Repost from health cat allergic to everything

Crazycatwmn

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Hi I’m sorry this is a repost from the health forum it was suggested that I put it here.

Hello 👋 I apologize in advance this will be a very long post and I have a tendency to ramble.

I’m loosing my mind. I’ve been working on this for 1 1/2 years. Possibly June 2019 I noticed my cat was loosing weight then started throwing up some food then foam and bile. Then she stopped eating. I was never so afraid in my life. Vet said to try to give chicken baby food. My cat has never liked wet food, like never. Surprise she actually liked it and this is when it all started.
She got blood work August 2019 she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. She was 6 lbs. So we started with methimazole. I found out that wet food is the best for cats in general, and puts weight on. Let me tell you I went to the pet store bought all different flavors and brands I think I walked out with 15 different items. (When she was maybe 6 I bought a fish based dry food and she ended up scratching herself to bleed. Went to vet said was Fish allergy, took antibiotics it went away.) I also read fish is bad for thyroid because of iodine. Same night I got wet food I got her pill. For 3 days she started hiding behind the bookcase and had no spunkish life in her. She also started this scratching under her neck and from her eyebrows back to just before her ears. I was convinced it was the pill. My vet said food allergies, but I was so ignorant to thinking my cat cant have allergies and I was convinced she really wasnt hyperthyroid. So we stopped the pill, she was borderline hyperthyroid we just wanted to get a start on it. I can’t remember if she got a cortisone shot that time, but it seemed to stop for a tiny bit.

About October 2019 she started this scratching crap again. So I got cameras to watch her. (She was still eating some wet food and mostly wasting it) Told the vet she said food allergy. She was 6.6 lbs now. So I started eliminating the different foods. She scratched so bad her whole neck was raw. I put that blow up life vest thingy on her and it kept coming off. So I figured when it comes off I’ll let her itch for a few seconds and put it back on and it kept getting worse. I put her collar threw the loops and it never came off then. So I took it off to scratch her neck for her then I’d let her walk around for a bit and lick herself. I was only making her worse. Then she learned how to twist her body all these different ways to lick everywhere so I didn’t take it off anymore. She ended up needing a cortisone shot then she was fine. I finalized her wet food with the brand Crave no fish. This whole time she was on Blue Wilderness Senior - Chicken. I never bought her any lower quality food because I thought she might get sick Not saying it’s the best. I would research every single brand and food everyday and I still do.

Ok so she didn’t get Wet food everyday because she would waste It. From May to September I ended up living with my dad because he got lung cancer and that’s a whole other story, but she stayed with my bf. So maybe late October 2020 I decided I’d add some different food I wanted to get more weight on her. She was 7.4 lbs then. she started doing this running away from the food with a twitchy flip with her tail and ears On the Crave wet food. I stopped it and I started adding limited ingredient wet food, it was still happening. I came to a realization it was maybe the dry food, but she’s been on it forever so maybe she was allergic to chicken And turkey by that’s what the crave was So I stopped all wet and tried different dry Rabbit, duck, lamb etc. Well it didn’t help still freaking twitchy itchy scratchy crap, and running. Then it happened when she would drink water. I tried the raw food she didn’t want the frozen ones but liked the little nibs that were rabbit where the bag was $30 and shed get maybe 4 days from it, but she still kept scratching. She was on instinct limited ingredient rabbit she loved it her poop was so big and smelled like death I took her off of it she was also scratching twitchy crap. I put her on Essence ranch and meadow because it had no turkey or chicken. At this is I was under the impression she was allergic to chicken turkey fish peas and a few others.

December 2020 I got her a cortisone shot then she started drinking so much water like a camel. Next day The vet did blood work the next day and she came up positive for hyperthyroidism. I started the pill again. The cortisone shot lasted maybe 4 days. So I got her a blood allergy test I tried all my options. I got the results Friday. I was wrong about Chicken and Fish.
Alfalfa-Apple-Carrot-Corn-Green Peas-Pumpkin-Spinach-Sweet Potato-Tomato-Bean Mix-Berry Mix-Broccoli-Coconu-Guar-Rosemary-Soybean-Squash Mix-Sunflower. Aside From all different grasses weeds trees fungi epidermal indoor and staph. The company has a website when they put all the allergies in and have certain commercial foods that don’t contain those items. Well 80% are low quality 70% are fish and the other percent she doesn’t like or this is why I’m writing this long story she’s twitching on Vital chicken patties and lamb treats. I think it’s the d-alpha tocopherol which is derived from soybeans. She is Limited to so little and I can’t mentally by her lower quality food or fish bc it’s going to make her sicker. I know if I didn’t do the test I’d probably commit myself countless hours on the iPad and watching the camera to see her reactions Now I am so lost and scared.
I apologize once again. Sorry that I rambled.Thank you
 
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LTS3

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Making raw or home cooked food from scratch might be helpful. Many are just meat with vitamin and mineral supplements. The easiest way to get started is to use a pre-mix such as EZComplete with meat of your choice. EZComplete's ingredients are: Dried Chicken Liver, Eggshell (Source of Calcium), Dried Egg Yolk , Pork Pancreas Glandular, Green Lipped Mussel (NZ), Taurine, Digestive Enzymes (Bromelain, Lipase, Amylase, Cellulase), Vitamin E, Chelated Iron, Vitamin B Complex, Chelated Manganese, Zinc, Chelated Copper, Vitamin D3, Potassium Iodide (Iodine).

If chicken is a possible allergen, TCFeline is another pre-mix that could be used. The TCFeline Original has these: New Zealand freeze-dried Bovine Bone; Canadian Gelatin from pork skin; New Zealand Whey Protein Isolate; Taurine; Canadian freeze-dried Krill; Calcium Carbonate; Vitamin E succinate. There is a Beef Liver pre-mix as well.

You can ask more about other easy raw and home cooked diets over on the TCS Raw and Home Cooked Forum.

Whatever diet you end up trying, give it a try for at least 13 weeks or so to see if it helps minmize the symptoms. Some people say that allergy testing in cats isn't all that accurate but I don't know.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Also, you need to be aware that it takes several weeks when changing food to notice a difference when it comes to itching. Some of the foods you already tried may actuallly have been ok to use, but you may not have given it enough time. 12 weeks is the norm to see if it works or not.

But many of the things she is allergic to could be environmental (grow outside). I wonder if her taking an allergy med might also help. Many cats here on this website actually take allergy medications like Zyrtec! You might discuss this with your Vet.
 
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Crazycatwmn

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Making raw or home cooked food from scratch might be helpful. Many are just meat with vitamin and mineral supplements. The easiest way to get started is to use a pre-mix such as EZComplete with meat of your choice. EZComplete's ingredients are: Dried Chicken Liver, Eggshell (Source of Calcium), Dried Egg Yolk , Pork Pancreas Glandular, Green Lipped Mussel (NZ), Taurine, Digestive Enzymes (Bromelain, Lipase, Amylase, Cellulase), Vitamin E, Chelated Iron, Vitamin B Complex, Chelated Manganese, Zinc, Chelated Copper, Vitamin D3, Potassium Iodide (Iodine).

If chicken is a possible allergen, TCFeline is another pre-mix that could be used. The TCFeline Original has these: New Zealand freeze-dried Bovine Bone; Canadian Gelatin from pork skin; New Zealand Whey Protein Isolate; Taurine; Canadian freeze-dried Krill; Calcium Carbonate; Vitamin E succinate. There is a Beef Liver pre-mix as well.

You can ask more about other easy raw and home cooked diets over on the TCS Raw and Home Cooked Forum.

Whatever diet you end up trying, give it a try for at least 13 weeks or so to see if it helps minmize the symptoms. Some people say that allergy testing in cats isn't all that accurate but I don't know.
Is iodine bad I’d the food if she’s hyperthyroid?
 
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Crazycatwmn

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I never thought about waiting a few weeks. I’m freaking out because everything I just bought she’s twitching after.
what I’m going to do is get the rabbit patties from vital because it’s the smaller number out of the proteins. then look up some homemade meals with nothing she allergic to to try in between or is that going to mess it up I mean like cooked chicken.
 

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Plain cooked chicken that is properly supplemented is fine to feed.

You'll have to ask the vet or a veterinary nutritionist about iodine in the diet. TC Feline does not contain iodine if you have concerns.

Is radioiodine therapy an option to treat the hyperthyroid?
 

maggie101

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My cat was throwing up for years. It has so far stopped since I no longer give her pate. Still canned.highprotein with ground meat
 
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Crazycatwmn

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if She’s a candidate for the iodine radiation I’m going to get it for her. Right now she’s a 1/2 pill of methimazole at night
 
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Crazycatwmn

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Did you have any luck with her allergies?
Honestly idk if she even has allergies. I believe she has hyperesthesia. She wanted no part of homemade food. Shes been on Nutro Beef cuts in gravy for weeks and she would still twitch her tail and back once in a while. I put Some kibble she’s allergic to in a bowl. She ended up twitching but not as bad as she was when this all started. So I took her to the vet for blood work and checkup. On the 19tb she has a consultation for i131 therapy ! It came back she had a UTI. My house has been spotless and so has her litter box and she’s only been on that one food.I came to the conclusion it was the food. I did some research and supposedly high magnesium, phosphorus, and ash can lead to utis. So now Ive Been transitioning her to vital freeze dried rabbit and duck nibs. So far she’s only twitched a few times. There’s been times when she wasn’t eating and freaked out scratching running twitching that’s why it leads me to believe it’s not alllergies. I’m not saying I’m going to give her all the foods she is but the ingredients that were in the rabbit and duck I was convinced she was allergic to aren’t the same reaction. Also when she twitches I grab her and comfort her and she stops or I’ll pull out her toy anything to distract her.
 
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