cat getting sores around eyes, also losing hair

Hey guys,
My kitty was getting better but im afraid we are going down that road again. Let me give you some background info. sorry if its long.

to start with bella (aka pooky) is 17 years old, not real active but she sure likes to go outside in the summer. she spends 1/2 to most of the day outside. she sleeps inside 98% of the time. winter time, shes out 5 mins, comes back in.

for the last few years she has been getting sick in spring time. it was been mostly stuff coming out of her eyes, and then causing irritation on the inside of her eyes. all the vets said different things, none of them seemed to have a clue.

last winter she had to spend some time at my parents (we had a fire at our house). she started getting sick. vomiting alot, sores all around her eyes, alot of itching, and she was losing hair on her tail. the end was bald. as soon as we brought her to the local vet, right away he knew it was alergies. he gave pills and suggested getting her off chicken and beef.

she would not get sick off the homemade food but i couldnt keep feeding her that. found a brand of food she liked. it was ok for about 2 weeks but then she started getting sick again. so we decided to bring back chicken and take out corn.

that worked till now. she hasnt been sick, no itching, eyes healed up and her tail was getting nice and full again.

now what seemed like an injury from a fight, is not healing and getting worste. she is itching too, but havent seen her been sick. and the tail is getting very thin again. the tip is bald again.

we have had her on the same 2 brand of food since we found it was corn she was alergic too. what should we do now?

She needs a complete check up at your vets.

i was hoping someone would have a suggestion to remove another common ingredient that causes allergies. she has all the same symptoms as before, im pretty positive its the same thing. but a little intreged as too why she had been doing so well for over 6 months.

the 3 vets around my area are cluless and never even mentioned allergies before, so im not sure that bringing her there would even help.

the vet who did mention it is an hour away.

is hair lose a common side effect of allergies?

Usually with allergies they scratch the area affected and their claws cause the lesions. Looking at her picture though, that does look like from a fight with something....

Karen

so maybe its just taking a bit longer to heal since she is older? ill keep an eye on it, its looking kinda cleaner now, no real scabs anymore. but the whole area is missing alot of hair which worries me a bit more then the sores themselves. she does itch at it quite a bit with her back claws.

when it was a bit more raw i was putting some trible antibiotic on it that we use for cuts. do you think i should keep putting that on? i know when we use it, it helps take away a bit of the pain and itchyness. anything else to recommend to put on it to help her heal faster?

what about the hair lose on the tail, maybe its sheding with the seasons and just takes longer for the new fur to grow back in? normally is the hair lose more assosiated with allergies or old age?

I would think the hair loss on her tail is more allergies...

The antibiotic ointment couldn't hurt so I would use that on her face...

Karen

Originally Posted by kittylove1

I would think the hair loss on her tail is more allergies...

The antibiotic ointment couldn't hurt so I would use that on her face...

Karen

Click to expand...

Before using anything so close to the eye like that call a vet. There should be no need for a visit just ask to make sure it's safe to use around the eye. You wouldn't want to risk getting something in her eye that could cause damage to the eye.

I also wanted to add that due to her advancing age you may want to reconsider keeping her inside at all times. I know she's used to going out, but as her age progresses she becomes more of a target for attack from other animals, including other cats. You know her health situation better than I do, but it's someething to think about.

ok ill check with a vet for the ointment.

i have thought about keeping her inside but it would really kill her spirit and she would be miserable. we already dont let her out pass 8 and sometimes you would swear its the end of the world.

we have been thinking about closing in the yard so she cant get out. she could still go outside, and while she couldnt go exploring like she does i think she would still be 100% more happy then being stuck inside all the time. maybe we will put a fastfoward on that idea.

You should check out the site that linked on here under "Cat Shop"...it's that special fence that kitties can't climb out of! It's pretty cool looking...

Karen

Originally Posted by tinababa

ok ill check with a vet for the ointment.

i have thought about keeping her inside but it would really kill her spirit and she would be miserable. we already dont let her out pass 8 and sometimes you would swear its the end of the world.

we have been thinking about closing in the yard so she cant get out. she could still go outside, and while she couldnt go exploring like she does i think she would still be 100% more happy then being stuck inside all the time. maybe we will put a fastfoward on that idea.

Click to expand...

I understand you want her to enjoy life too, I think a fence or perhaps some sort of outdoor enclousure would be a good way to keep her a little bit safer. I do agree the area around her eye looks like a wound from a fight.

i just looked at the sore and its swolen now.

so is it definatly allergies now? any tips on what ingredient i should try to eliminate from her diet?

Doesn't have to be a food allergy (if it is an allergy, I would have a culture and a biopsy done to rule out parasites, etc first), cats can have contact allergies, inhaled (seasonal) allergies, etc, just like humans.

Swollen around the sore sounds like an abcess.
Best to take her to the vet before it gets worse.

At this point forget any allergy theory and take her to the vet.....

get to the vet hon - and fast.

here is an update and looking for suggestions.

the sore/scab is completly healed, but the allergy eyes are not getting better. The right eye is slowly getting worste, and the left started to swell in the canal today, exactly what she had before.

ive tried several new kind of foods but she really isnt impressed with these new foods. she wont eat it.

laying awake last night it came to me, it must be outside allergies and not food.

every spring her eyes act up.

after we had the fire at the end of march at our house we had to move into this temporary appartment. it had a balcony, we were on the 3rd floor. she was out on the balcony alot but she never got sick.

then we had to move out so we brought her to my parents where she had access to outside alot. this is where she started getting really bad. after the visit to the vet we changed the diet as suggested but we also brought her in with us in this new appartment where she couldnt go outside.

at this point she started getting alllll better. eyes were 100% and tail had grown back fully.

in december we moved back in our new house, where she stayed inside. then spring came and started going outside more and more. this is where the sore appeared. finally we installed a cat door and now she is outside all the time and its getting worste.

so i have a few questions.

#1 can a vet do a test to find out what she is allergic too?

#2 i am putting her back on the food she was doing so well on while she did not have access outside. even if it is not food allergie, i feel better feeding her this good food. does that make sense?

#3 if it is an outside allergie. is it more likely that it is a contact allergy rather then say pollen? since she was out on a balcony alot with no effect. this being said. would it be a good test to make her an enclosure where she has no contact with grass/weeds. or should the test be to lock her up in the house, and result in a very unhappy kitty?

i appreciates anyone who is reading this and will try to help with a responce. me and my boyfriend cant agree on what is the worste scenario, her able to be outside with the allergies and the itchness. or if its better that she stay inside, healthy but unhappy. if the encloser idea would work it would be the best of the situation.

well no one is helping out but i though i would give an update for anyone reading this in the future.

it does appear as if it was outside allergies. the cat has been kepted inside all week and the eyes are healing very quickly.

once the eyes are fully recovered we will try an outside enclosure where she will not be in contact with the ground or anything else from outside.

hopefully this will make it so she isnt so miserable from being stuck in the house all day.

Did you ever take her to a vet for a diagnosis? Sometimes even when a wound heals over (scabs), the infection stays inside.

It's pretty hard for us to know what is wrong by just reading your post and seeing a picture. You really need a vet to see the kitty and find out what is going on.

I'm hoping you are right and that she is getting well and that nothing more serious is going on beneath the surface so to speak.