George's Bad Day

Poor George.  He's sort of a tender flower where his health is concerned.  He has an autoimmune disorder known as Feline Pemphigus Foliaceus.  From what I understand, this disorder causes the immune system to attack the "stuff" that holds the skin cells together.  Before it was diagnosed he was so sick I was afraid we'd have to put him down.  He had bleeding sores on his head, his ears, his lips, his feet, and it was spreading all over his body. 

Our first vet seemed not to have a clue what was wrong with him.  He told us it was a yeast infection, and gave us some drops to put in George's ears.  The drops would help, but as soon as we stopped them, it would come right back.  In order to keep it cleared up, we had to give him the drops all the time.  And, like antibiotics,  he would have built up a tolerance eventually.  I took him to this vet three different times.  The third time, the vet sort of clapped his hands together and pronounced George "all clear."  After all, there was no yeast infection any more.  But he was covered with these sores and he obviously was not "all clear."  I wish I had pictures to show you, but really, take my word for it, he looked awful.  I don't know what this guy was thinking, but he clearly was not going to be able to help George.

Fortunately, the next vet we saw was able to diagnose him almost as soon as she saw him.  She put him on a steroidal medication and he started looking better almost immediately.  (The drops we were giving him had a steroid in them too, and that's why they appeared to help.)  He had to wear a cone on his head to keep him from scratching and he was absolutely mortified.  And we were mortified at having to torture him like that.  I'm not sure who was having a harder time with it, George or us. 

We've been giving him the steroids every three days for months now, and his pemphigus seems to be cleared up.  But if he doesn't get his medicine regularly, it will come back right away.  Within days, his ears (where it starts) will turn hot and red, and he'll start scratching, leading to the inevitable sores.  But even if he didn't scratch, the sores would come.  Think of the worst eczema you've ever seen.  Maybe even impetigo.

Today he has another problem.  Without getting too specific, I'll just say that he's sort of "overgroomed" his "elimination parts."  Think of a big red doughnut.  I've never seen anything like it on any cat we've ever had.  So I took him to the vet this morning, and she checked him over.  She's not sure what might be causing him to lick at it so much, but she's given us some steroidal antibiotic ointment to rub on it twice per say.  (That should be fun.)  The redness is from his licking it.  Their tongues are so scratchy that he's abraded the skin away.  She says it could be the pemphigus because it sometimes attacks cats there.  If it is, she has other options for a different steroid.  For now, we're leaving him as it is.  We just have to put the ointment on until it heals.

You must understand that George acts more like a dog than a cat.  We go for walks in the woods together, and he hangs out with me when I'm in the garden.  He's taken a few steps into the greenhouse, and I hope this winter (when the rains come) he'll feel comfortable enough to come in there with me.  For now I can leave the door open so he can sit in the doorway.  But, of course, when it gets cold, I won't be able to do that.  He's a very good friend.  Usually, he has the brightest, most intelligent face.  It's hard to get a picture of him because if I can get him to look at the camera at all, he puts his nose right against the lens.

Today, he has to wear the cone again.  Before, it was to keep him from scratching.  Now it is to keep him for licking.

Here he is scoping out a place where he can hide.  I think he's embarrassed by it as much as he is upset by it.  This is certainly undignified for a cat.

So, poor George.  Like Alexander, he's having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.