Brucy is getting old!

I know that many of your have been following Brucy’s hair loss story. As I said, this weekend, we went to the vet to find out why she has been significantly losing hair in the area between her eyes and ears. The vet checked her fur, skin, ears and you will never guess what her conclusion was! Almost immediately the vet said that Brucy is losing hair because of her age! She said that although hair loss can be a dangerous sign, when cats lose hair between their ears and eyes and there is no skin irritation (Brucy’s case), this is most certainly just a genetic, aging thing!

As you know Brucy is only 2.5 years old, so I was surprised to hear this.. but this is better than some scary diagnoses I read about online! The vet suggested giving her some vitamins but she said that they, like in humans, do not guarantee that any will change. So, I just got some anti-ticks treatments for her (just in case) and some more cortisone for her asthma.

So all is good and thank you for your support!!

Brucy’s hair loss

Brucy’s hair loss

Cat experts, I need your advice! Last weekend, I noticed that Brucy is losing hair. She is only losing hair between her eyes and ears but the loss is quite significant. There are no red spots, no irritation, no marks.. Due to hair loss, you can now see her brown pigmentation spots but that’s normal, right?

I checked her ears and it doesn’t seem like she has ear mites. She doesn’t “excessively groom” herself (that could cause hairloss) and we haven’t changed her food recently. She acts normally but you can distinctly tell that she is losing fur! She is only 2.5 years old, so it’s a bit early to be losing hair because of age.

We will see the vet this weekend but meanwhile, maybe someone has advice? She hasn’t been stressed recently so I really have no clue what is happening!

 

Cutting cat’s nails – mission impossible?

I was looking towards last weekend for a very long time. And no, it has nothing to do with sport events – it was Brucy’s yearly vaccine day!

And what’s so exciting about this vet’s visit, you may ask?

I love taking Brucy to the vet because the vet cuts her claws. Let me explain – Brucy is a lovely, adorable cat, but despite the numerous scratching posts that fill up our apartment, she has scalpel-like claws. Cutting them, I am afraid to admit, is mission impossible. Even when three people try holding her, the moment I take out the scissors, Brucy turns into a screaming and biting wild animal that doesn’t calm down until she gets away.

So this Saturday, I took Brucy to the vet, looking forward to the manicure. Small note: last time Brucy went to a vet (a different one), she bit the vet’s finger and the vet started bleeding, so we had to stop. This time, following my warning, the vet and her assistant prepared for the cutting. But the second Brucy saw the scissors – she bit into the vet’s hand and it became clear that the manicure will not happen.

The vet said that maybe once Brucy got hurt when we were cutting her claws and that is why now she hates it..

Do you manage to cut your cats claws?? If so, share your secret!!

X-ray confusion

We had a very bizarre visit to the vet today with Brucy. As you know, she has been dignosed with asthma, so we did a few weeks of medication but she continued coughing. We decided to do a lung x-ray just to double check that everything is ok. So, from the x-ray, the vet concluded that her lungs do look inflamed and advised for us to continue medication.

However, the vet also was shocked to see how rounded her spine is (the curve on the left hand-side). She said that it is abnormal but that Brucy was probably born like that. When I came home, I stated looking up sample cat x-rays and I was surprised to see that all cats’ vertebral columns have a similar curve. Maybe not as extreme as in Brucy’s case, but there definitely is a curve.

So was our vet wrong? Is it normal to have a curve like that? Have your cats had x-rays?

Staying positive no matter what

I don’t know if you have been following the whole story about Brucy having asthma.. but in summary, a few weeks ago, she was diagnosed with asthma and we started medication. It seemed to be helping, but then she had another attack and then yesterday, she had another asthma attack. It is probably linked to air pollution, as at the moment, the pollution is exceptionally high in Paris. So, we are scheduled for a lung X-ray on Monday, to check what is going on.. This is all very worrying for me, as she is still so young and it’s horrible to see her struggle breathing. But no matter what, we stay positive and we are sure everything will be alright! We will keep you updated!

Asthma

This was a difficult weekend for us because Brucy was diagnosed with asthma. She has been having coughing attacks and trouble breathing, and at first I thought it is just an ordinary hairball. But as she kept coughing, I decided to take her to the vet. Luckily, I recorded a video of Brucy coughing so it was easier for the vet to diagnose her accurately. Brucy was put on a 6 day medication course that is learnt to ease her asthma attack.

Like in humans, asthma in cats is provoked by allergens (such as tobacco smoke, pollen, sprays) leading to respiration problems and coughing. During an asthma attack, the cat sits with her shoulders hunched with her mouth open, straining to breathe. Brucy’s asthma attacks last around 4 minutes and it is very frightening to watch. We have started medication yesterday and so far she didn’t have another attack. According to our vet, asthma attacks are quite unpredictable and the medication depends on the frequency of attacks.

At the moment, Brucy is ok and active like always. This is all a bit scary but we will get thought this! Have you heard about cats’ asthma?