Cat with allergies possible? Advise

Hey everyone.  I am sort of new here, posted a couple questions here and there.  I am curious about signs and help with a cat with possible allergies.  I have combed through the post here with searching cat allergies and some seemed more severe than what I see and different stuff.  So here is the story:
 

I posted a few weeks ago about my cat Abby having twitches/skin rolls now and again, had a few replies about possible FHS.  I read over the FHS stuff, but within a couple of days, my other cat Harley started the same thing, except his were very very  frequent and seemed more harsh for him.....he would try and run and lick and bite at his skin.  Well Harley wasn't better with a day or so, so we took him to the vet.  I mentioned the FHS to her and even offered to show her a video and she wasn't interested.  She said it was most likely allergies.  She said his skin was a little red and said we can try a shot of cortisone and see if that helps but she "didn't think it would".  We talked about why where and when he gets this, her stupid reply was "well we don't know why we get allergies, I don't know what my seasonal allergies are from etc etc"  So she gave Harley a shot of cortisone and we went home.  His itching definitely calmed down and finally stopped within 24 hours, that was about a month ago.  Until Saturday....he is starting the same thing, running and itching and looking like he is "scared of the itching" so to speak.  The last time this happened after I took him to the vet....we went over the last week of what we did with Harley, and the only thing we did that was out of character was buy him a new bed, and that seemed to make it all happen.  About 2 weeks ago, he laid curled up with a stuffed animal and started it briefly when we removed the bed and animaland of course with that and the shot, all seemed to go away. 

So after reading some post from here about food allergies etc...I couldn't find any similar stories. Just some brief facts

He was adopted 5 yrs ago and came home with feline flu (which laid dormant until 2 weeks ago where he started sneezing constant,. took him to the vets and he was put on meds for a week, he is all better now, apparently feline flu stays with them forever and just flares up)

The food he eats doesn't seem to be causing his itching, he eats the same food all the time, I would assume if it was the food it would be a constant thing going on with him. 

The itching just started a month ago, this is his second outbreak that we have seen in the 5 years he has been with our family

Nothing in the home has changed, we use the same detergent, same plug in scents, same feeding bowls, we don't use chemicals (deodorizers) when we vacuum etc., we also don't use like room sprays or anything

He recently moved into my home with his owner in January, but we both used the same detergent etc when we lived apart and when he came here he came with the same stuff he had (bed, bedding, blankets etc)

He doesn't go outside

I have two other cats, he only gets close to one, the other one they are working very SLOWLY on becoming friends

Someone asked if it could be stress.....Harley and his owner lived with someone with 3 dogs a couple of years ago, moved to an apartment with his owner last year and moved in with me and his owner in Jan, and was introduced to two cats, one that doesn't get along with him etc...so I assume if it was stress related, he would have been doing this long before now, anyone who has just simply moved from one place to another with a cat knows how stressful it can be on the kitties, and also with him being around other cts for the first time and one who doesn't like him right now, would be stressful...so I would say as much changes that has happened before now he would have been super stressed already and showed this as a sign.....but this is the first we have seen it, so not thinking it is stress related.

I have read a lot about raw diets etc, but again he doesn't seem to need that.  The cortisone shot did seem to help, so I was wondering is there cortisone meds you can give cats, or some type of medicine to give them for allergies?  I read a few where people talked about the wipes, where they wipe the cat down and that seems to help, but if it is allergies, I would assume it was in the dander under his fur, does the topical wipes really relieve the itch? 

Thanks for listing to my ramble. 

Paula

 

Oh and also....when this started happening, it seems like if you semi wrap him in a blanket, or pet him hard, it seems to relieve it, he calms down some.  He also goes in the closed in the skinny part of it and lays in there.  Its almost like the tighter spot he is in, the more relief he feels. 

I don't have any good suggestions for you. It does seem like if more than one cat is having the same symptoms, it would be logical to look for common environmental factors. For both cats to have the same food allergies would be very coincidental. Food allergies do develop over time, so even if their food hasn't changed, that could certainly still be a cause. Allergies do manifest in cats as itching, so that would appear to be likely, but I'm not sure where the twitches/skin rolls fit in.

When you talk about feline flu, do you mean feline herpes?

When Harley is running and biting at his skin, is he specifically biting at his tail?  This really does sound like FHS, especially since you said that when you distract him by petting him hard it seems to stop it.  The only thing that doesn't match FHS would be the cortizone shot, at least that I know of. 

BUT, for two cats in the same household to have it would be almost unheard of.  And speaking of that, how is Abby...is she still doing the same thing too?

As far the wipes go, I think that is for HUMANS who are allergic to cats.  They can wipe their cats down and it helps with the dander so the humans aren't affected so much

As far as steroids in pill form, yes, Prednisone or prednisolone, but as with any steroid, long term use may have it's drawbacks. 

And, BTW, they CAN do allergy testing on cats, just like they do on people.  It's probably very costly, but it can be done!  (at least that's what it says on the internet )

Thanks for the replies.

Vball91......yes feline herpies....the vet called it both. 

Mrsgreenjeens...not not at his tail...it seems to be central to like...his hip area for the most part, and kind of on his back along his spine where he cant really reach.  His skin twitches and rolls and then he licks it fast and hard.

He did it bad Sat night and some on Sunday.....today it seems like it is not there at all...not one single sign of it!  Very odd.  Its like random, like it flares up severe and then within a day or so its gone.   (well at least with this time).  The last time on the second day we took him in for the cortisone shot.  This time, it lasted two days.  As for the pred pills....I have heard they can cause long term effects.  Harley already has seizures etc.  We are just watching him close now and seeing what he does....for now the twitchy itchy seems to be gone.  It is just so odd because it is so random like that.   We have had him in his own room the last couple months only lettting the cats mingle when we are home because we are doing intros with him and my other make cat.....we started leaving the door open at night and during the day (i work nights and sleep days) he has been sleeping with me during the day since we started this...and I didnt feel him do this at all today....so it seems to have stopped for now. 

As for Abby....hers is random like that too, and hers...when she does it...its like....maybe once every other or every few days...she will have a "OMG WHAT WAS THAT" run and itch with her skin twitching episode...she licks it fast and rough then its gone....and she may not do it again for 2,3, 4 days...it doesnt stay constant for hours at a time or days, its just like a one time deal....on random days or may be a week before one comes up again. 

Ohhhhh  didnt think the wipes would be for human reasons...doh....that makes sence tho...wipe the dander down to minimize the effect on human allergies.  haha. 

Could you post the video you have of the skin rolling?

I assume you've checked them over for fleas and other parasites, right?  Right over the hips and around the neck are two of fleas preferred places to chew on our pets.  The redness of the skin could be due to the over grooming he is engaging in.  They don't need to go outside to pick up fleas, sadly we can bring the little beasties right in with us.

How old are your cats?  I'm assuming younger since you adopted Harley 5 years ago.  Sometimes cats with pain or arthritis can act this way, but it would be very weird for both cats to have the symptoms without some outside source of the pain (like fleas).

The symptoms do sound like FHS, but the history doesn't fit, especially with two cats suddenly presenting this way.  I would check over your environment very closely, including this right outside of the cat's favorite windows.  Now that we have the spring weather occasionally moving in there are more pollens in the air and my allergy cat is more likely to have a breakthrough on her allergies and engage in a fur pulling session.  Thankfully my landlord no longer plants flowers along the front of the building, so she has been a little more comfortable the past year.

If your vet really thinks this allergies, ask for an antihistamine!  Most of them are over the counter, Zyrtec works well in cats, so they would just need to give you a dose.

Ok, so not biting at his tail.  Well, usually with FHS, they growl and bite at their tails, almost as if they don't recognize them as being part of their body.  Don't fit here.

So he DOES have Feline Herpes?  Are you giving have L-Lysine.  Most herpes cats get that sprinkled on their food, just as a matter of course, then when they start sneezing, or get the eye issues, the dosage gets bumped up.  I honestly haven't heard about body itches with it though., unlike with humans (shingles)

Yes, I agree that maybe you could ask your Vet for a dosage of OTC antihistamine and just give that a try and see what happens.  Plus maybe add the L-Lysine. 

Ritz has FHS; the type and duration of symtoms vary but rarely involves her tail, mainly her spine area and flank/thigh which she bites as though she's been bitten.  I thought briefly it was an allergic reaction to Green (raw) Tripe, but that turned out to be coincidental.  In Ritz' case, I think the 'cause' of her FHS is stress; she is prone to stress-induced UTIs, so it follows she'd be prone to FHS.

I agree with the other posters:  two cats manifesting the same symptoms doesn't point to FHS.  Not saying it's impossible (different cats, but living in the same environment), but unlikely. 

I would look to the food component, cats can definitely be allergic to the same ingredients in foods, but manifest the allergy in slightly different ways, i.e., one may be intolerant of [fill in the blank], the other cat, not so much.

I would try giving the cat an antihitamine; if that decreases the symptoms, you know it's probably some type of allergy (pollen, environment, the type of perfume/soap his owner uses).

I tried to upload the videos from my cell phone (what I took them on) and they are in MP4 format and wont upload here. 

We did/do check them for fleas etc.  Harley doesn't go out, but my Abby and Milo goes out ONLY with me and supervised the whole time and just long enough to nibble some grass and get some fresh hair, usually for less than 30 min a time, maybe a couple times a week.  I know this could easily be a way to bring in fleas, but Milo has no symptoms at all. 

Harley is around 10

Abby will be 2 in May 

Milo will be 4 in May

Harley just started this, I have noticed Abby has done it off and on for quite a few months now.  At first I didn't really pay much attention to it...she is soooooo spastic and crazy and kitten like with antics going on 24/7 I didn't seem to notice it bother her as much....thought she was just having a quick heeby jeeby and that was that.  Hers are so few and far between, and only happens once at a time.  Harley hasn't done it since Sunday night was the last I seen it. 

MrsGreen....now I have seen him bite at other parts of his body when he licks sometimes....but mostly when he grooms himself....and when he was fist adopted he pretty much self mutilated his neck with biting and scratching himself.  So I think the occasional bite/tug at the fur he does is just him being him.  Its random and not only with the heeby jeeby but in grooming as well.  But never at his tail or hind limbs, more so at his chest and front leg area.  And yes he does have the feline herpes (which I assume is a virus that stays with them forever?)  They gave us a oral medication for him to take for 10 days to treat it and also added some Lysine treats for him to take with it.  We still are giving him the treats, the 10 day med has passed. 

As for multiple cats with this stuff going on.  Harley is the newbie in the house, they just moved in with us in January.  I noticed Abby doing this several months before that.  But....this is something that we just noticed Harley started when I first came to the board about it with Abby.  So his just started a month or so ago.  Ritz pointed out maybe the cause of Ritz is caused by stress, Harley is a weird little guy, and is pretty laid back, but if you look at his life, hes had a stressful one off and on, BUT there has ben several stressful factors in his life within the last 3 years...moving, dogs, now cats etc, so my guess would be that if it was stress related, FHS would have shown itself by now. 

I think the next time I see him seeming to have an outbreak, I will go with my vets advice on a antihistamine. 

Any quality food recommendations, just in general?  Harley has a sensitive stomach, he currently eats science diet sensitive stomach and handles that well, we added in some regular adult science diet with it and he does well with that also. 

Science Diet is full of fillers, any one of which may be a catalyst for an allergic reaction.

In some ways cats are like people:  one stresser* may not cause much of a problem, but add a stresser after another stresser after another stresser, and it can culminate into a UTI, FLUTD, peeing outside the box, FHS like symptoms.

* = what is a stresser to one person/cat, may not be a stresser to another.  I frequently change the location of Ritz' litter box and it doesn't bother her.  But if I'm an hour late feeding him, she has an episode of FHS.

That's interesting Ritz......Harley has been known to pee right outside his box....literally right next to it.  This only started less than a couple of years ago.  We have read up on some foods.  I have been to a couple of sites that people leave reviews some were scary, a lot of them talked about how some of their cats became sick, even death, as other reviews said their cats love it.  We looked into Blue Wilderness, but that was one where some of the reviews said there was a lot of serious illnesses due to the switch.  (and I know that there can be other factors etc with that).  I have heard such horrible things about IAMS and how they did testing on animals and seen proof on websites etc where I would never even consider IAMS ever and support them. There is just so many out there that the pet stores will try and sell you, and by no means I mean no offense to anyone who may work at a pet store, but a lot of the chains like petsmart and petco, the employees are just young folks....who may or may not even own a cat or dog....and of course the vets all push science diet. 

So those of you from the board...expert advice from experience/trial and error on a good food??

Ritz' UTI manifested itself by the Litter Box Dance:  go into litter box, squat a second, nothing much comes out; go back out the lb, go  back in, squat a second, go back out; repeat three or four times.

For advice about food, may I direct you to the Nutrition forum.  There are several threads current and past about what should I feed my cat.

It would be helpful to know if your cats are allergic to something in the food (additive, grain, protein) versus if it is a symptom of FHS.  The commonality in either case is less is more:  less additives, less carbohydrates of all forms (and that includes potatoes, green beans, carrots), less fish.  And wet is better than dry.

www.catinfo.org is a good site, too.

Thanks ritz!! I will check it out.