Allergies- here we go again!

[sarah ann]

So my cat has the worst allergies. They are so bad I fear I may need to dish out the $$$ to get allergy shots.

Over 2 months ago we had a flea infestation- I put him on Frontline,  Revolution, than capstar which didn't seem to be enough. He is currently on Advantage  and I am hoping that works.

I spot treated the carpet with borax as well.

About this same time, I discovered his urinary issues were due to antihistamines so I took him off his allergy medication.  If he keeps peeing everywhere my parents will get rid of him.  This has mostly resolved the urinary issues. Prednisolone also causes him to strain when urinating. The poor cat will sit in the box for 5 minutes if on prednisolone.

But his allergies are back! and worse than ever!  He also has some food allergies so 2 days ago I switched him to Hills Z/D (as my vet gave me a free bag for Halloween).   Today he had diarrhea, and his face is 2x worse!  He also stole a biscuit out of the cabinet this morning.  

His face is completely raw - an area the size of my hand. From his chin going all the way down his neck. He is now in an E collar.  I pulled him off the Hills as I suspect he may not tolerate that either.  He usually (not always) does well on Natures variety instinct LID.

I started him on antibiotics as his face stinks like something died, I cleaned it with chlorhexidine (as the vet recommends), and put him back on allergy pills, but he is now locked in the bathroom as I can't having him peeing in the house.

This poor cat practically lives in an E collar.   I just don't know what to do to help him.   The vet specialists who do allergy testing and the university will charge me over $1k for allergy testing and shots. If not more than that.

 

[ldg]

Oh poor baby!!!! :heart2:

As to the allergy testing.... it's notoriously unreliable in cats.

I don't know if you're willing to consider alternative treatments or not. But allergies are indication of immune system gone haywire.

With Western Meds, the approach is to identify the triggers and stop or limit exposure.

In Chinese Medicine, the approach is to address the underlying cause of the unnatural immune response. Our western words don't really have a way to explain it much beyond that: Chinese Medicine addresses things in terms of cold and heat, damp and dry, energy meridians, etc.

All I know is that Chumley had chronic diarrhea that was determined to be from food allergies. An elimination diet didn't identify triggers, so we tried the z/d. That didn't help. Pred was contra-indicated because of his FIV. Antihistamines didn't help either. After six or so months of watching him suffer, we figured there was nothing to loose in trying a different approach. What was the worst that was going to happen? He didn't get better? His abdomen was already bare, as were his forelegs. His eyes were runny, his gums red, and he had chronic diarrhea. He was miserable.

So we searched to see if we could find a vet trained in Chinese Medicine. A D.V.M., so trained in both Western Medicine and Chinese Meds.

She diagnosed Chumley as extremely Spleen Qi deficient, and extremely Yin deficient. She prescribed some herbs that were difficult to get into him, so she prescribed a different herbal. That he would willingly eat in a pill pocket. It was clear inside of two weeks that this was working. And the stuff she prescribed for the spleen Qi deficiency (his diarrhea) worked almost immediately. She had us use slippery elm bark powder, probiotics and fractionally distilled aloe vera juice to address his internal inflammation. Within a few months, he was back to normal - his hair had grown back in, he could eat anything. I kept him on the herbals for about a year - then he didn't seem to need them any longer. I do feed him raw, which I know is a course you don't want to take. But perhaps a homemade cooked diet would be an alternative to consider.

If there is a DVM trained in Chinese Meds you can get to, I'd consider the "what is there to lose" option....

You can search here: http://www.ahvma.org

 

[denice]

Wow your kitty does have some extreme allergies.  I know some cats are allergic to fleas but your kitties reaction seems too extreme to be just a flea allergy.  When you say he does okay sometimes on the Nature's Variety LID is that with the same protein or different proteins?  That food is really one of the best as far as a simple food with no fillers.  Have you tried a protein that he hasn't had before like lamb or rabbit in a food like Nature's Variety and fed just that protein.

The prescription foods for allergies don't always work.  They basically break the proteins down to a point that the kitties system doesn't recognize it so doesn't react to it.  Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.  They also have other fillers in them.