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

[Sara]

I just looked at his spots and low and behold they are a little bit worse all of a sudden. I gave him some regular food last night and today so that must be it. Either that or he is allergic to me because I just got home yesterday. Now to find a diet he likes... Do you think I should mix it with regular food or just keep giving it to him even though he does not like it? Do you think any of the other brands might be tastier or is this HA just so different from the regular? Sara

[Traci]

Yes, all the kitties can eat the same hypoallergenic diet, I normally wouldn't recommend it, but most of them are properly formulated for maintenance....maybe mix the regular in with the new for your other kitties....as for Vest, you'll want to stick to one only, at least until you know he is showing improvement and doing well on a hypoallergenic diet. Unless of course, any other brand he is turned off of as well, then mixing something he likes with a veterinary prescription will be necessary. Only thing is, most allergic cats can't improve when the diet is mixed with anything outside of the prescription diet. For this reason, I suggest getting a few samples of a few veterinary diets, try one, see if he likes it, if not, try yet again with another. The first three I mentioned earlier would be my first recommendations. So far, I've heard good results from the Hill's Z/D, most cats really like it.

[Sara]

Thank you. I will ask my vet tomorrow for the Hills ZD sample. Seperating them just does not work. When I put one in a seperate room they don't even want to eat. They just meow at the door until I let them out and then look for left overs in the other cat dishes. I swear, my cats are impossible. Now if the food was really tasty and they actually liked the HA for Vest and the Obise for Clover they would eat in on the counter top while the others ate on the floor but they don't like it enough to do that so I have to shut them in a bedroom. Also, the cats usually don't finish the food right away. If I let them eat for 10 minutes and then put the left over food back they then act starving later on looking for the left overs. So frustrating! I guess I will work it out one way or another. It's mainly Clover and Vest that need the special diets. Cats are just so touchy. I can't wait to see if the vet thinks he got worse tomorrow. Sometimes it's easier for somebody to see a change when they have not seen the cat for a few days. Thank goodness she makes housecalls. Seems like she is always here. Vest would freak if I took him to the office all the time. Sara

[Sara]

I guess the shots are a series of 5, 4th on today and then Sat. the last one. His culture came back negative. She is going to get me Hills DD tomorrow. Does this sound good? She mixes and antibiotic with the cortizone shot. She thinks the spots must have bacteria since the fungal test came back negative. Vest also seems a bit chunkier than normal. Sara

[Traci]

The Hill's D/D is fine, he may do well on it. I suggested the Z/D, because it is a hydrolyzate, no animal protein. You can start with the D/D and see how he does within a 3-6 week period, if after three weeks, he is not improving, I would then suggest Z/D or IVD's 'Limited Ingredients' diet.

The culture being negative, this rules out most fungals, but not necessarily immunological or bacterial. Either immunological or bacterial can cause inflammatory reaction, just need to know if it's food sensitivity/allergy or if it's more advanced like eosinophilic granuloma, pemphigus, etc. Again, if he responds to the steroid approach, plus the new diet.....chances are, you can attribute it to food allergy. Some cases require some trial and error with selected diets, you may be prepared to have to try a few before resolving the situation.

[Sara]

I asked her for the ZD and she said she wanted to try the DD. Not sure why. So ZD has no animal protien? Is it vegitarian? Do you think his allergy is related to the corn and wheat in the regular food or the animal protien? I would love to give him a little canned sardine (for humans) snack since it has no vegetable matter in it, do you think it would be okay? He's just so desperate for something other than that food. I wonder if an allergist could figure this out pretty fast now that we have pretty much pin pointed it to a food allergy.

What is immunological, bacterial, eosinophilic granuloma, pemphigus, etc. Should I be worried? The vet does think he had a little topical bacterial infection since the culture came back negative. Also remember it came up negative for the microscope test as well. Two tests down... Think a CBC is in order yet?

[Traci]

Heh, knowing your vet, she probably doesn't have the Z/D available, lol. Don't you DARE tell her I said that! So, in that case, go with the D/D. The difference between them is D/D's protein source is lamb, whereas the Z/D's protein source is rice and hydrolized chicken liver.

As for the corn and wheat, these are generally potential allergens for dogs, not so much for cats. Corn is a common ingredient in most commercial foods (some prescription diets as well), rice comes in second, etc. WHen considering new hypoallergenic diet, I usually recommend a rice-based diet first, then continue looking at the protein source.

I don't recommend sardines. Mostly because of how they are packaged, the oils used in them, etc. Also, a diet consisting of main fish types can cause yellow fat disease, not something you want to deal with.

As for pemphigus, eosinophilic granuloma, immunological distress, one needs to consider feline serology testing for these. These are extenesive blood testing that requires outside lab testing. I don't think you should be too concerned about them at this point. A CBC on the other hand, can be done at any time, but again, it's probably only going to show you that an inflammatory response is going on, i.e., food allergy.

[Sara]

LOL Traci! Don't worry, I won't tell! You would go crazy here in Argentina. Actually, she is probably going to order one of the diets from the distributer as they keep a minimal choice in the office, it's very tiny. Or maybe she is requesting samples, I am not sure. And a huge maybe, maybe they don't even import the ZD into Argentina. Imported things are so hard to get sometimes, GGGRRRRRRRRRRR. I will ask if she has access to both though as I want a big variety to try until we find one that does not break him out and that he actually likes.

The Sardine was just a treat idea as I made myself a sardine sandwich today for lunch. Gosh, hope I don't get yellow fat disease, lol! I gave him one teeny, tiny piece. I know I am horrible, but he was going crazy with the smell and I am a softy Mom.

At what point do you suggest the extended blood test since the CBC sounds like it won't tell us much anyway. I am so paranoid. His spot actually dried up overnight after that 4th. shot. You can still see a few red scratches where he scratched it but they are totally dry now.

I hope and pray this is just a minor food allergy. Vest is my life.

[Traci]

Hypothetically....let's say Vest is my kitty...I would attempt a trial diet (in this case, whatever you can get your hands on, lol)...for at the very least, 3 weeks, but ideally, 6 weeks. If improvement is shown, and there is no need for antibiotic support anytime within this time frame, then you've pretty much confirmed a food allergy or sensitivity to an ingredient in the food.

However. During that time frame, if at any point, the lesions reoccur or cause him distress, then you of course, have to add antibiotics, maybe steroidal approach again to at least get him back on track. Then, I would switch to another hypoallergenic diet at that point. Try again for another 3-6 weeks.

This is where trial and error come into the picture. You can select up to three different diets.......any more than that, and at that point, I would then seriously consider feline serology. All that is needed for serology is whole blood or serum, it is sent to an outside lab to test for whatever your vet suspects, as mentioned earlier (i.e., immunological problems). This can be costly, however, they can run anywhere from $45-150 U.S. currency depending on the exact condition you want to test for.

If you had an experienced, available vet with allergy experience, that would of course be a plus. But, I understand the availability for specialists in your area is hard to come by. The thing is, most allergy problems start and end with the diet anyway, so you are doing the right thing by attempting the hypoallergenic diets for awhile to see what kind of response you get.

I'm pretty sure I would go crazy in Argentina, LOL......I'd have to win the lottery just so I could equip your vet with culture equipment, dietary options, and I would definately be checking out the colorful provodine solutions she has lined up on her shelves, HA!!

[Sara]

Vest had his last shot today in the 5 series. His skin looks great today. Now more red oozy streaks where he scratched. Everything is drying up. She brought me some Royal Cannon diet because she did not have any Hills ZD but she told me she could get some, YAY . Argentina has really difficult importation laws so these things can be such a pain. I am still used to easy access in the states so I do get so frustrated sometimes. I am not used to waiting and searching for stuff. I am also used to Dr.'s and vets having on premise lab stuff. Here everything has to be sent out, for humans too. Dr.'s never have lab equipment at the office it seems. X-ray equipment either.

I am going to try the Hills for 3 weeks and see what happens. Hopefully he will be fine. Now if it comes back I will start searching for a Feline Allergy specialist vet. Not sure if there is one in Bs As but I will search none the less. I will do that and then try another brand. If the third brand still brings problems I guess it's time for that special blood test. That obviously will have to be sent out to a special lab but it's doable. If worse ever came to worse I could always fly him out to Miami to see a specialist. But hopefully it's just a food allergy and we can pinpoint exactly what the allergy is. It would be helpfull to know which ingredient, if it's animal or vegetable. That way I could play with different brands to see what he likes the best. I hate to sentence him to a life of eating food he does not like. That just doesn't feel right. As a Mom I could not do that so hopefully we can make him happy and healthy at the same time.

Next week I will give him a bath with the HA shampoo on the body and the medicated HA shampoo on the belly.