Experience with cat allergies?

[Freddieandchip]

I have a cat who is having allergies. He had his first reaction a few months ago, he gets bald spots around his ears from itching and the bald spots look red and irritated. His bottom lip also swelled up and I noticed a few smaller bald spots on his feet. The first time he was given an antibiotic and steroid shot and they went away and healed. At that point I was advised by a vet (not his regular vet, I would have had to wait too long for an appointment) to remove plastic from his environment. I did that and he seemed to be doing well. Then, about a month ago, he got a bald patch on his ear while I was at work. This time nothing happened to his lip. It was a little more extreme this time than last time. He went back to the same vet that he saw the first time. This vet said that it is most likely a flea allergy and didn’t want to give him another steroid so close to the last one so I used hydrocortisone cream for cats which helped a lot. I was prescribed a flea preventative. I decided to take him to his regular vet as well once an appointment was available and his regular vet suggested a chicken and beef free diet and does not think it’s a flea allergy. I have been trying to keep him on that diet and most days it goes well but me senior cats will only eat one type of food and sometimes he ends up getting a few bites of theirs. I’m also a little worried about cutting out chicken and beef at the same time as starting him on a flea preventative, I’m worried that I won’t know what worked and what caused the allergy. I was wondering if anyone had experienced this and if so, what was your experience like? Would a cat with a food allergy have more consistent reactions than this? I want to do what is best for him but I’m just a little confused about what is best now that I have different opinions from two different vets. I’m going to include pictures of his reactions below. When he has these reactions the skin symptoms are the only change that I notice, no appetite or personality changes. He also is only 9 months old so at this point he’s seen both vets the same amount of times. The first two pictures are from the first time, the last two are from the second time. Right now his ears are almost done healing

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Allergies are hard to pinpoint the cause(s); it seems to be all trial and error. But I do wonder if this would be related to fleas if your other cats do not have them? While the other cats may not be allergic to flea bites, it would still seem to make sense that all the cats would have fleas if one did. Are the other cats already on flea prevention? If not, and they don't have fleas, then I would probably focus more on possible food sources.

Chicken seems to be a big allergy culprit and oddly enough I've read a number of data about fish also being a more common one. However, most folks on this site go for novel proteins and limited ingredient foods - novel proteins being things like venison, rabbit, duck, and lamb. It may not even be the protein but one of the additives/non-protein ingredients. That is what makes it so 'trial and error'.

You will most certainly be hearing very soon from some of the members who know more about this aspect than I do!!

 

[Freddieandchip]

Hi. Allergies are hard to pinpoint the cause(s); it seems to be all trial and error. But I do wonder if this would be related to fleas if your other cats do not have them? While the other cats may not be allergic to flea bites, it would still seem to make sense that all the cats would have fleas if one did. Are the other cats already on flea prevention? If not, and they don't have fleas, then I would probably focus more on possible food sources.

Chicken seems to be a big allergy culprit and oddly enough I've read a number of data about fish also being a more common one. However, most folks on this site go for novel proteins and limited ingredient foods - novel proteins being things like venison, rabbit, duck, and lamb. It may not even be the protein but one of the additives/non-protein ingredients. That is what makes it so 'trial and error'.

You will most certainly be hearing very soon from some of the members who know more about this aspect than I do!!

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about the fleas, I never see any but the first vet said even one flea could cause this type of reaction. I didn’t realize that their previous medication was just to kill fleas, not prevent them, so now they’re all on. A flea preventative. I’ve been feeding him the diet that my second vet recommended and he hasn’t had any reactions, it’s just weird to me that he ate chicken based food his whole life and only had 2 reactions so spread out. I’m kind of hoping it is a food allergy because that’s something that I can fully control, especially once I find a different food for my seniors Incase he sneaks a bite of theirs. Flea allergies scare me because even if I do everything right it’s still possible for a few fleas to get in

 

[FeebysOwner]

You might ask your vet about an IgE test - it is a blood test looking for antibodies associated with a flea allergy. I don't know how 'reliable; they are, but it can't hurt to ask about it anyway.

Just so you know, cats can become allergic to most anything at any time, even foods that they have eaten for years.

 

[Freddieandchip]

You might ask your vet about an IgE test - it is a blood test looking for antibodies associated with a flea allergy. I don't know how 'reliable; they are, but it can't hurt to ask about it anyway.

Just so you know, cats can become allergic to most anything at any time, even foods that they have eaten for years.

Thank you! My vet was actually saying that blood tests would be the next step if these current changes don’t work

 

[Tigger's Mum]

Interesting thread as one of my cats seems to have an allergy similar to this. A few months ago we switched from Whiskas to another tinned cat food called Almo Nature as, because my car is off the road pending repairs (it's about to be scrapped as I can't get the required spares anywhere - it's an old car and now in a position to shortly buy another car) we had to get our cat food delivered to the door. Not much choice online - mostly pouches which are impractical when you have 9 cats so we decided to try the Almo Nature. I will add that I am in the UK so what we get here will differ from elsewhere.

At first this new food seemed to be OK but in the last 6 weeks one of our cats has developed bald spots. The food contains large chunks of turkey and is fit for human consumption (!) One of our other cats has become food aggressive with this food but not aggressive if we feed her Whiskas. We also notice that one of our bigger cats is losing weight because he's decided he doesn't like the Almo anymore. There seems to have been a change in the recipe/ingredients that they use and reviews are saying the same thing with other peoples' cats. Mine are now getting IAMs dry in the afternoon and Whiskas at night so we'll see if that makes a difference. If not, Shady is off to the vet. Although my cats are indoor cats only, I did think fleas so treated them. Made no difference.

I see the swelling on your cat's lip which would definitely suggest a contact allergy to something, either food or the bowl. Ceramic is as bad as plastic and the best bowls are stainless steel - and can be washed at a high temperature in the dishwasher.

As with all allergies, whether the human kind or cat kind, it's a process of elimination.

 

[Caspers Human]

Allergies are hard to pinpoint the cause(s); it seems to be all trial and error.

Yes, allergies can be hard to pin down. It certainly does seem like trial and error but if you try to look at things logically it can be easier.

One good way to do it is by process of elimination. Remove one thing from the environment at a time and see what the results are.
If you think there is an allergy to some kind of food, eliminate that food from the diet for several weeks then see what the results are. If the problem goes away, you can assume that the eliminated food was the cause. If the problem still persists, try eliminating something else until you find something (or don't find anything.)

Keep a written diary and take notes on anything you think is worth remembering.

Some things like fleas might require treatment as a means to eliminate or pinpoint a cause but, most of the time, you should try to do it without using medications and things because they can confound your investigation.

What if your cat is allergic to some food but, since you gave medication for fleas, it might also cause the food allergy to disappear. How do you know which is the cause? Fleas or food?

These things often take some detective work before you figure them out.

That's one reason why it seems like your vet doesn't know what to do.

If you are bouncing back and forth between two vets, this might also confound your investigation.
Which vet said what? What treatments have been tried? Which ones worked and which ones didn't.
How does one vet know what the other has suggested?

In such a case, you'll need to make sure that both vets are in communication with each other.

Keeping a notebook, like I mentioned above, would also be helpful if you are going between vets, too.

 

[danteshuman]

Flea allergies are brutal. A flea bite can release toxins in your cat for 2 weeks! So ask your vet about allergy medications you can give your cat to try to avoid steroid shots. There are a few.

In the meantime I would keep your cat indoors, treat all pets with a topical flea medication (I use Cheristin but Advantage would work to.) I would consider giving every cat a bath with flea shampoo or baby shampoo (suddded up for 5 minutes then rinse) then flea medication when safe to do so. Wash all of your and cat’s/dogs bedding. Vacuum daily.

If you think you may have fleas in your home, fog it. If there may be fleas in your yard then use yard poison that kills fleas. Since flea allergies are so severe, if you have dogs you may need to do this.

I would also search your house for hidden plastic. Poor Dante had severe poultry allergies & may have been alllergic to plastic. I missed his earlier signs and one day his lip swelled up so badly. Doing the food elimination diet is a slow long process! If your kitty gets another spot after you eliminate fleas & plastic, I would look at his diet.

I hope your kitty soon reaches an itch free state!

 

[DreamerRose]

Mingo is one of those cats that are allergic to fish, but his only symptom is that he immediately throws it up. I figured this out early on and have only fed him poultry or beef since. When Fancy Feast temporarily used fish in their poultry flavors, he threw that up, too. The vet suggested fish oil to relieve dry skin, but that wouldn't stay down either.

I agree with the other responders that your cat is reacting either to flea bites or plastic or ceramic dishes. But it's also possible that it's ear mites, but you would think the vet would check for those. A good flea topical like Revolution will get rid of the mites.