Allergies

Hello, everyone! Yes, it's that time of the year again - allergy season. The wonderful springtime weather sending countless people into sneezing fits, watery eyes and an inability unable to function like normal human beings. Yes, it is this time; but I didn't actually start this post to talk about seasonal allergies that some of you may or may not suffer. I'm actually talking about my cat. So. The conjunctivitis I mentioned in one of my earlier posts? Well, after several hundred dollars of vet bills and countless trips, the vet has concluded Molly has an allergy to her food.

An older photo - she's become a bit camera shy.

She had had a couple of worryingly ongoing habits, such as scratching at her eyes and shaking her head, that wouldn't go away. She actually scratched so hard she made her eyes all scabby and bleeding - she could barely open them some days. She also had quite a thick crust of acne scabbing on her chin, something that wouldn't go away no matter how hard we tried. We ended up taking her to the vet, who didn't really know what was going on, and she ended up giving her a bunch of medication for me to deal with. Fast forward a couple weeks and the antibiotic needle has worn off, the scratching starts up again and the acne returns.

We took the poor girl back to the vet; this time we had a vet who actually knew what she was doing - she said it was a classic case of allergies in felines, whether it be the more common food one or the less common environmental one. I got the lovely task of treating the symptoms (prior to treating the cause the bet wanted the minor ear infection and scabs to go away) with pills and ear drops. Have you ever tried to shove pills down a cat's throat? It's painful, for the both of us, and she hated me for a good couple months while the medication ran its course.

Currently, we're working on getting rid of a little earwax buildup deep in her canal. We go back to the vet soon to discuss putting her on a trial diet - both for her allergies and her weight (we've found out she weighs double what she is supposed to - in our defense, we didn't realise this as she's always looked very thin).

And do you know what's wrong with the other cat? Nothing. Perfect eyes, teeth, fur and no acne. How irritating. I feel so sorry for my poor little Molly - she's been lumped with all the bullshit. Seeing as she's predominantly a white cat, we have to regulate the amount of time she spends in sunlight as she has increased susceptibility to skin cancer. Rosie is a bit of a bitch sometimes, so that's why I say this - I am glad she's all fine, though, because she's my cuddle monster and I love her to bits. I don't think we could handle two cats going in and out of the vet's office regularly.

On a side note, my mum got out of hospital on Saturday; about a year back she had a hip replacement for severe osteoarthritis and the surgeon fucked up her nerves, causing foot drop. It's basically left her with minimal/no sensation in her left foot, meaning she can't actually walk on it without orthopaedic support. On Friday a neurosurgeon did a nerve transfer surgery to see if she can regain some mobility by reattaching a nerve from another part of the area past the dead nerve. It's all very fascinating, but I don't really know a lot about it. I'll ask her properly sometime. Anyway, she's home and safe and well, and whether or not this surgery has actually worked remains to be seen.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you're all enjoying your days!