Tiger has allergies.
But we do not know what he is allergic to for sure.
It started when he was almost a year old while we were in Alabama. We went to three different vets and they told us different yet similar stories of what might be going on with him. The last vet said most likely he was allergic to his food, either the protein or the starch, and almost all cat food has the same basic protein and starches in them, so we started to buy this special food for him: rabbit and green pea, yum, and it's not so cheap.
He has been eating this food for almost a year now, and we still end up at the vet every three months for these sores he chews open on his body.
Since moving to Texas he seems to be getting worse, so I ended up at the vet yet again. Every time we go they give him steroids and antibiotic shots, and send us on our way. This vet did not give him a shot form of antibiotic so Tiger ended up in a collar for a day so he would not lick the ointment off.
After doing as much research as I can on the internet, I am going to try to treat him myself with fish oil for his skin and an antihistamine for his itching, and hope for the best.
My poor poor nerdy kitty with his allergies, warts on his paws (no one can tell us why...) and a bit extra weight on him, I hope Baer doesn't make fun of him.
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3 comments:
I'm sure I don't know any more than a vet, but unless the vets did blood tests I doubt it's allergies. I also doubt it's food because animals are very smart, they won't eat the food if it's bothering them.
When my rats are sick or allergic to something they sneeze, release a red discharge from their eyes, diarrhea, etc. They don't bite unless something is physically irritating them (like stiches) or its stress.
I think your cat is stressed out. When did he get weaned from mommy cat? It might have been too soon and that can cause a screwed up kitty. Did he get fixed around the same time he started biting?
My mom's cat for example has some mental issues. He grooms himself entirely too much to the point that he makes himself physically ill from hairballs. We've tried to put shirts on him to try to avert his grooming habits, but he'll just start liking the shirt. I blame my mom by telling him he's beautiful all the time, made him develop body dismorphic disorder.
Anywho... my vote is stress. Try to see if they have kitty cat anti-depressants.
Yeah we've been a couple of different vets and they have all said the same basic thing that it is an allergy of some sort, since cats portray their problems through their skin and coat instead of sneezing or throwing up as one would think. All the research online that I've done says the same basic thing too, it's just figuring out what is his trigger.
I am going to get blood work next time we end up at the vet, the last one we went to said he could refer me to a vet dermatologist the next time, that sounds expensive though.
I thought it might be stress at the beginning as I have heard of that before, but he has nothing to be stressed about, he's a cat! and it started before we moved, so that was odd. He was weened at about 3-4wks, and got neutered at about 8wks and started biting when he was a year.
He is a crazy kitty, we should get your mom's and mine together and they can talk their problems out :)
I'll ask the vet about kitty anti-depressants or anxiety drugs next time.
Thanks co!
The kitty paw warts truly made this story.
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