Chronic dermatitis/overgrooming - food allergy, hopefully now resolved!

[fluffybunny]

http://www.lintbells.com/products/yumega-cat

It's a kitty omega 3 and 6 supplement.  I also use yumove from the same company, it's a green lipped muscle glucosamine/chondroitin supplement and it's the most palatable one I've found.  With the added benefit that 'fetch', Ocado's pet store, stock both products, meaning I can get them delivered with my weekly groceries 

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

What is 'yumega' please? 

[fluffybunny]

Yes I'm delighted.  It's not just the bald patch, the condition of her fur as a whole has improved drastically.  I've also been supplementing with some yumega which I think is helping too.  She does have rather lovely whiskers doesn't she  Butter wouldn't melt, but she's an evil trained killer (when she's not napping).   

[sheilarose]

Very pleased to see this thread. FB you must be very happy with the result, and may I add what a magnificent set of whiskers Millie is sporting? 

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

Fantastic! What a lovely transformation 

[Jiji]

Wow, that's a great difference in 3 months 

[fluffybunny]

From this:


to this:


In 3 months, just by swapping to a raw food diet!

[Dawn F]

great news well done

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

Quick update - Milly is now fully furred.  I can't believe that after a few years of struggling, it was as 'simple' as swapping to a raw food diet.  Her fur is glossy and glowing and she is doing fabulously 

That's great news! 

[fluffybunny]

Quick update - Milly is now fully furred.  I can't believe that after a few years of struggling, it was as 'simple' as swapping to a raw food diet.  Her fur is glossy and glowing and she is doing fabulously 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Great news 

[fluffybunny]

Yes, everything is settling down nicely.  It's the first time in about 3 years that she's actually completely covered in fur!! It will take some time to grow back fully (I can still just about see where Geoffrey's sides were shaved for a kidney ultrasound last November) but it's definitely on the way.  I'm so pleased, and also quite frustrated that it took so long to resolve - turns out that whatever food we were trying her on, there was still something in it which was causing a problem.  Raw seems to have totally resolved it though 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

hope she is still doing well and is back from the breach 

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

Glad to hear that Millie is doing well! 

[fluffybunny]

Another update...Milly has been just on the raw diet now for the past month, and the fur has been growing back brilliantly.  I was feeling so chuffed, I think we've finally cracked it just by the diet.  This was sort of confirmed this week when I went away for a couple of days and I came back to Milly with the recurrence of the bald patch on her hip and elbow.  When I asked my OH what he had been feeding her, he said that he had run out of the raw food and the next lot hadn't defrosted in time, so he had given her some biscuits (the hypoallergenic ones!!) - and instantly she had started scratching and pulling the fur out again!! 

My vet did tell me at the start that in theory, if things improve on a strict type of diet, you're supposed to re-challenge with the other food after 8 weeks in order to confirm the diagnosis, but that most people don't want to do it by that point because things are starting to settle down.  She was of course quite right, I didn't want to do it when things were settling, but it seems that we have inadvertently done it anyway and proved the point!

So hopefully now we have confirmed that Milly is extremely sensitised to processed foods, we can keep her on the raw diet and it should all settle down again.  I just hope that it doesn't take too long for the latest irritant to get out of her system, as apparently one mouthful can cause itchiness for quite a significant period of time. 

[fluffybunny]

Thanks for the replies - my laptop keeps chucking me out every time I try and reply, so it's taken me several days to get this far!! But now I've learnt to save my answer so that if it does it again, I can just keep trying 

Milly has been on the hypoallergenic food for 2 months now...albeit supplemented with a variety of small furries and feathereds that she brings in from outside.  So not ideal as it's not the way you're supposed to test these, but at least she hasn't been haven any other bought foods (my vet calls all normal cat foods 'beige'  )   I do have a comfy collar, but was reluctant to use it as I had read elsewhere that you run the risk of starting stress related over grooming and then you can go round in a different circle!  Good call on the clipping nails though, I've done that 

Anyway, another twist this week.  I have been away for a few days and my OH was unable to get the piriton into her.  And now I'm back and she has stopped scratching her ears  I've looked at the ingredients and maize flour is among them.  So I wonder if the piriton was soothing the skin enough to stop her over grooming, but at the same time made her ears crazily itchy.  Odd but possible??  Anyway, she has plucked away a little of the fur at the back end which was growing back but seems to have subsequently stopped doing this.  So maybe...just maybe...initially the piriton helped while the diet was being sorted, but then the other non-active ingredients have become more of a problem than they have solved.  I think I'm going to give it a few more days and see how things go, and then take her back for a revisit.  It would be awesome if the change of diet alone has made the difference. 

Thanks for the help 

[sheilarose]

I have a cat who is grain sensitive which makes him aggressive and prone to over grooming. A change of diet helped him immeasurably but to stop the itch-scratch cycle you need a physical barrier until the diet takes effect. I recommend comfy collars, these protect the head from scratching ( you will also want yo clip his back claws) without stopping them from eating and drinking, and without the stress associated with lampshade collars. They are available from Amazon or really fast direct from the suppliers comfycollar.co.uk

Your vet may also suggest hormone injections as a solution, these have also shown dramatic improvements in another cat of mine but beware of potentially dangerous side affects.

[Liz]

You can get a spray version of this my friend has it for her Jack russell works a treat takes the heat and itching away - she gets from her vets at PAH

[fluffybunny]

Hello!!

Milly has struggled with dermatitis on and off for some time.  She goes through phases of overgrooming parts of her body and in recent weeks has started getting very itchy and so is scratching a lot.  She focuses a lot on her head and is now making her ears bleed  . We have moved her onto a hypoallergenic food (hydrolysed proteins) and she has been having Piriton, and these measures have helped with the overgrooming but not with the constant scratching.

My vet has mentioned trying atopica but is reluctant because it is a very powerful drug and there are significant risks to the immune system, to which Milly could be more susceptible than other kitties as she is a big hunter (another reason the food diet hasn't been wholly successful!!).

Does anyone have any other suggestions, or any experiences of using atopica??  I'm pretty reluctant too, but it is getting to the point where I think we need to do something drastic as it can't be pleasant being as itchy as she is. 

Thanks!