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Old July 31st, 2010, 05:03 PM
kashalha kashalha is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: michigan
Posts: 7
cat allergy possible, puzzled

i have a 4 year old tiger cat, female and spade, with no health issues in her whole life. recent;y, i got scared by all the talk of bad processed animal foods and switched the cats diet to different organic, peta approved foods till i found one they both liked (2 cats in house). at the same time, the house acquired a breeder raised dog. soon after, this 4 yr old cat started to exhibit some problems. first, what looks like ear mites in her ears, very dirty. i had dealt with these before with many different animnals over the years and treated it accordingly. all the animals have been on revolution, and none of the others has shown these mite symptoms. also, i have been cleaning her ears regularly, but it does not seem to be lessoning. the hair on her ears disappeared, but since treatment, has been growing back. also, she has not been scratching at the ears as much, and never does the furious head shake. second, a growing bald spot has appeared on her abdomen, and is starting to climb up to her chest. no scars or scabs, but we have seen her scratching and licking both abdomen and ears over this time. third, just found some crusty formations on the top tips of her bottom foot pads. looked at pictures of cutaneous horns, and this is not it. they are same color as pads, no bleeding or pus, just crusty, extra bits at the tips. this is a complete, 100% indoor cat, as are other cat and mostly the dog, who is a toy breed and rarely outside. also, all animals have been treated by topicals, and all have been routinely checked thru the years for mites, worms, etc.
so this particular cat has no worms, the mites i thought i saw may be dirt as she has been hiding continuously under a dusty bed and closet since the puppy arrived. no mange. no fleas, ticks or any other parasites have been noticed on fur, or feces. feces and urine is same as always, no loss or increase of appetite, no change in behavior, no fever or erratic behaviors, no lethargy. cat is naturally skiddish, but is affectionate and cuddly with people. gums are normal color. breath smells regular. cat gets regular nail trims, teeth brushed and all around spoiled.
i feed cats natural balance dry and wet foods.
i am thinking that the symptoms may be from either 1)a food allergy, or 2) a psychosomatic disorder, where her nervousness from the dog is causing her to scratch and lick compulsively, but that would not explain the foot crusts or possible earmites. since she was scratching terribly at her ears at first, the junk i have been cleaning out may be self inflicted. i admit, i do need to go get it tested, but i was so sure that it was mites, i just treated it accordingly, though i have not uses topical mite treatment, just cleaning solution (epi-otic) and the revolution continuously, and again on all animals in the house, who have never shown symptoms of the mites.
so, i have switched to a limited food diet type of the natural balance slowly to see if it is a food allergy.
my question is basically, have i missed something? trying to hit the obvious, fixable bases before i start to get her tested for things. oh, and she already tested negative for leukemia and fiv. thanks for your time, very much appreciate any input.
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