Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Posted by: stryder at Tue Aug 17 13:44:24 2004 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

My 6 year old spayed female kitty, B'loney, began to scratch her face one day. She underwent severe personality changes and was obviously in incredible pain. She will litterally scratch the skin and flesh off her face and nech. After almost a year of going to different vets looking for an answer, she was finally diagnosed with food allergies. She has been on a special diet of Z/D, which cats are not supposed to be allergic to. She is allergic to that, too. She has been kept isolated in a room all by herself to avoid possibility of contact with any other food or allergens. She has been on steriod shots every 4 weeks. She is now on a strict diet of venison.

Poor B'loney is losing weight, pulling the skin from her face (i have been worried that she might lose her eye) and is just locked up all by herself. This is no way for her to live.

If anybody has any suggestions, PLEASE HELP!!! I hate to put her to sleep over this. I just don't feel that I can give her a good home anymore.

I'm so sorry about your poor kitty. Are the vets sure it's a food allergy? Have you thought about a raw diet? Where you only feed her fresh meats and a few other things? That way you can be more selective of what she's eating rather than a premade food, which you can't control all of the ingredients... Or is that what you mean by venisen? Sorry, I don't know what that is.
But I DO suggest getting a medical collar for her before she does any more damage. It's not fun to where, but it will keep her from injuring her face and neck while you try and figure out what the problem is.
I hope you find an answer soon!

Destany
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Yes, what I meant is that she is on a strict diet of deer meat. The vet told me to find a source of protien she had never been exposed to. I doubt that she has ever hunted down a deer.
As far as the medical collar goes, she has worn one in the past, and ended up hurting herself trying to get that off, too. I just can't see making her wear one for the rest of her life. Like I said, it has been over a year that she has been like this.
I am at a loss as to what to do here. I have had her for 7 years, and bottle fed her as a baby. I do not want to let her go, but I just can't provide her a happy home anymore, and I don't think I caould find someone to take her that would be willing to deal with this. She pretty much needs to be an only cat, and I have many.
When she gets her steroid shot once a month, it tends to get better some, and she deffinitely feels better for a bit, but the vet seems very against keeping he ron them for the rest of her life. That looks like what we are going to need to do.

Thank you for your reply!!

How do you know it's a food allergy? Have you taken her to an animal allergist (Veterinary Allergy Response Laboratory? is one i know of) I just read the other day that a dog at one of our local shelters is allergic to ragweed, cocklebur, oak, pine, birch, human dander (yes, our pets can be allergic to us!), wool and various molds. So it might not even be a food allergy.
Good luck. Ihope you are able to find out what is wrong with your dog.

Jaime
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

Really, I do not know anything for sure.

The best that I can do around here is that my vet went to a seminar on allergies. I do not have a whole lotta confidence in my vets anymore, but they know more than me (about some things) so I have no choise but to trust them.

Like I said before, she is isolated in a room all by herself. At first I thought it may have been something in the attic. She would get up in the rafters and not come out for a week to 2 weeks. When she did, she'd be in TERRIBLE shape!
She has been locked in a downstairs room for several months, without contact with the other cats, or outside, or really anything but me a couple times a day. My vet seemed to think that it was a food allergy, but, again, I just don't know. Thye have been wrong before..............