Could Cat Wipes Help Lily’s Constant Scratching?

Tobermory

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I’ve read threads on cat wipes to help with cleanliness, but I couldn’t find a mention of them potentially helping a cat with allergies. Poor Lily, 14, scratches her neck and ears constantly until she’s covered with scabs. She’s always done it but it’s gotten so much worse in the past year to year and a half. (Her sister, Iris, does it, too, but for some reason, she’s gotten better, although she has scarred her sweet little face permanently.)

I’ve tried several things to determine what she’s allergic to with no success such as food elimination trials and changing litters. I think it’s environmental. (Or maybe she’s allergic to me.) I was reading descriptions of Pogi’s and Earthbath’s cat wipes, and they seem to suggest that they might reduce allergens. Has anyone had that experience? Any comments about these particular brands? Lily is extraordinarily sensitive to smells so whatever I try needs to be completely scent free.
 

kittyluv387

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Does she have allergies even with a raw food diet? Poor kitties! Sorry I haven't tried those wipes but we occasionally use the super gentle and scent free baby wipes when their fur, paws or bum needs cleaning.
 
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Tobermory

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Does she have allergies even with a raw food diet?
Sadly, yes. And I did the whole novel protein thing using rabbit but nothing changed. I took her to a non-traditional vet and after trying her on four different tinctures, he gave up. My regular vet has no idea. I’ve tried cetirizine. No change. So I thought I’d see if a hypo-allergenic wipe might help. It’s worth a try. I feel so sorry for her.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Sorry about your poor itchy kitty! Do you treat her for fleas - could she be allergic to that? Artificial coloring that is added to many cat food? Food preservatives? (If her raw food diet was not homemade, e.g. frozen/freeze-dried, some of them can contain these items.) Has the vet done any serum testing for specific allergies?

Has the vet thought about giving her a steroid shot, just to break the cycle of itching for at least a while - and give her some temporary relief? Has s/he recommended a specific food for cats with allergies?

Here is a couple of articles on feline allergies, just in case it might trigger you to come up with ideas you might want to discuss with your vet. Is your vet by chance a cat-only vet? If not, you might want to consider looking into one.

Cat Allergies: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments, Diagnosis

Cat Skin Conditions & Natural Remedies | Canna-Pet


I use GNC brand unscented hypo-allergenic wipes for my cat, Feeby (I get them at PetSmart). Not for allergies, but just to clean her behind since she no longer does a good job by herself.

You might also want to consider trying chamomile tea bags (grocery store, no additives), brew in water, cool the liquid and dab it on the areas with cotton balls. It is safe if a cat would lick it and it has both soothing and healing properties.
 
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cat princesses

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Poor baby. My girl has severe allergies. I’d highly suggest taking her to a specialty dermatologist. I ended up having to get allergy testing done and she’s now on allergy shots at home twice weekly as well as being in atopica which is an immune suppressant. Please help to get her some relief sometimes it’s much bigger than a food thing and it’s got to be so painful and upsetting for her to be so itchy like this.
 
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Tobermory

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Hi. Sorry about your poor itchy kitty! Do you treat her for fleas - could she be allergic to that? Artificial coloring that is added to many cat food? Food preservatives? (If her raw food diet was not homemade, e.g. frozen/freeze-dried, some of them can contain these items.) Has the vet done any serum testing for specific allergies?

Has the vet thought about giving her a steroid shot, just to break the cycle of itching for at least a while - and give her some temporary relief? Has s/he recommended a specific food for cats with allergies?

Here is a couple of articles on feline allergies, just in case it might trigger you to come up with ideas you might want to discuss with your vet. Is your vet by chance a cat-only vet? If not, you might want to consider looking into one.

Cat Allergies: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments, Diagnosis

Cat Skin Conditions & Natural Remedies | Canna-Pet


I use GNC brand unscented hypo-allergenic wipes for my cat, Feeby (I get them at PetSmart). Not for allergies, but just to clean her behind since she no longer does a good job by herself.

You might also want to consider trying chamomile tea bags (grocery store, no additives), brew in water, cool the liquid and dab it on the areas with cotton balls. It is safe if a cat would lick it and it has both soothing and healing properties.
Nope, no fleas, thankfully. I make the girls’ food so no artificial or “natural” flavoring, gums or other questionable thickeners. I’ve done the food elimination trials under the vet’s direction.

I’d like to avoid steroids if possible so I want to try the wipes to see if they reduce the scratching even a little. I also need to be more conscientious about vacuuming and washing her primary sleeping spots.

I mentioned testing to my vet but he didn’t seem to think I’d learn much and that it would be very expensive. :dunno: He’s not cat-only, but he does like cats and has cats of his own; that’s more than some vets. He doesn’t believe in a lot of testing and that’s not all bad either. I know he’d support it if I insisted, though.

I asked him about cetirizine, and he said it often doesn’t work. But I tried it any way. It didn’t work.

I bought the chamomile tea a couple of months ago, but she seemed to be better so I didn’t use it. But since last week, she’s started up again. Trying the tea is next on my list. Lily is not a patient cat and hates to be messed with, so it will not be fun. There will be biting and growling. :)

Thanks for the articles and letting me know which wipes you use on Feeby!
 

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Bless your heart. I know how frustrating this sort of thing can be. *hugs y'all tight*

We're still trying to pinpoint exactly what our cat is allergic to, which is a bit more complicated in our case since Buddy is FIV+ and his immune system tends to go berserk in response to lots of things.

But here lately we're having some luck with slippery elm bark syrup, per the recipe on Tanya's site. We had started giving it to Buddy again on a regular basis now that hairball season is upon us, and as an added bonus, he's not scratching himself raw anymore. Of course, that could just be a coincidence. But I just thought I'd pass that along on the outside chance it might help your kitty. :)
 
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Tobermory

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Poor baby. My girl has severe allergies. I’d highly suggest taking her to a specialty dermatologist. I ended up having to get allergy testing done and she’s now on allergy shots at home twice weekly as well as being in atopica which is an immune suppressant. Please help to get her some relief sometimes it’s much bigger than a food thing and it’s got to be so painful and upsetting for her to be so itchy like this.
Thanks for the suggestions! After all of the various food trials I’ve done, I don’t think it’s a food thing. But I’m continuing to work on finding the cause while I try to help alleviate her symptoms.
 
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Tobermory

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Bless your heart. I know how frustrating this sort of thing can be. *hugs y'all tight*

We're still trying to pinpoint exactly what our cat is allergic to, which is a bit more complicated in our case since Buddy is FIV+ and his immune system tends to go berserk in response to lots of things.

But here lately we're having some luck with slippery elm bark syrup, per the recipe on Tanya's site. We had started giving it to Buddy again on a regular basis now that hairball season is upon us, and as an added bonus, he's not scratching himself raw anymore. Of course, that could just be a coincidence. But I just thought I'd pass that along on the outside chance it might help your kitty. :)
It IS frustrating when you want to help them and can’t figure out how. But you have much more of a challenge with Buddy than I do with Lily so hugs back atcha!

Thanks for the slippery elm bark syrup idea. I’m going to try it. I used to hang out a lot on Tanya’s site when Max was having kidney issues toward the end of his life. Great resource.
 
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