Cat allergies???

Hello,

I recently purchased my first house and as a house warming gift to myself, I adopted a cat from the local animal shelter. His name is Soichiro, named after Soichiro Honda who founded Honda Motor Company (I'm a huge car fanatic.) Soon after coming home, he started to develop allergy like symptoms. He sneezes a lot, has watery eyes and a runny nose. Other than these symptoms, he seems to be doing great. Purrs, likes to be petted and rubbed etc. At the shelter, he didn't have any of these symptoms. Before he came home, he went the vet to be neutered and also received an Advantix flea treatment. I doubt the neutering has anything to do with it, but could the Advantix be causing an allergic reaction? Has anybody else's cat had similar problems and if so, what caused it? Thanks in advance...

Jason and Soichiro

Here's a link to some pictures of Soichiro. They are after the house pictures...

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=363778

What food are you feeding Soichiro? Food is the one of the number one allergies in cats. Many cats are allergic to ingredients such as corn, wheat, soy, chicken, etc. BTW, your house is HUGE and gorgeous. And of course, Soichiro is adorable. Congratulations!

Possibly the treatment could cause it.

Do you smoke? Lots of cats are allergic to smoking. Have you used any kind of carpet cleaner? What kind of food are you using? (cats do get allergies from foods).

Wow, thanks for the quick responses. I didn't think of the food. I'm currently feeding him Ocean Fish flavor Friskies. I'm not a smoker and haven't used any carpet cleaner but I've only lived in the house for just over a week, there is a chance the previous owners had the carpets cleaned before vacating but I doubt it. The previous owners didn't smoke inside the house. Should I try a different cat food?

Originally Posted by BBY2KS2K

Wow, thanks for the quick responses. I didn't think of the food. I'm currently feeding him Ocean Fish flavor Friskies. I'm not a smoker and haven't used any carpet cleaner but I've only lived in the house for just over a week, there is a chance the previous owners had the carpets cleaned before vacating but I doubt it. The previous owners didn't smoke inside the house. Should I try a different cat food?

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Read your friskies label ... things likely to cause trouble (allergies) in a cat are corn, wheat , some fish , soy , artificial coloring( red 40 yellow 5 as examples)

I would advise going to the local pet store / or superstore and asking about foods with out those in them

Some easily found are Nutro , Natural Balence, Chn soup

harder to find but good Califonia natural Innova Evangers

Thanks, that sounds like a great place to start.

Originally Posted by BBY2KS2K

Thanks, that sounds like a great place to start.

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it can be .. I would also jingle the vet and explain the symptoms...

food needs to be switched gradually... i like 14 day transitions

I would try a high quality food. Maybe take home a couple sample bags and see with one agrees with Soichiro. Oh and try a non fish based one. There is a chance that he may be allergic to fish. Here is a list of top quality foods:

-Innova
-California Natural
-Timberwolf Organics
-Natural Balance

I second trying Chicken Soup. My cats love it and it is super healthy.
These foods mentioned are more expensive but feeding a better quality food will cut back on vet visits and obesity in the long run. Feeding unhealthy, lowgrade foods are like feeding your kids junk food every single day.

If he is a shelter cat, I would have him checked out for an upper respiratory infection first. Having surgery is hard on the immune system and can make it easier for an URI to settle in. Good luck.

Those are not the symptoms of food allergies. Ring your vet and see what they have to say about the symptoms. It could be allergies, in which you should have a blood panel run to see what sort of airborn things your cat is allergic to. Most likely it's a URI that he has picked up while being under stress [going from a shelter, and being neutered etc.]

Friskies isn't the best food to feed your cat, but quite frankly whatever your cat likes eating is good food in my book. If you decide to switch your cat to another food, Felidae, Natural Choice, Nutro, etc. are good foods that have honest ingredients and not alot of fillers. My only complaint personally with friskies is that for the canned version you are mostly paying for water, and friskies in general the ingredients aren't always honest. If Felidae or those other foods say they have lamb in it, it's lamb. Not lamb and chicken and beef and whatever else is available at the time.

I talked to my vet and they don't think it's the food either. They think he may have an infection or a cold, something he may have caught while being in the shelter with a high concentration of cats. He seems to be doing a little better but I may take him in anyways. I will also switch to another brand of food. I only bought a small bag of Friskies, so soon I'll start blending in something else.

I just finished posting in another topic about this. I have a 13 month old abyssinian with awful sinus problems. He has been a regular at the vet since he frist came home with us. We have done everything for this little guy and he still sneezes and has runny nose. He is healthy and is getting chubby. The vet has us giving him a smal dose of antihistimines and they seem to help. Sometimes he gets big green boogers when he sneezes. Then we go back to the vet and get antibiotics. This has been going on for 9 months, since we have had him.

Frustrated? yes! I am at a loss... The vet thinks its allergies. I have spoke with him about the herpes virus it is a possibilty also. I am calling him wednesday and am going to ask about l-lysine. Can it help cats who have allergies also? I feel so bad for Frankie when his breathing gets bad. Other than the snot nose, he is very healthy and playfull. None of my other cats have contracted this from him if it is herpes or URI. I have a 17 year old cat with renal failure that would be susceptible to herpes or URI at her age, and declining health. I am very frustrated...

I am having a hard time believing its just allergies, with the big green snots he produces from time to time.

Just got back from the vet this morning and it turns out he just has a kitty cold. I was given some antibiotics to give him and he should get better within the next few days.