Possible cat allergies

valentine319

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My girl Maine coon has been sneezing ( clear but sneezing), scratching, itching and pulling out hair. I contacted the individual i got get from and changed from orijen fish to aracna chicken based. She was a bit better but her allergies come and go with the allergy count. She's 4 and I've been giving her a little chlortabs. I looked it up and she's only getting less than one mg twice a day ( usually once a day) when allergies are bad. She's completely indoors, two baths, no fleas, no skin eruptions and doesn't seem stressed.

The person i got her from said have allergy testing done. Sedating her, shaving side and injecting allergens seem well horrid. I personally did allergy testing and shots for 4 years.

There was a supplement that she used to get and I've reordered to see if this stops. I hate taking her to the vet because she'll need flea meds ( despite a crate there are lots of animals with fleas) and she'll be a wreck after. And I really feel it's allergies. She's indoors, hypoallergenic washed everything, no fabric softener, no perfume.

Recommendations? I hate spending for the vet to hear cortisone. (i don't want to give ) or keep giving her allergy meds you've been giving. Anyone else with experience?
 

cinqchats

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I think usually the vets will do a blood test for allergies, not the shave and prick kind. At least, that's what we had done for Mr Squiggles. I opted for the most detailed panel they had and it cost me around $350.

He was on chlorpheniramine for awhile as well, but at least 5mg a day. 10mg/day when the allergy count was very high. I think you need to speak to a vet about dosage and narrowing down exactly what the cause is. It's helpful if you keep a journal for awhile, noting which days the symptoms are worse and what the allergy count is. 
 
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valentine319

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Thank you. We went to the vet today. She had pulled hair and had a raw spot. She got a shot of cortisone and cordare (antibiotic). If if comes back in a month we'll try a complete diet change .
 

rosiedozy

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My girl Maine coon has been sneezing ( clear but sneezing), scratching, itching and pulling out hair. I contacted the individual i got get from and changed from orijen fish to aracna chicken based. She was a bit better but her allergies come and go with the allergy count. She's 4 and I've been giving her a little chlortabs. I looked it up and she's only getting less than one mg twice a day ( usually once a day) when allergies are bad. She's completely indoors, two baths, no fleas, no skin eruptions and doesn't seem stressed.

The person i got her from said have allergy testing done. Sedating her, shaving side and injecting allergens seem well horrid. I personally did allergy testing and shots for 4 years.

There was a supplement that she used to get and I've reordered to see if this stops. I hate taking her to the vet because she'll need flea meds ( despite a crate there are lots of animals with fleas) and she'll be a wreck after. And I really feel it's allergies. She's indoors, hypoallergenic washed everything, no fabric softener, no perfume.

Recommendations? I hate spending for the vet to hear cortisone. (i don't want to give ) or keep giving her allergy meds you've been giving. Anyone else with experience?
 

rosiedozy

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I have had years of experience with cat allergies. My Burmese girl,now 9 has had allergies since she was a kitten. My vet did blood tests for atmospheric allergies. She was allergic to house dust mites and storage /forage mites on dry food. Blood tests for food were useless. She started off with chin acne then developed hot spots all over her body but mostly insides of arms &legs. She was put on a monthly immunosuppressive injection especially made up for her.I tried all kinds of diets(orijen fish made her worse), eventually saw a dermatologist who put her on hydrolyzed soya protein (Purina H A) ,absolutely nothing else but water, no treats,for at least 8 weeks plus antibiotics and Depomedrone. This worked pretty well, but she started stealing food and relapsed. I didn't want her to have lots of steroid injections so eventually started her on Atopica(ciclosporin). With the soya diet and monthly injections this was a lifesaver but very expensive.This reduces the cats immunity so has to be an indoor cat. Is at risk of infections especially toxoplasmosis caught from mice,voles and birds and can be fatal if on Atopica
6 months ago she had
bad furballs and the vet recommended trying wet hypoallergenic food instead of dry. Bad mistake, the food was hypoallergenic but not hydrolyzed and she had a very bad flare up,saw the dermatologist again and he gave her another steroid injection and antibiotics. The steroid injection caused a flare up of the cat flu which she got from her mother before being immunised, and she was at deaths door. She eventually recovered and was well for about 2 months until she licked an empty carton of soya dessert (not hydrolyzed),and has just developed another hot spot.She is a very special cat, but very high maintenance,which I don't mind, I have to constantly watch her for licking. She has gone through such a lot and has a beautiful kind and quiet nature. She is now on Hills ultrahypoallergenic z/d diet which is good but again expensive. Fortunately I insured her as a kitten. Stress also plays an important role,so try to keep your kitty as calm as possible. Good luck, this is not an easy road to travel but is very rewarding when things go right, and you have an extra special bond with your cat.Not all cats have such severe allergies as my Rosie, and you could be lucky.
 

ibbykitty

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My little guy has allergies and we've been trying for the past year to get them under control.  Zyrtec controls his itching pretty well but he still gets sores around his mouth.  He had a bad reaction to prescription z/d food, so I've switched him to Natural Balance Venison and Green Pea.  I tried other proteins-- rabbit, lamb, duck-- but he wouldn't eat anything else.  Luckily he will eat the venison and seems to be doing better on it (and it's a lot cheaper than the prescription food).  When his sores were particularly bad, he was on Pred, which definitely controlled it well (but not something I wanted him on long-term). 

My local pet store was really great about letting me return food that he wouldn't eat while I was trying to find a novel protein that worked.  If you can find a store that really cares about pets with special needs, it will make the process a lot less expensive and painful! 
 

rosiedozy

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My little guy has allergies and we've been trying for the past year to get them under control.  Zyrtec controls his itching pretty well but he still gets sores around his mouth.  He had a bad reaction to prescription z/d food, so I've switched him to Natural Balance Venison and Green Pea.  I tried other proteins-- rabbit, lamb, duck-- but he wouldn't eat anything else.  Luckily he will eat the venison and seems to be doing better on it (and it's a lot cheaper than the prescription food).  When his sores were particularly bad, he was on Pred, which definitely controlled it well (but not something I wanted him on long-term). 

My local pet store was really great about letting me return food that he wouldn't eat while I was trying to find a novel protein that worked.  If you can find a store that really cares about pets with special needs, it will make the process a lot less expensive and painful! 
 

rosiedozy

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ibbykitty, can you tell me what reaction your cat had to z/d food as my allergic cat is on it and I'd like to be prepared.
 

ibbykitty

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Rosiedozy: It just didn't settle well with him. I transitioned him slowly and he still got very bad diarrhea and had some vomiting.  My vet said she had never heard of a cat having an adverse reaction to it before, so if your kitty's on it and doing well, there's probably nothing to worry about! 
 

rosiedozy

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Rosiedozy: It just didn't settle well with him. I transitioned him slowly and he still got very bad diarrhea and had some vomiting.  My vet said she had never heard of a cat having an adverse reaction to it before, so if your kitty's on it and doing well, there's probably nothing to worry about! 
 
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valentine319

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The vet really thought it was a food allergy. The individual I get her from said change her from fish to chicken orijen to acana. It didn't work. My pet store didn't have nature venison and pea. I got duck and pea nature balance to try. She's been on acana chicken just recently and orijen 6 fish. And changing her from fish to chicken does not change the numerous base ingredients in the food like chick peas, lentils, butternut squash, spinach, carrots, pears, chamomile and dandelion. There's so much in it. So I bought the limited ingredient.

I'll search threads but I was wondering if an idea of the allergen is found has anyone done raw diet?
 

rosiedozy

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The vet really thought it was a food allergy. The individual I get her from said change her from fish to chicken orijen to acana. It didn't work. My pet store didn't have nature venison and pea. I got duck and pea nature balance to try. She's been on acana chicken just recently and orijen 6 fish. And changing her from fish to chicken does not change the numerous base ingredients in the food like chick peas, lentils, butternut squash, spinach, carrots, pears, chamomile and dandelion. There's so much in it. So I bought the limited ingredient.

I'll search threads but I was wondering if an idea of the allergen is found has anyone done raw diet?
The allergen is the protein molecules in the food, every protein.That's why it has to be hydrolyzed so that the molecules are so small that the body doesn't recognise them as proteins ie fish, chicken,red meat,soya. That's why a hydrolyzed hypoallergenic food works-Purina HA or Hills z/d. I've saved so much money by using these whereas I had to keep throwing food away before. Most cats like this diet. There is a raw food diet on this forum I think but its difficult to get the extra supplements in UK. My cat is on chlorphenamine 4mg twice daily for flare ups, but I stop it when she is fine as it makes her drowsy.
 
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valentine319

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I'm seeing if it's a particular protein. I wanted to give a limited ingredient a chance. The vet was just going to wait a month and see how she does with no changes in diet. If duck/pea or venison/pea worked then we'd have an answer because the next thing is the zd diet. If zd doesn't do it then there's allergy testing.

The trying of limited ingredient it's because there's so much more in both orijen and acana ( same company). Even changing to chicken still has fish in it. Maybe I'll thinking in human terms but when you take a meat, toss in veggies, fruits and herbs well that's a lot to narrow down what is the cause.

I get if it's an all protein allergies I have to go entirely hydrolyzed protein.
 
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valentine319

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Do you feel one is better than the other? Hills or purina as far as hydrolyzed?
 

rosiedozy

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Do you feel one is better than the other? Hills or purina as far as hydrolyzed?
No difference really except she licked so much and the Purina dry swelled in her stomach with the fur that she got 2 partial obstructions, had 2 enemas, then the 3rd time she was so blocked up that she had to have a bowel washout . I changed her to Hills wet & dry so that her stomach didn't swell as much as with dry food only and she has been better but still needs katalax daily. I prefer Hills butPurina is cheaper. On the other hand, a dry food diet is more likely to predispose cats (who have. had steroids) to diabetes . Hope this helps.
 
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