Kitty with SEVERE Allergies...Please help

I recently rescued a male, neutered cat, in November. He was an indoor cat whose previous owners abandoned him & left him outside.
 I have found this excellent vet after being told by a previous vet that my cat has autoimmune skin disease (which has been confirmed by the new vet that he does not).  This is my first time owning a cat & I thought I was doing a good thing by feeding him EVO...big mistake! Ever since I have fed it to him, he has licked/scratched his hind legs raw! I obviously switched the foods & my vet recommended certain flavors of Fancy Feast (ones under 10% carbs, avoiding the fish flavors).  She also put him on steroids to clear it up.  Once I tried weaning him off the steroids, the licking/scratching came back right away, nonstop.  The vet said he has severe allergies & prescribed Cyclosporine which gave him severe diarrhea after one pill.  I tried to keep him on it but no luck.  I am not going to have my cat pooping complete liquid.  Now, the steroids no longer work & I just recently (as of a couple days ago) bought him Allerg-3 (for the Omega-3 fatty acids) & Chlorpheniramine Maleate (4mg) & am trying that.  As of right now, he is still licking/scratching like crazy, practically nonstop.  I switched his food from Fancy Feast to Tiki Cat (chicken flavors) as well.
My vet said if this doesn't work, she wants to put him on a food trial then allergy testing.  I feel like there has to be something else, something more I can do for him.  He clearly is allergic to more than one thing, probably indoor & outdoor related.
Can anyone please recommend something to help my poor baby?!

Hi and welcome to The Cat Site!

My Abby has both food and environmental allergies. She now eats Royal Canin limited ingredient foods, venison, rabbit and duck and green pea, both wet at dry.

When the environmental allergies flare up, which could be any day now, she gets Chlorpheniramine Maleate.

The combination of the two have helped a lot. Hope you figure out what will work best for your boy soon. :cross:

You could try putting him on a one protein diet. Chicken is the normal recommendation. Either cooked or raw. Try it for a week to see if it helps. While chicken can be an allergen for some cats as well, more common ones are grains and additives. Even limited ingredient commercial cat foods have multiple ingredients.

It would be even better if you could feed a novel protein, something he hasn't had before, like lamb, venison, duck, etc, but it gets more expensive.

Thank you both!
I currently have him on Tiki Cat Chicken, just started that when I tried the new meds.  Do you know how long it'll take before I know?  I am considering switching him again to Rad Cat Lamb, all organic raw diet.  But I don't know...I can't stand sitting here watching him lick/scratch himself nonstop like this.  I feel awful
 

So it's been 2 days since the new meds/food? I'm not sure how long it would take to know if it's making a difference. I would think the vet could tell you that about the meds. For food, I would think less than a week, but it would depend on the allergens and how long it would take for them to leave his system.

If you can do Rad Cat Lamb, I think that's a pretty good option. If I remember correctly, it just lamb, liver, bone meal and amino acids. Or you could just try raw lamb meat only if he would eat it.

 Hi

 I know how you feel. What seems to work for my cat when allergies arrive I use a cotton ball moisten with water and I dab on her eye I hold her on my lap and I'll dab on and stay a few at that itchiness and redness.It seems to work and I notice by observation what is given for intake, in others any triggers that my show you if its a irritate. I hope this is helpful to

                                                                Baset

 I was giving my cat salmon she loves it however it's to much for her system and makes her b m loose so backing off has helped greatly. I notice Trader Joe cat cat is good. Rice Chicken is very good

My kitty is also on Chlorpheniramine for his allergies.  He was on steroid pills, but he has asthma as well. (weaning him off the steroid pills and started him on an inhaler for the asthma). The Chlorpheniramine really helps him with his allergies.  I know how you feel.  Francis is two and I rescued him five months ago and went through all the itching and sneezing, scratching.  He has environmental allergies.  I hope your kitty feels better very soon.

  I feel for you my heart goes to your cat i know this may sound a little strange ,however when my cat gets ill I'll chant for her.Prayers go along ways. Again this is my own opinions sometimes we have to find the simpler way to go. For me when my cat found me she was about a years missing incisors who knows what she's been through eating whatever as fast as she could to survive so upon being feed food food, her system went out the door.What I'm trying to say is that maybe going with your inner voice go to the store read and see other foods.

 For us I started with Blue that was a negative has nothing to do with the product because it's a good brand but for her it didn't work just like humans something expensive isn't always the answer. Then I went with Friskies kibbles same ordeal I figured I gave this to my male feline whom lived for fifteen and a half years, now is in Heaven So I decided I'm gong to try Purina One Smart Blend Chicken Rice Formula the kibbles.We sometimes think the salmon tuna ocean fresh blah blah is great they may LOVE IT  but not the best choice for their system.Please do not just switch foods, introduce little by little. Normally on the package it will say.I still have issues however I've notice a change.Rice lamb chicken is more easy on them. Hope this is helpful Welcome to the CAT SITE Hello to all around the world

                                                                                                                                        Baset

Hi,

We rescued 2 feral cats 9 years ago.  One looked siamese the other is a brown tabby but they are sisters (we were told).  The one that looks siamese is very light colored and from day 1 looked a bit ill.  Well after having her a few weeks we realized she was scratching and frankly ripping the skin off of her face.  We took her to the vet and then to the cat dermatologist.  We had her blood tested 2x ($300 per test) and paid for the dermatologist ($1000) to ascertain what she was allergic to - basically everything, so she was put on Hills ZD low allergen food.  We tried the desensitization shots, they did not work and were very expensive and you have to learn to give your pet shots everyday.  Then the vet suggested we have her back claws removed (believe me if you saw the way she attacked herself you would have done this, it was frightening).  She still continued to lick herself and rub the fur off her stomach, inside her legs and her face.  We then went to cortisone spray, then to cortisone shots which worked for about 5 years until she developed diabetes.  Now we had to give her insulin (which is really expensive ($120 a vile that leasts 6 months) and syringes that cost $25 for 100 and you have to have a perscription.  This worked to cure the diabetes, but she was still really itchy.  So while the vet tried to deal with the diabetes and the allergies, we spent LOTS of money trying new prescriptions.  She just recently tried Atopcia which did not work (also expensive $120 for a month's supply). so we are back to antihistamines that really do nothing.  I switched vets and the new vet ascertained that she no longer has diabetes, that's good but she is still REALLY itchy. She has begun to just wander through the house and cry (really loud).  It breaks you heart to know your pet is in pain, and no one can fix her.  I am at a loss.

We brought our son to college last fall and his roommates Dad was a vet.  He told us just to put her to sleep.  He said some cats just cannot be fixed.  I am at a loss.