Anyone know about cat allergies?

Question

We have a gray tabby that we rescued from the pound as a kitten. She apparently has allergy issues because she must itch and scratches herself until she's removed a lot of hair and sometimes into the flesh. We have taken her to the vet a few times but the improvement seems to not last. We'll give her whatever she needs, can anyone help?

Answer 1

You may need an appointment with a feline practitioner who specializes in dermatology.  She will do skin patch tests (just like people get) on the shaved side of the cat, and "read" the results a few days later - amazingly, cats can be allergic to all kinds of things, from flea bites and cockroaches to grass, wool, and mold.  Once the allergin is figured out, the dermatologist will create a series of allergy shots for you to give on a schedule over several months.  

Or, you may have a "nervous" cat; Paxil ( a prescription drug) is very effective, as is the use of Feliway spray.

Answer 2

I'll try!

First, do what you can to remove allergens from her environment.  These are the same things that would irritate you.  Dust, smoke, etc.  If you're using a clay litter, check into finding one with less dust.  Or if you're using one with pine, try a more natural one.

Next up is food trials.  There are three things added to many cat foods that are considered allergens:  corn wheat and soy.  If these items are in your cat food, find a grainless brand.  And if you're feeding dry food, switch to canned.  It's healthier anyway, plus you're less likely to find these nasty ingredients.

Also try another protein source.  Cats have been known to be intolerant of fish and chicken, which are very common ingredients in cat foods.  So you need to find a novel protein source.  Examples are turkey, rabbit, venison, duck, lamb.....basically any meat but fish, chicken or pork (not a good meat for cats).

Slowly transition kitty onto the new food (to avoid digestive upsets), then feed him only that food for perhaps two weeks.  See if the condition improves.  If not, try another protein source.

Always be sure you're choosing a food that avoids the Dread Three (corn, wheat and soy) and it'll be better if there are no grains at all.

This isn't as difficult as it may sound.  Novel protein sources are readily available, just maybe not at the grocery store.

Now, what is your vet doing?  It sounds like he or she may be giving your kitty a shot or something.  Haven't they suggested food trials?  That's rather surprising.  Another vet might be a good idea too....

Answer 3

Hi

Most likely the allergies are from the food and you most likely are feeding dry food aka kitty crack. A grain free canned food should solve the problem.





Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health

Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.

Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingrdiant a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?

http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Rea...

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04...

Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms

The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with grains and carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process.  Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in

Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.

http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_...

You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all.    The best food for cats does not contain any grains at all.

Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies  whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. I would rather feed a middle grade canned food then the top of the line dry food.

Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bp...

Please read about cat nutrition.

                               http://www.newdestiny.us/nutritionbasics...

                               http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.ht...

      http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.ht...

Vetinarian diets  The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies. Vet students may also receive free food for their own dogs and cats at home. They could get an Iams notebook, a Purina purse and some free pizza.  http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04...