Allergies or not, I'm still adorable-A little bit of words on Wednesday

Nope, Cody wasn't hit in the mouth. This is how my poor boy looked for over a week. He was having one of his regular allergy flare-ups. This time (and the time prior to this), it settled on his mouth. He has been on Prednisonol for over a week now and his mouth is pretty much back to normal, well, "normal" for HIM.

"I and Love and You!" Winner!

Hi all! Thanks to everyone who entered my give-away for:

THE LUCKY WINNER(S)

AS CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG ARE

THE KITTIES OF

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THEIR BLOG!!!

CONCATULATIONS!!!

Please email me your

complete mailing address to:

cgittleman at mi dot rr dot com

Cat Allergy Sufferers:New Study Underway, Participants Needed!

New Study Underway Could Offer Hope for Cat Allergy Sufferers who don’t Find Relief from Current Treatments

With record cold temperatures hitting North America this winter, many people and their pets are stuck indoors for long periods of time. For the millions of Americans allergic to their cats, this can lead to intensified symptoms like sneezing, coughing, itchy eyes and runny or blocked nose.

Photo property of www.catchatwithcarenandcody.com

   Doctors are seeking eligible volunteers for a major clinical research study evaluating an investigational cat allergy medicine to determine whether it can help reduce symptoms for a sustained period with a relatively short course of treatment. The CATALYST Study,  is a Phase 3 clinical research study, meaning that the investigational medicine has been found in previous, smaller studies to be sufficiently safe and well-tolerated in people suffering from a ncat allergy to justify a larger clinical trial.

It is estimated that one-quarter of the population may suffer from cat allergies. American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology   a common and year-long condition in which exposure to cat allergens such as dander (shedding skin cells) provoke unpleasant and often disruptive symptoms. There are 77 sites across the United States and Canada participating in CATALYST, which is designed to determine whether the investigational medicine can effectively treat the symptoms of moderate to severe cat allergies with people who live with cats and have been diagnosed with the condition for at least two years.

Many people with cat allergies try managing their symptoms with prescription and over-the-counter medicines, including antihistamines, nasal corticosteroids and decongestants. Sufferers with moderate to severe cat allergies may undergo a series of allergy shots, also known as allergen immunotherapy, which works by trying to teach the immune system to tolerate cat allergens rather than fight them. Allergen immunotherapy typically begins with once- or twice-weekly injections for several months and gradually tapers in frequency to once monthly, but for as long as 3-5 years. Currently available treatment options are associated with poor patient compliance and high potential for side-effects.

In the CATALYST Study, researchers are investigating a different approach to allergen immunotherapy to determine whether the investigational medicine can provide sustained allergen tolerance and corresponding symptom relief over an extended period with only four or eight doses of immunotherapy.

To potentially qualify for the CATALYST Study, participants must be between the ages of 12 and 65, have a cat at home and have been diagnosed with a cat allergy for at least two years. Participation does not require insurance, and participants will receive all study exams and medication at no cost. Compensation for time and travel may also be provided. To find out if you qualify, please visit www.thecatallergystudy.com, or call 1-844-CAT-STUDY. 

In full Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the CATALYST study, I was paid to feature this content. I only feature topics that I feel are important to my readers, regardless of whether or not I receive payment to do so.

Photo property of www.catchatwithcarenandcody.com

"Easy" Sunday-Allergy Style!

Poor Cody is having a flare up right above his eyes....
but he is such a GOOD BOY!!!! He sends love to all!

A Crisis Averted!

As many of you know, Cody suffers from allergies.  He is on a veterinary diet, but I am inclined to think, and the vet will be revisiting this, that his allergies are in fact, seasonal and not diet related. Approximately every three months Cody breaks out in miserable "hot spots", red, oozing patches on the top of his head, just above his ears.

If you look at Cody's head
you will see the "evil hot spot"

When Cody has a flare up the vet begins a course of Prednisolone which  often involves approx. 10 days of pills.

In our household, I am the "piller." My husband does not know how, nor is he comfortable "pilling" a cat. **Note:this is particularly upsetting because Cody is easier to "pill" than any cat I have ever seen. You simply trick him with food, grab him and plop the pill in his mouth. Cody is food-obsessed and it works like a charm, EVERY TIME.

A week or so before BlogPaws, I was obsessed with Cody's head, knowing it was nearing time for him to have another flare-up. I was on the alert.  My husband was a wreck. He kept telling me to "quit putting this out in the Universe." Every time poor Cody just passed within my view, I would say "Let me look at your head!" Two nights before I was to leave for BlogPaws it happened. The evil "hot spot" appeared. I promptly went into maniac mode.

I paged my vet, who, being the angel that he is, promptly returned my call. I began crying and shrieking  "Cody is having another flare-up, I am scheduled to leave for a conference in the next two days and my husband cannot pill a cat! What am I going to do?" I had missed last years conference due to a kidney stone attack and there was no way I was going to miss the conference two years in a row.

Vet to the rescue! He had me bring Cody in first thing in the morning. While waiting, I noticed changes that had been made to their remodeled facility.

I couldn't tell you if the Feliway worked, because Cody is quite good at the vet and always has been. I did like the effort on the part of our vet to make their environment more comforting to the cats that visit that are much higher strung than Cody. Cody has thankfully always been a "take things in stride" kind of cat, mostly if there is food involved!

While I waited for the vet to enter the exam room, I  surveyed the new "cat friendly" decor:

And...it was time to test it out with Cody who wasn't impressed with the "new digs" at all! 

It was mean Mama who put him up on the ledge, he did NOT go there willingly!

Cody wanted NONE of this new "cat-friendly" exam room. He disliked it so much that he actively sought out the comfort of his PTU.


Before shooting this video Cody DID get back in the PTU because I had left the PTU door open! After unceremoniously "dumping" him on the table, I locked the PTU door to prevent a re-entry!

But Cody wasn't going to give up!

"I know I can get in here!"

"It has to open, I know it has to!"

"Now where did that latch go?"

"They got me...I'm trapped"

And then we got him!

Thankfully all turned out well, Cody was given a steroid shot (which normally we don't use, but due to my husband not being able to "pill" him, we had no choice.)

Cody returned home,  I left for BlogPaws the following morning in TEARS because I had never left home with one of my pets not being well.  I was even more upset than I would have been leaving under normal circumstances.

Cody's Dad did a great job on "head patrol." I called numerous times a day for updates, and aside from a few terrifying  "I'm not sure how his head is" reports, when I returned home he was completely healed!

A Crisis Averted!

Warning!!! Cover Your Butt!!!

Whoa my kitty friends!! They got me good today I'll tell ya.

I knew something was up when my Mom put on regular clothes before 7am and I saw her bring the blue kitty carrier out of the bedroom.

I know something is going on here

She was speaking in a voice a zillion decibels lower than her usual loud voice and she kept saying to my Dad "Shhhh, act normal....I don't want Cody to be upset" "Upset???" about WHAT??

I was minding my own business and then she unceremoniously scooped me up and shoved (yes SHOVED) me into the blue kitty carrier (call the animal abuse hotline please we will allow no shoving!)

Where did I end up? You got it...at "Dr. Smiley's House" the "V-E-T!!" You see my itchies had come back and I had lumps and bumps under my chin and little bumps on my head and my Mom starting spazzing that there was something seriously wrong with me. (Moms are complete alarmists ya know?)

My Mom said I was a really good boy at the vet (I always am). "Dr.Smiley" listened to my heart, checked the furs on my chinny-chin-chin and poked and prodded and I didn't mind. I even turned to look at him when he held me. He really IS a nice guy (sort of). They weighed me (and he even blew by the fact that I am still slightly over 12 lbs and I should be less and he gave me a manicure)

I sighed with relief when he put me back in the carrier....and I hid my head in the corner cause I had had enough.

Then...after talking to my Mom about my allergies and about medicine and a shot (A SHOT???) It happened..."Dr.Smiley" picked up the carrier and took me into his evil little lab where strange things happen. When he returned me to my Mom he entered the room laughing. (laughing!! the complete NERVE of him!)

Mom: "Why are you laughing?"

"Dr.Smiley": "well, we didn't want to traumatize Cody anymore today, but we had to give him the shot that you agreed to. We were going to take him out of the carrier and decided not to when we saw that his butt was right there!!! Soooo we gave him the shot in the butt with him in the carrier!! He never even budged!!!"


"Never even budged????" I was overcome with the indignity of it all, "Dr.Smiley"...I'll give YOU "never even budged!!"

Moral Of the Story? 

COVER YOUR BUTT!!!!!

PS:I am fine! I just have feline dermatitis or whatever you call it. I still have to eat my rabbit food, the shot was an antibiotic to prevent an infection and I have to take Prednisone  for almost a month. Maybe it will all help my itchies?

Cody, aka "Wascally Wabbit" Or "Rabbit Boy"

Hi everybody, and Happy "Furday", it's me, Cody. Haven't talked to you in a while, so while Mom is getting ready to leave for the vet soon, I thought I would try and turn on this thing that she is obsessed with the majority of the day and write to you. I HAVE to let you know what she is doing to me NOW.



I know my Mom told you I had a sore or two on my head that wasn't making me feel very good. We went to the Kitty Doctor and he gave me some medicine. They sort of cleared up but then a day or two ago my Mom noticed one of them coming back. The Kitty Doctor said if they got worse to let him know. It was ok yesterday but I must have been scratching when my Mom didn't see and one of them is a little wet and irritated with blood again.

Rats!! If I had known what was going to happen I never would have scratched it. Being the obsessive-compulsive, neurotic Mom that she is, who does she go and call? Bingo! The Kitty Doctor or the man with the glasses and deceptively smiling face and gentle hands who very soon is going to be inflicting culinary torture. (I know, I heard them plotting their little scheme!)

I always know when Mom is calling him cause she gets all frantic and says "This is Caren Gittleman, Cody's Mom", whenever I hear her say that I know I am probably not gonna like what is coming but this time she and the veterinary "Master Chef" are going too far! Hey I love this guy I really do but when you mess with my food you are crossing the line pal! It is an environmental allergy I know it! Don't go messing with my food!!!


Bottom line is Mom is going to go and get more meds today and she is picking up food made with RABBIT! RABBIT DO YOU HEAR ME? RABBIT!! Poor "Little Rabbit Foo-Foo" I had NOTHING to do with this! I repeat NOTHING! Uh, Mom, last I looked I don't live in a feral colony, I am civilized and I want my chicken, beef and treats! Do you hear me?? Treats!!! What, is canned rabbit supposed to be like a rabbit's foot and bring me good luck? You and the next "Veterinary Food Network Star" need to get over yourselves....and fast! I will not eat "Peter Cottontail!"

To make matters worse Mom tends to have a kinda  sick sense of humor and when she was giving me some of my great food last night (kinda like the almost "last supper") she started calling me "Wascally Wabbit" and "Rabbit Boy".....way to go Mom! Make fun of a kitty when he is down! Hey, I love you too chubby (cough, cough) lady, maybe YOU should change YOUR diet and eat some rabbit! What? You don't want to? Well, that makes two of us!

I am NOT amused!!

By the way Mom...

Congrats on  your 100th post!! (I think)