Cat Is Allergic, Vets Cannot Say Why

[Tagrendy]

Hi, my cat had an eye issue and I took him to the vet today. They told me that most likely it's allergy, injected him with medicine that will keep him allergy-free for 16 days, and put the megaphone thing around his neck so he can't damage his eye ( forgot what it's called ). But they said they can't tell me what the cause is, which is what I want to know, since it will come back once the medicine wears out. I called other vets and they told me that the allergen tests are not available in the whole freaking country.

I want to change his food, litter to something else to see if that was the issue, but not sure what to change it to? Are there any litters I need to look into that are good for allergic cats, or foods? Is silicon better than "sand" litter? Are there other things that can cause allergies that I should check out?

Thanks for any input, T.

 

[verna davies]

Ir sounds like its going to be a process of elimination to find the cause. How long have you had your cat, how long has he had this issue.

 

[MissClouseau]

Allergy tests for cats are not reliable anyway. Most vets I know don't recommend it.

You need to do elimination diet and basically do changes in the environment and see what works. A cat can be allergic to pretty much anything a human can be allergic to including dust mite, pollen, flies/insects... If it's an airborne allergy an air cleaner with HEPA filter would help -- I recommend it to everyone anyway, it's good for humans too.

With that said, if there is a veterinary ophthalmologist where you live, I suggest having one exam your cat.

 

[neely]

With that said, if there is a veterinary ophthalmologist where you live, I suggest having one exam your cat.

That was my first thought, great minds think alike!

I wanted to suggest this excellent Article about eye conditions in cats that might be helpful: Eye Problems In Cats: What Every Owner Needs To Know

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. First thing to do is determine if any food changes/litter/environmental changes occurred around the time of the eye issue. If so, those are the things to concentrate on first with regard to elimination.

Was only one eye impacted? That could indicate something more along the lines of environmental and something getting into just the one eye. Something like getting litter particles in that eye, something from outside that he got into?

You didn't say what type of eye issue it was - redness, mucosal drainage, watering, etc?

Hopefully the article that neely provided might offer some insight!

 

[Tagrendy]

Hi. First thing to do is determine if any food changes/litter/environmental changes occurred around the time of the eye issue. If so, those are the things to concentrate on first with regard to elimination.

Was only one eye impacted? That could indicate something more along the lines of environmental and something getting into just the one eye. Something like getting litter particles in that eye, something from outside that he got into?

You didn't say what type of eye issue it was - redness, mucosal drainage, watering, etc?

Hopefully the article that neely provided might offer some insight!

It was first both eyes, but one eye was worse, and it was a black hard large discharge accumulating in the inner corner of the eye. After some time around the eye there were small dots black / dark red in color. This was months ago and I took him to the vet then too. They gave some ointment to apply for 5 days, but the vet told me if it doesn't help to bring the cat back. The ointment helped, but it reoccurred. Unfortunately at this time I was broke and couldn't take the cat to the vet, but I was managing it with eye drops for cats from time to time, and it seemed to help. In fact the eye that was less infected was fully healed, but the bad one got worse.

I do remember thinking litter might have gotten into his eye, because I had changed his litter to less expensive one, and this one was really thin, like actual sand, and the cat was digging really crazy.

I think I will use the litter and food I was giving him before issues occurred, but food is going to be tricky since he eats now adult cat food, before it was kitten food. The place and environment didn't change at all, but I do notice if we sleep in the room, both of us wake up with dry eyes.

Thanks for help, T.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Was he ever tested for herpes? And, was he vaccinated for it, and given the boosters? Although vaccination and boosters help to minimize flare ups in a herpes positive cat, it cannot guarantee preventing them. And, these flare ups can lead to secondary infections that need to be treated with antibiotics, in addition to anti-viral eye drops for the flare up. Oral anti-viral meds can be given routinely to try and help ward off future flare ups.

Not saying this is the problem, but did want to ask about testing/vaccines/boosters, if for no other reason than you being able to rule it out.

 

[Tagrendy]

Was he ever tested for herpes? And, was he vaccinated for it, and given the boosters? Although vaccination and boosters help to minimize flare ups in a herpes positive cat, it cannot guarantee preventing them. And, these flare ups can lead to secondary infections that need to be treated with antibiotics, in addition to anti-viral eye drops for the flare up. Oral anti-viral meds can be given routinely to try and help ward off future flare ups.

Not saying this is the problem, but did want to ask about testing/vaccines/boosters, if for no other reason than you being able to rule it out.

He wasn't tested for herpes no. His vaccination was delayed to be honest, but as a kitten he was vaccinated ( not sure for what, they just said it's core vaccination ), he missed the yearly one. We're gonna get one in 10 days, as we'll visit the vet again, I will definitely ask about FLV and see if they can test him. Even though he is an indoor cat and her mamma is a houseworm that never goes outside, maybe he did get infected somehow. I do remember nasal discharge happening months ago, it just got ok in a few days so I thought not much of it. =\

Thank you for suggestion.

 

[Tagrendy]

Hi peoples, just wanted to give an update. It wasn't an allergy, after 10 days in of treatment for allergy not only the issue didn't get better, it got worse, and he also lost weight, which was due to his appetite loss and difficulty eating with the megaphone thing around his neck. We changed clinics, it turned out it was traumatic, he had something in the eye. We are 4 days into the new treatment, his eyes are now crystal clear looking, just still squints a bit to the light. He gained some weight back, and appetite is finally as good as before. Hopefully we are on track now, the cat hates me cause everytime I hold him is for putting stuff in his eyes =/

 

[verna davies]

Thanks for the update. At last you have found the reason, thats good news just a shame the first vet got it wrong. Hope he makes a speedy recovery and is soon back to normal and forgives you, I'm sure he will.

 

[KittyCatCove]

I have a feral cat named Whiskers that I feed that seems to have the same symptoms. It started just yesterday. 2 days ago he was perfectly fine. It rained yesterday, so he was in the cat house all day (fairly normal behavior). When he came out this morning to eat, I could tell he was not feeling well... he was moving more slowly and his left side of his face and left eye are slightly swollen.

Caring for my cats is so rewarding, but when they don't feel well and get sick, it makes you worry like hell.

 

[KittyCatCove]

I was wrong... Whiskers does not have an allergy issue, nor is he sick...
Mu next door neighbor told me he got into a fight with another male feral cat at 3am on Monday morning. That is why he was sitting in the cat house all day yesterday, he's recovering from that fight. I looked at him very closely today, he has no cuts or scratches, but he is probably very sore That's why he is moving slowly. Poor little guy. I know the cat that did it too because I've broken up a fight they had a few months ago. That male feral is VERY aggressive and mean.
My poor little Whiskers... not just his body, he suffering a bruised ego too. Here's a recent pic of my little guy waiting for his food...