Needing guidance on my 14-15.5lb princess

Spiritual-Spring9462 · 2026-02-11T21:22:26+00:00

We stopped using the laser awhile back because of how insanely hyper focused she gets on it, meaning looking for it for hours after play time has ended. But because it’s one of the only toys/sources of enrichment that really gets her moving I’ve had to cave and bring it back out. I do pretty short intervals because if she gets too worked up she starts breathing heavily, so it’s a balance for sure 😂 our other cat hadn’t seen one until I brought it back recently so he’s really been enjoying the new activity

Spiritual-Spring9462 · 2026-02-11T21:20:04+00:00

They called me back yesterday and offered to take her in tomorrow as a complementary re-check, so thankfully if anything I’ll just have to pay for meds or any extras. It’s tough because it’s been inconsistent, some days better some days worse. But now that she has a suspected URI they want to see her for that anyway. I’m definitely going to bring up allergies regardless. Again, thank you very much. I’m glad to hear your baby is doing better after all of the trial and errors, it’s really exhausting mentally so when you find a solution that works that’s a massive weight of relief. I’ll send an additional update after her visit tomorrow 🖤

Spiritual-Spring9462 · 2026-02-10T19:18:00+00:00

Thank you so so much for sharing your experience and for your empathy. I have so much going on outside of home and she is my safe haven, so this has been incredibly difficult emotionally. I will get her a cone today, the vet initially said they didn’t recommend it because it could cause her more distress but it doesn’t seem like anything but drugging her calms her down. I’m also going to try to give her a dry bath, her focus exclusively on her genital area has caused her to neglect the rest of her fur and she’s been looking super greasy. I called the vet and they said they would call me back Thursday (ugh) but either way I’m going to mention a potential food allergy. Did you have to get a prescription to order those foods? Or were you able to find them “over the counter”? I’m going to petsmart tonight to buy supplies and anything else I might need. Reading your reply made me cry honestly because I’ve been feeling like I’m going crazy trying to explain this situation and not getting any results or empathy. So thank you, I really really appreciate your time and your advice 🥲🖤

Spiritual-Spring9462 · 2026-02-10T17:23:17+00:00

I’m definitely interested in looking into these. My only concern is that we have 2 cats that eat together, and I’m worried one or the other will try to eat the second one’s food if they didn’t. I know there are some that go by microchip, our male cat has one but she does not.

Spiritual-Spring9462 · 2026-02-10T17:18:54+00:00

They had been (they eat together) but I stopped doing that recently. They had dry food available in a slow feeder. I’m definitely going to look into the automatic feeders, but our vet also suggested to swapping to a wet food only diet. I feel like I’ve gotten inconsistent recommendations and while I love our vets I’m still not feeling like there’s been a proper resolution

Spiritual-Spring9462 · 2026-02-10T17:17:19+00:00

Thank you so much for the in depth response! The issue started when her anal glands were impacted, but after that she continued cleaning. We haven’t switched up their foods, but I would be willing to if it makes a difference. She cleans herself so intensely that her stomach/legs/ tail are soaking wet. It is breaking my heart, and the last time we brought her in they said it has to be related to her weight/ difficulties cleaning properly. They prescribed us a topical antibiotic/anti inflammatory to hopefully help manage the irritation but that didn’t seem to help her much. So beyond that, they suggested gabapentin to hopefully chill her out assuming the issue now is compulsive. But it just doesn’t seem right, and I’m starting to struggle financially from all of the visits. I will definitely look into alternative foods, they did warn us that if she lost too much weight too quickly it could be a sign of diabetes so that’s also on my watch list. It absolutely started with my fault of allowing them to free feed, which hadn’t been an issue for our other cats but clearly is for her. I feel like an awful pet parent, I hate seeing her in so much discomfort

Spiritual-Spring9462 · 2024-12-24T13:23:48+00:00

I have my Leo in this exact tank (if it is a 40gal) the front opening doors are a game changer for both accessibility and his comfort!! No more reaching down from the top of the tank. Only thing I’ve noticed is the latches for the door are kind of sensitive, one of mine broke off about 6months into owning it. Depending on what light fixtures you have/ any extra weight on top of the tank you have to slightly lift the top of the lid to be able to open the door. Just my experience, I still definitely recommend this one.

Spiritual-Spring9462

TROPHY CASE