Flea Allergy

[my best friend 😺]

Hi everyone! This is my first post. Im hoping for some help if anyone has experience with flea allergies. We live in the south and have fleas everywhere. Theres no getting rid of them out here in the country where we have brush and fields surrounding the house. Pest control cant keep up so theres no point. Some years are worse than others. We have no carpet in the house, just a few rugs by the doors that get washed often.
I have 4 indoor only cats. Never go outside. I live with my parents who come and go outside to feed the animals and things many times a day. So they bring in fleas on their shoes and clothes. We don't have many fleas at all in the house (none that jump on us) but of course the cats have a couple here and there. Topical meds have never worked. Prescription or over the counter. No infestation by any means, just 2 or 3 on each cat. I use a flea comb every few days and sometimes they have none at all. But, my 10yr old is severely allergic to flea bites. Hes seen 2 vets and both have said theres nothing to be done because with flea medicine, the flea has to bite the cat in order to die. But the bite itself is what causes the allergy. So its just a cycle. They just say to control the fleas in the house, which is impossible. Coming in and out just brings them back in. My question is how to calm the allergy itself. My last resort is a long term prescription for him to prevent the flare up. He has terrible scabs and itching all over his body and hair loss. Hes miserable. It wasn't so bad at first (we lived up north with NO fleas for the first 5 years of his life and he had no skin issues, gorgeous fur, very healthy) but hes getting worse and worse. His last blood work a year ago was excellent. His dr said he had the bloodwork of a cat many years younger. But he seems sad, out of energy and of course the skin issues. The dr prescribed only flea medicine and just said to control the fleas, but it probably wouldn't help since just one bite would cause a big problem. So, then what? No answers. Ive tried duralactin, a feline l-lysine paste. It helped quite a bit. He loved it and his skin got better and he felt better too. But the tube is about 12 bucks and only lasts a week. So its pricey. The bad part is that he has stomach issues and throws up alot (not bc of the duralactin). But during the course of this treatment, he threw up pink-tinged liquid one time. This really scared me. Im scared of putting him back on this even though it worked so well. Maybe instead of twice a day, once a day? Every other day? Idk. Im scared. Does anyone have experience with duralactin? Anything else that will help with severe skin allergies that isnt a prescription or a spray (hes terrified of sprays and too old, im not gonna terrorize him and chase him with a spray)? He also gets very black, waxy, hard build up in his ears. Not mites, the dr checked. Idk if its related to the flea allergy but we have to do a good ear cleaning weekly and so hes pretty miserable between the ears and skin allergies. Ive tried a drop or two of ivermectin (always the tiniest bit) in his ears, but it hasn't helped. We are in a small town and im down to one other vet left to see.

Can anyone offer any suggestions or help for him? Ive considered food allergies. But with 4 cats, thats pricey too. We switch between Nulo, Halo and Fussie Cat. Other brands cause severe stomach upset (Earthborn caused a UTI in one of my girls) and most he just wont touch. Hed rather starve for days than eat the wrong food. So were already spending a bit on food (14 lbs a month or so). Id like to do wet food for just him, but my poor princesses dont understand why they dont deserve delicious meaties too. We just cant afford all that. Im on a serious budget. Of course, they eat like kings and queens before i even think about groceries for me. But still, mommy needs a crust of bread too. Maybe an apple sometimes.
I mean, any advice would help. Prescription is a last resort, but i guess ill do it if i have to. I just want him to be healthy. Happy. My girls (3yrs old) dont have any allergies or problems. Just some ear cleaning sometimes.
Thanks everyone, i know this was alot of info.

 

[Kris107]

He has terrible scabs and itching all over his body and hair loss.

This makes me think maybe more than just flea issues. Since you've tried a lot of flea "remedies" and none have helped, I think looking at food is a good next step. I recently had a foster cat who had huge wounds. We don't have fleas here, but they thought it was maybe bacterial or fungal, then tried limited ingredient diet. The only thing that worked was prescription food (hydrolyzed protein). She immediately stopped scratching wounds and started healing. Almost literally overnight. Rx food is NOT ideal, and believe me, I wanted to try everything else. But if it is what = quality of life, then maybe worth it. We do have another cat who does not have dietary issues, so we have a microchip feeder. Also, a bit of an investment, but good if we can keep the food separate.

 

[my best friend 😺]

This makes me think maybe more than just flea issues. Since you've tried a lot of flea "remedies" and none have helped, I think looking at food is a good next step. I recently had a foster cat who had huge wounds. We don't have fleas here, but they thought it was maybe bacterial or fungal, then tried limited ingredient diet. The only thing that worked was prescription food (hydrolyzed protein). She immediately stopped scratching wounds and started healing. Almost literally overnight. Rx food is NOT ideal, and believe me, I wanted to try everything else. But if it is what = quality of life, then maybe worth it. We do have another cat who does not have dietary issues, so we have a microchip feeder. Also, a bit of an investment, but good if we can keep the food separate.

Very interesting. Ill get the limited ingredient food first, then focus on the rx food at his dr visit if that doesn't cut it. This is great info bc he happens to be microchipped and the others are not. So this makes it much easier. Fingers crossed that he'll eat it, but we'll cross that bridge later. This is so great - thank you thank you !