Cat Allergies And Atopic

haze n blaze

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My cat Haze (almost 5 yrs old) has skin allergies as well as food allergies. He’s been pretty level by eating Z/D dry food and wet food for about 2 1/2 years with an occasional upper respiratory infection flare up which leads to itchiness (stress!). In the past I gave him an antihistamine named chloraphenaramine which seemed to help. Most recently he had a bad skin reaction to something (unknown) and the vet had me start Atopica. Not only is it expensive, I’m uncomfortable with what I’m reading online and on this site with the long term side effects but he *has* gotten less itchy. So I thought I would trial it out for a couple of months. Anything for my baby’s comfort. Within the last week, he has developed a bump in what I initially thought was dried eye sleepies. I kept an eye on it and it turned into infected eye to which I immediately took him to vet yesterday. The spot that I thought was a plugged tear duct is what vet says is a skin ulcer. The eye has yellowish discharge so we have eye antibiotic ointment three times daily. The vet said the ointment can go on the ulcer too. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by it but it looks like it would be bothersome. Like a sore.

Here is my dilemma, I think I should stop the Atopica. It’s an immunosuppressant and if he is on it, he is likely to develop infections more quickly which isn’t good for his URI history(on lysine 1000mg daily) Hence this quick flare up of the eye. I feel the ulcer came first as the bump and then led to the eye infection. The vet thinks the drainage of the eye caused the ulcer. The eye was fine when I noticed the bump start. I’ve already called my vet once today to ask if I should do anything further with the ulcer. That’s when he said I can use the eye ointment on it too. He is a good vet. I’m not doubting that. I’m just doubting MY decision to have Haze on this Atopica medication with only one crazy skin flare up and now it’s led to this only after being on it for less than two months. I want him to be comfortable but fear it will lead to other bigger infections and side effects.

Apoquel is an alternative but is equally expensive and not fda approved for cats yet. It targets itching rather than the infectious disease process that immunosuppressants do.

I think it’s time for a dermatology vet but wanted opinions. I’m so upsettingly undecided as to what to do. It feels like whatever I choose could have negative repercussions and I just want him to be stable, happy and healthy. I sometimes feel like I don’t know the right decision to make. Do I keep him on Atopica to keep the itching at bay and deal with the flare up infections or worse side effects? Or do stop it and see how it all goes? It’s just odd to me that all was fine until that one skin flare up.
 

Furballsmom

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Hi!
I think, if you like your vet, you might ask yourself if you trust him - I'm not being snarky, I have that issue myself, where I like my boy's vet but I'm not sure I trust him.

Allow me to think out loud a bit; the thing that got my attention here is that you didn't determine what caused the previous skin reaction. Is he indoor only, or does he go outdoors? Could that still be an existing trigger, and whether he's on Atopica or not, the skin issues will still occur?

If he's indoor only, can you determine if there's a plant he's coming in contact with or ingesting, or something he's walking through in a hobby room (glue, paint), are you renovating, or does he need a food change? Is his litter dusty? Is the litter scented - often a problem for sensitive cats? Do you use perfumes, air cleaners or diffusers, candles, spray cleaners, do you have bug killer being used indoors or out, or weed killer?

With that issue still out there and until you're able to determine it, I think I'd stay with things as they are and keep communicating with your vet.

Can you talk to your vet about obtaining a calming product for those times when stress is going to create problems for him?
 
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haze n blaze

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Hi!
I think, if you like your vet, you might ask yourself if you trust him - I'm not being snarky, I have that issue myself, where I like my boy's vet but I'm not sure I trust him.

Allow me to think out loud a bit; the thing that got my attention here is that you didn't determine what caused the previous skin reaction. Is he indoor only, or does he go outdoors? Could that still be an existing trigger, and whether he's on Atopica or not, the skin issues will still occur?

If he's indoor only, can you determine if there's a plant he's coming in contact with or ingesting, or something he's walking through in a hobby room (glue, paint), are you renovating, or does he need a food change? Is his litter dusty? Is the litter scented - often a problem for sensitive cats? Do you use perfumes, air cleaners or diffusers, candles, spray cleaners, do you have bug killer being used indoors or out, or weed killer?

With that issue still out there and until you're able to determine it, I think I'd stay with things as they are and keep communicating with your vet.

Can you talk to your vet about obtaining a calming product for those times when stress is going to create problems for him?
Thank you for your reply! I think I just worry that I’ll annoy my vet with repeated questions or offend him if it sounds like I’m questioning him.

Haze is strictly indoors. We have no plants inside - he has had a run in with Lilies! So we have no plants . I’ve tried to determine what the aggravating factor is to no avail. I vacuum every other day but most of our house is hard floor now. I use Dr Elseys hypoallergenic litter. He is in Z/D with great success for over two years. The only thing I can think of out of your other suggestions is the cleaners. I try to use all natural but I suppose even natural can effect him.
 

coffeecat2420

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What is Z/D food? I suppose a formula/recipe change could occur at any time and cause a flare.
My cat has a derm who went the Apoquel and Atopica route, neither of which helped my cat. I felt the same way you are feeling about the medications and costs.
We did intradermal allergy testing and I give my cat allergen injections every two weeks, with questionable success, I will say, because she has had to remain on a low dose of steroids the entire time.
I have had the most success, I think, working with her diet, which still causes flares due to her sensitivities to poultry, ingredients, and supplements.
 

Furballsmom

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Is it possible Z/D has changed their recipe formula?
But in any case, see if you can get a calming product, there are a lot of over the counter items from diffusers (feliway is great for some, not so much for others), to sprays, collars, treats
Also when you have a chance to talk with your vet, you could ask about CBD oil, it has been used to help calm cats and it has anti
inflammatory properties, in case there's something helpful there.
 
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haze n blaze

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What is Z/D food? I suppose a formula/recipe change could occur at any time and cause a flare.
My cat has a derm who went the Apoquel and Atopica route, neither of which helped my cat. I felt the same way you are feeling about the medications and costs.
We did intradermal allergy testing and I give my cat allergen injections every two weeks, with questionable success, I will say, because she has had to remain on a low dose of steroids the entire time.
I have had the most success, I think, working with her diet, which still causes flares due to her sensitivities to poultry, ingredients, and supplements.
Science Diet Z/D is the prescription food advised by his vet. It’s hydrolized for skin/food allergies. It’s breaks down proteins so much that the body can’t recognize them to have an allergic reaction. I think a derm appt might be next. I’d like to see what he is allergic to. Might help me at least narrow it down.
 
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haze n blaze

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Is it possible Z/D has changed their recipe formula?
But in any case, see if you can get a calming product, there are a lot of over the counter items from diffusers (feliway is great for some, not so much for others), to sprays, collars, treats
Also when you have a chance to talk with your vet, you could ask about CBD oil, it has been used to help calm cats and it has anti
inflammatory properties, in case there's something helpful there.
I actually did ask about CBD oil because read it’s great for inflammation and URIs. My vet was not on board as it has not had enough studies done with cats - dosing was his biggest concern. I actually bought some and gave him one dose and he coincidentally started scratching really bad that night so I attributed it to the CBD. Still have a whole bottle but might try again once I have him stable again.
 

coffeecat2420

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Science Diet Z/D is the prescription food advised by his vet. It’s hydrolized for skin/food allergies. It’s breaks down proteins so much that the body can’t recognize them to have an allergic reaction. I think a derm appt might be next. I’d like to see what he is allergic to. Might help me at least narrow it down.
Oh, OK, I know about hydrolized food–the first vet I took my cat to put her on this. (I very soon switched vets – for a couple of reasons – and found an integrative vet, who sent us to the dermatologist.) There were still plenty of additional ingredients in those prescription foods that my cat could have been reacting to, and as has been stated, the companies that make any of the commercial foods can change up their recipes and add a "reactive ingredient" at any time.
One of the reasons I went ahead with the homemade diet for my girl was to try and more quickly (nothing is really "quick" when it comes to food trials, right?) get to the root of her food reactions. As well, she can't eat chicken or poultry, which advances the difficulty in finding readily available commercial alternatives.
My cat's primary doctor does offer some herbal tinctures with similar ingredients to the allergen that I am considering trying in lieu of the allergen injections, but I'll make that decision when we get closer to running out of her current vial.
Best of luck in finding what works most optimally for your cat! It's a time intensive process and not inexpensive, as you know. I am thankful to have the Cat Site forums for advice and support.
 
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