Allergies

[chaps89]

When Stanley turned up with us he had a couple of sores down his front legs, he's also always had a tendency to overgroom.
Initially we had him on a hypoallergenic diet with single source of protein, then the vet suggested we try a vet food with hydralised protein in it.
He did seem to improve on it but there seems to be only 2 brands of wet food that fit this spec and due to Covid/Brexit stocks are limited and irregular.
So that combined with the 2 cats not getting on so well as we had to separate them for feeding, meant we just moved to regular cat food (still one of the better brands)
Anyway, poor cat, his hair is just falling out and he's grooming incessantly - though randomly he doesn't have sores on his forearms any more.
Vet clipped a small patch to monitor him and his skin is very red, he's had steroids and antibiotics but there's been little improvement.
I've asked the vet about allergy testing, she didn't seem that convinced tbh.
Whilst the test is fairly expensive, it's less than 3 months worth of the hydralised food so it feels worth exploring to me so we can try and get to the root of the problem.
Has anyone gone through this, was it worth it/did it help?
Would it be nice physically for him to have a bath in some sort of soothing shampoo? (Mentally I think he'd hate it though and I'm not sure I could inflict him on a groomer to do it really so it's probably not an option)
Any other ideas or experiences welcome

It doesn't actually look so bad in the photo either.

 

[Roxylola]

I can't suggest much regarding the allergies as I've no experience. Anecdotally, I have heard people have done allergy tests and because the animal is already reacting to whatever they come back as being allergic to pretty much everything when they're not they're just in overdrive and everything gets a response.
From personal experience as someone who has bathed a cat, _don't_ It is absolutely not something I'd ever repeat unless the cat actively got in the shower or bath by choice. You don't forget the feeling of a stone of cat clambering up your bare arm in a hurry

 

[Umbongo]

Allergy testing is not very accurate tbh. You would be better off seeking a referral to a veterinary dermatologist or feline specialist.
I would not attempt to bathe a cat unless they are very sick or sedated! (or loved water).
Has the over-grooming got worse since you got another cat? Over-grooming can be linked to stress.

 

[chaps89]

Safe to say we won't bath him!

It seems to go through phases, sometimes it's quite mild, other times like now quite severe, but it happened before the kitten arrived too and we were very very careful with introductions, we also have pet remedy and Feliways plug ins in still too. I hope it's not the second cat, that would be awful.

It sounds as though allergy testing might not be the way to go then.
The vet has sent over a huge amount of info that I need to read so I'll do that before deciding too.

As we can't easily get hold of the food intolerance food currently the vet is suggesting steroids to help everything calm down, but obviously if we want to allergy test we have to do that beforehand.
Poor cat.

 

[chaps89]

Oh, out of interest, what would a dermatologist/referral specialist do differently?

 

[wren123]

Our dog was referred to a dermatologist at the RVC for bad ears, it was suspected to be an allergy. The consultant and professor both said that allergy testing wasn't worth it, I'm not sure why. The problem was sorted completely, but not relevant to you as it was only the ears that were a problem not the skin on her body, it was definitely thought to be an allergy though.

In hindsight I should have insisted on my dog being referred sooner as the treatment was far more effective.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I had a neutered male cat whose hair started to fall out after his op. He was treated with hormone tablets which he had to take for the rest of his life but they sorted the problem out.