Allergies....

Matt is having a flare-ip of allergies again, and I may have to take him in for a shot. This happenned this time last year, too. He'd been scratching his ear and when I told the vet he said he had allergies and gave him a shot.

I have a few questions about cats and allergies:

1) If the symptom is itching, would a fish oil or other suppliment help?

2) How do I go about finding out what my cat is allergic to?

3)Do cats have seasonal allergies, like hayfever? 

 I'd ask the vet, but he's not the most informative man in the world...usually he just doles out medicines and gives me a bill

Cats do have seasonal allergies.  If it's happening at the same time every year, then it's most likely environmental and not food or litter.  You can give a daily antihistamine during this time.  My vet recommends 1/4 to 1/2 of a Claritin (loratadine) tablet once a day.  Talk to your vet.

Thanks, I'll call the old vet-he's still on file there, and they were much more helpful. We started to go to this new one out of financial necessity during rough times, but you get what you pay for I guess. We get our meds, and tests and such, but when I try to just call and ask a question....well, the last time I did that, he told me to call my vet !

if you can find any penicillian that you can buy off the shelf , get it , it will help. just keep it in the ****, when your cat gets the sniffles or alleriges, give it to them,, i am not a doctor, but I give it to my kitty. and it is legal to buy penicillian at a tractor and supply store or feed store.

My cat Grayson started scratching in May. He doesn't have any redness or sores so that's great. I did the allergy serology recently and he is positive for dust mite and storage mite allergies. We saw a pet dermatologist who gave a couple treatment options. I don't know what the right approach is. He's almost 3. I'm hesitant to do allergy shots and I don't really want to change his food, as suggested by the dermatologist. He's on Purina UR for urinary tract issues and I don't want to mess with that. He's doing really well on Purina. He did prednisone for a little while and that did significantly reduce his symptoms, but can't do that forever. I just don't want him uncomfortable. Is it possible it's just a summer thing or is this permanent? I have been doing a lot of internet research and Omega 3 sounds like a good thing to try? The dermatologist mentioned honey as well. anyone try either of these?

A couple weeks into his symptoms he did develop yeast in one ear but I believe that's what happens with allergies. I have gotten hypoallergenic filter, mattress cover, pillow covers. I don't know if that helps at all.

I too am unsure what to do. This issue is overwhelming for me. The serology wasn't cheap! the first time I have been concerned with costs for him. Found out what the z/d food cost that she recommended and is almost twice as much as Purina- and Purina is a little costly too. ugh. It's just hard to know what cats are feeling. Is the scratching bothersome to him? Is he unhappy? He's fine other than several times a day scratching his head region.

He's a little down during an allergy spell, or at least I am attributing the increase in sleep time to feeling poorly. When he's up and about he's just as happy as always, but he spends more hours a day in rest mode when allergies bother him. This round was a little worse than others, with him licking bald patches on his forelegs.....but by the time I was able to consider a vet appointment he's feeling better. The hair's growing back, and his scratches are healing around his ears. 

I looked into Omega three as well, and that's the first thing I'm going to try on him, as far as medication/suppliments go. I want to see if that helps before going on to antihistamines and steroids.

 I'm in the process of switching him to Simply Nourish, a food which was suggested as a more natural food with as few ingredients as possible. I've also read the California Naturals is great for cats with allergies, but I can't find the kibble, and Matt spends the ENTIRE day begging for more food when I put him on wet. After almost a year, I finally put him back on kibble because he got so upset that I would not feed him more than the prescribed amount......this doesn't happen on kibble, as he eats only enough to quiet his belly and comes back for more later.