cat has allergies?

[MyCatPaulie]

Hello everyone, I need some advice please. My cat Paulie has been itching since last fall. Here is some info..

We got her last June but she didn't start itching bad until last fall. Her papers from the SPCA said she had thinning hair on her tail probably due to an old flea allergy but her vet said she has no fleas now.

Last fall her chest broke out in little red scabs, those were bad until late spring, we don't know if they cleared up when our forced air furnace was turned off or if they went away because the Z/D was helping. She was on the Z/D from May until August and seemed to be getting better but we had to stop because she got really sick and we think it was a bad batch of food, her stomach never seemed right on the Z/D anyway's she had soft stools since she started it.
If she does have a food allergy we would like to find the source so that she can avoid those foods and not have to stay on a hydrolyzed diet forever since they aren't nutritious. After she had to come off the Z/D we tried Wellness but now she's itching more again. I don't know what to do, here is all the foods she has tried.


Nutro Max Salmon dry (she wasn't itching too much on this but she was on it during the summer before our forced air furnace was turned on)



Nutro Max Chicken wet (It seemed like she got worse when we added wet food into her diet but that was also around the time our furnace was turned on as well)


Natural Balance Original Ultra Premium dry and wet



Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck dry and wet contains no wheat, barley, rice or corn


Z/D (This seemed like it was starting to help but we had to stop it because of a bad batch and her stomach never seemed right on this food anyway's)


Wellness complete health salmon and turkey



We did notice that all of the foods she's ever been contain some kind of poultry, maybe she has a poultry allergy.


We thought about trying this food because it has no poultry in it...

Royal Canine limited Ingredient GREEN PEAS and VENISON FORMULA Dry

Ground pea, venison meal, pea protein, coconut oil, natural flavors, venison,
vegetable oil, sodium bisulfate, fish oil, monocalcium phosphate, DL-methionine,
salt, taurine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, Vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol
acetate (source of vitamin E), inositol, niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-
polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine
hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), thiamine
mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement,
vitamin D3 supplement], Trace Minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols and citric acid.



Would this be a good choice? I don't know if we should take him to a dermotologist or just keep trying different foods? Does anyone know How allergy test work, can they tell for sure if she has a food or inhaled allergy and what food it is? Thanks for your help any advice at all would help! :0)

[Freedom]

Try the Royal Canin; a limited ingredient food is a good option.

My cat Bobby had terrible allergies when I got him as a kitten. I tried various foods, couldn't make any progress, so vet referred us to the specialist for the allergy testing. This was 3 years back; it was expensive, $400 as I recall.

Got the report back, he is allergic to 4 trees (all in my next door neighbor's yard), 3 grasses (2 of those types in my lawn) and a few other things.

Got the stuff and gave him the shots here at home, myself. That first summer, I had to keep the windows closed on days when I or any neighbor mowed the lawn. I kept him in my bedroom, often w/ the door shut to keep that one room "clean."

After one year of shots, Bobby was fine! No problems since, and no need for the shots either. So for Bobby, it was worth it!

[MyCatPaulie]

Freedom, thank you so much for the info!!! I'm glad Bobby is doing better now. How dose allergy testing work, are they put to sleep or in pain when it's done? I'm worried about Paulie being allergic to mold because our basement was flooded a few years ago which caused a mold problem. Some service came and did an air test and said it was fine now but it still has a funny smell to it. He did get a lot worse in the winter when out heat was turned on too. Thanks so much again !

[Medusa]

My cat Creamsicle has allergies, too, but we still don't know what she's allergic to. My vet seems to think that it may be environmental rather than food but he said that allergy testing is expensive and we still may not find out what's causing her itching. She was on Prednisolone but she gained a lot of weight on it so my vet switched her to Medrol and the itching and hair loss has stopped. She hasn't lost any weight, though. Her hair loss was so extreme that she lost almost all the fur off her tail and she had bald spots all over her body, poor little thing. The itching is maddening; my vet said it's like having poison ivy. I'm glad that your kitty is doing better and we hope to see pix soon. :)

[columbine]

My Smudge is itchy-allergic, and with the help of the vet I've worked out a multifaceted approach that keeps his itching to a minimum:

1) Grain-free food (he loves Indigo Moon kibble!)

2) Chlorpheniramine twice a day (ground up & dissolved in water, mixed in 1/4 can of either Natural Balance Limited Ingredients or Soulistic wet food)

3) Omega Caps skin & coat supplement (just strengthens his skin)

4) Prescription prednisolone transdermal, wiped inside his ear every other night. I mail-order that from Wedgewood Pharmacy (http://www.wedgewoodpetrx.com/), but the vet has to call in the prescription.

I think he has some environmental allergies too, but kicking the grain out of his diet made a big dent in the itching, and the meds keep the rest manageable.

Good luck! Might we see a photo of Paulie?

Love, Columbine

[MyCatPaulie]

Here is a picture of Paulie when we enterd him in a cuetst pet contest ;0)
http://www.wetv.com/pictureperfectpet/rating.php/26489?senttofriend=yes

Thank you both so much for your help!
Do you know how fast after she eats whatever she is allergic to an outbreak would pop up? I feed her just a small amount of this new food and it seemed like immediately she had a bump on her neck? I also gave her some laxaton earlier that day because since she was throwing up I didn't want there to be a hairball stuck, now we know it was probably the Z/D making her sick but I didn't know then so could the laxaton be making her itch, that was last Saturday and she is still itching today, would that be out of her system by now? And does anyone know if probiotics are a good idea since we have been switching his food around so much?

Also someone said the Rabbit and green pea food would be better than the venison do you agree?
Here's what's in the Rabbit and Green Pea
Ground pea, rabbit meal, pea protein, coconut oil, rabbit, vegetable oil, natural
flavors, calcium sulfate, fish oil, sodium bisulfate, monocalcium phosphate,
DL-methionine, salt, taurine, Vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of
vitamin E), inositol, niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of
vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6),
riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin
A acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], choline
chloride, Trace Minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese
proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate,
sodium selenite], rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols and
citric acid.

Sorry I have so many questions, I just love Paulie so much and I want him to feel better.

[columbine]

Paulie is a cutie!

I never heard of a cat being allergic to Laxatone, but it's not the best response to hairballs, because it coats the inside of the intestine and keeps cats from being able to absorb the nutrients they need from their food. Hairballs aren't a health problem, really - they're actually a normal part of the way a cat's body works, unless the cat gets them so often that they never want to eat.

As far as which food is better - it'll really depend on your cat's specific allergies. But it does take a long time for an allergy to make itself known, and longer (3-4 weeks) for it to quiet after the allergen is removed. I know that a lot of cats are allergic to beef, but it doesn't sound like Paulie's been getting beef anyway. Identifying an allergen can take a really long time. Work with your vet to find strategies to keep Paulie comfortable while you slowly but surely track down the culprit.

Good luck, and gentle pets and tummy rubs to Paulie!

Love, Columbine

[Freedom]

Just clicked to see Paulie girl's photo, what a sweetie pie!

The allergy test is just a blood draw, very quick. The cat is not "put under," and only feels a pin prick. Some don't notice, other cats can be drama queens, lol.

Once I switched my cats to a grain free food, I no longer had to use laxatone; with the proper food, they don't HAVE hairballs! Hairballs are not normal, and in the wild, cats did not have this issue. It is due to the improper foods we feed them.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Hi and welcome to PT.:D Paulie sure is adorable.:) My cat Pearl is allergic to grains. She would break out on her lips and chin and ever since I started feeding her a grain free diet, she's never had another problem. My oldest cat Storm became very itchy after I adopted him about 13 1/2 years ago. I was feeding him a lot foods that had fish in them. My vet at the time said that many cats are allergic to fish. He was so itchy that he was losing the fur on his ears. When I changed his diet to one without much fish in it,back then pretty much everything had some fish in it, he improved and his fur grew back.

I do know that when you do a food trial that the cat needs to be on that food for about 6-8 weeks before you notice an improvement. In my cases it didn't take that long. I was feeding everyone Innova Evo dry and canned but since Procter & Gamble bought them out I switched to Nature's Variety dry and canned. Unfortunately after a while the Nature's Variety dry food didn't agree with 5 out of 6 cats so now I'm feeding then Natural Balance Green Pea & Chicken dry, Nature's Variety Rabbit, Duck, & Vension canned, Natural Balance Duck & Green Pea, and also the Chicken & Green Pea. So far so good. I have heard that some cats are allergic to chicken so this may be part of Paulie's problem. I try to stay away from Beef and Fish. I hope you'll be able to find the right diet for Paulie. Good luck.:)

[Catlady711]

Depending on how allergic a cat is to something you could see an allergic reaction within hours or days of exposure.

I used to feed Royal Canin Duck and Peas to my RB cat Dusty. It's a good food.

It takes approx 6-12 weeks to know if a new food is eliminating the allergy. You have to be SURE that the cat gets absolutely NOTHING else during that time, no treats, no people food, no milk, etc. If after 3 months there is no improvement then it's probably time to go looking elsewhere for the cause of the allergies. Cats can have allergies to dust, pollen, and things just like people do.

Testing is expensive but may help narrow down the possibilities and if necessary an injection can be formulated for your cats particular allergies. But the testing is not 100% but when the other main culprits (fleas/food) haven't worked it may be a good option to try.

BTW, it only takes the bite of one flea to cause an allergic reaction in an animal that's highly sensitive to them. Does your vet have you treating your cat with anything to prevent them just in case?

I hope things work out for your kitty. I know how frustrating it is to see them miserable and not know what to do to help them faster.

[Freedom]

i hope things work out for your kitty. I know how frustrating it is to see them miserable and not know what to do to help them faster.

ditto!!

[MyCatPaulie]

I just came online for a sec to check any updates and thank you all so much for your help and kind words about Paulie!!! You guys have some beautiful pets as well, Freedom all of your cats are adorable, I especially love Chestnut! CatLady711 what a bunch of sweethearts, Jack is my favorite he looks so peaceful. kraztaboutkatz all of your cats look so cute, I just want to cuddle up with blaze.

Thank you so much again everyone!!!!!!!!!! :love:

[MyCatPaulie]

Hi everyone, just a quick update my vet wants me to try the RC green pea and rabbit, the only thing that concerns me is that it has fish oil in it, if she ever is allergic to fish would fish oil be a problem. I could not find a food that has no chicken or fish in it. I will come on soon to update you gusy more. :love:

[Karen]

Hi everyone, just a quick update my vet wants me to try the RC green pea and rabbit, the only thing that concerns me is that it has fish oil in it, if she ever is allergic to fish would fish oil be a problem. I could not find a food that has no chicken or fish in it. I will come on soon to update you gusy more. :love:

Yes, if she is allergic to fish, the fish oil will affect her. Speaking as a human with food allergies, I know this very well.

Tell Paulie I am allergic to fish, too, it's not just her!

[MyCatPaulie]

I will tell Paulie for you Karen :)
What do you think I should do should I try the Rabbit and green pea even though it has fish oil in it (we already ordered it)
Or try a food with no fish in it like
BLUE Buffalo Basics Turkey and Potato Recipe Dry


Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal, Whole Potatoes, Oatmeal, Peas, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Canola Oil (naturally preserved with Mixed, a natural source of Vitamin E), Natural Turkey Flavor, Flaxseed (natural source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Whole Carrots, Cranberries, Blueberries, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, L-Carnitine, -Lysine, Turmeric, Oil of Rosemary, Dried Chicory Root, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Choline Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Salt, Caramel, Potassium Chloride, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecium.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I would try the RC Green Pea & Rabbit for a while and she how she does on it. I know it's very hard to find a cat food that doesn't have any fish in it. My cat Storm seems to be okay with fish oil in his food but if the main ingedients are fish then he seems to become very itchy and have problems. Many cats are allergic to grains so I would try this RC grain free limited protein diet for a while and hopefully Paulie will do well on it. Good luck and please continue to keep us updated about her.:)

[MyCatPaulie]

Thanks for your help krazyaboutkatz! I just talked to someone at RC and they said the fish oil they use they take the protien out and I guess that's the part cats are allergic too. I'm glad storm is better ;)

[MyCatPaulie]

Does anyone know I forgot to ask my vet, I know that since he's going to be on a food trial I should give him nothing else besides this food, I do brush his teeth with something the vet gave me called Virbac oral hygiene rinse should I stop using this or since there's no flavors in it is it ok to use, here is the immigrants
Chlorhexidine gluconate (0.12%), Cetylpyridinium chloride (0.05%), and Zinc in a soothing alcohol-free vehicle.

[MyCatPaulie]

Hey everybody, just wanted to come on with a quick update. When we went to the vet last week she wanted us to start using revolution again and since them Paulie's itch has been better. He's still itching but not as bad. He's been eating Wellness for two weeks now and there are no bumps on her neck, does anyone know if she is allergic to something in this food if they would be broken out by now. I don't know if we should keep her on this wellness and see how it goes or try the royal canin which we already ordered? Also does anyone know if cats can be allergic to thickening agents like guar gym in wet food?

[krazyaboutkatz]

This sounds very promising.:) I'd try her with this food for a while. If you keep on switching food, you'll never know what works for her. I don't know about any allergies to thickening agents like guar gum.

Do you think that she just had fleas all of this time or maybe mites? Maybe the Revolution is what she needed all along.

[MyCatPaulie]

HI krazyaboutkatz :).
I finally decided to take Paulie to a dermatologist on October 4th, I love my vet but I think a specialist could help us a little more, I don't think he had fleas all along because he was on revolution last fall but we took him off to make sure he wasn't allergic to that. It's just so weird that he's itching but not breaking out yet and the itching could be from the fleas. When he breaks out in little scabs they are always on his neck and chest my vet said that means it's a food allergy, do you know if that's true?

[Catlady711]

HI krazyaboutkatz :).
I finally decided to take Paulie to a dermatologist on October 4th, I love my vet but I think a specialist could help us a little more, I don't think he had fleas all along because he was on revolution last fall but we took him off to make sure he wasn't allergic to that. It's just so weird that he's itching but not breaking out yet and the itching could be from the fleas. When he breaks out in little scabs they are always on his neck and chest my vet said that means it's a food allergy, do you know if that's true?

There are about 2 dozen things I can think of off the top of my head that can cause itching, hair loss, and scabbing on a pet.

Most vets will try the food trials first because it's one of the easiest, cheapest things to try and a common causes of allergies. For a food trial to be effective you have to feed the new food EXCLUSIVELY for 6-8 weeks. That means no treats, no people food, no goodies, no other foods during that time.

Flea bite allergy is another common cause of itching and another relatively easy/cheap one to eliminate. It can take as few as ONE flea bite to cause an allergic reaction that may take a week or more to recover from. You don't necessarily have to see the fleas to have a single one sneak on, have a bite, then hop off to lay eggs leaving behind an itchy pet.

Pets can also suffer from pollen and environmental allergies like people do which can cause alot of itching.

Dry skin can also cause a fair amount of itching.

In addition, regardless of original cause, constant scratching by an itchy pet can lead to skin infections that can make the whole situation worse.

I hope the dermatologist can help shed some light on things for you. Too bad they couldn't get you in sooner though.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm glad to hear that you'll be taking Paulie to a specialist. Hopefully this doctor will finally be able to find out whats going on with Paulie. Good luck.:)

I only have experience with Storm losing the fur on his ears because he became very itchy from eating fish. I've also had some cats that would get feline acne on their chins from time to time even though I fed them out of stainless steel bowls.

My Pearl has Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex which causes her to break out on her lips and chin. It can be caused by an allergic reaction to fleas, a food allergy, or an airborne allergy. I think she may have a food allergy even though my vet said that this hasn't been proven to cause this disease. I treat all of my cats every month with advantage so no one has fleas. Pearl actually broke out again a few days ago so she's now on prednisolone for several weeks. The last time she broke out was on 4-1-08. I recently changed everyones diet so this may be the cause but it could also be just a coincidence.

[MyCatPaulie]

Thanks so much to the both of you for your help! I have the bag of royal canin green pea and rabbit but I don't know if I should start her on it or just keep her on the wellness, that way if she does start breaking out the vet can see what her bumps look like. It worries me that I can't find any reviews on that food, do you know anyone who has tried the royal canin limited ingredient diets? I'm going to call the dermatologist back on Monday to tell them if they have any cancellations to let us know so we can get him in sooner. I will keep you guys posted for sure! Thanks again for the help! :love:

[Catlady711]

Thanks so much to the both of you for your help! I have the bag of royal canin green pea and rabbit but I don't know if I should start her on it or just keep her on the wellness, that way if she does start breaking out the vet can see what her bumps look like. It worries me that I can't find any reviews on that food, do you know anyone who has tried the royal canin limited ingredient diets? I'm going to call the dermatologist back on Monday to tell them if they have any cancellations to let us know so we can get him in sooner. I will keep you guys posted for sure! Thanks again for the help! :love:


I've never personallly used the Pea and Rabbit formula, but I had Dusty on the Pea and Duck formula for a time as a diet elimination trial. She liked the food well enough, although in her case it turned out that she just had mental issues rather than a food allergy. We have some clients on Royal Canin vet diets our more popular ones being the one I had Dusty on and the Hypoallergenic 23 formula. We've had pretty good results with both if it did turn out to be a food allergy.

You need to pick one food (whether Wellness or the Royal Canin) and STICK WITH IT for 2 months minimum. The body can take up to 2 months to recover from an allergic reaction to something and if you're changing foods more often than that it will be impossible to know what's helping/hurting there.

[MyCatPaulie]

Thanks so much for your help Catlady711! On Friday we were going to start giving her the green pea and duck so I mixed in 13 peices of that with the wellness, then we deicded to just keep her on the wellness until she sees the dermotologist but today she is having soft stools again, would the green pea and rabbit be the problem, she tried nateral balance green pea and duck and that didn't agree with her so I'm worried about the rabbit. Thanks again for the help! :love:

[Catlady711]

Any diet change, particularly if done rapidly, can cause loose stools. Some pets just simply don't get along with all foods. For right now just stick with that Wellness until you see the specialist. If the loose stools continue you might want to see your regular vet before that just to rule out any other problems.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Yes, changing a cats diet can cause loose stools at first. I've been trying to do some more research about good diets for cats and I came across this great link that tells all about what a cats diet should be. I found it very informative even though I did know some of the information already. Here's the link: http://www.catinfo.org/.

[MyCatPaulie]

Thanks for your help everyone. Paulie has been on this wellness for a month today and no breakouts but I don't know if you saw my post about his soft stools coming back. I have to give him a five day trial of Met but if that doesn't work the vet said I will have to change his food again. I don't know what to do, now we finally found a healthy food that seems to help his allergies and we might have to change it. I read that natural foods like wellness can be too rich for cats, is there supplement I could give him that would help his soft stools? I don't want to go bad feeding him a low grade food like Nutro. Do you think the dermatologist will be able to help me pick a food that will help this problem? Thanks again for everyone help!!! :love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for your help everyone. Paulie has been on this wellness for a month today and no breakouts but I don't know if you saw my post about his soft stools coming back. I have to give him a five day trial of Met but if that doesn't work the vet said I will have to change his food again. I don't know what to do, now we finally found a healthy food that seems to help his allergies and we might have to change it. I read that natural foods like wellness can be too rich for cats, is there supplement I could give him that would help his soft stools? I don't want to go bad feeding him a low grade food like Nutro. Do you think the dermatologist will be able to help me pick a food that will help this problem? Thanks again for everyone help!!! :love:

I'm glad to hear that Paulie isn't having any more breakouts. Which Wellness are you feeding him? They make several grain free canned foods and some with grains,several dry foods with grain, and Core dry which is grain free. Sometimes it takes some animals more time to adjust to the new food.

You could also try giving him some FortiFlora by Purina. It comes in packets and is dry and you can mix it in his food. Cats usually love it so much that they'll eat it by itself. You can buy it online or at your vet's office. You don't need a prescription. I wouldn't use this until after he's finished with his medicine though. I would also keep him on this diet at least until you see the dermatologist. Here's a link the FortiFlora:http://www.purinaveterinarydiets.com/FelineProductDetail.aspx?prod=240 Good luck.:)

[MyCatPaulie]

This is the wellness he's eating
Wellness Salmon, Salmon Meal & Deboned Turkey Dry
Salmon, Salmon Meal, Whitefish Meal, Rice, Ground Barley, Ground Rice, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Deboned Turkey, NatUral Chicken Flavor, NatUral Fish Flavor, Cranberries, Olive Oil, Chicory Root Extract, Cranberry Extract Powder, Cranberry Fiber, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, lactobacillus Casei, lactobacillus Acidophilus, Taurine, Rosemary Extract

It's so hard to know what to do because he's not itching while eating this food but his stools aren't healthy at all, would I have seen an improvement in his stools by now, he's been on Met since Monday. But also his stools were soft while eating Z/D and the vet said the natural balance green pea and duck he was on was too rich for him so I don't know if I should just go back to Nutro. Do you know anything about how fast allergies can pop up? When we got him July last year he was 2 and he wasn't itching much and his stools were healthy, that's when we were feeding him Nutro dry then in late fall we started adding Nutro wet food into her diet but also our furnace was turned on and that's when he started itching bad and breaking out. My vet said because his breakouts were on his neck and chest it's a food allergy but he could also have an inhaled one. Could he have not been allergic to Nutro dry food or do you think his allergy just popped up after he was eating that food for 3 months? I don't know what to do because since he's not itching right now I don't know if I should keep the dermotologist app or wait to see if he starts breaking out once the furnace is turned on again. Thanks for your help and suggestions.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Since this food does contain grains I'm suprised that his stools are soft. I was thinking that he was on a grain free diet and some cats will have have stools while their systems adjust. I've just started feeding my cats Wellness Core dry which is grain free and some of the Wellness grain free canned foods that they make. I did notice that my girl Pearl was having some soft stools but she always does at first so I'm not worried about it. They also eat some of the grain free canned food that they were eating before. I decided to switch because they just weren't doing as well on the Natural Balance and it has too many carbs in it for my liking.

My kittens are still eating a mixture of Natural Balance Green Pea & Chicken and Wellness Core and they'll be on this mixture for a while because I want to wean them off of the Natural Balance more slowly since their digestive systems aren't mature yet.

If I was you I'd just stick with the Wellness for now. Paulie hasn't been on the medicine for very long and it'll take time for his digestive system to adjust. If you keep switching foods then his system will never adjust and you'll never know what's working for him. Just try to be patient and try not to panic. I would still keep the dermatologist appointment just to be on the safe side. Good luck.:)

[MyCatPaulie]

I'm glad you're cats are switching off NB since they aren't doing good on it. I will let you know what they tell me at my app, I'm nervous about going but my mom is going with me so that should help. Thanks so much again for your help!!! :)

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm glad you're cats are switching off NB since they aren't doing good on it. I will let you know what they tell me at my app, I'm nervous about going but my mom is going with me so that should help. Thanks so much again for your help!!! :)

You're welcome. I hope that everything will go well at Paulie's appointment.:)

[MyCatPaulie]

;)Just had a quick update, my vet said I should have seen some improvment in her stools by now and she wants me to switch her food to royal canin green pea and rabbit but i think i'm going to wait until i see the dermotologist to see what she thinks. i'm just worried that her soft stools are from a different problem. I will let you know how it goes. Here is what I'm going to tell the dermotologist does that sound ok?
By doing different food trials and observing when she itches most, to us it seems like her allergy is either an inhaled allergy to something that only flares up when on furnace is turned on, to chicken if it's one of the first few ingredients in canned food or to something in canned food all together.

She's been eating wellness dry since August 21 and not itching bad or breaking out because she is doing so good right now our plan was to keep her on this food until our furnace is turned on to see if see has a flare up but the problem is our vet wants us to change her food to Royal Canin's green pea and rabbit because she's been having soft stool but we're worried about this because she tired Natural Balances green pea and duck and that was too rich for her also we're wondering if there could be a different problem causing her soft stools because she had them when she was on Z/D too and they looked healthy for a while until she had a stool with a piece of hair in it and now she's also urinating more and her urine has a redish brown color to it, we tested her for an infection and it came back negative but is there any blood test or anything we should do before switching her food incase there's an underling problem. I also did read that sometimes natural foods are just too rich for some cats so I didn't know if we should go back to a dry food that isn't too rich.

Here is some background information...

When we got her from the SPCA last June, her papers said she had thinning hair on her trail probably due to an old flea allergy but she wasn't itching or breaking out yet.

We were feeding her Nutro dry food exclusively she was on that for about four months and doing great but then two things changed our forced air furnace was turned on and we started adding Nutro canned food into her diet. In November is when her itching got really bad and she started breaking out in little scabs on her neck and chest, because she only had breakouts on the front part of her body is why our vet thinks it's a food allergy.

We tried switching her food to Natural balance dry and wet food with no grains but that didn't help.

Then in March we started feeing her the Natural Balance green pea and duck soon after she started that she had to go to the emergency vet because she had a block, a vet there said that food was probably too rich for her and her stomach always did look puffy while she was eating it.

Then we did a food trial with Z/D from May until August, she threw up a lot while eating this and her stools were soft then too. When she was eating this her itching was about the same as it was the summer before when she was eating dry food only and our furnace wasn't on.

Now she's been eating Wellness since 8/21. This does have chicken fat and chicken flavor in it but it's down on the list.

Since she was having soft stools we just finished a five day trial of metronidazole last Friday but that didn't help. We couldn't get her to keep the pill down so we had to give it to her in a pill picket and roll it in canned food.

We want to use the least amount of medicine as possible.
If we find out it's just an inhaled allergy and it gets as bad as it did last year is there a safe medicine that she could go on from November to April every year because the other six months of the year when we can have the windows open she's not bad at all.
We don't want to use Depo-Medrol because I read it can send a cat into congestive heart failure very quickly!



Things we have tried to stop her itching...

Prednisolone 5 mg January-May (this only helped when we gave her 1/2 a pill every other day but we didn't want her on it for any longer than what she was on because it can cause problems down the road)

Steroid shot (helped the best but only for one month)

Started using hypoallergenic kitty litter

Feilway diffuser

[krazyaboutkatz]

Paulie sure has been through a lot. When she was on the pred did it help her at all? My cat Starr had severe diarrhea and it turned out that he had IBD/Colitis so he had to be on pred for the rest of his short life.:( Unfortunately it made him very overweight and in the end he wasn't able to do much except sleep.:( It did finally control his diarrhea though but it also made him kind of constipated too.

My current cat Storm who will be 15 in Januray, is also on pred daily because he has another form of IBD. He has small intestional disease and this caused him to vomit daily. He's doing great but he's a large cat and is on 2.5mg of pred every day. Starr was a very small cat and the pred caused him to drink a lot of water and to puff up.:(

Many vets like to prescibe pred for allergies and IBD. I also prefer to go the more natural route but sometimes nothing else will work. Hopefully Paulie doesn't have IBD or anything more serious. I also hope that the dermatologist will be able to help Paulie.

[MyCatPaulie]

I'm so sorry about Starr :(. I'm worried that Paulie has somthing more than just the food causing his problems, do you know the symptoms of IBD or how they dignose it? He was on Pred for his itching and it only really helped on the highest dose of 5mg. I think his stools looked better than but I'm not positive. thank you so much for your help!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks. Starr had Eosinophilic IBD and my vet did a biopsy on Starr. At first I was afraid he had cancer.:( Here's a link that tells all about IBD in cats:http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2122&aid=304. I wouldn't worry that Paulie has this just yet. It still could be the food that he's on.

[MyCatPaulie]

poor starr :( since you were her mommy I'm sure she lives a loved life even though it was short. I really hope it's the food that is cauing Paulie's problems. I am trying to find a food that isn't too rich where fish is the main ingredeint because the wellness he is on now is fish based but most of the food is buy in the pet stores have chicken listed as the first ingrdient :confused:. Thanks again for your help!

[MyCatPaulie]

I just got a call from the vet his blood test were good except for one little thing with his liver that wasn't a big deal. I am taking him now to do somthing where they take a fecal sample and then a swab, I don't really know what it is but they said it is the next step in figure out what's wrong. Then if that comes back negative we would do an ultrasound, does anyone know if the unltrasound would be able to tell her he has IBS? I heard raw diets can be good for cats with IBS but I'm not really sure what a raw diet means, it would have to be somthing chicken free and corn free because those are possible allergies for Paulie.