Lack of vet advice .... perhaps someone here can help?

[Jan]

Took Blackie to the vet again yesterday about his belly licking + biting fur off top of his right hind leg. 2 weeks ago we discussed possible causes and after checking for fleas/flea dirt, ear mites, we both agreed the most likely cause was stress. He has no bladder issues, his coat is glossy, eyes are bright, appetite is good, weight steady so we narrowed the causes of his stress down to:

1) a cat using Blackie's path down the side of a garden adjacent to ours; I saw this cat the other afternoon - and I know Blackie cannot fight his way out of a paper bag; or
2) a seasonal allergy of some kind - his scratching and licking has started about this time every year since 2014.

Vet initially gave me Metacam to use 1 x day for 2 weeks, along with 2 x Zyklene. Neither of these have worked as I suspected they wouldn't.

Vet didn't didn't offer any further advice yesterday and when I asked about giving Blackie a steroid injection, she said she was reluctant to do this because of his CKD (Stage I). She said testing for allergies was a long process and if Blackie is allergic to some kind of pollen, it would mean keeping him indoors which would cause him even more stress. So that was that ... and I left without any further advice. I even had to phone her after we returned to confirm whether I should leave off giving Blackie the Metacam. At least she didn't charge me for the visit!

I hate the idea of thinking he is in some discomfort and not knowing what to do about it. This morning I found more small tufts of fur on the carpet upstairs.

[meriad]

if it is an allergy what about trying piriton for him? Obviously double check with your vet but I'm 99.9% certain it's safe to use for cats

Also what about a steroid cream (if there is one) to put put on his tummy instead of tablets? If you apply it just before meal times hopefully that'd stop him licking it off. But equally I'd have thought that a short term course of steroids, ie prednisolone vs a steroid shot shouldn't be that harmful - and it would rule out / in an allergy? Just as a one month trial to see if it stops him and gets him out of the habit?

I'm a bit bemused about the use of metacam in this case - were the areas inflamed?

My Harry is a chronic fur puller and I often find quite large chunks of his fur all over the house - I'm fairly certain it's due to cereals in his food so have cut those out and it has made a difference; but a lot I still think is habit with him.

[Jan]

In all honesty, I was bemused by the vet prescribing Metacam. As far as I could tell the skin didn't look inflamed or broken - yet anyway! When I queried the use of it last year for this problem, I was told that quality of life was more important. In the end, after the failure of Metacam, she prescribed a short course of Medrone tablets - a job in itself to get them down him even wrapped in a small piece of chicken - a very uncompliant cat is Blackie. Happily, Medrone worked.

Our own home is in Kent and in 2014 when this problem first reared its head, the vet there gave Blackie 2 different types of steroid injections - Dexafort, Medrone - neither of which worked. Then he was passed on to the Head Vet who, as a last resort gave him a shot of Delvosteron. She said if it worked, I would see a reduction in his licking/scratching within 3 days - if not, there was no point in giving him a 2nd injection 2 weeks later and we would have to consider a full blood test. But within 3 days, there was a noticeable drop in his scratching and by the time of the 2nd shot, Blackie was well on the way to recovery from his skin irritation. On looking up Delvosteron I discovered its given to female cats on heat though it can also be used for certain forms of miliary dermatitis.

Thinking back to a couple of months ago, I remember now that I wasn't successful in getting all the Advocate flea treatment on him - he is such a wriggler, even with 2 of us holding him down! You'd think he was going to be killed with the way he reacts!

This year is the worst I've ever seen it and we have been cleaning + spraying Indorex all over the place! But thanks for the tip about Piriton - I will mention it to the vet as I know we'll have to take him in again

[meriad]

Jan, have you ruled out food allergies? And apparently not 100% accurate but still worth a shot - what about a blood test to see if that shows up the cause of the itching if one hasn't been done yet.

Do you have insurance for Blackie if yes, what about asking for a referral to a feline dermatologist?

http://www.vetclick.com/referral-practi ... ogy-c7.php or http://www.dermatologyreferrals.co.uk/o ... errals.htm

[Lallum]

I had a similar problem with Magic. I was told initially that she probably was having a reaction to fleas. We fumigated the house, washed everything, Hoover mattresses but her skin problem continued. I went to another vet's practice where there was a vet who specialised in cats. She did a blood test but there were no allergies detected. She suggested feeding her hypoallergenic food and gave her a steroid jab. Magic now eats various foods from tWainwrights. The problem went. She looked wonderful but the hair loss came back after Christmas. The only difference was she had stolen some stilton. She loves cheese and can smell it when we have cheese and biscuits. She used to run down and throw herself at me to get cheese. We stopped giving it to her when she started losing fur. I guess we now know what was causing it.

I don't know if you give your cat extras but try a different cat food. It can't harm and might save on vet bills!

[meriad]

Jan

I belong to a group on FB and one person on there just mentioned that they got the results back on a blood test done on their cat - turns out Benny is allergic to beef, tuna and plantain pollen... The bloods were taken at her vets and sent off for testing; apparently not cheap but she now knows what she's dealing with.

So maybe it is worth pushing for that test?

[Crewella]

Even just trying to cut out certain foods and seeing if it helps can work, our old Minnie couldn't stomach fish or cereals. Hers was a gut problem, so easier to see results quickly, I know, but trial and error can be helpful. Good luck, give your lovely boy a fuss from me and Daz.

[Jan]

One of the first things I'm going to stop are the Hills urinary stress kibbles ... they smell very strong even to me and I haven't got the greatest sense of smell. He only has less than half a doz/day but think I may have been overdoing it as they are the only thing that distracts him from scratching and/or licking his belly as I roll them along the floor so that he has to run after them. They may have contributed to the problem perhaps.

Neither of the vets we see has mentioned food allergy - I assume because the problem is seasonal - ie doesn't happen in late autumn/winter but accept its a possibility. Stress about his bladder is another vet 'favourite' ... except he isn't because he's usually deposited a decent amount of wee in his tray overnight and then I see him going in the garden first thing in the morning. At least I don't have to worry about that at the moment which in the past has caused me endless sleepless nights.

I'm going to try (again) to transition him to better food than his beloved Felix. Lily's Kitchen's Natural Range seems to be going down well at the moment esp the 'Hotpot' variety. Even my OH thinks it smells ok - perhaps I'll put it on some toast for him

Thank you meriad for that vet link ... very informative.

A cuddle from Blackie and me to Daz, Magic - even if Blackie isn't a cuddly cat (understatement).

[Crewella]

Sorry, but I can't remember if you've tried Cystophan/Cystease for Blackie? It might help his bladder and also has L-tryptophan which helps them deal with stress? xx

[meriad]

Neither of the vets we see has mentioned food allergy - I assume because the problem is seasonal - ie doesn't happen in late autumn/winter but accept its a possibility.

I'd push for a blood test to see if it does come up with something because if it is seasonal then a daily, very small dose of steroids may be the way to get over the spring / summer months. Then stop them again when he's not having flare ups?

I'm going to try (again) to transition him to better food than his beloved Felix. Lily's Kitchen's Natural Range seems to be going down well at the moment esp the 'Hotpot' variety.

If he's happy with Felix then why change it - it has all the required nutrients and minerals and will give him what he needs? As has been said a few times; the best cat food is the one they will eat Admittedly I'm like you and think my cats should have better, but with 6 I wouldn't be able to afford Lily's kitchen so am quite glad they're not overly fond of it. I've tried moving them onto a raw diet as well with absolutely no luck... so for my gang it's Sainsbury's own in gravy and Felix AGAIL as they're both cereal free (which I need for Harry)

[Jan]

Sorry, but I can't remember if you've tried Cystophan/Cystease for Blackie? It might help his bladder and also has L-tryptophan which helps them deal with stress? xx

We almost lost Blackie when he had his first bout of FIC and after the 2nd one 2/3 months later, that's when he was put on 1 x Cystophan evey day. Since then and adding plenty of warmed water to his food, he has been fine - though did notice a few weeks back that the wee clumps were getting smaller in his tray but they're back to normal size now - thank goodness.

[Jan]

meriad

I'll be calling in to ask the vet again about prescribing the Medrone tablets she gave him last year which worked.

Felix AGAIL is a big fav with Blackie too. He lived on Felix (all varieties) when he was with my mother for 10 years and didn't seem any the worse for it The only food advice the vet has ever given me is to make sure its Felix in jelly. He's not exclusively on LK ... not sure I can afford him to be - even with just 1 cat let alone 6!

[Crewella]

Ah, sorry Jan, I had a feeling that Blackie was on a similar programmeto Daz, but wasn't sure.

[MrsB]

Perhaps he just hates his name