A little help for an itchy cat & a worried cat mom...

I have a 15 year old domestic longhair, indoor cat that is currently being medicated with Femizole for hypertyroidism and Amlodipine Bensylate for high blood pressure. About three weeks ago, I took her to the vet for an allergic condition (patches of bumps and scabs around her head and along her back to the base of her tail. The vet gave her Prednisone, a Covenia shot and sent me home with Revolution and Capstar. Due to her age and prior medical conditions, I was not comfortable giving her this much all at once and opted for the Prednisone and then would contact the vet regarding the flea meds once this had been run through (I had never seen any sign of fleas/flea feces on her and the vet confirmed this). The Predisone ran it's course and she was markedly improved, full of energy and the itching all but disappeared. Then, as if overnight, the itching returned. I took her back to the vet on Thursday and he put her back onto the Prednisone, this time with Baytril as the antibiotic (she did fine on the Covenia but I scared myself reading about it online and wasn't comfortable with a second round). This time however, she has seen NO improvement after four days of Prednisone, she's itchy, and lethargic, barely getting out of her own way. She is eating, drinking and using her box accordingly, but she seems melancholy and "under the weather". I am wondering what I should do. I am thinking of weening her off the Prednisone starting tonight as I feel as if her system is struggling with all of this. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated as I'm weary of continuing this course of action given her age and previous conditions.

HI and welcome to TCS. What do you feed her?

Have you changed any product use in the home?

Did you recently start a new batch of meds?

otto said:

HI and welcome to TCS. What do you feed her?
Have you changed any product use in the home?
Did you recently start a new batch of meds?

Click to expand...

Hi and thank you very much for taking a look at my post. Sophie was on a diet of canned 9lives, has been for years with sporadic swaps to higher priced/better brands that she wouldn't eat. At the suggestion of a friend who is a vet tech, I have recently (three days in) switched her over to Natural Balance in hopes that perhaps it's a food allergy and that will help to prevent the itching. No new products in the house and when she began scratching I went through and laundered everything from top to bottom, vacuumed, steam cleaned the floors, etc. As for the meds, all her meds are the same. She did begin a new brand/manufacturer of the Femizole but I checked her records and this was changed after the itching began. I am at a complete loss and can deal with just about anything but I'm afraid this has me nervous due to her lack of energy and the fact that the course of meds she's on now seems to be completely zapping her of all her strength/energy.

Hi and welcome! 

Sorry poor Sophie is so uncomfortable.  I don't blame you for being uneasy about giving her so many meds simultaneously.  I think you were wise not to do that.  It's a lot for her body to deal with all at once.

How long has she been taking Felimazole?  An itchy facial rash and lethargy are classic signs of an allergic reaction to the med.  Has she had bloodwork done recently?  Cats on thyroid meds need to be monitored on a strict schedule, especially in the early stages of taking the medicine since it can have serious side effects in some cats.

The lethargy is a side effect of the convenia. I would not let the vet give your cat another shot of that, it is a controversial treatment for cats and can have idiocyncratic negative side effects including death. Lethargy is a common side effect.

For itching, I highly recommend these homeopathic allergy pills- they have anti inflammatory properties which will help your kitty's symptoms. http://www.pawsitivityforpets.com/allergy-defense

If it is a food allergy, you can try BG wet food which is for sale at PetCo.

BG has the fewest mixture of ingredients i.e. turkey has turkey in it without also chicken or salmon oil.

The best thing if it is indeed a food allergy is to feed your kitty a food she has never eaten before as she would not have built up histamines to it and therefore should not react- that is why foods like duck, lamb, or venison are popular for food sensitive cats.

My cat developed allergies in response to getting his vaccines. It took about 6-8 months for the allergy to go away. I got him prednisone shots and used the allergy pills along with the shots, and then gradually stopped the shots over a few months and just continued the pills.

Thank you for all of the wonderful solutions, I have to admit, seeing my partner in crime acting uncharacteristically ho-hum made for a very tear filled weekend. I am (hopefully) getting her into the vet today for some blood work. I want to make sure that she's not had any long-term damage done to her inner parts before I continue with this second round of Prednisone. As for the Covenia being the cause, she actually reacted much better to that than she has this round of Baytril (I opted for Baytril for round two vs. the Covenia after hearing all the bad). She had absolutely no negative effects to the shot and was chasing her toy mice around all night after it. The Baytril however has thrown her for a loop. I have already begun the conversion to limited ingredient food (she has been enjoying the Natural Balance brand) all weekend. I'm just not convinced it's food related as a lot of the "flare ups" of itching she has is down her back and towards the base of her tail. I have never seen a flea on her at all, but all signs point to it being a flea issue. Does anyone have any experience with Capstar or Revolution? I have both at home from our first trip to the vet but have been weary of dosing her because of all her other issues.

If you get as far as seeing fleas on a cat you probably have a flea infestation in your house.  Hopefully you don't! 

Fleas hop on, feed, lay eggs (which fall off) and hop off.

Cats which are allergic to fleas can get a breakout from just one bite.

The best way to check is to stand the cat on a white or very pale surface, or white card (or similar) on a surface.  Comb them with a flea comb, and if you get black bits out on the surface dampen them.  If they are flea dirt they stain the water pink.

A wee bit of an update on my Sophie... went to the Vet on Monday as although she seemed to be more lively, I wanted her blood checked as this was her 2nd go around with the Prednisone. The doctor said that the Methimazole is doing it's thing as her thyroidism is well within normal levels, however her white blood cell count is at 2800 (normal being 5000). The vet advised taking her off the Methimazole for a couple of days and eventually maybe changing the dosing. And even though she is an indoor cat, he advised running an FiV test on the blood they have. He wants to keep her on the steroids and Baytril (which I had weened her off of due to her lethargic behavior) but to be honest, I'm not real keen on this as her itching is still effecting her and she seems in better spirits without it. I am wondering if anyone has any idea of things that I should ask, do or suggest when I have a follow up with him on Friday? I would like to get her off as many meds as possible, but am committed to doing the best by her.

To recap, she is now on 5 mg. of Femizole/day for her thyroid, Amlodipine Bensylate for her high blood pressure and is supposed to be taking her Prednisone/Baytril but I am on the fence.

Okay, so...

First of all, your original vet visit, the vet was covering all bases except for the food.

Unless she has signs of the skin being infected, does NOT need antibiotics, your vet was taking precautions but doesn't sound infected.

An unecessary med for her system.

As for the coveina shot, I agree with you, I am aware of some controversary affects it can possibly cause, however in my rescue my vet uses covenia on very young kittens with URI's that may be in danger of contracting pneummonia, as well as feral cats who are near impossible to medicate, and adult cats suffering from quite a serious illness requiring antibiotics, and have never had any signs of a problem. I also appreciate that it does not seem to cause drowsiness or inactivity either.

Baytril can do this.

In my opinion you can lose the Baytril.

Capstar and Revolution-Capstar is non harmful and is used to make adult fleas jump off of the cat. It is only good for 24 hours. Beware though, it does not actually kill them just makes them leave the cat, so careful where she is kept for the first 1/2 hour after giving it if you do so.

Then the Revolution is a flea preventative.

There are really only 2 things that cause this reaction, flea allergy or food/soap sensitivity. Less likely the soap, usually food and/or fleas.

As orientalslave said, if you run a flea comb down her back starting at her neck and rake down to her tail, and clean the comb with a piece of damp toilet paper you will see black specks like pepper, and possibly some pink left on the wet tp from the blood.

It is currently high flea season too. Is this the cat you have pictured, the black kitty? Near impossible to spot a flea on a black cat. But you will see flea poop on the tp from a flea comb.

Just an opinion about Revolution, I have only used it one time, ever, when one of my former semi feral cats was hanging around the neighbors years ago and picked up earmites. I noticed his fur where I applied the revolution actually seemed like it burned the fur a bit. That gave me a bad impression and I did not use it again.

I have always used and continue using it in my cat rescue group Advantage 11. It is extremely reliable, and is the only flea med that actually gets rid of eggs and larvae too. It's the best, I would be foolish to waste money (non profit group) on a product I wasn't completely confident in, since we have over 100 cats and kittens in foster care currently, and have rescued close to 2,000 in the past 3 1/2 years, flea treating every single one very effectively.

Anyway, it's one of the 2 products I swear by and have been told I would make a great spokesperson for the company! haha

I would not bother with an FIV test honestly, why he would feel it necessary is a mystery to me. At 15 yrs old?!  Hmm.....not needed.

You now have her on Natural Balance? A great food, not the best but a good quality and affordably priced too. Is it the green pea and duck formula? If it is infact a food allergy, it will take a good 2 weeks to note any improvements. She does need the prednisone for itching.

However if you do the flea comb test and she has fleas, you can discontinue the prednisone a week or so after the flea treatment, but do continue with a flea preventative like revolution or advantage 11, so this won't ever happen again.

The white cell count is troubling.  I know that the thyroid med can have adverse effects on the blood cells and the liver so this bears close monitoring.  If your cat can't tolerate the methimazole, you might want to consider I - 131 therapy.  It's not inexpensive, but it actually cures hyperthyroidism.

I've always been extremely reluctant to use chemicals on my cats.  I finally had to give in and use spot-on treatments for fleas on my feral boys for the sake of their health and comfort.  I've used Frontline Plus which was fairly effective, though I still found a couple ticks on one cat.   I use Revolution now, as infrequently as I possibly can.  The cats have had no adverse reactions and it seems to work.

As far as Capstar - I thought it sounded like a great product until I started reading feedback from people who've used it.  The drug makes some cats frantic - grooming & scratching excessively, nervousness, rapid breathing.

The problem with these kind of products, and antibiotics and steroids as well,  is that they all have side effects and are not always safe for all cats. 

I would take your vet's advice and stop the Methimazole for a couple/few days, then start back on a lower dosage.

This is not an area of expertise for me, so that is about all I will comment about that issue.

The Capstar very often/most of the time will make a cat act anxious/frantic/restless/scratching, etc. but it is from the fleas racing around before they jump off. They quickly try to relocate to another spot on the animal and bite, which obviously drives the pet nuts!

Given to an animal with NO fleas, no reaction. This is a very common thing to see. The more adult fleas, the more of a reaction! Once the fleas have fled the scratching, etc is gone. Relief!! It's very safe.

I meant to add, Capstar is absolutely safe to give 4 week old kittens, elderly, sick, kidney failure, and any other medicated cats, and can be given once everyday!

This should help understand just how completely safe it really is.

Study after study has proven this, clinical studies where cats and dogs were given 10 times the normal dose and for long periods of time, and there are no side effects noe adverse reactions.

There are no pesticides, it acts fast and attacks adult fleas' nervous systems, ie why the reaction seen is from the flea activity, not the pill.

It is completely safe to be given and recommended to be accompanied by a topical flea treatment like revolution or advantage, etc. as it only affects adult fleas

Thank you so very much for all the insight. I comb this cat every single night and have seen nothing for fleas or flea "dirt" on her. In the past (years ago), she was diagnosed as having flea allergy dermatitis and the vet administered Frontline. At the time she was young and could handle it with only minor irritation - although I never saw any fleas at that time either, this seemed to get rid of the itching and the bumps. 

So far, she is on night two of no Methimazole, and is only on  2.5 mg of the Prednisone and her Amlodipine Bensylate. I have taken her off the Baytril as she won't go near the pill pockets that contain it thanks to their horrific smell. She's itching like crazy but eating, drinking, pooping and purring like a cat half her age. I'm thinking after my conversation with the vet tomorrow that I'm going to push to try a topical flea medication in lieu of the big drugs in hopes that this whole crazy mess is the result of her being super sensitive to flea spit.

Again, thanks for all the great help, this site has been so amazingly helpful to at least put some of my angst at ease. Being a cat mom is stressful, I can only imagine what I'd be like if my baby was of the non-hairy variety!
 

You'e very welcome, and I believe your decision to treat her with a topical flea treatment is an excellent one.

Different vets carry different fla meds, it looks like yours carries revolution, although probably has other types too.

If you do have a choice of flea treatments, I would def. recommend Advantage 11 first, Revolution is highlyaffective as well, although in the back of my mind I still wonder why it changed my cats fur after applying it the one time..(?)

Frontline used to work well, but not too long ago it came up that fleas seemed to become resistant to it, which made it less effective (obviously)

As you said, years ago she was diagnosed with a flea allergy, which means it only takes 1 bite from a flea to start this mess with her skin, and although you did not see fleas back then either, stated that this did the trick, so I think it wise to try a topical treatment.

Keep us updated! Good luck

Morning, jumping in here as well  my oldest cat has skin allergies as well, and she was on cortisone injections for the past 3 years already to help her. She is usually clear for about a month but then the flare up started again. Our new vet told me she doesn't want to continue with the injections as it is really bad for Kitte, and that we have to find the source which is usually fleas. I actually brush her everyday with a flea comb and I have never seen a flea on her or eggs, so assumed it was the softner that I changed in the last two years, so I swopped back to my old brand. We recently rescued a feral kitten, over run by fleas, so in order for her not to infect my other 7 cats, she is being bathed regulary and just received revolution yesterday - which is actually helping. But the point I actually wanted to make was, that last weekend I decided to bath all my cats and give them flea treatment as well, lo and behold bathed Kitte, and these huge ass fleas just jumped ship, when we blowed dried her afterwards even more appeared, where they where hiding I do not know, as she gets combed everyday, but it is quite clear to me that her allergies stem from all those fleas on her. So she is being treated as well as the other 7 house has been dusted and vacuumed, everything washed so hopefully her allergy will start to clear up. Good luck with your baby as well.

Thank you pichachoo! Excellent point and very, very commonly this happens, you're not always going to see them, but they are there!

alright so I gave Sophie the first dose of Advantage II today around 1. I only gave her about 1/4-1/2 of a tube as I wasn't sure if she would tolerate it.Since then, I have pulled three dead fleas off her and she is geeking out and excessively bathing. not sure if she's just exhausted from all the scratching or if it's a side effect of the Advantage but twice this evening we've had trouble waking her up, resorting to physically shaking her to consciousness. the whole thing worried me to the point that I actually called the Er vet who said she was not concerned and did not believe that the deep sleep was a side effect. I don't think so either but I'm a little freaked out. she is eating fine and is down to just taking her blood pressure meds.

Ahhh, so it is fleas!

Well that's easy to fix.

The trouble with not dosing her correctly is this, when it is applied to the skin, it travels over her body via her skin oil. So if she is underdosed, and she is, it will only be able to spread as far as maybe half of her body, leaving her still dealing with fleas.

Please trust in that this will not harm her in anyway! Put the rest of the tube on her.

In 2 weeks I want you to repeat this, then again. You can tell by the end of the third dose given 2 weeks apart if the problem is under control, then continuing on a monthly basis.

The makers of advantage instructs you to deal with a flea problem this way until it is under control. It is safe and I have done this many, many times.

She is likely worn out from all the frantic chewing and licking with the fleas running amock! I use advantage 2 on very small kittens, sick, oh all kinds of compromised cats and never, not once have I ever had a bad reaction. The worst thing *and the only thing) was occasionally a cat is sensitive to the smell and when first applied they get a drooling going on for a couple minutes. The vets all say it's the smell. Not a biggie and likely you wont ever see that, just being brutally honest so you believe what I'm telling you.

Fleas gone, skin problem gone. Perfect!

Since fleas are clearly a problem you should consider treating the house as well in my view.  This is because the flea eggs drop off the cat into the environment and that's where the unhatched eggs, larvae and pupae are.  Following is a UK link, but it goes through all the ins & outs and gives the names of the active ingredients so you can find something similar in the US which since you don't say where you are is probably the right guess:

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/fleas/info.html

It's not that expensive to get a good safe flea treatment for the house.

So, a bit more of an update on Sophie. She has been off the Methemizole since last Wednesday with no outward side effects other than she is REALLY thirsty. She is down to just being on the meds for her blood pressure and after an all day stay at the vets on Monday, she has not had another "spell" like she was experiencing over the weekend. I found another flea on her last night and promptly gave her a Capstar which sent her into a tizzy of scratching, biting, licking and frenzied behavior, however, after a good night's sleep, she woke this morning like a kitten. Played with her catnip bags and toy mice like I haven't seen her do in weeks. Her urinalysis came back awesome with no issues in the kidney/liver department. She is going back in next Wednesday to have her bloodwork retested to see if her WBC count has gone up. Until then, I am going to be administering the Capstar every other day as advised by the vet since I am still not thoroughly convinced her weekend tremors/shaking/zonk out were not from the Advantage 2. I know, I am being OVERLY cautious here but this cat is like my outer skin so I am hoping that this isn't a bad thing. I have vacuumed/laundered every square inch of the house and was just reading that apple cider vinegar is often used on cats/home to kill fleas/soothe flea bitten skin. Does anyone have any experiencing using it? Some say put it in the cat water bowl, others say mix and spray directly on the cat. Just wondering if there is any experience out there using it?