My cat has an allergy!

[snowshoe2]

Help! I need some advice/reassurance that my cat is not the only one to have an allergy.
Since July he has been having bouts with a violent sneeze/cough type sound. The vet initally put him on Amoxitabs and Pred. That helped, but within a month it's back again. Another round of meds, and he's better. This goes on for 4 months and the vet decides it's time to investigate further.
He just spent 3 days at the vets getting x-rays (which showed nothing out of the norm) and just staying in a sterile, controlled environment. After the first day there, the vet said his sneezing/coughing let up and his eyes weren't runny anyomore.
Vet says it has to be an allergy, but that it would be nearly impossible to pinpoint what's causing it. It could be one or a combination of things contributing to it.
Sends kitty home with chlorpheniramine and says wait and see how long we're at home before symptoms return, then start the med.
Well we were barely in the house and he sneezed and within an hour his eye is red with yellow matter forming on it. I wasn't going to wait until it got worse, so I started him on the med right then and there.
He hasn't had any of the violent episodes of sneezing and coughing, just a sniff or two, but his eyes are still filled with yellow matter and he's sleeping alot.
Has anyone else experienced anything similar to this? Have you given a cat Chlorpheniramine? What were your results?
Help, I'm so worried about my little guy. He's an 8 yr. old Snowshoe. The first one pictured.

[Russian Blue]

I'm sorry you're going through this. Allergy problems are so hard to figure out. I'm currently going through this with my cat, Nakita and we're going through food trials.

If the cat reacted within a short time of being home, have you considered environmental problems in your house? Do you have carpets, use any sprays (Febreeze, carpet cleaner, air fresheners etc.?) There may even be a chance that mold is in your house since pets would be the first to exhibit signs.

You may want to look into home environmental testing. Just a thought.

[Freedom]

Poor kitty, I know how I feel when MY allergies act up!

Since you have had the kitty 8 years, think of something you have just recently added to the house, along the lines suggested by Russian Blue. Did you get new carpets? Could be the rug, could be the adhesive. Did you decide to switch from Lysol to Oust, just because of a sale? Could be something like that.

Doesn't sound like a food reaction if he started almost as soon as he got in the house. What type of heating system do you have? Forced hot air? Maybe the vents need to be cleaned. I did a thread on that a bit ago.

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...forced+hot+air

Maybe these ideas will give you some help in tracking down the source. Best wishes.

[snowshoe2]

Thanks for the replies.
I have racked my brain trying to think of something, anything, new that might have been a trigger for this. Can't think of anything. We don't smoke, which the vet said was a big problem for alot of cats, no new rugs, carpets or furniture. I haven't even changed launrdy detergents. I do burn candles occasionally, but not in the summer and this has been going on since July or possibly longer. One think I have thought of is that I switched litter brands earlier this year. Went from using Scoop Away to Wal-Mart Special Kitty Scoopable.....hmmm, I wonder.

The Chlorpheniramine has been keeping the sneezing/coughing at a minimum, but his one eye is terribly red with lots of filmy stuff all over it. I've been wiping it out with a cotton ball warmed with water. I'm calling the vet again tomorrow. Just don't know what else to do. I might try Scoop Away again and see if that makes a difference.....

[Catty1]

By all means, change the litter!

I suspect Wal-Mart manufacturers care more about the bottom line than they do the health of any pets that might use their products!

It's worth a try.

[iamgobsmacked]

Do you by any Chance have scented candles, air wick fresheners, incense, in the house. Do you use products like febreeze? Cats sense of smell is extremely acute. Strong fragrances can make them very sick. Essential oils can be deadly to felines. Make sure you use an unscented litter. Remove all fragrances from the home, and be careful will all cleaning products that have a strong odor like pine sol, Lysol. Cats fine prey like mice by smelling their location in the dark. The olfactory senses can go berserk when they encounter strong odors. This would be the first place I would start. Also bear in mind that after so many rounds of anti-biotics and immune suppressing Prednisone that the cats natural immune system has been disabled. The good bacteria should be replaced in order to help the natural balance to return.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

That litter must be the reason!! I would change back to the old brand asap!

btw, my Maya has an allergy too: to fleabites!!! She doesn' have any, but everytime she "meets" on in the garden, she gets a very dry and itchy spot on her back! So I have to give her Frontline every month now