Anyone have cats with allergies?

[Zooey]

Cat allergies are notoriously hard to deal with but most often it is the food. Usually you have to eliminate one thing for a period of time and if nothing happens, move on to something else.

For anyone with cats, one service that I found was very helpful with other health issues was the Camuti Consultation Service of the Cornell Feline Health Center. There is a fee but frankly it was less than my vet’s. I called them because we weren’t comfortable with our vet’s recommendation of extensive testing or constant medication/sedation for the cat with bladder crystals. They gave me more info than the vet about the options he was proposing and gave me other options that my vet hadn’t, including adding more water to her special food and using distilled water. That actually did the trick.

Cornell is really incredible. They are the best for when you need a consultation, & it really is less money than many vets will charge for this kind of thing.

But I would really watch the food, check it closely. My own cat is allergic to, of all things… mice!! She is fine as long as she is just playing with them, but if she eats part or all, she is going to be a very unhappy & sick little girl.She doesn’t react to anything else, (so far, at least).

But animals, like us, can be allergic to anything. My best friend’s beloved Shetland Sheepdog passed away after a very long life, but Lassie was allergic to hypoallergenic dog (& cat!) food, because it is made from lamb. Think about it: what would you never, ever feed a sheepdog? My friend pegged this herself, & tests confirmed it. Lassie was at least 12 (probably 13 or 14–he was a rescue) when he passed away, & never had more than the average “scratchies” ever again after the food change.

Good luck with your beautiful kitty. May St Gertrude of Nivelles, patron saint of cats (& those who love them), help you with her prayers.

 

[CarrieH]

May St Gertrude of Nivelles, patron saint of cats (& those who love them), help you with her prayers.

One of my current kitties is named Gertie, after St. Gertrude of Nivelles. Fortunately she is not allergic to anything.

 

[Beachcomber]

Lizaanne,

I bathe my kitty to help keep down fleas because I don’t want to use chemicals like Advantage, ect. What I use is Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, the regular human one. A knowledgeable cat person turned me onto that, and it works really well.

I will keep you and your kitties in my prayers.

 

[lizaanne]

Baby Shampoo! Great!

Although my husband thinks I’m insane to even consider taking her near water…should be interesting!!

~Liza

 

[Jeanette_L]

Baby Shampoo! Great!

Although my husband thinks I’m insane to even consider taking her near water…should be interesting!!

~Liza

Let us know how you feel when you get back from the emergency room!

 

[convert_2000]

I have a smoked persian with allergies and has had them since she was a kitten. I tell everyone she’s allergic to herself because I’m allergic to cats The vet told me early on, we could treat her but treatment would quit working effectively so discouraged it. She is 10 years old and has survived it. Sometimes I get frightened because she has what appears to be asthma attacks, restricted breathing. I pet her and she calms down then. In humans, asthma is influenced by emotions and seems to be the case with her. I’ve had customers tell me their cats have the same problems and all they do is keep the eyes cleaned and don’t let them get too stressed.

 

[Sierrah]

Such extended care for a cat is an imprudent use of one’s resources. Such regard is meant for humans, composed in the image and likeness of God, not animals. If this new diet you have started the cat on is sufficient to keep it healthy, then so be it. Should the cat require more than that, perhaps it is time to consider putting it down.

Wow what a cold and unfeeling statement. Having a bad day are we

I don’t think the the lengths this cats owner has gone to are excessive. God gave us a duty to take care of animals and many people including me have a special love for all Gods creatures. There are instanced when it’s more human to to put a animal down to end it’s suffering or to spare injury to humans but cats like people have health issues that can be resolved with good medical care. As a cat owner I’ve delt with many of those health issues and can’t image putting a cat down they become like part of your family. Of course humans always come first but animals deserve our mercy and care too. St. Francios was a good example of that.

 

[Sierrah]

I do not unilaterally advocate for the slaughter of household pets, nor should you be so quick to read something so distasteful into my common sense approach. I specifically allowed for keeping the cat if the new diet proved effective. If it does not, then clearly the care of the animal is becoming a burden on the OP’s resources such that nothing but decadence could excuse keeping the cat any longer.

GEE…you’ve never had a pet have you. Well your loss but still you shouldn’t put down others for their decision to treate animals in a humane way. I’ve had to put down two cats one to old age the other to illness both times I cried like I just lost a family member. To me they were family members.

 

[Sierrah]

What’s funny is, this is the only cat I’ve ever had that would eat dry food! My other cats would only eat canned, and they were extremely picky about which brands. And I always had problems with urinary tract infections with them due to the ash content in the wet food, which led to cancer in both cases. It was a horrible way to go.

So, I’m scared to death to try to switch. Mine has been otherwise healthy for 7 years, no infections of any kind, so his urinary tract and bladder has remained healthy, and in that I am relieved.

Gee I didn’t know about the ash content. Wet food is all mine boy will eat. He’s also terribly picky about the flavors and will nag me to death if I don’t give him something else when he doesn’t like something I’ve tried to give him.

 

[Jeanette_L]

Gee I didn’t know about the ash content. Wet food is all mine boy will eat. He’s also terribly picky about the flavors and will nag me to death if I don’t give him something else when he doesn’t like something I’ve tried to give him.

My other cats were the same way. We were down to one brand and two flavors, it was horrible.

But those cats kept getting urinary tract infections and the bladder crystals, it was constant. And then they both ended up with cancer of the bladder. It was heartbreaking. I just couldn’t get them to eat better foods.

This one I have no trouble with. And so far, healthy except allergies.

 

[Sierrah]

My other cats were the same way. We were down to one brand and two flavors, it was horrible.

But those cats kept getting urinary tract infections and the bladder crystals, it was constant. And then they both ended up with cancer of the bladder. It was heartbreaking. I just couldn’t get them to eat better foods.

This one I have no trouble with. And so far, healthy except allergies.

Yeah I wish mine would eat dry food but from day one he never would. He doesn’t like water either so the only way to get him liquids is the wet food. He does like milk but it doesn’t agree with his system so I only give that to him once in a while. He get a UTI about once a year I had not idea his food could be the cause.

 

[Jeanette_L]

Yeah I wish mine would eat dry food but from day one he never would. He doesn’t like water either so the only way to get him liquids is the wet food. He does like milk but it doesn’t agree with his system so I only give that to him once in a while. He get a UTI about once a year I had not idea his food could be the cause.

Maybe you could do some research on the internet about the link between UTI, bladder crystals and ash content in food. I think that I had one vet mention it to me years ago and we tried to switch them to a Science Diet and it wouldn’t work. But there are wet foods that have the lower ash, I’d at least check it out.

 

[Sierrah]

Maybe you could do some research on the internet about the link between UTI, bladder crystals and ash content in food. I think that I had one vet mention it to me years ago and we tried to switch them to a Science Diet and it wouldn’t work. But there are wet foods that have the lower ash, I’d at least check it out.

Will do thanks for the tip.

 

[CarrieH]

GEE…you’ve never had a pet have you. Well your loss but still you shouldn’t put down others for their decision to treate animals in a humane way. I’ve had to put down two cats one to old age the other to illness both times I cried like I just lost a family member. To me they were family members.

I agree! With a terminally-ill human family member, at least you can have conversations with them about their life and their impending death. Many times they will say that they are “ready to go” and that sort of thing, which makes their passing easier. We who love our pets don’t have that. And animals often don’t show their suffering until they are really in a bad way – that’s nature’s way of keeping them safe when they are out in the wild, so other animals can’t tell they are sick and attack them. I had to put my beloved 16y/o cat down a few months back, and like you, Sierrah, I cried for days. And you always wonder, did I act too soon? My biggest consolation came from a friend who raises dogs. He said, “Better to put an animal down one day too soon than one day too late.” St. Francis, pray for us!

 

[allaussie]

My cats don’t have any allergies but on really hot days or when they’ve been rolling in the dirt I take a wet cloth or a wet brush (a soft brush from the pet aisle of the supermarket) and brush them over, and they don’t object to that. A spray of water or being submerged in water will send them racing in the opposite direction, but a cloth or a brush is just like stroking them and they are quite happy. It’s not as efficient as bathing but it might be a non-conflict way of getting a similar effect.

Our family has never had much problem with picky eaters (or at least not feline ones, human ones are a different matter ) probably because we’re just hard hearted and don’t give our cats the choice. We work on the philosophy that if they are hungry enough they will eat it and it never takes more than 24hrs for them to get over their objection and eat whatever is in their bowl. They may come begging for food but I go check their bowl and if there’s still food and water there I just move it around a bit in their bowl to prove there is something there and leave. They usually eat dry food and get tinned food as a treat occasionally (you should see how quickly it disappears when they do get tinned food, nothing is left for later and if one of them does leave some behind the other will finish it off).

 

[TraditionalCath]

That is terribly cruel. God gave animals to we humans for our companions and sometimes for our food, etc. I have two cats, one who has minor allergies and the other who is fine. It would have to be something terribly severe and life threatening anyway for me to even remotely consider putting one of my dear pets down.

Back to the OP, we use IAMS multi cat and I don’t know if it has the immune system formula or not but our cats do like it. They were both on the regualar IAMS before but one got a little too fat . As far as doing anything else to try to prevent the allergies, it depends on what is causing them, but we try to regularly bathe the one cat and neither cat goes outside so they don’t pick up any allergens out there. Also, the one cat is allergic to dust so we can’t let our house get hardly any dust in it. Just some suggestions! Glad to hear that the food switch helped though!

Here are my two kitties Otis & Park (otis is the one with the allergy)
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k246/kristy73786/IMAGE_015.jpg
He likes to sit in my lap when I’m on the computer! He loves CAF
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k246/kristy73786/l_64b3f9dff5ed43419ed08af0225b7c30.jpg

awwww!! the little black and white one looks bitts!! she was my 14 year old kitty witty that died of cancer

 

[allaussie]

Yeah I wish mine would eat dry food but from day one he never would. He doesn’t like water either so the only way to get him liquids is the wet food. He does like milk but it doesn’t agree with his system so I only give that to him once in a while.

We used to give our cats water with just a little bit of milk in it (enough to make it look white) perhaps your cat would be OK with that? Or if you’re concerned about his liquid intake you could gradually wean him off milk onto water with a milk/water mix which gradually gets more watery and less milky.

 

[Feanaro_s_Wife]

**This site (by a vet) really opened my eyes to cat needs. I won’t spend time giving you my opinion when i can just point you in the right direction and let all of you fellow kitty lovers decide how to best care for your furry friends…

catinfo.org/**

Malia