Tips for cats with allergies?

Freddieandchip

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I had a post last week about my cats lip swelling up. It was confirmed to be allergies but his vet said that it can be difficult to pinpoint what causes allergies in cats. So far I have gotten rid of all plastic, I’m not sure if that was the cause yet, he is fine now but he was given a 12 day allergy shot. I also got omega 3 fish oil to put in his food so strengthen his skin and I’m planning on pulling out all large furniture to vacuum incase it has anything to do with dust. I have also gotten him on a flea preventative. Right now I feed him a chicken based food but I will be monitoring him and if he has any reactions I will get him a different food.

I’m wondering if anyone has any other tips for cats with allergies, he is only 7 months old so I’m assuming that the allergies will get worse with age and I want to make sure I am prepared for anything that happens. If you have any foods or supplements or anything you recommend it would be great! When he had his reaction if came on pretty slow but he was very itchy, getting bald spots on his ears and his lip got very swollen. His vet gave me a whole paper with things I can switch out but he did recommend experimenting rather than taking away every possible allergen at once. I also would love recommendations for hypoallergenic kitten food incase I end up having to switch his food. Right now I feed him wellness kitten food. The pictures are before and after his allergy shot :)
 

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Freddieandchip

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I have such a hard time finding information about cat allergies because everything that comes up is for humans who have allergies to cats
 

moomin

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Hello!

Sorry to hear you are going through that with your beautiful cat.
Unfortunately I'm also having similar problems with my cat. I think her immunity got weaker. Years ago, she had similar problems, but not respiratory like now.

Then she had mild gastro issues and skin issues (scratching herself around head and neck) and ear infection around that time. That was the first time I started giving her probiotics (about 7 years ago) and probiotics helped a lot (cured her yeasty ears in about three weeks) so she's on them ever since. Now I bought probiotics with more strains because old ones were getting too mild for her I guess.

Also years ago I was giving her Omega 3&6 oil but she didn't like the taste so I stopped and can't tell if they were working for her.

Fingers crossed our cats get better!
 
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Freddieandchip

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I hope she feels better! I’m so worried that he will feel more sick as he gets older so I definitely want to research now
 

fionasmom

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The second pic looks much better, at least. In order to find info online about cat allergies, you have to google something like "things cats are allergic to" or "what are cats allergic to". As you found out, as soon as you put "cat allergies", you get all the sites which are for people who are allergic to cats.

11 Key Facts About Food Allergies In Cats – TheCatSite Articles
Cat Allergies: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments, Diagnosis
Food Allergies In Cats | VCA Animal Hospitals
7 Common Cat Allergies | PetMD

The VCA article gives suggestions for types of food to try. Your vet may have given you identical information to what I posted here already. He is right about keeping track of what you are eliminating or swapping out systematically; if you do everything at once, you won't know what worked.

The 7 Best Hypoallergenic Cat Foods of 2022
12 Best Cat Foods for Allergies: Hypoallergenic Reviews 2022 | Pet Keen

Some examples of hypoallergenic cat food. I don't feed any of them, so can't speak personally.

Allergies?
 
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Freddieandchip

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The second pic looks much better, at least. In order to find info online about cat allergies, you have to google something like "things cats are allergic to" or "what are cats allergic to". As you found out, as soon as you put "cat allergies", you get all the sites which are for people who are allergic to cats.

11 Key Facts About Food Allergies In Cats – TheCatSite Articles
Cat Allergies: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments, Diagnosis
Food Allergies In Cats | VCA Animal Hospitals
7 Common Cat Allergies | PetMD

The VCA article gives suggestions for types of food to try. Your vet may have given you identical information to what I posted here already. He is right about keeping track of what you are eliminating or swapping out systematically; if you do everything at once, you won't know what worked.

The 7 Best Hypoallergenic Cat Foods of 2022
12 Best Cat Foods for Allergies: Hypoallergenic Reviews 2022 | Pet Keen

Some examples of hypoallergenic cat food. I don't feed any of them, so can't speak personally.

Allergies?
Thank you!
 

ArtNJ

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Here is a more targeted link, speciic to swollen lip in cats which I think will be helpful: 9 Surprising Reasons Your Cat's Lip Is Swollen It starts by noting that just as your vet diagnosed, allergies are indeed the #1 cause of this, and has some tips that more generic cat allergy links maybe don't, like even if you switch food bowls to avoid possible allergies, wash it with hot soapy water between EVERY meal. Also goes through the alternative causes, which are helpful to think about since we do hear about vets missing stuff pretty regularly.
 
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Freddieandchip

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Here is a more targeted link, speciic to swollen lip in cats which I think will be helpful: 9 Surprising Reasons Your Cat's Lip Is Swollen It starts by noting that just as your vet diagnosed, allergies are indeed the #1 cause of this, and has some tips that more generic cat allergy links maybe don't, like even if you switch food bowls to avoid possible allergies, wash it with hot soapy water between EVERY meal. Also goes through the alternative causes, which are helpful to think about since we do hear about vets missing stuff pretty regularly.
Thank you so much! I’ll definitely look at that. Hoped it’s something that I’m able to control, I would feel terrible if it was seasonal allergies, especially because he loves when I leave the glass door open so he can sit by the screen door in this weather but it did start right when the weather got a little warmer
 
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