Iams

Ok, I know this is neither M.E. or benefit related, but I just wanted to share this with people!

I've always fed my cat Iams. It was what my vet recommended, and I never questioned it. I switched from standard Iams to their hairball formula, because my cat struggles with hair balls. Horrible big ones. It fixed the problem.

When I moved here, my cat started eating what my boyfriends cats eat. This I shall not name. I noticed after a month or so that the quality of her coat was deteriorating. I wasn't sure why at first. My boyfriend suggested that it was because she was spending more time outside. He viewed her as being an indoor cat, but she really wasn't. Before we started moving around she went out daily, spending hours outside, she didn't go far, but she did go outside; she still isn't spending that much time outside here yet.

I suddenly wondered whether it might be her diet. So I suggested that we feed all four of them purely Iams for a while and see if it makes a change. With four cats it's too difficult to feed one one thing, and the others something else. So that's what we have done.

Her coat is back to the beautiful shiny luxury I know and love to stroke. Not only that though, but his three cats are enjoying beautiful shiny coats now too. I had noticed that their fur was different to hers, and now I understand why.

If it's giving them such beautiful coats, if we're noticing how much better they look, what's it doing on the inside? I wonder if they're all feeling healthier. My cat was certainly running around like a crazy thing yesterday. Three of them were curled up with me in bed, purring, this morning.

So, I'd like to say thank you to Iams. And let everyone know that I rate them highly. Now on to my next project; seeing if adding glucosamine to their diet helps one of the little ladies walk more comfortably!

Scared - 18-07-2011

I should have updated a week ago really. I spent a week with G after he moved into his new house, and it was absolutely fantastic. I will write about that separately though. Right now, I'm feeling scared, and I need to get it off my chest.

In April of last year, I think, I started reacting to the cat. You know how you just have the instinct that tells you what you're reacting to? Well I knew it was the cat. I was constantly sneezing, a lot more so when the cat was around, it went to my chest and started feeling fluttery, so I started living on anti histamines; one type for night and one for day. Then I went to Egypt with Ian, and was a billion times worse when I got back ... the doctor said I'd picked up a bug on my trip and that's what caused the subsequent illness that lasted until last December. I was tested for cat allergy, and it came back negative; but people who are generally not allergic to most cats are allergic to Sienna ... so presumably she has a different kind of fur / dander. I asked to be tested for allergy to my specific cat, and just received funny looks from both my GP and the immunologist.

I started noticing last week that I was reacting to the cat again. She's molting again. When she started molting a few months ago I was relieved to find that I didn't react to her. I am now. She's obviously shedding a lot of fur; as she had her first massive hairball for the first time in years, the other day.

I took a nap this afternoon. I woke up with a really badly fluttery chest. I felt worse when I woke up than when I'd gone to sleep. Dead legs. Dead arms. Nauseous and queasy. Thick headed. My eyes hurt. In short ... I'm very scared that I'm getting ill like I was last year. And this time I'm on my own. I have no idea how I would survive if I went through, on my own, what I did last year :(