My cat has severe skin allergies, what can I use to fix them?

I took her to the vet and he said it was skin allergies. He told me that it is not worth the money to see what she is allergic to. Her skin is very scabby and her hair is falling out. She is on flea medication, so I know it is not a flea allergy. I have racked my brain trying to figure out what it could be from. I have not changed her food, litter, etc. Anyone know of any other common allergies for cats and any OTC medications I could use to help alleviate her symptoms?

My cat has severe skin allergies, what can I use to fix them?
Hi there...many cats will develop allergies as a result of the food even if they have been eating it for awhile. Switching to a hypogenic friendly food such as lamb and rice or a higher quality product may help if in fact it is a food allergy. It takes about 2 months on this strict diet to see if there's any improvement.





Most cat food available on the market is sub-standard even though they spend a considerable amount of money on advertising. The leading ingredients which cause problems for cats contain the ingredients, corn, corn meal or soy. These particular carbohydrates have no nutritional value and are used to help the dry kibble bind together so they will not crumble as well as it helps to keep production costs low.





There are higher premium quality foods generally found at smaller specialty pet stores, which also contains essential quality nutrients and no byproducts such as:


Innova EVO: http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=p...


California Natural: http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=p...


Nature's Variety Prairie: http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.la...


Wellness: http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/cats/wel...


Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul: http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssou...





If/when considering to change food brands/type suddenly with any cat will cause stomach distress as well as diarrhea in cats. You will need to gradually change her food to the new brand over a course of several weeks. How you do this is to take 3/4 of the old food and mix it together with 1/4 of the new food for one week. Then 1/2 of the new with 1/2 of the old for another week. Finally, 3/4 of the new food mixed with 1/4 of the old for a week before finally 100% of the new food. Please keep in mind that some cats absolutely just don't like some brands of foods either so you may need to consider another brand and then again gradually mix the old kind with the new one to help her adjust. It just cannot be done any other way without making the cat very sick.





Again if it is in fact food allergies you will see the results once your cat has switched completely to the new food and then count two months after that time.





Some additional helpful remedies that may work is to add 1/4 teaspoon of cod-liver oil/salmon oil into the diet every other day. It tends to help with sensitive skin. (See http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/N... )
Reply:i would take her to a vet that would be a little more caring and get a 2nd opinion maybe it is the soap that you wash your laundry in if she lays on your bed and you hold her then the soap could be irritating her...
Reply:Take her to another vet for a second opinion. Have some blood work done to rule out disease. Change her food (slowly!!) to a premium food, not made of the usual fish, chicken, etc or go all natural like from a health food store. As for the little, try shredded paper or peletized paper litter (frequently used for newly de-clawed cats / kittens) bought from the pet store to eliminate the possibility of the allergy coming from the dusty litter. Good luck.
Reply:PetGuard makes garlic and brewers yeast tablets. Cats think they are treats and they really help alot with skin conditions like you've described. As a bonus it keeps fleas and ticks away and is good for their heart and immune system. A little garlic breath, but cats have stinky breath anyways. Healthfood stores carry them as well as herbal flea collars which also work quite well without poisoning your cat like normal flea collars do. I've used them for years and they work very well. Here's their web addy


http://www.petguard.com/main/templates2/...





then click the word "suppliments"
Reply:I also think a second opinion is necessary. Is there a vet school nearby? Call ahead and ask if the vet has any experience treating allergic cats.


what I think they do is put the cat on some food she's never eaten before like rabbit or lamb and see if that clears it up.


This food may be expensive compared to regular supermarket chow but I don't know how much more. I've never heard of a cat being allergic to litter.


Does she go out. She might have got in some fertilizer or weed killer. Start keeping her in.