Poor Tofu definitely has allergies to something. I can't figure out what to do. His symptoms are constant itching/scratching in his face area, especially above the eyes and neck. He has wounded himself a lot these past few months, so he is collared on and off...he's not a very happy cat right now.
Now, I only want to change one thing at a time because if I do too much all at once, I will never find out the real cause of his itchies. I want to figure this out once and for all.
Right now, I can think of two things to change: litter and food.
I was going to do the litter change first, seeing how that's much easier, but then my boyfriend brought up the point that if he was indeed allergic to the litter, wouldn't he be chewing his paws or something? Since his paws come in contact with the litter a few times per day? He is currently using Good Mews, which is a cheaper version of Yesterday's News. I contacted the company to ask if they add in anything to their litter and they said no, it's 100% newspaper fiber. However, in my research, I've read that newsprint CAN be an allergen for cats, although rare, I suppose.
Food-wise...is complicated. He eats a rotation of many, many brands with different proteins, too. Narrowing that down is going to be difficult, but of course I will try.
Which one should I try to change first? Like I said, I thought litter first since that's so much easier, but if his symptoms seem more likely that it's food allergies, then I should jump straight to it and tackle that first.
Thoughts?
(FYI, he has seen a couple of vets about his itching recently and they have ruled out fleas, parasites, etc. We are definitely dealing with allergies.)
Now, I only want to change one thing at a time because if I do too much all at once, I will never find out the real cause of his itchies. I want to figure this out once and for all.
Right now, I can think of two things to change: litter and food.
I was going to do the litter change first, seeing how that's much easier, but then my boyfriend brought up the point that if he was indeed allergic to the litter, wouldn't he be chewing his paws or something? Since his paws come in contact with the litter a few times per day? He is currently using Good Mews, which is a cheaper version of Yesterday's News. I contacted the company to ask if they add in anything to their litter and they said no, it's 100% newspaper fiber. However, in my research, I've read that newsprint CAN be an allergen for cats, although rare, I suppose.
Food-wise...is complicated. He eats a rotation of many, many brands with different proteins, too. Narrowing that down is going to be difficult, but of course I will try.
Which one should I try to change first? Like I said, I thought litter first since that's so much easier, but if his symptoms seem more likely that it's food allergies, then I should jump straight to it and tackle that first.
Thoughts?
(FYI, he has seen a couple of vets about his itching recently and they have ruled out fleas, parasites, etc. We are definitely dealing with allergies.)
