Vest's skin problem is getting worse......

[Sara]

I wanted to add that the vet has me putting Tritohexidin on him twice a day. The same thing we use when Saharan gets chin acne. It's Digluconato de clorhexidina .50g, Agentes de Formulacion c.s.p. 100-00 ml.

[Mona]

Sara~

I really feel for what you are going through.

Chloe is very fine featured like Vest too, but so far very healthy, just a little devil.

I hope this new allergy testing helps to determine what is causing the breakouts. Do check this food for corn or gluten meal too, which causes allergies.

I am sending prayers and good thoughts your way. Honeybun and Chloe send purrs and huggs to Vest.

Mona, Honeybun and Little Chloe

[Sara]

All Tuxies are little devils! Love Tuxies! Vest is really healthy outside of this patch on his belly and the knee surgery he had. He is fit and runs around terrorizing the household. His coat is glossy and shiny and his teeth and gums look good. I have a feeling it's not the food because the HA has not made a bit of difference. I can't wait for the next couple of weeks to pass. I am dying to know what this is. Thanks for your well wishes. We need all the help we can get.

[hntsignif]

I just now caught up with this conversation (I haven't been online for a while).

My Manx (Alex) had a similar problem, it turned out that he has an extreme allergy to flea bites. The vet recommended the prospot type flee medication and applied the first dose at the office. After 1 week he had almost stopped scratching and the problem spots were fading. The fleas had been biting the same spots over and over and he was developing welts and pustules. He would scratch and scratch. It didn't affect any other part of his personallity at all.

Don't know if this helps?

Holly Howard

[Sara]

Vest does not have any fleas and they tried looking for parasites too and found nothing.

The lab work has been postponed for a couple of weeks because it went out right before his time came. I am getting so impatient.

[Sara]

Vest got his allergy test back from Spectrum Labs. 6 borderline allergens, 23 positive.

He's allergic to feathers (says feather mix) and cotton. I found an aviary home for my two small finches so that's taken care of. Does this include a down comforter? Not sure how to eliminate cotton as so many of my clothing, sheets, upholstery, towels, etc. are made of this material. He's also allergic to sisel.

Now get ready for this, he's allergic to chicken, milk, eggs, mouse/rat hair or dander, various grasses, various herbs, oak tree, deer meat, corn, turkey, hops, brewers yeast, barley, Flaxseed meal, Flax, tomato, linen seed, tuna, mosquito, fly, staff, corn pollen, Fungus (alternaria, etc. including one that sounds like penicillin). I have the complete list in PDF format but not sure how to post that.

They recommend feeding several things but ZD and SD are the only things I can get here, he hates the ZD. What will I do?

I can do the 3 months of HA environment/diet and injections that might work, should I give it a try? I just can't see making him eat a food he hates for the rest of his life and also a food that Negrito won't eat and is making the others fat. They hate being separated while eating. I know it sounds simple but they freak out when I shut the kitchen door and start spreading them all out to eat. They won't eat and then when I have to put the food away they are all hungry and upset. I don't know what to do.

Also Vest's favorite thing in the world is kitty grass and he is howling for it. Is there any kind of kitty grass he can eat? He has a new spot on his arm, the belly ones went away but I see two tiny new ones on top of the healed ones the size of pin pricks. This is probably because I put them on the Pro Plan again because of Negrito. Also, maybe because my finch cage was over my cat feeding area. Not a good thing if he is allergic. I hope to see some results now that they are gone.

[Yzma]

He's allergic to dander?

And all those other things?
Well, i can think of two things that may help you with all the invisible allergens...
http://www.osim.biz/home/index.asp
once you open the page, you need to click on products, and then click on hygiene...
And once you get there you need to check out the vacuum cleaner like machines.... These wil disinfect, sanitize, and kill most bacteria and free floating germs and other microscopic stuff... If you don't get thios brand in particular i'm sure you can get another one...
It's quite pricey but a friend of ours has one and it's specifically for allergens and asthma...
The other thing is an air - ionizer... In combination I think you'll have some success with all the microscopic stuff...

Well good luck... If your cat is not allergic to turmeric, a quarter table spoon in each meal should help keep his intestinal tract and his inside bacteria free... We did this for Mythie, I know it's a sort of alternative remedy but turmeric is very well known in this part of the world by vets and doctors for having very good antiseptic and healing properties. It's also very good for scaring.

[Sara]

Luckily it's only rat/mouse hair and dander and we don't have any.

The feathers are listed as a feather mix, not sure what that is. The only feathers we have are a down comforter and a few feather pillows. Oh, I just remembered, our sofa's and chair cushons are filled with feathers . But these don't touch the skin or fly around so I am hoping those are okay.

The molds and fungus do worry me. Our bathrooms have no windows and I fear they are lurking around in there. Although I keep the doors closed. They are cleaned constantly but I know those little spores hide out in there. I never had them analyzed to see what kind they are.

I think having a great vacuum and ionizer is a great idea. I'll check out those links. Thank you.

[Traci]

Sara, I'm not familiar with how they determine exactly WHAT agents a pet is allergic to, but it seems alittle fishy about some items he is likely to never have been exposed to (deer meat? corn pollen? etc)....I think I would ask your vet about the validity of this test, find out more about who is using it in your area. Was this done at the lab in FL?

As for cotton items, most newer items are a combination blend of cotton and other fibers, so it may not be a huge concern if you try to buy items that are blended.

Most products containing down feathers usually use a process that cleans the feathers before inserting into an item. However, some products may not do this, so the dust could be a problem.

If the report stated an allergy to penicillin, instruct your vet promptly to note this clearly and legibly in his health chart so that penicillin-type drugs are never given (in the event of an anaphylactic reaction, etc)...need to discuss that in better detail with her.

Some of the grains mentioned may be in some commercial diets, so check the Pro-Plan or any other food you have been feeding for those ingredients. I think the Z/D does contain chicken (hydrolyzed chicken liver)

Go over the list with your vet, compare the current diets with those of other hypoallergenic diets on the market (your vet should have info on this) and hopefully you can come to a happy medium as far as food is concerned, as long as it doesnt' contain any ingredients listed in the report. (although again, don't know the validity of this test, your vet might want to ask the lab for references)


Btw, tumeric, as Yzma mentioned, is commonly used as a homeopathic remedy....it's validity or efficacy, in my opinion, is not known. Most product suppliers in the homeopathic business list it's "healing properties" as anything from liver disease to joint inflammation, I'd be leary. You could probably get the same effect with the cream you are already using, or vitamin E oil to soothe itches or hot spots, crusty areas, etc.

[Sara]

The blood test was done at Spectrum labs in the US. I have not done the FL university yet. Everytime I called a derm. was not available. It was a blood test where the chemist tests various allergins against the blood and reports as to which ones react. I guess that's how it's done? I will find out. Anyway, these are the allergins Vest's blood reacted to at Spectrum labs. Let me find out more and post again.