Monroe's dark side

[cats4ever]

As much as I'm worried about Monroe and as sweet as he is with his humans, every now and then he will attack his sister Mindy, and not just playfully. She has never got hurt, but it always scares me.
Usually this behavior surfaces, when his allergies are acting up, which, I'm sure, make him very uncomfortable.
Since he can't take prednisolone anymore, I'm worried this might get worse. The past few days he has been after Mindy, and last night, he attacked Olive.
He has been put on Prozac for this a long time ago, but it doesn't always work.
I noticed some bald spots coming up on his skin, so I know that he's starting to get really itchy.
I tried Chlorpheniramine and Hydroxizine, both antihistamines. Unfortunately, his allergies are too severe.
His vet said she would do some research on dog allergy drugs (Apoquel and Cytopoint), maybe somebody has used them off-label on cats.

Monroe's bald spots (as of Friday):

[Karen]

Oh dear. Do the gir;ls have hide holes where they can go to escape him when he gets like this? I hope your vet can find something that works for his allergies!

[cats4ever]

Yes, they have hidy holes, but once he has them cornered they are too afraid to run and he won't let them.

[Randi]

Poor Monroe... and the cats he attack. Do you know what he is allergic to? Could it be a certain kind of food, or a side effect from the medicine he gets?

I hope the vet can find a solution.

[cats4ever]

Poor Monroe... and the cats he attack. Do you know what he is allergic to? Could it be a certain kind of food, or a side effect from the medicine he gets?

I hope the vet can find a solution.

Monroe had allergies since he was 6 months old. He has been on food trials and he has been tested for allergies, which was a very bad experience:
The lab did the test, and based on the results (dandelion ?), they made the allergy serum for him. I injected him for 3 months, when all of a sudden the lab contacted the vet that they had messed up. The results were totally bogus and they made the serum based on those results.
I was scared to death that I had harmed Monroe with those injections. He was ok. Needless to say that I did not repeat the test, and I got all my money ($400 for test and serum) refunded.
I don't know for sure what he's allergic to, I assume airborne allergens like pollen and dust mites. The allergies are worse in the spring and fall.
Today I found more bald spots on him.

[cats4ever]

...got a little lighter. Since he's getting his Prozac on a regular basis again, his aggression against Mindy seems to have mostly subsided. He was off schedule, when he got sick and wasn't barely eating.
What's also helping is that his allergies seem to stall right now Keeping my fingers crossed that it 'll stay that way for a while.

[phesina]

Well, that's good news! Way to go, Monroe!

[Catty1]

What a relief - for Monroe too!

[SANDY FROST]

Is it possible that Monroe saw another kitty looking out the window and took it out on her sister. It's called redirected aggression. I've had cats related or non-related and this happens. I f I see this happen I get a toy to distract the cat and another good thing is get a humming bird feeder makes a great cat TV he'll watch for hours.

[cats4ever]

Is it possible that Monroe saw another kitty looking out the window and took it out on her sister. It's called redirected aggression. I've had cats related or non-related and this happens. I f I see this happen I get a toy to distract the cat and another good thing is get a humming bird feeder makes a great cat TV he'll watch for hours.

It's usually his allergies that make him uncomfortable and therefore aggressive. Now that he has been on Apoquel for a while, his skin is great, and he's a lot better with his sister.