Allergies?-long

Hi there! Long time-no post. That is because Sammy is doing fine! Last insulin shot March 8th, 2009. 2 years & 9 months since original diagnosis. Currently diet-controlled on FF, Wellness canned and a little Wellness Core dry each day.

This post is for Barney. Adopted in the December 2008 snowstorm. A real love! But he has seasonal allergies. Right now he has licked a 50 cent piece size spot on his left inner front elbow so much that he is forming some kind of scar tissue. The vet called the scarrs enicinsophelic(sp?) plaques. Last summer the only thing that relieved this was Predinsone shot that had to be repeated 6 weeks later. Then when autumn weather came, it cleared up on it's own. But now the licked, raw spot and plaque formations are back!!! I have tried every lick deterent, millipred pills, clomicalm pills, etc etc.

What can the vet do or I can do to relieve the itching that seems to cause Barney to lick??? Help! I really need some different suggestions. Every time I take Barney to the vet, someone in my family gets fired. I am seriously afraid to go back to the vet #1-because of the Pred #2-fear for my job. I know it is silly to be superstitious, but there you go! That's who I am!

I am headed off to work another day in the crazy pet retail world. Will check in this evening to see what everyone suggests.

 

Well it doesn't hurt to try antihistimines. They don't always work, or sometimes they seem to only help and not completely fix the situtation but it sure doesn't hurt to try. Have you tried any antihisimines?

 

May be a food allergy. You might consider a controlled diet to try to eliminate an offending food constituent. I pre-made raw might be a good starting point.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I never thought of either antihistamines or food allergies. Would you use Benedryl and how much? I already have the capsules for my own allergies.

For a controlled diet, what would you suggest eliminating first? Fish, beef, or poultry flavors??? I could definitely do some controlled feeding of FF. Right now I use all the flavors on the low carb list, but if it would help Barney, we could certainly do limited ingredients. Sammy prefers poultry anyway, so fish would be the easiest to eliminate. BTW, I feed all 3 cats Sammy's low carb diet. No one gets anything that Sammy can't also have.

For either method, how long would it be to see a hint of improvment. Thanks again for the suggestions!!!

 

We are giving Mauser 1/2 of a Zyrtec for his allergies -- seems to be helping

(he licks under his arms too, and once had the thickened plaque)

 

Thanks! Since I have all sorts of allergies, I also have Zyrtec in the house. I will give him 1/2 right now and hope for the best!
Kathy

 

Kathy, I have Folly, the allergic cat in hell. If you can afford it I suggest you see a feline allergist and get Barney in for tests. Seasonal allergies are usually pollens, grasses, molds, etc and there are vaccines that can be compounded for these. This treatment is not cheap. It worked gangbusters for us. If I can be of more help please pm me and I'll be happy to share our story. (The cat in allergy hell is 96 percent better for 3 years without steroids).

 

If I were testing for a food allergy, I would eliminate all possible allergens--Beef, Fish, Wheat gluten, Grains, and Soy. If that helped to clear the problem, then I would start adding items back into the diet until there appeared to be a recurrence of the problem. Then, bingo, I would say that item was the problem.

 

Hi Kathy

You should make an appt to speak to your vet about this, or call her if she's seen your cat recently and discuss things over the phone. I wouldn't just start giving him zyrtec, etc. because another cat is taking XYZ dose of it.

To test for food allergy you need to do a limited ingredient diet for 6 weeks. No FF at all. A limited-allergen diet should have two ingredients and the cat shouldn't have access to other foods. It's a pain in the arse, but worth it if your cat has an allergy. If things clear up on the limited ingredient diet, you can start adding things in (one at a time) to find out what it is, exactly, or you could just keep him on the diet. Your vet would guide you through this.

 

Thanks everyone! Barney has a vet appointment at 9:30 tomorrow morning. Will discuss all your suggestions with him!

 

what happend at the vets?