners, when the young boy gets into trouble for licking random things, walls, etc.. Only Robbie mainly licks himself... or his cone.
Let me start from the beginning. Robbie started licking about two years ago, after returning to Valpo from IU (where we became roommates). At first, it was his lips. They got swollen, pink and raw. Then there were hot spots on his lower belly that turned into sores. They eventually got bad enough that I took him to the vet. Robbert was on steroid shots for a while. That vet recommended acupuncture. So, I started to go to a cat acupuncturist. She explained that the whole endocrine system is one organ, that one flare up in some place will lead to others, which may show in different ways, on other parts of his body. She found an absessed tooth in his mouth, and said we would need a $500 surgery in October. She put us on the dreaded 'food trial' to rule out some basics first.
So now Bobert is getting $40 per 6lb bag (smallest bag ever), hypo-allergenic cat food. Typically, food trials take 12 weeks to determine if the effect is a result of a food cause. Here's the catch- if he's exposed to his allergen 6 weeks in to the food trial (ie: if dog food residue gets on his fur somehow and he then licks), it will cause a flare up and we have to start the whole 12 week trial again. The good doctor also gave us some medicine called Gentocine, which has to be applied to the sores twice daily, and some antibiotic shots.
At first it was working. This week we had to start the food trial over again.
Upon making plans to visit parents for a weekend I did not want to leave Robber Baron alone for the weekend with no Gentocin. So I brought him with. He licked... and licked... and licked. He licked so bad, he put a hole in his skin. We could see his muscles!
After a photo (email me at katippins@gmail.com if you want to see the kitty muscle grossness), and an email to the good Dr., she said we needed to come in right away. We could either spend $200 to sew up the wound the next day (which needed to be done either way), or the same $500 to do the stitches while he was under for the gum/tooth surgery (that he would still need come Oct.). Of course I opted to get them all done in one sitting, which meant Boopers was going in for an unexpected surgery. But how to you tell a kitty to expect surgery anyway?
It's all over and done with, but Bob's stuck in a cone and sulking. Funny part is, he still acts like he's licking, only now, instead of licking his belly, he's licking the cone. Poor guy. I hope he feels better soon, so I can re-potty train him. Nothing beats a cat that uses the toilet. Just don't leave the seat down!