Hello, This is Chiu's case history:

Previously posted to another site on Feb 7th: I have a neutered male sealpoint Siamese cat that throws up once a week with total regularity. It's not on the same day of the week, but within a 5-10 day cycle. Around this vomiting time he gets very focused on finding some plastic to lick. His favourite is soft, pliable plastic, such as plastic wrap for foods, plastic bags and the like. If he can't find anything else he will lick the shower curtain, the plastic blinds and even the (not-so-plastic, but still artificial) lace window curtains. He mostly seeks these out after vomiting, but he can start showing interest before too. He is in his 12th year and has been doing this for years. Both the vomiting and the plastic.

He also has had a curious quirk since kittenhood: he cleans his teeth - religiously. He started doing this with cotton sockballs (old cotton socks rolled up into a tight ball and stitched shut). He would start eating his meal, eat a couple of bites, then find his sockball and start chewing it methodically working his way around from one side of his mouth to the other. He'd eat a couple of more bites and go back to the sockball, and so on, until his meal was done. He would do this - and still does- after eating anything, even just lapping milk. He does not do it after drinking water. The only difference now is that he has graduated from sockballs (which don't last long) to a 2 foot piece of 3/4" thick vinyl rope (the kind used to moor boats with). Very strong, great fun to fetch and only needs to be replaced every 1-2 months, when the food particles attached to it start to look and smell bad. Because of this activity, we have never had to have his teeth cleaned. Although I have chipped off the occasional stray bit of tartar from a couple of the harder-to-reach back teeth.

This cat has otherwise enjoyed excellent health, except for a couple of soft but firm subcutaneous growths which have developed on him over the last 5 years. These growths are not attached to the muscle, but kind of float under the skin. One is about 1/2 inch in diameter, located on the outside of his left thigh, the other is about 1/4 inch in diameter and located on the outside of his right shoulder. Both have discolored hair growing over them (they are dark). In other words, they are cold areas under the skin. In case you didn't know, the pigmentation on some Siamese cats (seal points, for one) is heat-sensitive, like on Himalayan rabbits. The colder an area, the darker it gets. Hence the points on Siamese cats: ears, face, tail and extremities are colder than the rest of the body, so they get darker. As they get older and their circulation gets impaired, the back starts getting darker too. If you were to wrap the paw or tail of a seal-point cat for an extended period of time, it would end up being much lighter when you unwrapped it. Once unwrapped and left alone, it would return to its original color. They have done experiments like this with Himalayan rabbits' ears.

Back to Chiu (my cat): Right now we are also dealing with a somewhat new (since Mid-January) respiratory problem: In mid-January he started to get a runny nose, but only from the left nostril. Discharge was clear at first, then turned greenish-yellow. No sneezing. Just a little wetness on the nose, and the greenish-yellow stuff just visible up the nostril. However, I could tell that it also came with post-nasal drip, because he started scratching his neck a lot on that side (left). It was also irritating his air passage and sinuses, because he was scratching at it a lot with his front paw (as if he were washing that side of his face, only more intensively). Either the scratching wore away the top of his hair on that side of his face, or there is heat present (can't feel it), but the left side of his face, within the area of the whiskers, is now completely pale, devoid of colored hair. The hair does not look damaged to me, just light. Whiskers seem intact. Also, the discharge from his nose may have been acidic (excoriating), because the nostril showed signs of erosion, mostly on the outside edge, but also on the top of the inside. I started giving him one remedy (can't remember which right now), but that wasn't doing much, so about a week and a half ago I switched to giving him Kali Bichromicum 200 C every other day. That seemed to be helping some, although his breathing today sounded a little congested. He also vomited today for the third time within a week. This is unusual. When he vomits his food we take the rest away from him, wait an hour and then give him only a small bowl of Goat's milk. This seems to settle him until his main meal the next day. We have tried feeding him solid food again the same day, but he only throws up again.

This is a very active, alert, super intelligent indoor cat. Vaccinated before we got him as a kitten, nothing since. He was born in a smoking environment and had chronic upper respiratory problem when we got him. Cleared those up with homeopathy (don't remember what). Was not declawed. Is very athletic. Loves attention most of the time, but also does very well on his own. He comes immediately when called. Can be very vocal. Knows lots of words and commands. Is very attentive and obedient. Does not tolerate other cats. Puts up with dogs but does not like them. We have three indoor dogs who know not to interfere with him (our rules, not his). He occasionally likes to taunt them. We also have three other indoor cats, who are relegated to a large separate room in the house, because they cannot be integrated with the Siamese. He very seriously attacked at least one of them. With humans, he is completely at ease. Never shows any aggressive behaviour at all, whatsoever. Will tolerate great discomfort from them (me) just on their say-so (cleaning anal glands, scraping teeth, dressing wounds). He is also very routine-oriented. You can set your clock by him. In the morning he wakes up first (sleeps with us under the covers) and crouches staring at me until I open my eyes. Then he immediately springs into action: runs to get his rope and then we must play fetch for at least 20 minutes. I used to throw his rope down the stairs to the floor below 10-20 times to give him a better workout. He can no longer do this in the last couple of years. He is slowing down. He used to fly up the stairs, now he still moves pretty well, but he takes them one at a time. During the day he sleeps mostly and lets us work. If he feels like it, he goes upstairs and plays alone. We can hear him tearing around above us. Never damages anything. He learned to sharpen his claws only on certain allowable objects when he was a kitten. Never strays from this. In the evenings he likes to cuddle on a shoulder or a lap while we read or watch television. When it's bedtime he lets us know. Gets very excited and vocal and insists on keeping regular hours. Never disturbs us at night.

When he was a kitten, he was very shy of strangers. Now he is often outright friendly, sometimes wary, but doesn't hide like he used to. Doesn't like to be approached first. He likes to initiate the acquaintanceship. He will pull away if someone comes right at him (who wouldn't, eh?). He is very sensitive to our moods. Knows when we are happy, sad, angry. He is happy with us, concerned when we're sad and anxious when we are angry (never at him, of course). Physically, he is extremely well-proportioned and very fit-looking. His hair is smooth and shiny. His muscles toned. His weight is perfect. Not fat, not thin. I wish he were as active as when he was younger, but then, I wish that for all of us.... Like most cats, he is a heat-seeker. I have tried to paint a full homeopathic picture. If anyone has any questions to clarify things more, I will be happy to answer them. I am worried about the respiratory problem and the vomiting, but I also want to know more about the lumps. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

As of this date (May 27, 2002): Have had to switch him to Hepar 200, twice a day. This keeps things more or less under control. He is now still itchy on his nose, sometimes (when we miss a dose of Hepar, mostly) to the point of scratching so violently that the nose starts bleeding from inside. Occasionally has discharge from left nostril, which can vary from clear, to thick and clear to light yellowish-green. Not usually heavy. Rare sneezing (this morning he sneezed out a thick but clear clump). The inner lining of his nose has completely discolored: it used to be dark seal (almost black), like the rest of his mask. The membrane in the left nostril also seems to be swollen, some times more than others. Right nostril still OK, although it does have very slight clear discharge at times. He is very itchy periodically all over much of his front end, with the exception of his feet. Worst spots are in and around left nostril, behind ears (suspect ringworm there), above eyes (especially right eye) and on left side of neck in front, up to 2 inches below jawline. He is also now shedding all over, but especially around the neck, for the past 2 months or so. The hair does not come out in clumps, but the shedding is very noticeable, especially since he never used to shed at all. I used to feed him cooked turkey with some high quality canned food and other supplements, but in an effort to counteract the shedding I switched him to "Felidae" fortified with "Instincts" by Feline Future as well as still giving him some turkey as well. This seems to have helped clear up the dandruff which initially accompanied the shedding, but little else. He also gets Goat's milk freely all day.

I fear there might be a growth of some sort inside that left nostril. Very concerned about it. Have even revoked his beloved rope for fear that there might be some trace petroleum products leeching into his system from the vinyl rope. He now plays with a cotton sockball only, but I take that away when he eats, because when he cleans his teeth on it he tends to eat much of it.

One more thought on the above: In January we got delivery of a new mattress for the master bedroom. It had a horrendous smell - part chemical, part fungal smelling. The store told us it was normal and we should wait a week or so and it will air out on its own. After sleeping in there the first night, we gave up and sealed off the room, opened windows and let it air out for a couple of weeks (in January, in Vermont, USA!). This produced very little change. We called the mattress store and told them to replace it. They had to order a new one and that took several weeks. Delivering it took another. When we received the new mattress we still locked the room up for another few weeks because the smell had permeated everything. We finally moved back into the room sometime in late March or so. Although the room was "sealed" off, it was an imperfect seal and we were all exposed to the fumes regardless. I have had health problems since, mainly in the form of fungal problems (tinea all over in some form or another at various times) and also difficulty with my liver (dizziness, nausea, overly sensitive to odors, etc.). Perhaps Chiu has suffered from this exposure likewise. I tried to get information from the mattress manufacturers as to the types of chemicals/cleansers they use on the mattresses upon release from the factory, but they swear they use nothing. Right.

Reply to my post was:
Try Petroleum 30, follow with 200, if it works.

My report back:
Finally got the petroleum 30 at a store yesterday. They didn't have 200, but will order by mail.

Gave Chiu one dose of the 30 last night. So far, nothing unusual observed. Maybe a little ropy discharge from left nostril, but not much. He seems in very good spirits. Looks good overall.

My report 2 days later:
Well, Chiu vomited again last night. This was not his cycle (5-10 day) vomiting - that happened on the 7th - this was from something new in his food. I was introducing dark turkey meat into his food, whereas he had been eating solely white meat for a few weeks now. This is not unusual. He almost always vomits new food the first time it is introduced. Afterwards, his system is OK with it. He can keep on eating it from the following day onwards. For the past couple of years, in order to not strain his system with having to vomit too much up at a time, I always feed him in two portions: the first portion is only about 1 TBspn, then we wait 1/2 hour. If he has not thrown up, he then gets the rest of his food. If he does, we wait an hour or two and then he gets only goat's milk for the rest of the day. Next day he goes back to regular food. This system has worked out very well, because when he throws up he tends to do it 3-4 times with short pauses in between. He gets everything out of his stomache! The last vomit tends to be just a little bit of clear white frothy saliva. After that he feels better quickly.

Another thing I notice that I forgot to mention is that Chiu has a small wart on his genitals, right next to the opening where his penis comes out, but not on his penis. He also has what may be another wart on his left side. It is a small and hard little nub, almost like a pimple. The wart on his genitals has been there for at least a couple of years. It does not seem to be growing. The one on his side I noticed maybe about a year ago. Also does not seem to be growing.

Otherwise, Chiu is in very good spirits, very active, wants to go out on the deck all the time - I let him because he never tries to leave the deck. He walks around out there, exploring (12 x 10 feet) and then just settles down and lies in the sun or semi-shade and watches the birds or goes to sleep. He lets me know when he wants to come back in. Usually about 2 hours later.

His left nostril has been steadily getting better, but that started before the Petroleum. He rarely looks itchy there anymore, the color seems to be returning to the outside rim and the fur on the side of his face is getting progressively darker, back to its natural color. Inside the nostril is still discolored but not inflamed-looking. He does seem to get an occasional bit of dryish dark discharge that settles at the rim, but not regularly. His breathing is better and he is not snoring so much anymore. He also does not seem very itchy anywhere else anymore. He is still shedding, though.

One more thing, his right front paw seems to be itching at times now. Top of the paw and 1-2 toes too. Spends more time than usual grooming it and seems to be too vigorous at times. This reminds me of something that happened about 2-3 years ago. He would go into frenzies of chewing one of his toes, so much so that the nail bed would become swollen and inflamed. We had to bandage his paw to make him give it a rest. Eventually we found an herbal cream that settled things down (Aubrey Organics' "Anti-Itch Cream"). He went through a couple of phases of this, spaced a few months apart. Then it went away. We thought it was mostly psychological at the time because he would always do it before feeding time and while I was preparing his food. When I told him to stop, he would. Then he'd wait a bit then start again. He did not itch on top of his paw though. Now he seems to. Not often, but enough so that it's noticeable. His nail beds are intact so far.

Question... Can I give him back his vinyl rope? The cotton sockballs are not faring well. He completely mangles them very quickly and ends up swallowing pieces too. Because of this, I have taken them away from him when eating, so now his teeth are not getting "brushed" like before.

Please let me know if I should wait longer and let the Petroleum work, or move on to other things. Do I still need to order the Petroleum 200?

My report one day later:
Chiu vomited once today after ingesting some catnip (I leave out dry catnip for him free-choice). Just some saliva mixed with catnip. He had not yet been given any goat's milk. This happened around noon.

I also noticed his stools are partly dried-up looking, malformed. He dragged the dried part out of the litter bin with him and it dropped off a few feet away. Color: medium to dark-brown in the less dry part, with clay-like marbling in the brown in the dried-up part.

Reply to me was:
No, just wait now, it seems like this is coming out, whatever has lodged in the intestines. Remove milk from the diet, give only drinking water, and cream, and yoghurt and raw meat.
Remove plastic toys or other toys that he eats.
Catnip causes vomit, its normal.
I'm not so certain it should be allowed to be used this way. Its to be used as fragrance on the schratching poles and so on, not given as edible thing You only encourage eating of hazardous materials if it's sprayed on cotton toys or plastic toys.

My reply - same day:
Took his toys away (sigh), no catnip, no more goat's milk, will give yogourt. Have to ease him over to raw. This will take some time as he is not fond of raw meat. But it can be done. Have done it before.

Reply to me:
there are safe toys you know......

My reply:
Yes, I know... Actually his sockballs are OK as long as I don't let him have one while eating. He starts chewing it to clean his teeth, then it gets all yummy and squishy full of food particles, so he keeps chewing and soon he's swallowing some of it because it tastes so good. Mmmmm.....

The rope and the sockballs are all he fetches and cleans his teeth on though, that's why I asked. Oh well....

My post next day:
Chiu just threw up the first protion of his meal again. May be because he is excited because there is a stranger in the house. We have a houseguest he never met before. Likes her, but it is also an exciting, stressful situation.

Seeking plastic to lick. Will now give him yogourt for tonight and will give him his meal for breakfast tomorrow.

When you wrote "cream", did you mean real cream or sour cream? Also, I will try to make some yogourt from goat's milk. I think he will like that.

Reply to me - same day:
original cream, and original yoghurt, not goat's. goat's is too strong for him, and it may be the reason why he vomits.

My post - 3 days later:
OK, this is starting to get scary now. Chiu seems to be throwing up every day.

Friday I restarted the feeding routine a couple of hours after he vomited and that time he kept it all down, no problem. Friday night, at bedtime, he spent a lot of time grooming all over. Much more in depth than I remember seeing him do in a long time.

Saturday morning he vomited fur and bile. He had not yet had anything to eat. He later ate some cream during the day, which he kept down nicely. Evening meal went well.

Today, however, he vomited the first portion of his meal again just now. When I was looking at his eyes from the side, I thought I saw a thin red film between the iris and the vitreous part of his left eye. (Haemorrhage maybe?) Nothing can be seen when I look at him from the front or any other angle than the one I caught that at. I was not able to re-create it either, because he wouldn't hold his head still. The lamp happened to be backlighting his eye from the side when I saw the red film.

What do you think? Should we be antidoting the petroleum? All this vomiting can't be doing his other organs any good either....

Reply to me - same day:
Vomiting fur, tells me his intestins are blocked by furballs, and well, petr may not aid in getting rid of it all, he may need surgery.
Castor oil could also do the trick..but, but... To antidote petr, use nux v 12 or 200 one dose.

My reply - 2 days later:
I have not antidoted the petroleum because I think that our houseguest was the cause of the vomiting. Very feminine lady, uses lots of cosmetics, chemicals, hairsprays, gels, powders, etc. Stuff we never have around here. Ever since she left on Sunday, we have had no more vomiting.

Those were not "furballs" either. It was just a lot of loose, indigestible fur from having groomed himself a little overmuch the night before. Perhaps he was trying to emulate our houseguest?....? :-D

So, anyhow, all has settled down here now and we'll just wait and see what happens next.

---After this last posting the homeopath and I had a falling out.... the details of which are immaterial to this discussion. Suffice it to say that this last posting occurred on June 19, 2002. Since then I have not done anything until this last week when his left nostril started itching again mercilessly. I then had to give him two doses of Hepar 200C, about 3-4 days apart, because that is the only thing that seems to settle down the itching. Otherwise, He grooms and scratches it so hard, it starts to bleed.

He is still also vomiting regularly on his 5-10 day cycle. He no longer gets goat's milk, but yoghurt mixed with a little cooked turkey instead. Have not yet converted him over to raw diet. I know I should and do plan to.

Still shedding too. Worries me a lot overall. No more itchy paws tho....

Sorry this is so long-winded, but I wanted to make sure everything was in there (no kidding, eh? ).

Can you help?

Thanking you in advance.

Szoki

Hello,
I have just briefly gone through your post. I think the symptom that was mentioned on another site.....his chewing at his toes and the use of an "anti itch" preparation, is not in this current post. (It may be and I missed it. If so, ignore this.) It is important when that itch occurred in relation to the other symptoms. What, exactly, was the ointment used that stopped it. You mentioned that he now itches over his front end but not his feet. This might make a difference in prescribing.

__________________
Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

Hello GPM,
Thank you for your prompt reply. The part about the toes and the cream was in there, but it was such an awfully long case description, it's no wonder you missed it. So here it is again, and I quote:

"One more thing, his right front paw seems to be itching at times now. Top of the paw and 1-2 toes too. Spends more time than usual grooming it and seems to be too vigorous at times. This reminds me of something that happened about 2-3 years ago. He would go into frenzies of chewing one of his toes, so much so that the nail bed would become swollen and inflamed. We had to bandage his paw to make him give it a rest. Eventually we found an herbal cream that settled things down (Aubrey Organics' "Anti-Itch Cream"). He went through a couple of phases of this, spaced a few months apart. Then it went away. We thought it was mostly psychological at the time because he would always do it before feeding time and while I was preparing his food. When I told him to stop, he would. Then he'd wait a bit then start again. He did not itch on top of his paw though. Now he seems to. Not often, but enough so that it's noticeable. His nail beds are intact so far." End Quote

Of course, now his paw no longer seems itchy. But his nails do seem a little brittle, tho... One or two of them seem to be a bit shredded and dry at the tips. Both front paws, second toe from the outside. Noticed this this morning when trimming his nails.

I did not use the ointment or anything to stop the itching on his paws this time. It just went away by itself.

If you need it, I can look up the ingredients in the Aubrey Organics cream. Just let me know....

Thank you,

Szoki

My apologies. I did just skim over your post since I had seen it elsewhere and remember being concerned about the toe/foot chewing at that time. I'm sure someone qualified will respond soon. Good luck.

__________________
Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

Thanks for your concern, just the same, gpm



Szoki

If no one is responding here, try posting under discussions.

Thanks, Krista. Looks like I may have to.

Szoki

Szoki,
Have you tried to find a remedy yourself? Do you have any resources? I believe Dr. Leela who usually answers the animal stuff is not well presently. You might want to do some digging on your own and then ask for opinions on what you come up with.

HEllo Szoki,

COuld we start with a dose of Nux Vomica 30? I think it is significant about the matress problem you had and the chemicals could be a cause of this problem.

Nux 30 will do some antidoting and we'll take it from there.
regards,
doctorleela

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http://www.homeopathy2health.com

Thank you Doctor Leela!

Will give him Nux 30 tonight and report back as soon as I see some changes.

Kind regards,

Szoki