Cat constantly itching allergy?

[mycatpaulie]

Hi everybody, my name is Kelly and I recently adopted my first cat from the SPCA and I had a couple of questions. Paulie is such a good cat and seems healthy expect for the fact that he itches constantly. I took him to the vet and he said it's probably an allergy to his food or dust. I did notice that on his papers from the SPCA it says he has thinning hair on his tail probably due to an old flea allergy but the vet said that it's not fleas this time. Just last week we started him on a new food called Natural Balance Limited ingredient green pea and duck, my vet said it could take 6 weeks for us to tell if his allergy was from his old food. Here is a list of everything else that I have tried to help him so far. Any advise on what i should do would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much!

Prednisolone 5mg 30 pills (half a pill every other day)

Revolution Flea and Tick Control 3 mouth supply

Anti Itch shot in December (did help but only for a month)

Pet Relief anti itch spray

Switched her off Nutro Salmon dry food (thinking she might have a fish allergy)

Switched her off Nutro Chicken dry food (thinking she might have a corn allergy)

Switched her off Natural Balance Chicken dry and canned(thinking she might have a chicken allergy)

She is now on Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Green Pea & Duck Dry and Canned Food

 

[sharky]

IMHO I do not see duck as a good idea if a chicken allergy is possible ... Yes it can take up to six weeks for a big difference from food allergies but most see improvement much sooner.. NB make s a venison and pea wet formula ....

Did this get worse after the revolution treatment?

Are you in a dry area of the country or a place where the weather constantly changes?

What cleaners are you using in the house?

 

[icklemiss21]

Is he still on prednisolone?

It does take a while to tell if a new food works, and you need to work through different foods to see what the allergen is sometimes as well - as you have done, and some just dont tolerate certain brands as well - probably something to do with the source of one of their ingredients

If it is a household allergy, they do have some antihistamines for cats that can help but knowing the cause is a lot better than a lifetime random med

It can also be a symptom of an underlying health issue or autoimmune disease - have they done any testing?

 

[tigerclaw]

My stray cat that I rescued about 1-1/2 years ago(Tiger) developed a terrible food allergy. He would lick and scratch all the time to a point that he had bald spots and bleeding scratches and sores. The vet did every test imaginable. Even did a couple cultures and nothing. So he gave him an Anti-Inflammatory injection and suggested to change the protein of the cat food. So I changed from chicken to fish. After the shot wore off in a few weeks he started scratching and licking again. He ran another test for something rare that he didn't do before but was negative. What he then did was give him another Anti-Inflammitory injection(Depo-Medrol) and put him on Hills prescription diet z/d feline food. Each time the shot stopped the scratching and licking in a day or two. A few weeks later nothing and to this day he is the happiest normal cat ever.

The Hills Prescription diet z/d food has a special process to reduce the size of the protein which then doesn't attach to the allergy receptors like a regular size protein does thus there isn't any allergic reaction to the protein in the food. It sure worked wonders for my cat.

Work with your vet is the best advice I can give. There is just too many allergies out there.

 

[mycatpaulie]

Thanks so much everyone for your help!

tigerclaw, is Hills Prescription diet expensive? That sounds like a good option.

icklemiss21, he is still on Prednisolone, he has been on since Feb 1. They only test that he has had done are a skin scape, stool sample and some test where they put him under a black light. Would any of those test tell if he has an underlining health problem?

sharky, his itching didn't seem to get worse after the revoution. I live in Buffalo, NY, his itching did start in Nov when the heat would be turned on so it could be a dust allergy but I know he has a prob with itching before we got him because it said that he has thining hair prob due to an old flea allergy on his sheet from the SPCA. I just stopped using those freash step whips on his liter box hoping maybe that would be his allergy and also I stopped using malt flavored tooth paste in case he was allergic to that too.

Thanks so much again to you all, this is my first cat and your info has helped so much!

 

[tigerclaw]

Originally Posted by MyCatPaulie

Thanks so much everyone for your help!

tigerclaw, is Hills Prescription diet expensive? That sounds like a good option.

It depends how you look at it. Vet bill's can be expensive too, but Hill's z/d was a cure for my cat.

I just use the dry food. It's $52.00 for the largest bag of 10#. Tiger is about 12.5# and he eats about a pound per week. So @ $5.20 per pound, that's $5.20 X 52 = $270.00 per year for food. It ain't cheap but I have one happy cat.

 

[icklemiss21]

No, he would need bloodwork or a special test (depending on the disease) to check for an underlying condition.

Z/D can be a little junky as far as ingredients but I have seen good results with it for cats with allergies.

 

[bfish29]

It has been awhile since I have posted, and I came on this morning to give an update on CJ's allergies, and saw your questions, so I am putting my update here in hopes that maybe it can help you some. I have been trying to narrow down CJ's allergies since last Oct. (it is a VERY long process because it does take weeks for their system to flush out allergens). Carolina and Sharky have given me the best advice of EVER, and I think I have finally gotten his allergies under control. They recommended Natural Balance limited ingredent, and it is doing the best. BUT, I had him on the canned Chicken, free fed dry chicken, and he was doing great (it was six weeks), but when I took him off his chloro-histamine tablets, the scratching started the next day. Sharky had mentioned a high chance of chicken allergies, so I put him on the Salmon wet and dry, NB limited ingredient. After he ate just one can of the salmon wet, his scratching stopped immediately (which is very odd, I think). He did great for two days (no histamines either), and then the scratching started back!! So for over a week now, I give him a can of chicken for breakfast, dry feed salmon during the day, and a can of salmon for dinner and ALL scratching/aggressive licking has stopped. It is almost like too much of one was causing the reaction. This is probably a rare case, I don't know, but it is really working and I am curious if Sharky or Carolina have heard of this "solution" before.
A few things I have learned that you may want to consider, is first the anti-itch shots are probably a steroid, which is VERY hard on their muscles and kidneys. My vet gave me the chlor-histamine tablets (1/2 twice a day) which work well.. and it is, according to my vet, the least "strong" and won't make them sleepy (which it didn't). Next, if your house is dry, get a vaporizor or humidifier... it works VERY well to alliviate the dry skin. Finally, be sure to only use the limited ingredient N.B.!!
Best of luck to you, and this process takes a lot patience,

Bobby
and the Gang

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by icklemiss21

No, he would need bloodwork or a special test (depending on the disease) to check for an underlying condition.

Z/D can be a little junky as far as ingredients but I have seen good results with it for cats with allergies.

well said

FYI note:Z/D is not a life long food it is designed for 12 weeks of use and up to 6 months at a time

 

[tigerclaw]

Originally Posted by sharky

well said

FYI note:Z/D is not a life long food it is designed for 12 weeks of use and up to 6 months at a time

Can I humbly ask if the recommendation of 12-weeks for z/d up to 6-months came from a vet. My vet recommended it and did not say anything about how long it should be used. He did say though that the shots for the food allergy could only be used for two or three months in a row. If used on a regular basis it could damage the liver or kidneys. Not sure which or both.

I'm looking at the ingredients of Hill's z/d and it progress like this:
Brewer rice, Hydrolyzed chicken liver, Hydrolyzed chicken, Soybean oil, some vitamins, etc, etc. (Protein 28% min, Fat 12% min, Fiber 3.5% max, Moisture 10% max. etc, etc).

My thinking a pretty good food is, "Naturals Cat Chow" by Purina:
Chicken meal, chicken gluten meal, soybean meal, brewers rice, animal fat, corn meal, chicken, salmon, some vitamins, etc, etc. (Protein 38% min, Fat 13% min, Fiber 6% max, Moisture 12% max, etc, etc).

Here is a statement from the AAFCO(Association of American Feed Control Officials) from the bag of Hill's z/d feline food.
Use only as directed by your veterinarian. Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that Prescription Diet/TM z/d Low Allergen/TM Feline provides complete and balanced nutrition for maintenance of adult cats.

I don't want to come across as argumentative but I just lost a cat and don't want to lose another. Would you please explain your statement. Thanks.

Tiger has been on Hill's z/d for about a year. Should I be talking to my vet?

 

[icklemiss21]

I know of cats that have been on z/d for 2 years + because it is the only thing that works for them. I asked the shelter vet when I seen Sharky post this before and we had several cats on different allergy formulas at the time. She said that all foods fed to a cat should be re-assessed after 6 months but it was no worse than feeding something like Cat Chow to an animal for longer than that.

However, it never hurts to ask your vet about a change, allergies can change over time, lessen with less stress etc

 

[sharky]

IT actually came from the Hills Rep and he showed me the papers that a Good rep would leave with your vet on RXing the different foods... So the recommendation came from the company making it...

I would be talking to the vet , as I saw the prescribing instruction s with my own eyes and Hills is not meaning this to be a "reg" food..

Comparing RX and regular OTC cat food is not =.. it is like comparing asthma meds with a bell pepper

 

[icklemiss21]

My prescription meds are recommended for use for only 6 months also, 4 years later I am still using them because thats what works for me

Sometimes its not about the recommendations and the shelter direct orders Hills products so we get the info sheets with the food, it never said anything about 6 months, thats why I asked the vet

 

[icklemiss21]

Originally Posted by tigerclaw

I'm looking at the ingredients of Hill's z/d and it progress like this:
Brewer rice, Hydrolyzed chicken liver, Hydrolyzed chicken, Soybean oil, some vitamins, etc, etc. (Protein 28% min, Fat 12% min, Fiber 3.5% max, Moisture 10% max. etc, etc).

Actually looking at this, I think Z/D may be made differently in Canada since the protein and fat are so much higher

Protein 33.0,
Fat, 16.1,
Carbohydrate (NFE) 42.4
Crude Fiber 2.5
Calcium 0.68
Phosphorus 0.67
Sodium 0.34
Potassium 0.90
Magnesium 0.068
Taurine0.31 Omega-3 Fatty Acids Total 0.38
Omega-6 Fatty Acids Total 4.52

 

[tigerclaw]

Just to pass along the info I received as per phone call to Hill's. The Rep. that I talked to said that the z/d feline low allergen is for long term use and the s/d feline, which dissolves urinary crystals, should be used for 3-weeks up to 6-months and then evaluated by a vet and possibly shift to a urinary crystal maintenance food such as c/d feline.

I don't know if they have changed anything in their food or philosophy but that is what the Rep. told me today. I plan to double check with my vet and ask if they have the product data sheet for comparison.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by icklemiss21

Actually looking at this, I think Z/D may be made differently in Canada since the protein and fat are so much higher

Protein 33.0,
Fat, 16.1,
Carbohydrate (NFE) 42.4
Crude Fiber 2.5
Calcium 0.68
Phosphorus 0.67
Sodium 0.34
Potassium 0.90
Magnesium 0.068
Taurine0.31 Omega-3 Fatty Acids Total 0.38
Omega-6 Fatty Acids Total 4.52

Are you looking a Z/D or Z/D ultra?? Just a FYI type question as both are often called z/d ... It has been a while since I looked at them as my regular vet will not carry either of them...

Originally Posted by tigerclaw

Just to pass along the info I received as per phone call to Hill's. The Rep. that I talked to said that the z/d feline low allergen is for long term use and the s/d feline, which dissolves urinary crystals, should be used for 3-weeks up to 6-months and then evaluated by a vet and possibly shift to a urinary crystal maintenance food such as c/d feline.

I don't know if they have changed anything in their food or philosophy but that is what the Rep. told me today. I plan to double check with my vet and ask if they have the product data sheet for comparison.

They have changed a few ingrediants over the years and added the Ultra line of Z/D ... Glad you called and checked

 

[icklemiss21]

I looked at both and they had smiliar nutrient breakdowns, ultra is canned here only so I assumed since the poster said bag that it was the regular dry

My vet doesnt carry them either but the shelter often has cats on them