Allergic Dermatitis

[darlenam8]

Hello. I'm back again. My poor 3yr old male kitty Cezare is suffering from some serious allergy problems. 

He has seasonal allergies that are more-or-less under control now (with daily antihistamine), but his skin is still a problem.

I believe it is called it Feline Allergic Dermatitis.The vet has seen him several times over the last 2 months for this.)

He had a bald spot on his back with a sore that would heal then get worse again over and over. The vet said he is most likely allergic to flea bites. Ok. So he gets Revolution every 3 weeks not 4 now, although they didn't find any infestation, just a couple bites. 

We're having trouble healing this wound.

After trying an antibiotic shot, a few weeks later it still wouldn't heal. Vet gave him another antibiotic and a steroid shot this last time. She said keep him from licking it for at least a week, so we did. 2 weeks later we asked if it was ok to let him 'free' to groom away. She shaved the wound and said it looked great. Let him groom.

But, he keeps licking it. He's still taking antihistamine daily, and we have since added Omega oils and probiotics to his diet. It's better, but not great. Daily, he licks at it and makes it red and raw. It heals over pretty quickly then he does it all over again.

Any advice?

The vet said if it continues Atopica (an immunosuppressant to control the itching) would be likely needed. Anyone have any experiences with this drug, good or bad? I'd hate to have to put him on a drug possibly for the rest of his life, but I am running out of options. I also wonder what side effects and ill-effects this might lead to.

Thank you thank you thank you!

 

[rosiedozy]

Hello. I'm back again. My poor 3yr old male kitty Cezare is suffering from some serious allergy problems. 
He has seasonal allergies that are more-or-less under control now (with daily antihistamine), but his skin is still a problem.
I believe it is called it Feline Allergic Dermatitis.The vet has seen him several times over the last 2 months for this.)
He had a bald spot on his back with a sore that would heal then get worse again over and over. The vet said he is most likely allergic to flea bites. Ok. So he gets Revolution every 3 weeks not 4 now, although they didn't find any infestation, just a couple bites. 
We're having trouble healing this wound.
After trying an antibiotic shot, a few weeks later it still wouldn't heal. Vet gave him another antibiotic and a steroid shot this last time. She said keep him from licking it for at least a week, so we did. 2 weeks later we asked if it was ok to let him 'free' to groom away. She shaved the wound and said it looked great. Let him groom.
But, he keeps licking it. He's still taking antihistamine daily, and we have since added Omega oils and probiotics to his diet. It's better, but not great. Daily, he licks at it and makes it red and raw. It heals over pretty quickly then he does it all over again.
Any advice?
The vet said if it continues Atopica (an immunosuppressant to control the itching) would be likely needed. Anyone have any experiences with this drug, good or bad? I'd hate to have to put him on a drug possibly for the rest of his life, but I am running out of options. I also wonder what side effects and ill-effects this might lead to.

Thank you thank you thank you!

If it's still flaring up after you remove the bucket, it maybe dietary allergy and need special food. My Rosie has been on Atopica for almost 2 years now with no problems except that she hates it with a vengeance. Its very bitter and even after all this time she knows when its coming and runs! Main side effect can be vomiting,but I haven't had that. The other problem is that it depresses the immune system,and makes the cat more susceptible to infections especially toxoplasmosis from eating mice,voles and birds. Toxoplasmosis can be fatal in an immunocompromized cat so it must be kept indoors or allowed outside under very close supervision ie a harness. My cat goes out for short periods on a harness, is not too happy about it but I'd rather have her alive and well on atopica indoors than licking herself to pieces. Atopica won't work too well unless you get the food allergy sorted out.

 

[darlenam8]

If it's still flaring up after you remove the bucket, it maybe dietary allergy and need special food. My Rosie has been on Atopica for almost 2 years now with no problems except that she hates it with a vengeance. Its very bitter and even after all this time she knows when its coming and runs! Main side effect can be vomiting,but I haven't had that. The other problem is that it depresses the immune system,and makes the cat more susceptible to infections especially toxoplasmosis from eating mice,voles and birds. Toxoplasmosis can be fatal in an immunocompromized cat so it must be kept indoors or allowed outside under very close supervision ie a harness. My cat goes out for short periods on a harness, is not too happy about it but I'd rather have her alive and well on atopica indoors than licking herself to pieces. Atopica won't work too well unless you get the food allergy sorted out.

Interesting. I had a friend mention the food allergy thing too. I think I will look into some changes. My vet also mentioned that we could do some allergy testing to see exactly what he's allergic to- apparently there is a blood test that is a bit general, and then the skin test which sound awful since they'd have to sedate him.

Thanks for the details about Atopica and how it can compromise the immune system. Cezare and his brother are outdoors and  ALWAYS bringing me presents, so I wonder if this might not work for him.

Thanks so much for your info

 

[rosiedozy]

Interesting. I had a friend mention the food allergy thing too. I think I will look into some changes. My vet also mentioned that we could do some allergy testing to see exactly what he's allergic to- apparently there is a blood test that is a bit general, and then the skin test which sound awful since they'd have to sedate him.

Thanks for the details about Atopica and how it can compromise the immune system. Cezare and his brother are outdoors and  ALWAYS bringing me presents, so I wonder if this might not work for him.

Thanks so much for your info

The food tests are not very accurate, don't know about the skin tests, we don't do them in uk. Best plan is food elimination but if your cat has more than one allergy you will be tearing your hair out trying to find it. Best idea is a hydrolyzed hypoallergenic diet until problems clear up then reintroduce single protein sources one at a time and see if problems recur. Commonest allergens are fish and beef.If Cezare is a hunter it would be very dangerous to use atopica.

 

[darlenam8]

The food tests are not very accurate, don't know about the skin tests, we don't do them in uk. Best plan is food elimination but if your cat has more than one allergy you will be tearing your hair out trying to find it. Best idea is a hydrolyzed hypoallergenic diet until problems clear up then reintroduce single protein sources one at a time and see if problems recur. Commonest allergens are fish and beef.If Cezare is a hunter it would be very dangerous to use atopica.

I'll look into the  hydrolyzed hypoallergenic diet. Anything to get him to clear up. I'm so glad you pointed out the hazards of atopica with a hunter-cat.

Thank you so much!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

 

The food tests are not very accurate, don't know about the skin tests, we don't do them in uk. Best plan is food elimination but if your cat has more than one allergy you will be tearing your hair out trying to find it. Best idea is a hydrolyzed hypoallergenic diet until problems clear up then reintroduce single protein sources one at a time and see if problems recur. Commonest allergens are fish and beef.If Cezare is a hunter it would be very dangerous to use atopica.

I'll look into the  hydrolyzed hypoallergenic diet. Anything to get him to clear up. I'm so glad you pointed out the hazards of atopica with a hunter-cat.

Thank you so much!

Not sure the specialized diet will work, though, if he is an outdoor cat who is always bringing your "presents".  If he eats any of those presents, then his special diet is not so special.  That's the objective of that diet, that it be the ONLY they he eats

.  BUT, since you Vet DID find a couple of flea bites, I wouldn't be too quick to rule out the fleas still as the culprits.  You're caught between a rock and a hard place unless you keep him indoors, it seems

.   Maybe upping the Revolution will help in the future

.  Has he only this ONE sore that needs to heal?  He may just have to wear the cone until it does, with the aid of more steroids until it heals.  Since it's on his back, could you possible wrap something around his entire body to cover it and keep him from licking it vs using a cone?  Or put him in a baby onesy?  

 

[darlenam8]

 
Not sure the specialized diet will work, though, if he is an outdoor cat who is always bringing your "presents".  If he eats any of those presents, then his special diet is not so special.  That's the objective of that diet, that it be the ONLY they he eats

.  BUT, since you Vet DID find a couple of flea bites, I wouldn't be too quick to rule out the fleas still as the culprits.  You're caught between a rock and a hard place unless you keep him indoors, it seems

.   Maybe upping the Revolution will help in the future

.  Has he only this ONE sore that needs to heal?  He may just have to wear the cone until it does, with the aid of more steroids until it heals.  Since it's on his back, could you possible wrap something around his entire body to cover it and keep him from licking it vs using a cone?  Or put him in a baby onesy?  

As far as I know, he does not eat the presents. In fact, he doesn't really catch any creatures, he steals them from his hunting brother and then they run around chasing each other for it. I've never even seen the true hunter (Michaleto) eat any gift. They just like to play with them and present them to me.

As far as keeping him indoors forever, it honestly seems impossible. I did it for a couple of weeks and he was soooo depressed. He sat in his tower and faced the wall, even when not sleeping. Sad sack

That was the only sore that 'festered' into something bigger. He had a couple other bites that welted up but didn't turn into sores. He also has some wicked seasonal allergies to (I think trees and weeds) but those are manageable- or so I hope. The vet told me to use Revolution every 3wks on him, but just because you use flea meds doesn't mean the fleas don't bite. The fleas just don't stick around.

I actually had him in a baby onesie for several weeks while it healed. The vet told us to take it off and let him groom. But his grooming is making it worse again. I can't keep a onesie on him forever. It looks good for a day or two, then he licks it and it gets all red, sometimes even a little bloody. Maybe I need to try the onesie a bit longer and try to work the new diet in as well. I'm just so frustrated and at a loss for this poor furbaby.

Thank you for all the suggestions

 

[rosiedozy]

As far as I know, he does not eat the presents. In fact, he doesn't really catch any creatures, he steals them from his hunting brother and then they run around chasing each other for it. I've never even seen the true hunter (Michaleto) eat any gift. They just like to play with them and present them to me.
As far as keeping him indoors forever, it honestly seems impossible. I did it for a couple of weeks and he was soooo depressed. He sat in his tower and faced the wall, even when not sleeping. Sad sack

That was the only sore that 'festered' into something bigger. He had a couple other bites that welted up but didn't turn into sores. He also has some wicked seasonal allergies to (I think trees and weeds) but those are manageable- or so I hope. The vet told me to use Revolution every 3wks on him, but just because you use flea meds doesn't mean the fleas don't bite. The fleas just don't stick around.

I actually had him in a baby onesie for several weeks while it healed. The vet told us to take it off and let him groom. But his grooming is making it worse again. I can't keep a onesie on him forever. It looks good for a day or two, then he licks it and it gets all red, sometimes even a little bloody. Maybe I need to try the onesie a bit longer and try to work the new diet in as well. I'm just so frustrated and at a loss for this poor furbaby.
Thank you for all the suggestions

I would keep the baby onesie on for as long as it takes for the lesion to start regrowing hair with no sign of redness at all and hopefully he will have forgotten all about it. As long as there is redness you need to let it dry up completely and wait till the scabs fall off.My girl was in a onesie from Nov2015 until March 2016. I took it off to groom her regularly then put it straight back on.She gotused to it and it was worth the effort. I wish I could show you some photos of her in it but don't know how, sorry. Keep at it and don't lose heart, you'll get there in the end [emoji]128522[/emoji]

 

[darlenam8]

Thanks again. We went ahead and cleaned him up and put the onesie back on. In the end, he didn't really mind it- luckily, he's the easy cat of the 2. I'm going to leave it on as long as need be. I think a couple more weeks should really do miracles for it. I appreciate all your info. I really felt bad like I was missing something, but it seems there are a number of cats and dogs that have flea allergies. Poor babies. This is him, his first day outside, rolling around in the dirt in my garden after I had him inside for a week or so. He was sooooo happy.

cez1daygarden.JPG

• darlenam8
• Apr 12, 2016

 

[rosiedozy]

Thanks again. We went ahead and cleaned him up and put the onesie back on. In the end, he didn't really mind it- luckily, he's the easy cat of the 2. I'm going to leave it on as long as need be. I think a couple more weeks should really do miracles for it. I appreciate all your info. I really felt bad like I was missing something, but it seems there are a number of cats and dogs that have flea allergies. Poor babies. This is him, his first day outside, rolling around in the dirt in my garden after I had him inside for a week or so. He was sooooo happy.

cez1daygarden.JPG

• darlenam8
• Apr 12, 2016

He looks cute, my onesies(we call them babygros in UK) have long sleeves with mittens and leggings with feet so covered from neck to toe, add bucket, cant get to any part of skin. How do you put photo on?

 

[darlenam8]

He looks cute, my onesies(we call them babygros in UK) have long sleeves with mittens and leggings with feet so covered from neck to toe, add bucket, cant get to any part of skin. How do you put photo on?

He does great in this one. The wound is on his back a few inches below shoulders so he can't reach it at all. It's funny, because my vet said she'd never heard of anyone putting a onesie on a cat. I thought that was odd. But it works so much better than the cone. He can play and jump and run and still act like himself this way, but not bother the wound. 

To put a picture on here, when you reply, there are lots of options at the top: Size, Font-bold, italic, underline, add attachment, then the next button is a little landscape thing, click that and it will let you access any picture files you have on your computer. Hope that helps. I'd love to see your kitty cat

 

[loving7]

image.jpeg

• loving7
• Apr 12, 2016

. Spitfire today

Hello,
I am new but wanted to comment on this and hope it helps. I had a kitten that was part of a mama rescue with babies that were malnourished and sickly. We saved them all and by the time it was time to give them up we couldn't as we were worried for them and wanted them to have verified good homes. Long story short we kept mama and the 3 babies that had no home and added them to our 3. Anyways I am getting off track sorry! Spitfire was fine for about a 9 months then started this tendency to lick different areas until raw. We tried everything to help him and nothing worked except getting him a steroid shot every month or so as the vet thought it was an immune disorder or allergy but we could not put our finger on it. The shots would help but slowly wear off about a month, and he would start licking and chewing again plus he never seemed to grow or get totally better. The shots were also hard on his system so that was another concern. At his worst he would chew/lick until raw and scabbed near tail, under neck, belly, back anywhere he could reach. We continued this way trying all kinds of changes and ideas to cure it sprays, creams, foods, supplements nothing helped. We has purchased this surgical suit which he wore a couple months. to help and it did but you must remove it weekly as hair can build up on the inside.
I was shopping on amazon and was looking for anything to help and ran across the Royal Canin Intense beauty food . and a person that gave a review had a similar issue with their cat and had tried this food and it helped, so I did the same desperate at this time for a cure. I was amazed that over a couple weeks he no longer chewed and he became cured. I was giving them Hill's Science Diet Sensitive skin prior to the Royal Canin so it was a good food and one he had been on prior to his issue so I can't says it was the food. This food does come in wet and dry and I will also mix it with another of their line.
Spitfire has actually grown and and he is beautiful now with a soft coat and looks healthy. People that see him can't believe he is even the same cat and he occasionally itches but never chews or scatches like he did. I hope this helps because I do know what it is like to worry and deal with skin conditions.

 

[rosiedozy]

image.jpeg

• loving7
• Apr 12, 2016

. Spitfire today

Hello,
I am new but wanted to comment on this and hope it helps. I had a kitten that was part of a mama rescue with babies that were malnourished and sickly. We saved them all and by the time it was time to give them up we couldn't as we were worried for them and wanted them to have verified good homes. Long story short we kept mama and the 3 babies that had no home and added them to our 3. Anyways I am getting off track sorry! Spitfire was fine for about a 9 months then started this tendency to lick different areas until raw. We tried everything to help him and nothing worked except getting him a steroid shot every month or so as the vet thought it was an immune disorder or allergy but we could not put our finger on it. The shots would help but slowly wear off about a month, and he would start licking and chewing again plus he never seemed to grow or get totally better. The shots were also hard on his system so that was another concern. At his worst he would chew/lick until raw and scabbed near tail, under neck, belly, back anywhere he could reach. We continued this way trying all kinds of changes and ideas to cure it sprays, creams, foods, supplements nothing helped. We has purchased this surgical suit which he wore a couple months. to help and it did but you must remove it weekly as hair can build up on the inside.
I was shopping on amazon and was looking for anything to help and ran across the Royal Canin Intense beauty food . and a person that gave a review had a similar issue with their cat and had tried this food and it helped, so I did the same desperate at this time for a cure. I was amazed that over a couple weeks he no longer chewed and he became cured. I was giving them Hill's Science Diet Sensitive skin prior to the Royal Canin so it was a good food and one he had been on prior to his issue so I can't says it was the food. This food does come in wet and dry and I will also mix it with another of their line.
Spitfire has actually grown and and he is beautiful now with a soft coat and looks healthy. People that see him can't believe he is even the same cat and he occasionally itches but never chews or scatches like he did. I hope this helps because I do know what it is like to worry and deal with skin conditions.

He does great in this one. The wound is on his back a few inches below shoulders so he can't reach it at all. It's funny, because my vet said she'd never heard of anyone putting a onesie on a cat. I thought that was odd. But it works so much better than the cone. He can play and jump and run and still act like himself this way, but not bother the wound. 
To put a picture on here, when you reply, there are lots of options at the top: Size, Font-bold, italic, underline, add attachment, then the next button is a little landscape thing, click that and it will let you access any picture files you have on your computer. Hope that helps. I'd love to see your kitty cat

Trying to put photos on of Rosie in her babygro, her catsuit and now well again.Love the jacket, I have a full body one in black, have not been successful in posting photos yet. Put them on but lost them. New to this but will keep trying.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Maybe this link will help you with posting your pictures:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/290324/need-help-posting-pictures

 

[rosiedozy]

No, already done that didn't work, photos disappeared.Any more advice would be helpful. Can only think its bb speed or photo size. Can't think of anything else.

 

[AbbysMom]

No, already done that didn't work, photos disappeared.Any more advice would be helpful. Can only think its bb speed or photo size. Can't think of anything else.

Have you looked through this tutorial? The mobile instructions are towards the bottom.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/image-and-video-tutorial#user_imagesposts

 

[rosiedozy]

Yes, tried that 3 times, still nothing, After I press submit they disappear never to be seen again
My mobile broadband is slow, under 1 Mb, more usually about 0.4Mb, I think that may be the problem, but many thanks for your advice. I have also tried uploading from my laptop which uses chrome, with no success. I have a message saying that my browser is incompatible but I have tried chrome on my mobile with no success. I think I will have to go to the Vodaphone shop. for help.