Nothing Helps My Itchy Cat!

[knhummel]

My cat Ariel has been experiencing what my vet and I believe to be food allergies. This began about 6 weeks ago. She began the hills d/d prescription food 2 weeks, was given a shot of depomedrol 3 weeks ago, and has been prescribed apoquel for as needed. She seemed to be improving on this new diet, but yesterday she woke up itchier than i've ever seen her. Is she reacting to the hills food? Is her body adjusting to coming off of the depo shot? I'm at a loss for what to do with her. I don't want to continue the depo shots because of the long term side effects and I am wary of the apoquel because there is little to no information on its use in cats. Any advice?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi, often chicken can be a culprit, can you eliminate all types of chicken (including chicken meal and anything else that is from chicken) from her diet? Basically if that doesn't help, then you'll need to start eliminating fish, then carageenan,then glutens etc.
Have you been feeding her all dry food? If so, try introducing wet, and try novel proteins such as venison et al.
Here's a website that might help
Pet Food Guide

 

[knhummel]

She has been eating the Hills venison d/d prescription diet for 2 weeks.

 

[knhummel]

She has been eating the Hills venison d/d prescription diet for 2 weeks.

she also refuses to eat any type of wet food.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi - I just saw this report, highlighted on TCS homepage, on the veterinarypracticenews website by Banfield Pet Hospital;

"According to Banfield’s report, food allergies affect just 0.2 percent of dogs and 0.1 percent of cats, meaning other causes should be explored if food allergies are suspected. Further, flea allergies have risen over the past 10 years, including a 12 percent increase in dogs and a 67 percent increase in cats, and environmental allergies also are on an upward trend"

By the way, have you tried toppers/enticements? You could try heating the food a little. Also take a half a small can of a pate type, add a tablespoon of warm-to-hot water, stir and serve.

Let me give you a list in case it helps;

• Chicken or beef flavored baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients

• Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury brand is called SafeCatch, look for their no sodium variety

• Salmon

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings

• canned kitten food any brand - it's usually smelly. See if it's eaten on its own, then maybe mix it in or put on top

• Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet

• Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat gravy poured over the food

• kitten glop (recipes are on the internet, look for some with goat milk)
• Bonito flakes
• fortiflora

• goat milk, or low/no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
• There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper, Tiki Cat has a mousse, Delectables has a couple things.

 

[neely]

Welcome to TCS! I'm glad you joined the forum but sorry your cat, Ariel, is experiencing an allergy problem. I thought this Article might be helpful because of the itchiness she is having and also discusses skin & food allergies: Skin Conditions In Cats
And this excellent Article about food allergies in cats: 11 Key Facts About Food Allergies In Cats

If she continues to show signs of health problems please contact your vet or in the event you feel they are not addressing her issues feel free to get a second opinion. Best of luck and please keep us posted on her progress.

 

[duckpond]

Something that may give some relief, do you occasionally bathe her? I would not bathe a cat very often. but i was posting about this yesterday, for help with cat acne. and a lot of people were talking about how it helps with itching. Might be something to try as well as the food changes? This shampoo was amazing to clear up my cats chin acne.

Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Antiseptic & Antifungal Shampoo

they also have a spray you might try, but i think i would do the bath first.

Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Hot Spot & Itch Relief Spray, 8-oz spray

 

[LTS3]

She has been eating the Hills venison d/d prescription diet for 2 weeks.

Give it more time. It may take several weeks or more on a diet to see any results. If the prescription diet doesn't end up working, try something else. There are commercial limited ingredient diets you could try. A home cooked or raw diet are also options but I understand that some people cannot or will not feed those for whatever reason.

This article has more info about food sensitivities and reactions: Article on Feline Cutaneous Adverse Food Reactions (aka food allergies) and treatment

 

[cat princesses]

Hi!
I'd stay away from the depo Medrol injections - steroids can cause immediate diabetes and that's not fun, I have a diabetic cat.
I also have a very allergic kitty - it took us almost a full year to get her under control. We saw a veterinary dermatologist who 1st did a blood test which came back showing she was allergic to dust mites and storage mites. I have been using atopica for dogs because it comes in a pill form and it much easier to administer than the liquid for cats. She takes this 6 days per week and we skip sundays. I also took her in and she was sedated and they did the interdermal skin prick test and screened for 50 more allergens which confirmed the dust mites/storage mites and also some trees. She's been on weekly allergy injections as well. It's not 100% but it's got her controlled now to where she doesn't lick herself raw. My dermo said apoquel doesn't work as well in cats. Have you tried raw food? I really like the rad cat brand - my 2 absolutely love it as well. I feel that as an evening treat and also feel Weruva cats in the kitchen canned food.

 

[silkenpaw]

It might be that the depomedrol is wearing off, though it should last about a month.

I went through this with my cat Java a few years back. She would scratch her skin until it looked like hamburger and I had to put a jacket on her to prevent that. We did the elimination diet (it has to be for 4-6 weeks) with no relief. We knew when Java was in the room because we could hear her scratching.



My vet ended up referring her to a dermatologist and she got allergy tested. She was allergic to a bunch of environmental stuff and she is much, much better with allergy shots, though she still gets really bad sinusitis at least once a year. I also give her Zyrtec and I put nail caps on her so if she does get itchy, she doesn’t cut her skin up. (She doesn’t scratch much or need her jacket since she’s been getting the allergy shots).

Good luck with Ariel. (Is she the pretty jellicle cat in your avatar?) It can be a long and exhausting journey but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Ladysnuggable]

My friends cat had a similar problem. she was allergic to poultry. All kinds. Duck chicken ext. She would get so itchy it looked like ahe was tearing her fur off I wish you luck I know it's tough.

 

[nansiludie]

I have an allergic cat, she's allergic to just about all protein commonly found in cat food. She can have pork, beef and rabbit, no poultry of any kind and no fish or grain. If she gets into the other kitties food, she'll be itching within minutes and a flareup like that usually lasts a couple of weeks even with allergy medicine. Vet told me she hadn't seen a cat with as severe allergies as hers in all her years of practice.

I feed the I and love and you, wet food. I feed the Nature's Variety LID in rabbit and also occasionally cooked bits of steak and pork as snacks.