Any experience with bloodtests for allergies?

My cat probably has allergies. A vet recommended that I do a blood test to test for what she is allergic to. He said the test would be around 300$

My question is, does anybody have experience with sort of test? Are they reliable? Are they worth the money? If I knew that I would get a reliable answer, I would do it, but if its just a mumbo jumbo thing that produces half baked results I don't want to spend that much money

Thanks for any tips

Several of the cats at the shelter where I volunteer have had the test, and it's been spot on. I was sceptical because it showed so many as being allergic to chicken (some to duck), but once it was eliminated from their diets the problems stopped. That might be due to the relatively small gene pool around here.

About 15 years ago our own cat was tested - back when the test was pretty new and unproven - and it provided the answers we needed.

I found this line on ASPCA.org. I wonder if anybody has a comment on this

"It’s important to see a veterinary dermatologist for an allergy test if your cat has itchy or irritated skin. The test of choice is an intradermal skin test, as blood allergy tests are not considered as reliable."

i would suggest seeing a board-certified vet dermatologist:

http://www.acvd.org/tools/locator/locator.asp?id=16

Yes I did that before, I can't remember if she recommended a test or not, probably not or else I would remember. I left something like 550$ there and all I got was some antihistamine and steroids which my regular vet should have prescribed as well, so I'm not really thrilled when it comes to dermatologists.

The vet I am seeing about her current issue offered the blood test right away and I will probably do it when I go there next week for a checkup if her condition does not improve until then.

Right now I am not even sure it is allergies anymore because she was fine until a wekk ago and then started scratching around the ears/eyes, just like when she had the last attack in december and after that was over she was fine without symptoms until now and there was no change in her environment. An ophthalmologist suggested it was herpes, and my idea now is to do the test so that we at least know if it is allergy or not.

Well I think I post the results here in case somebody is thinking about the test. Of course I don't know yet if it's accurate but it's pretty devastating, she is positive for 20 allergens from food over dust and fungi to trees and weeds.

At the very least we now now what to avoid. The wet food I've been giving her is fine (Simply Nourish limited ingredient) but the Simply Nourish hardfood I use has tomatoes which is bad for her.

I also decided to finally get a new vacuum with good sealing and such and an air purifier. I will also kill the grass and weeds around my house. I'm in California, so it's good patriotism to have no lawn anyway.

I hope this helps her. Of course she could also have herpes and we're also giving her antiviral eyedrops and lysine. The test was worth the money, without it I would have fed the wrong stuff and never thought about air pollutants. She's even allergic against Sisal which in the scratchpad she used to sit on.

Hello,

I can relate to your situation as my cat has allergies and for the longest time I was not sure if it was allergies or not because the "symptoms" seemed to come and go. However, after we got the test done, it was confirmed that he was allergic to many different things.

Also, I don't know what laboratory your vet is going to use but, the one that mine used was VERY extensive. It was a bit costly but, they tested a whole list of items that he might be allergic to. This list was extensive. The lab even provided a list of foods that I could look into that did not have any of the ingredients that he was allergic to.

The one issue I am having now is that since I do not want to use conventional chemically based treatment, as some of the side effects include DEATH, I am having a hard time finding am allergy relief formula for him that works well. I did order some Doc ackermans allergy relief formula which works but, he doesn't like the taste of it so, it only works somewhat.

That's the main reason that I created my account for this site so I could see if anyone could help me out with allergy relief for my big guy.

I hope your experience is a positive one for your kitty.

Wen I went to the dermatologist in February, I got the following meds: chlorpheniramine maleate 4mg twice per day and for hard itch attacks a steroid tramcinolone acetat 0.5mg once a day for 5 days, then half a pill for 5 days and then half a pill every other day for a total of 5 doses again.

It seemed to help back then, but now I am not sure if the problems were allergy or the last remnants of a herpes attack which began in mid december and was going away anyway.

However I give her the antihistamine in a pillpocket twice a day. Although she is allergic to corn and the pillpockets contain corn syrup, I take the chance because the other solution is to grind the pill, dilute it in water and shoot up her mouth which is always a drama.

maybe this helps for you if your cat has only allergies, my cat was doing fine for 3 months until, what I believe, is a new herpes attack which has been going on since end of april and is still heavy on her. I have now famciclovir for the virus and I hope she will get better soon. Right now, she is hurting in the eyes only, I dont think its allergy symptoms.