Anyone using Atopica?

ouuu they do have that on Amazon. I might try it for Mikki. She has these clusters of scabs that just pop up on her back...then she won't leave it alone and licks it raw. Repeat. She has 3 spots right now that she just went after... I put neopsorin on it last time she did it, and it seemed to get to a point where all the fur grew nicely over... but then BAM...a new cluster of scabs.

Is there a brand name you have on your bottle?
Here's one I found on Amazon... it has 600mg per capsule. I see they also have a liquid with a pump.

Yup, that's the one!  I thought that was a high price, but that's a BIG bottle .. the one I got at vet is 2.2 oz (60 caps).  IF your cat is not really fussy about his food, the spray bottle might be a good option.  LB is so overly fussy about his food, I was hesitant to try a spray.  I am glad he is willing to let me give it on the pill pockets

Have you considered putting a little shirt on kitty to prevent licking??  That's what I had to do for LB.  

nods...she hated it and would get her tooth stuck sometimes pulling at it.... she had licked one spot so deep we almost had to have surgery on it! That's when we put a shirt on her...I even rigged a maxi pad with velcro on the inside of the shirt to prevent her from scratching the wound through the shirt!
If she only realized how cute she looks in a shirt!

Awwww .. she is adorable in her little shirt!  LB used to occasionally tug at his shirt, but now that he is so used to it ... he never messes with it at all.  

LB did have to have surgery after he opened up about 4 different wounds on his back that got so deeply infected, they definitely had to be surgically tended to, in order to get out some really dead tissue that would not heal.  Then, he had to have it opened again later for the biopsy.  That's when they discovered he had the ulcerative dermatosis.

It was after that surgery, that vet suggested putting a "onesie" on him, but they were a little too confining, so I thought the baby tank tees would be better & they were, but he still was tearing himself up with scratching thru the thin tees with his back claws ... that's when I got the idea of cutting off the bottom edges of the shirts (they were too long anyway) & sewing all that excess material in the back of his shirt.

I'll never forget the first time he went to scratch with his back claw & he quickly just lowered his leg like "what the ???" & stared at me for a minute.  Oddly enough, he never ever attempted to scratch his back again after that??!  His wounds began to heal finally & now he only has a bunch of scars there ... some spots were wounded so many times, that hair will never grow there again.  

I don't think he will ever be able to be without his shirt, cuz when I remove it to brush him, he will try to lick his back some days ... I just have to turn his head away & let him know that can't happen.  We kind of turn it into a little play time to distract him & he soon forgets about it.

I think it's been the biggest factor in his healing.  I change his shirt (he has about 20 now) and massage him & brush him every morning.  He looks forward to that. If I don't get to him quickly enough, he will jump on the table & meow to get my attention ... he's just a little too smart & can be demanding even sometimes!! LOL

CATS!!  How could we not luvem luvem luvem???!!    I am certainly praying for all our precious furbabies to get better .. we feel better when they feel better! 

wow, that does sound a lot like what Mikki has. I used to cut off a long sleeve of a knit shirt, and the cuff (where the wrist would be of the shirt) would be the neck of Mikki's shirt....then I would just cut 2 holes for her front legs and it worked great! I bought insulated long underwear type shirts that had some stretch to the arms...or just knit long sleeve tee's.

Yes, it does sound like they share the same malady!  Do you have Mikki on a hypoallergenic diet?  One thing the last vet did do for him that was good ~ he put him on skin support diet which has no grains/fillers etc.  It's Science Diet d/d duck & pea.  I think they have a venison & pea also.  I really wanted to get him onto a raw diet, but he's had far too many changes now for a while ... so I am not going to pursue that at this time.  He likes this food & many cats with UD or allergies will do just fine on a special diet like this.  

So far, he is still holding on ... no lesions ... no red or swollen seepy eyes & he has hair on his belly.  I do hold my breath sometimes when I see him groom himself ... hard to not be on edge about it :/  Wondering if spring weather will cause him to flare up ... just have to wait & see.

we did have her on duck/pea only...she hated it. We do have her grain free at least but she is stuck on fancy feast classics pate'
We also tried eliminating certain proteins one at a time for a couple months...but nothing changed, however we may not have been persistent enough.

I just put diluted apple cider vinegar on her spots the past 2 days... 3x a day to see if it would calm the spots until the supplement gets here.

Ah .. I understand.  They are all very individual in their tastes on food.  I feel very fortunate that LB likes the duck/pea!

I never heard of trying apple cider vinegar .. I met someone on a FB site that told me her cat was healed by olive oil on her lesions?!  I tried it, but it did not work .. LB did not respond to ANY topical treatments.  In fact, neosporin seemed to make him go after it all the more  Hence, he was given the medication route ... well, sure hope you get your supplements soon & they are helpful.  Please let me know how Mikki is doing from time to time ...  I will post any updates of importance for LB.

I need to carve some time out to visit some of the other threads here & learn more about this site & how it works.  I am not too tech savvy & it takes me quite a while to get familiarized  with new stuff .. talk to ya later!

I agree...Mikki is the same...seems to go after it more when we put something on it.... I've tried sooo many things! She doesn't seem to "itch" though normally...just when those scabs appear...that's when she goes after them. We'll see.

Dear Coatfetish

I have used Atopica on my cat and I can say 100% that I would Never touch it again. We moved from a cool climate to the East coast of Australia and our beautiful big farm cat was eaten alive by mosquitoes. The more they bit the more he scratched and we ended up in a viscious circle. A vet suggested Atopica. We knew from his reaction that our cat loathed the taste but we perservered. He lost all his immune system, the itching stopped ( mostly because we kept him inside) the bites healed. We have always brushed him every day as his coat is quite long. He became lethargic and upset. We took him off the Atopica and now after 12 months he is finally coming right. The worst reaction to the drug was that he developed a rodent ulcer on his top lip which has left him disfigured and given him problems eating and chewing. I cannot stress strongly enough how powerful this drug is. I understand it has a different effect on dogs and is fairly new for cats. But......never again. Our cat is now terrified of the vet and I use homegrown catmint to calm him. He also used to throw up regularly on Atopica (every day) and we were told it was just a side affect. I am so pleased he is off it and healing naturally. This season we have let him outside and the mosquito bites do not bother him at all. If he gets bitten I dab Apple cider vinegar on his ears and nothing attacks him!  Please everyone think carefully before using this drug. Because it completely cruches your cats immune system they become susceptible to other things more easily and quickly. It is very strong and just not good. We all love our cats and want whats best for them, but I now research every type of drug before allowing my family or my pets to take it.

Hope this helps!!

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/atopica-dangerous-dogs/

Worth reading!!!

Well, it's been a while since LB has had any problems, but he is once again getting really "itchy".  I read on one site that when a cat scratches their head, neck & chews at the paws of their feet it is USUALLY a food allergy.  LB is on duck/pea canned & kibble.  I don't know if there are any other/better alternatives to offer him?  I've read that some eat rabbit?  Don't know what form though ... 

I had been offering LB his fish oil in those pill pockets for a while, but when I read the ingredients, I saw that they may be part of the problem.  They have wheat in them (grain).  So I quit doing it that way & began sucking up as much of the capsules as I can in a syringe & feeding it to him that way.

It doesn't seem to be making any difference in his dryness of skin.  He is still so very "flaky".  I am wondering if it is possible that he is allergic to the fish oil?

Going to vet tomorrow & if I find out anything different or significant, I will post it.

I had a really good conversation with my vet & he thoroughly examined LB & agrees with me that he is definitely reacting to a food substance.  It could have been triggered by the pill pockets & or fish oil or both.  

We discussed a lot of options & together decided that we are going to do a food elimination process.  For the next 12 weeks LB will have the hypo Duck & Pea diet only (canned & kibble) with NO treats, fish oil or anything else.  At the end of that 12 week period, if there is any signs of rash, licking, chewing, biting, scratching whatsoever then we will move to the single protein hydro food.  

Oh yeah, he gave him a depro steroid shot to get him beyond this current crisis & allow for the food elimination trial to begin without complications.  

I am so hopeful that he can stay with his current diet, but if it is part of the problem, it is nice to know that there is this other option.  He assured me that he has clients who have gone to the hydro protein after all other options failed & their cats are now doing well.

You should eliminate the dry food completely Mom2LB, and only feed wet with a little extra added water, but only without corn, wheat, soy, or gluten. The Friskies Classic Pates, Poultry Platter, Turkey Giblets, Liver & Chicken, and Supreme Supper are grain free. Lisa Pierson's web page is very informative if you have not already seen this:

http://catinfo.org/

Also, you should probably try Bannix spray topically for the skin issues, and for urinary tract issues, Tinkle Tonic available on Amazon

and Feline Renal Support from Standard Process.

Let us know how this helps.....

Thanks,

Hi Can someone help me please, my vet prescribed 0.3ml of Atopica for my cat, but the siringe go by lb anyone know what number in the siringe is equal to 0.3ml ?

Thanks

 http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/atopica-dangerous-dogs/

Click to expand...

Thanks for this,

I'd like to point out though that while Atopica does have potential problems with side effects etc., in my cat's case, she is responding very well to it without any major signs of side effects. I was nervous about her using it, but in her case it has literally made the difference between life and death for her anemia. Predosinone does not work for her and seems to have stronger side effects. I would rather accept a weakened immune system as a trade for a good quality of life than the alternative.

Thanks for those suggestions & the site ... I will definitely check that out!

Just an update for my LB ... the hydrolized SOY protein for my LB proved that he is highly allergic to SOY!  After a steroid shot & one week on the new food, he licked his belly til it nearly bled.  I had to remove it immediately.  Then of course, I had to change his food again .. what he had been taking had soy & it's a prescription (supposedly no grain) hypoallergenic food which costs a fortune!!  

I found a soy-free, truly grain-free food called Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet & have switched him over to that ... he is doing MUCH better.  This food does not even required a prescription authorization!   LB is picky, but he really likes this food.  They have a lot of other varieties, so if he continues to do well on it, I will offer him other flavors.  The belly is healing up & his appetite & general playful demeanor & personality are beginning to come back.  

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions & info.  I had not been to the site in a while ... busy, busy .. I will check them all out.  

Take care everybody!