cat w allergies

pokey

Warrior Princess
11 Years
Jun 1, 2008
1,313
6
171
upstate
I have had to take our cat to the vet for several weeks.she has had several cortisone shots and prednisone prescriptions.she sratches and her ears get that brown discharge like ear mites,but its not.the vet thought it might be food,so we changed food.then changed bowls.I am wondering if its the cat litter.has anyone had a cat allergic to the litter? She also has very reddish skin all over.
 
Did this just start happening? or is it a long term issue?
how old is the cat?
Allergies can be from anything...dust (like if it started around the time you turned on the furnace this year) or food or pollen. Allergies of all types cause skin reactions that can lead to yeast infections in the ears. Overproduction of wax causes yeast build up and a brown smelly discharge. The steroids usually help them to be more comfortable, but you have to fix the underlying problem (or treat seasonally if it's a pollen/dust like thing).
Cleaning the ears can help get the yeast under control and ease that discomfort.
If the paws are very red in between the toe pads then maybe it could be from the cat litter. Did you recently switch?

food allergies can be difficult to treat/diagnose. It will take 6-8 weeks on a specialized diet to see if there is any change in the skin. You can give them benadryl to help as well (it is ok with the pred/injections) the dose for a standard size cat (8-13lbs) is 1/4 tablet (of adult strength 25 mg). But this will only provide temporary relief and will likely cause drowsiness. Benadryl is a 2-3 times per day medication.
 
She came to us in may.she wad about two months old.it actually started when she wad about 6 months old and right after she was spayed.nothing else in the house has changed and the other cat that is 11 is fine.she is pink all over.
 
The best thing to do is to have allergy testing done to determine what she is allergic to. My cat is allergic to about everything on our farm and sometimes has skin problems when she has contact with grass or hay.

I have him on a special diet and for the most part there are no more problems. He was at the point were he was scratching himself until he bled and had scabs all over his body.

Our labrador has grain allergies and had yeast in his ears and a skin rash on his belly for over a year. I put him on the same type of food that my cat eats and he cleared up in about 10 days and put on about 17 pounds in a month. (he had always been on the thin side)
 
She has has so much of the steroids that the vet told us we would need to wait about 4 months for the test.she seemed to improve after I bought the fragrance free litter.I thought maybe it was her getting over the food,now I am thinking its the litter
 
Maybe ask your vet if you can get the allergy testing done by Heska. Their testing is so sensitive it doesn't require a withdrawl period from steroids. At least not for dogs. Good luck with finding your kitty's problem!

Fancy
 
I have a Ragdoll that is allergic to a ton of stuff. I had allergy bloodwork done on him, and I know what he is allergic to. I have switched his food, he is on allergy shots twice a month, and a half of a Benadryl twice a day. But the thing that has really helped me is Soft Paws. This poor guy would scratch and scratch till he was bloody all over his body. He is declawed in the front, and I use the Soft Paws on his back feet. They are little plastic caps that go over the claws. It took him about a week to get used to them, but after that he is fine with them. (and he is super styling with his purple toes!) If you can afford to get the bloodwork done and find out what your poor kitty is allergic to, I would do it, the shots have made Rods life so much better.
 

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