Allergies (Food, Litter, my dog, oh my!)

[mikki]

Hello, I just adopted two cats (brother and sister, 5 years) from our shelter, I took my male cat to the vet today and he said he has Allergies, as to what.. we need to find out.... Great, so his left ear is all red and a mess, his right paw is all swollen, under his chin is all red and in his mouth he has these ulcers. Poor baby! His sister, has nothing wrong with her.

He said to check when he is eating his food, and such. I use IMAS, and litter I use Tidy Cat Scoop. I do use pet order controle stuff when I vacuum. Can you please tell me what Litter to use, that is good, I think it may be that, due to I just spent half the day watching him, and when he went to the litter he started scratching, and when he ate his food, nothing. Is there anything to use for order controle? I'm LOST! Any help would be great!

Thank you,
Mikki

 

[okeefecl]

Hi Mikki,

I use Cat's Pride unscented kitty litter (Ivo isn't allergic, but odors can trigger my migraines) and an enclosed litter pan. The litter pan has air vents in the top, with replacable filters in them. I also use liners in the pan under the litter. I clean out any solid waste as soon as I find it, and I have never had an odor problem.

 

[maui]

Hi Mikki

The mouth ulcers don't really sound like allergy but assuming the vet is correct, here are a few suggestions:

What has always helped my kitty a lot is to simply rinse/wipe off her "hot spots" with a warm washcloth (no soap -- just warm water). If he is amenable, you can try to give kitty a bath which also helps. AlleyCat on this forum told me about Septiderm shampoo (Petco/Petsmart?) which I use now.

Keep claws trimmed well -- particularly back claws.

Don't use the vacuum dust stuff or anything that contains perfume.

Try using a milder laundry detergent.

My kitty uses Premium Choice kitty litter -- no perfumes.

Try to stick with a single food. If his allergy is the same, slowly change food to one that helps skin problems (I think they have these at pet stores) or ask vet for a low allergen food like ZD.

Hope kitty feels better.

 

[sandie]

If the litter is the first suspect, the only one I can think of at the moment that I know works well for a lot of kitties is called Worlds best cat litter. It's all natural but works more like a scoopable litter.