more allergy stuff

[mouser(ha)]

Hello, I'm new around here. I see you have a lot of allergies talk and I have more, I'm afraid.

I am the loyal subject--as if I had a choice

--of a four-year-old female Maine Coon mix with something else. My Mistress has developed a problem which she asked me to put before the wisdom of this forum. (She's also asked me for opposable thumbs so she can do it herself but I haven't gotten around to those yet.)

Seriously, she's developed several symptoms that seem to indicate allergies, but absolutely nothing in her environment has changed, be it food, litter, surroundings, or anything that I have used in cleaning, etc.

Has anyone out there had an experience of a cat developing an allergy to something with which she wasn't allergic before? I'm confused.

 

[sandie]

Cats and dogs for that matter...can develop allergies to something at any age. Most of the time I have found it is food related though. What kind of symptoms are we talking about?

 

[koa's mom]

According to my vet they can develop allergies to food when they eat the same food all the time.Also not getting enough sun can cause allergy looking symptoms.

 

[mouser(ha)]

Hey,

Thanks for your replies. Both cut through the fog of my ignorance and gave me ideas for what to do next.

Her symptoms include a very sensitive back down toward her tail, which she has gotten before in late August--which i always treated for fleas--but never before at this time of the year. And she has been yanking the fur in this area out with her teeth enough to expose her skin. She's also begun sneezing a lot.

I am intrigued about the food situation. At the time I posted, I had already changed it to another kind, which she didn't like. Since then, I've found one that she seems to really be into, so that may have solved that problem.

Not enough sun? Hmmm, she's mostly an inside cat in an apartment which gets the afternoon sun, but she doesn't get outside very much because we're in a complex with very busy traffic. I may need to work out a system to get her out more here.

Again, thanks for your comments. This site is great!