Hey Everyone,
I've posted a few times recently about my boy cat, Nub, who's 10.5 years old. A few years ago we moved to the Netherlands from the US, and since then he has been suffering from what seem to be seasonal allergies. This is the 3rd year he's had symptoms recur at around the same time (September/October), which in previous years have lasted through autumn and most or all of winter, until maybe February/March.
His primary symptom seems to be itchy skin, I see him licking his body and chewing on his paws in a frantic way, and also his skin "rolls" or "twitches" sometimes (but I don't think he has Feline Hyperesthesia). He also shakes his head sometimes as though his ears are itchy.
There are other symptoms that have come up each year such as agitation, aggressiveness towards his sister, not sleeping as well, and doing weird things like licking our exposed brick wall. This year he also had a couple of weeks of vomiting spit nearly every day. I can't be sure, but I'm guessing that most, if not all of these symptoms are a result of stress that is caused by the itchy skin (with the possible exception of the vomiting, since this is the first year that has happened).
He had a blood test last week (the results of which I've posted, along with his results from January 2014 for comparison, here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/287939/blood-test-results) which the vet dismissed as nothing to worry about, though a few values are far from normal (in particular very high Eosinophils and very low Lymphocytes).
I'm not sure whether I'm completely convinced that there's nothing to worry about in the blood, especially since he was experiencing the allergy symptoms when he had his last blood test and the values were far less extreme, but assuming that all of his symptoms are allergy-related, I now need to figure out a course of treatment.
The vet said that it's too late this year for antihistamines, and that she didn't recommend drugs that would lower his immune system. This seems to leave us with addressing his skin directly (via applying Allerderm and adding fatty acids to his diet), and potentially steroids.
Last week he received a steroid injection at the vet's office, and it definitely seems to have helped. I still see occasional symptoms daily (with the exception of the vomiting, that has stopped), but the symptoms don't seem to be bothering him as much and he seems much more relaxed. He spent a few days after receiving the shot mostly sleeping, I think because he finally had relief from all of the stress, and today he's been more active but still seems calmer and happier.
I know that there are health risks associated with steroids, and also that they reduce in efficacy over time, so I wanted to ask what kind of experiences people have had with steroids, and with seasonal allergies in general. Any advice, resources, etc. would be helpful and thanks for reading!
I've posted a few times recently about my boy cat, Nub, who's 10.5 years old. A few years ago we moved to the Netherlands from the US, and since then he has been suffering from what seem to be seasonal allergies. This is the 3rd year he's had symptoms recur at around the same time (September/October), which in previous years have lasted through autumn and most or all of winter, until maybe February/March.
His primary symptom seems to be itchy skin, I see him licking his body and chewing on his paws in a frantic way, and also his skin "rolls" or "twitches" sometimes (but I don't think he has Feline Hyperesthesia). He also shakes his head sometimes as though his ears are itchy.
There are other symptoms that have come up each year such as agitation, aggressiveness towards his sister, not sleeping as well, and doing weird things like licking our exposed brick wall. This year he also had a couple of weeks of vomiting spit nearly every day. I can't be sure, but I'm guessing that most, if not all of these symptoms are a result of stress that is caused by the itchy skin (with the possible exception of the vomiting, since this is the first year that has happened).
He had a blood test last week (the results of which I've posted, along with his results from January 2014 for comparison, here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/287939/blood-test-results) which the vet dismissed as nothing to worry about, though a few values are far from normal (in particular very high Eosinophils and very low Lymphocytes).
I'm not sure whether I'm completely convinced that there's nothing to worry about in the blood, especially since he was experiencing the allergy symptoms when he had his last blood test and the values were far less extreme, but assuming that all of his symptoms are allergy-related, I now need to figure out a course of treatment.
The vet said that it's too late this year for antihistamines, and that she didn't recommend drugs that would lower his immune system. This seems to leave us with addressing his skin directly (via applying Allerderm and adding fatty acids to his diet), and potentially steroids.
Last week he received a steroid injection at the vet's office, and it definitely seems to have helped. I still see occasional symptoms daily (with the exception of the vomiting, that has stopped), but the symptoms don't seem to be bothering him as much and he seems much more relaxed. He spent a few days after receiving the shot mostly sleeping, I think because he finally had relief from all of the stress, and today he's been more active but still seems calmer and happier.
I know that there are health risks associated with steroids, and also that they reduce in efficacy over time, so I wanted to ask what kind of experiences people have had with steroids, and with seasonal allergies in general. Any advice, resources, etc. would be helpful and thanks for reading!
:rub:
