Penny

Penny is an older cat with ongoing health issues: allergies, anxiety and kidney disease.

Penny has kidney disease, which will require regular veterinary care, a special diet, and ongoing medication in future. It is important to keep her hydrated at all times. Her support and medical care needs will increase as she ages/as the disease progresses.
She also has anxiety, for which she is administered a daily anti-anxiety medication.

Penny has allergies which greatly irritate her skin, causing her to overgroom, scratch and bite at herself.

Her occasional allergy flare-ups (exacerbated by anxiety) result in itchiness all over her body, scabs covering the worst-affected areas, and difficulty sleeping.
The allergy triggers are still under investigation; wheat flour is definitely a triggering allergen, but there may be more causes, as yet unconfirmed. She has been seeing a specialist vet dermatologist to assist in diagnosing and treating these issues.

Penny’s anxiety means that she struggles with changes in environment and company; she needs a stable home. Her anxiety can present such symptoms as agitation and overgrooming (which in turn affects her skin condition).

Vet visits are particularly challenging for her, and she is prone to developing stress-induced Urinary Tract Infections after a vet visit (to which her kidney disease is also a contributing factor). It would be preferable to have veterinary care provided by a home visiting vet where possible to minimise Penny's distress.

In addition to her ongoing anxiety medication, Penny takes a relaxant/sedative medication to support her wellbeing in weeks that contain difficult/additional stressors, such as vet visits, changes in routine, location or human companions.