Allergy testing? Steroids? Other options/ideas?

Has anyone had allergy testing done on their cat? I am talking about the real deal where they shave a section of the cat's side and stick them with a bunch of needles, each with a different allergen. I have been told, and everything I have read seems to agree, that is the only allergy testing that is really accurate. Supposedly, the blood or saliva tests are not. I really want to know specifically what Willow is allergic to so we can proceed accordingly, but I just don't think I can put her through that. Is it as horrible as it seems?

Also, I avoid steroids like the plague, but am I being unreasonable on that? In August, the hair above Willow's eyes, the right one especially, thinned, and the skin was pink. She was itchy and had a few little spots where she had scratched herself. The vet told me to cleanse the area and apply Tritop a couple of times a day. I had just tried a couple of new foods (Tiki Cat Velvet Mousse), so I assumed she had been allergic to something in them and discontinued them immediately. The vet said that if the Triptop did not work, steroids was the next option, or I could take her to see a dermatologist who would probably want to do allergy testing.

Right after that, Willow had to have dental extractions, and due to infection that was present, she was given two Convenia shots. The issue around her eyes cleared up. It started coming back over the last couple of weeks. She also has little spots where she has scratched herself around her neck and ears. There are no fleas. The only new thing around here is cat grass. I have had it around since Sept for Mia. Would it have taken two months for symptoms to show up if she is allergic to that? I also can't help but wonder if it is something that the Convenia held off, and it's return is because that is now totally out of her system.

I have been wiping the areas with a warm, wet cloth, and applying Triptop where there were any spots. It seems to be a bit better, but I really want to get rid of it. Willow has been allergy-prone for most of her life. She is 'sniffly' and sneezes. She also has asthma. I have been giving her Zyrtec every day since March. For the last couple of months, I have been giving her Cerenia every other day because her asthma attacks are virtually non-existent when she is on it. I also have a crazy amount of air filtration going on in my house to try and reduce allergens as much as possible. Any experiences/thoughts/ideas are appreciated. Thanks!

 

I don't have a solution but just thought I would chime in. Zoe is allergy prone too and has been all her life. She seems to flare with season changes and her response is to lick constantly especially her neck which results in crusty patches (not hair loss) but it concentrates under chin around mouth and her neck. A shot of depo medrol usually calms this down for several months. I am an RN and my clinic deals with steroid injections for painful joints and for back pain too, so I am aware of the impact on humans glucose levels and bone softening if used too frequently. I always worried that the steroid injections might throw Zoe into diabetes but thankfully she usually only received a depo medrol shot approx 2 times a year. When the licking and crusting were at their worst, she too received Covenia for the skin infection and it cleared right up. She responded well and thank goodness for that! and my ignorance over possible negative reactions to the Covenia shots. After reading how Lisa DVM despises Covenia and how it can be deadly for some cats, I would have freaked if I had known that information earlier.

Zoe's response has been good to the last pre diabetic steroid shot, and she has been calm and itch free for the past 6 months or so. Flash forward to early October when she received the diagnosis of diabetes. (did the steroids do it or is it because her immune system has always been weakened and at war because of allergies--I don't know). At any rate, I have gotten a handle on testing and injecting her with her vetsulin and she has adapted to accepting the shots so that part of our life has calmed down, but low and behold I have seen her licking a little more and she is starting to crust up a little under her chin area. I am dreading the time that it gets worse and I will have to decide to have her dosed again with depo medrol. (of note at first we thought it might be a plastic allergy since it was around mouth and chin so I covered her self feeder with tin foil and never used plastic bowls for wet food, but that didn't resolve the issue). I was told by the vet that allergy testing is expensive so I would want to avoid it unless other options exhausted. Being that the diabetes diagnosis,UTI, and 2 day stay at the vet cost me right at $1k, I am not wanting to go down that road! Her food has changed completely since being diabetic. She was a kibble eater and occ fancy feast gravy lovers wet food. Now it is wet food all the way and the pate only. So I have no clue other than summer to fall weather change as to why she is starting up again with the licking.

I feel your pain with the allergy issue on top of having a diabetic kitty. All I know is for humans a corticosteroid shot (depo medrol) impacts the blood glucose by raising levels for about 3 days. For a cat I am not sure if it is the same or longer. But if the misery is too bad, then for myself I will have to opt for getting the shot and maybe having to increase her insulin dose for the few days that the steroid is making her levels high rather than see the poor kitty constantly lick and scratch herself sore.

 

You are being cautious, not unreasonable. But you have to look at the whole cat, and if she is miserable it may be necessary.

 

I’ve given a few of my allergy prone civies steroids, but like you, I try to avoid them. You say you’ve been giving Zyrtec. Does it help? If not, maybe try a different antihistamine. I have allergies myself and not all antihistamines work equally well on me. Also check out MSM as it can help with some allergies.

 

Thanks for the responses, ladies. @Sharon14 , the Zyrtec does seem to help some, at least with the sniffles and sneezes, and as an added bonus, it increases her appetite. I was feeling pretty good about things until the newer symptoms. I am not sure what other antihistamine to try. I do not want one of the 1st generation ones that cause drowsiness. I got some MSM previously when Mia had a mysterious limp. (I think it was you that recommended it.) I was adding some to their food for awhile but stopped because it seemed to keep them from eating as much. (They have super powers of knowing when anything is in their food.) I may have to revisit it. Willow's back legs are looking really stiff these days, so it would probably help with that, too.

@sybil, the fact that Zoe ended up with diabetes adds to my steroid fears. I have seen several people come here whose cats' diabetes seemed to have been triggered by steroids. My vet assured me that short-term use of oral steroids would be fine, but in comes my paranoia about ANY steroids. @Maggies Mom Debby, I don't think she is 'miserable', but I'm sure it is not comfortable when she feels itchy. It is hard to know how uncomfortable it is because you know how cats are. She does not scratch all the time, but does several times during the day.

The vet told me she has referred others to the dermatologist for the testing and that the resulting treatments have had wonderful results, but I just don't know if it is worth putting Willow through it. She is 16 1/2 and hates even just going to the vet. It is always such a hard call deciding how far to go with things and when the rewards outweigh the risks.

 

Just remembering this, I bought some of the George’s Aloe Vera Juice that was recommended here for one of my civies with a digestive problem. I had a lot left over and read somewhere that it was also good for the skin, so I put some in a spray bottle and used it on myself for my itchy allergy skin. Seems like it took a few days, but it really helped. I am going to try it on one of my cats next, may have to rub it on him as I don’t think he’ll like the spray. Don’t have to worry about them licking it off since it’s for internal use. May be Worth a look.