Possible/common causes of cat allergies?

Factual Questions
1

What are the different things in a household that can cause allergic reactions in cats?

Background:

About a month ago I had to take my cat into the vet because she’d started developing sores over her head and neck and paws and was getting worse. After some testing, we figured out that she was having allergic reactions to something.

I was giving her a new food about a month before that, and she was developing what’s called cat acne, which is a sign of a food allergy, over that month, before it got really bad with her breaking out.

So anyway, it seemed pretty clear - new food lead to cat acne and eventually a breakout, so she’s allergic to the food. Solved. So I put her on steroids to suppress the immune response to the allergies, and switched her to a non-allergenic prescription pet food.

And she cleared up really fast, within days.

I was supposed to gradually to gradually taper her off of the steroids over about a month, but she started getting sick with a cold or maybe worse, and since it had been two weeks and she appeared totally cleared up, rather than aggravate the cold by keeping her on the steroids, I stopped giving them to her.

Within a few days, she broke out again. She was still on the prescription, non-allergenic food, from new bowls, with none of the old food in the house.

She’s not going to still be having an allergic reaction to food she hasn’t had in weeks, right? So there has to be something else?

I need to take her to the vet again, but I suspect he’s just going to tell me we need to figure out what she’s allergic to, so I’m coming here first to ask what I should even look for, because I have no idea. I can’t think of anything I’ve been doing differently since she started developing problems, or any new things in the house. What sort of things should I look for?

Also, is it almost certainly a reaction to something new she’s come in contact with, like maybe a new kind of laundry detergent or something? Or, is it possible (she’s about a year to a year and a half old) that she developed new allergies to something she wasn’t allergic to before?

2

I can’t say for sure about cats, but there is a thing that can happen to people called sensitization. I used to work in a place that used a chemical called gluteraldehyde. Sometimes, after repeated exposure, one of the workers would become sensitized to the gluteraldehyde and they would start having alergic type reactions and had to be moved to a position where they no longer came in contact with the glute. Sometimes it would happen after years of them having no problems, so people can, in effect, become alergic to something that wasn’t a problem before.

I hope you get kitty sorted out soon! Best of luck!

3

I am not a doctor or a vet. I do use topical steroids periodically for a skin condition.

what I was told bout my own thingy, is that cutting off the steroid suddenly can cause a “rebound” type reoccurance of the problem. As I read it, you vet told you to taper off, and you didn’t. You stopped suddenly, is that correct? My WAG is that this prompted a reoccurance. Ask your vet. :slight_smile:

4

I forgot to add part of the story in regards to that. I did cut her off suddenly, because she was getting sick and I didn’t want to make it worse, but 2-3 days later when she started getting bad again, I resumed the steroids. She mostly cleared up, although not completely, but I was giving them to her once a day rather than twice. After a week or so I started giving them every other day, as instructed, and I’m almost out now.

Also, they gave her some kind of injection at the vet, which was followed up with oral medication. Which might explain why she originally cleared up so quickly.

By the way, it was not practical give her a whole pill to swallow - so I’ve been crushing them up with a little bit of water and squirting them down her throat with a dropper. That doesn’t affect the drug in any way, right? Cause it ends up in the stomach the same way. But just thought I’d ask now that I think about it.

5

You shouldn’t drop steriods in that mannor. A longer term dose can leave the body not making steriods. Steriods maybe crushed, they’re not a time release drug. Wash all items well that come in contact with the crushed steriods. I must add that steriods are a foul tasting drug. The vet likely gave a large steriod injection to immediately stop the alergic reaction. The rebound is one thing that can happen, I think the cat may still have some of the original allergin in it’s system. Have you cleaned up the cat’s areas, to removed excreted sweats and oils. Replaced the plastic bowls, and consider play toys.

Once you have a severe allergic reaction, the body can react strongly to anything it was mildy allergic to, because the immune system is on high response mode. The immune system of your cat needs to be suppressed longer than it was, and now it will need to start over. The immune system needs to reset and taking the steriods away early and abruptly is not the way to get it done. The cat may also stay highly alergic to something unrelated to the food.

6

Ask you veterinarian for a referral to a veterinary dermatologist. (S)he can test for specific allergens.