Hoping this is the answer to my cats allergies.

[vsvpflex]

Comfrey is toxic to cats.


That aside, if your cat has allergies it will be less about what is or is not toxic and more about what your cat is allergic to.

I would cease using the balm while giving the hypoallergenic food, and for awhile afterwards. If it begins to clear up, you'll know something in the balm was also aggravating the feet. I mention this because we had the intestinal problems clear up on the LID, but the feet problems remained due to pet wipes.

Consider the paw pad issue like a person's contact dermatitis. I won't get tummy pain by using a product with tomato in it, but I will get contact dermatitis.

we try to use the balm as sparingly as possible. Right now we are letting 2 days pass in-between balming. So he got his paws balmed this Monday, and then didn’t get them balmed again until last night. In-between balming we just use a warm damp washcloth and wipe his paws once a day since they get dry to the point of looking dusty. I get what you’re saying about the balm, but we kind of have to use SOMETHIN occasionally or else his paws start to get worse. The idea right now more or less is to try to keep his paws from getting worse or cracking while we do the diet change, in hopes that if the diet change does totally fix the issue, it takes his paws a shorter time to “heal” and recover. Whereas if we let them be and didn’t put anything on them occasionally, they would definitely eventually probably crack and he’s have open wounds we’d have to deal with.

 

[vsvpflex]

Week 4 of food trial: Gastrointestinal issues are still completely solved. No bloating and totally normal stools, and his fur seems to gradually be getting softer and softer every day. Still dealing with the dryness of the paws though. Recently made the decision to try switching to a non clay litter, and picked feline pine as my trial. Have been slowly day by day taking a cup of normal litter out of each of their litter boxes, and replacing it with a cup of the feline pine. At this point, the litter boxes are probably 80% pine, 20% clay. So we should be able to transition to 100% pine relatively soon. Doing this in conjunction with the food trial because from the start, I’ve been suspicious of litter. We had switched him to Dr Elseys which has bo silica or fragrance, just clay. But now im thinking it may be a clay issue. He definitely has a food intolerance with how much the z/d diet has improved his gastrointestinal health, but im thinking possibly his feet could be the product of food intolerance in conjunction with contact allergy. The main reason that im suspicious of litter playing a role in all of this is the fact that his paws pads are pretty much the ONLY problem area, and the hocks on his back legs are the only area on him that has any hair loss, and both his pads and his back hocks are areas that directly touch down and make contact with the litter when using the bathroom.

 

[Alldara]

Week 4 of food trial: Gastrointestinal issues are still completely solved. No bloating and totally normal stools, and his fur seems to gradually be getting softer and softer every day. Still dealing with the dryness of the paws though. Recently made the decision to try switching to a non clay litter, and picked feline pine as my trial. Have been slowly day by day taking a cup of normal litter out of each of their litter boxes, and replacing it with a cup of the feline pine. At this point, the litter boxes are probably 80% pine, 20% clay. So we should be able to transition to 100% pine relatively soon. Doing this in conjunction with the food trial because from the start, I’ve been suspicious of litter. We had switched him to Dr Elseys which has bo silica or fragrance, just clay. But now im thinking it may be a clay issue. He definitely has a food intolerance with how much the z/d diet has improved his gastrointestinal health, but im thinking possibly his feet could be the product of food intolerance in conjunction with contact allergy. The main reason that im suspicious of litter playing a role in all of this is the fact that his paws pads are pretty much the ONLY problem area, and the hocks on his back legs are the only area on him that has any hair loss, and both his pads and his back hocks are areas that directly touch down and make contact with the litter when using the bathroom.

That's really wonderful progress! Congratulations.

I always recommend non-clay litter so it certainly couldn't hurt.

I understand you're frustrated with us pointing out the balm could be the source of the allergy, but again, it's also only having contact with his feet pads. It contains a plant that's toxic to cats. I'd urge you to try something else. I understand that allowing them to crack would make the healing process take longer.

Olive oil or vegetable oil could also work. Use food or play or both as a distraction while it soaks in. Or you could simply try a different balm for pet feet with different ingredients.

 

[vsvpflex]

That's really wonderful progress! Congratulations.

I always recommend non-clay litter so it certainly couldn't hurt.

I understand you're frustrated with us pointing out the balm could be the source of the allergy, but again, it's also only having contact with his feet pads. It contains a plant that's toxic to cats. I'd urge you to try something else. I understand that allowing them to crack would make the healing process take longer.

Olive oil or vegetable oil could also work. Use food or play or both as a distraction while it soaks in. Or you could simply try a different balm for pet feet with different ingredients.

I’m not necessarily frustrated with the suggestion to stop using the balm, I’m just at the point where I’m kind of out of options. Would be more than happy to hear out any alternatives to the balm in using, would just preferably like something that soaks in more and doesn’t leave a residue on the pad surface like most oils do. A lot of the time even after allowing more than enough time for it to soak in, oils seem to almost leave a film on his paws that’s a bit tacky, that then causes more dust and litter to stick to his pads which just keeps this whole cycle of him drying out going. So I’m totally open to and appreciative of recommendations, I just know I’ve tried olive oil, vegetable oil, bag balm, etc. and all of them never fully soaked in and the tackiness/dampness just lead to more things sticking to his pads. As for the balm I’m currently using, I will say that this issue with his paws was happening prior to starting to use the balm, which is what makes me a tad skeptical of the possibility that an ingredient in the balm is negatively effecting his paws.

 

[vsvpflex]

That's really wonderful progress! Congratulations.

I always recommend non-clay litter so it certainly couldn't hurt.

I understand you're frustrated with us pointing out the balm could be the source of the allergy, but again, it's also only having contact with his feet pads. It contains a plant that's toxic to cats. I'd urge you to try something else. I understand that allowing them to crack would make the healing process take longer.

Olive oil or vegetable oil could also work. Use food or play or both as a distraction while it soaks in. Or you could simply try a different balm for pet feet with different ingredients.

And upon searching online for info about comfrey being toxic to cats, it sounds like the reason they say that is because in large oral doses, it can be hard on their kidneys, but I can’t find any info about it having any negative effects when using it topically at all

 

[Alldara]

And upon searching online for info about comfrey being toxic to cats, it sounds like the reason they say that is because in large oral doses, it can be hard on their kidneys, but I can’t find any info about it having any negative effects when using it topically at all

Magnus's allergies started before the wipes, but they continued because of a separate allergy to an ingredient in the wipe.

If it's on the pads, the assumption should be they are consuming some. I'm not sure if the kidneys would be processing it still if it's topical, but rather just the portion of consumption.

Just like when we put cream on, it will have a level of stickyness no matter what.

I'm not sure what's available at your local pet store, or where you are located...but there are a number of products. Perhaps a second post to gain recommendations of paw balm would be best?

 

[vsvpflex]

Magnus's allergies started before the wipes, but they continued because of a separate allergy to an ingredient in the wipe.

If it's on the pads, the assumption should be they are consuming some. I'm not sure if the kidneys would be processing it still if it's topical, but rather just the portion of consumption.

Just like when we put cream on, it will have a level of stickyness no matter what.

I'm not sure what's available at your local pet store, or where you are located...but there are a number of products. Perhaps a second post to gain recommendations of paw balm would be best?

I ended up making my own balm. Used raw shea butter, coconut oil, sunflower oil, vitamin e oil, and jojoba oil. So far it seems to be somewhat more effective than the balm we were using. I’m convinced one of the issues with the balm we were using was the beeswax. It’s like it was creating a film on his pads. The stuff I made has more the consistency of a body butter/lotion than a balm, and it seems to absorb a lot quicker and leave no residue. As of yesterday as well, the cats are officially completely switched over to the pine pellet litter. Cleaned and scrubbed out the litter boxes and did a very thorough sweep, mop, and vacuum of the house. So now he officially has no direct contact with clay. I’m sure there’s some residual traces of the clay dust around the house that I missed, but his contact with it should be extremely minimal if at all. Hoping things continue to improve. I read online that with litter allergies it can take up to 2 weeks after changing litters for the allergens to leave the system. So I’m hoping this in conjunction with the food change is the answer, until then we are just monitoring his paws and balming them with the new stuff I made to make sure they don’t crack. So far we are very happy with the pine litter, cheaper than clay, less odor than clay, easier clean up than clay, and the cats don’t seem to mind it at all. When we were using clay, he would dig for a solid minute before and after going to the bathroom, and with the pine he barely digs it at all.

 

[Furballsmom]

What a great update!

 

[vsvpflex]

What a great update!

really have my fingers crossed this all solves it, if not I’m out of ideas. Where I live it’s currently winter, and everything is frozen down. So there are absolutely no environmental allergens, so if it’s not the food or litter I have no idea what it could be

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[Alldara]

Wonderful news. I hope that helps. Great idea with your own balm and I'm glad it's working well.

Skin stuff can take longer to clear. So keep hope up even after 2 weeks.

 

[vsvpflex]

I post a lot about my little guy, and photos of his feet, so I figured id share a photo of how cute of a boy he is. Finn is the dark one, and he’s the one with the problems, and Jake is the orange one. They are littermates that I adopted together as kittens from our local shelter

 

[Furballsmom]

Thank you for sharing them

 

[vsvpflex]

- Update -

we are nearing week 8 of food trial. About a week ago we also introduced a very large humidifier to our living space to remedy dry winter air. Still seeing gradual improvement. Paws seem to be a little better each day, and gastrointestinal symptoms are still completely gone. It’s been 2ish months since my vet has seen my cat in person, so I scheduled an appointment for the 9th to have them visibly inspect his paws, also requested a non invasive skin scrape, which should be able to diagnose parasites, yeast infection, bacterial infection, fungal infection, and a few other ailments that could potentially be contributing to this problem we have been dealing with. The only area we have yet to see improvement in, is the missing fur he has on his back hocks of his back legs

 

[Alldara]

V vsvpflex
Excellent news!
Is it just a small circle there? It might be worn off from how he sits if yes.

 

[vsvpflex]

V vsvpflex
Excellent news!
Is it just a small circle there? It might be worn off from how he sits if yes.

it’s a little bit more than just a circle. When he had his initial allergy flare up like 5-6 months ago, he used to chew that area quite a bit. Due to that he lost hair. Despite us not seeing him overgroom the area anymore, the hair has yet to return

 

[Furballsmom]

It might not, or very slowly. That's a pressure point, I think, where his legs meet the surface when he's meatloafing. My Poppycat had something like that.

 

[vsvpflex]

It might not, or very slowly. That's a pressure point, I think, where his legs meet the surface when he's meatloafing. My Poppycat had something like that.

Made me chuckle when I read poppycat, my girlfriends name is poppy lol

 

[vsvpflex]

- UPDATE -

We had our vet appointment the 9th and had the boy looked over. The vet thought his feet were looking so good that she didn't think a skin scrape was necessary and told us to continue doing what we are doing and contact her if things start to take a negative turn again. As of today his feet don't look bad at all, but they don't look as good as they did. He did get into some non hypoallergenic treats last week so I'm curious if we are experiencing a minor setback due to that. He started his Z/D diet on Nov 14th, and Pine litter on Dec 22nd and we are still going strong on it. Aside from his feet we still have seen sustained improvements since switching foods. His back hocks are still bald, but now when we look we can see a bunch of short, little fine hairs starting, so it appears that he is potentially slowly starting to regrow those patches. We have been trying to taper his daily prednisolone. He was getting 5mg daily, and we have had him tapered down to 5mg every other day for about a month now, and plan to drop that down to half a pill every other day and ride that out until he is off it (as long as the excessive grooming remains at bay still.) Before when we attempted to taper him, the excessive grooming resumed even after dropping him down to a full pill every other day like he is currently getting, so the fact that he is still refraining from overgrooming is definitely a good sign. After showing my vet a chronological album of photos of his feet making progress over the months, she seems to think that initially this all did start as a case of pododermatitis (Pillow foot) that was caused due to a food allergy. The allergy would have made him itch, which caused him to chew his paws, and the open sores opened him to developing pododermatitis. We didn't even really consider pillow foot since he never presented with the text book swollen and mushy paw pads, but apparently it can present itself in multiple ways. She seems to think that we have gotten the issue under control with eliminating his allergen from his diet. She told us that if the issue were to resurface, that our next step would be to do a biopsy. If the biopsy confirmed pododermatitis, he would be put on a round of the antibiotic doxycycline for around a month and that should knock it out of his system. The silver lining here is that IF it does end up being pododermatitis and we have to intervene with a biopsy and antibiotics, he would be on the favorable end of the spectrum when it comes to the ailment. 50% of cats that test positive for pododermatitis also have FiV or another immune system centered issue. He was tested as a kitten for FiV and feline leukemia and tested negative for both, and with this past year being a nonstop vet trip due to him having multiple urinary blockages and having to undergo a PU surgery, we have tests on tests and have had nonstop bloodwork done to also show that he is not having any immune issues. So if it is pillow foot, it would have simply been caused from him mutilating his feet due to allergies, and that opening his feet up to bacteria. I apologize for rambling, nobody else in my life aside from my partner understands what any of this stuff means so it feels nice to just kind of let it all come out to a group of people who get it. I appreciate the suggestions and support all of you have offered me and my boy, and plan on continuing to keep you updated on this progress even if it is moderately sporadic. The urinary problems felt like they lasted forever and I was so relieved when they were done, and now I can't wait for this to be solved as well so he can 100% return to being a normal kitty because he deserves it.

 

[Furballsmom]

because he deserves it.

He does, you do, and you're doing marvelously!