Where do I go from here?

[cassiek]

Hi all,

I received Furby's allergy panel back a few days ago and would appreciate any suggestions/advice etc. as to what direction I should take next.

Long story short, Furby is allergic to many allergens, both food and environmental. He is allergic to beef (this includes bison), chicken, and rice (isn't that odd?). He is not allergic to lamb, turkey, eggs, dairy products, fish, and grains. In the environment he is allergic to ragweed, timothy hay, fescue, kochia, a few types of molds etc. Fortunately, he is not allergic to dog/human hair and dander!

I am feeding him 1/2 kibble and 1/2 raw. For kibble I was feeding Orijen's Regional Red, which has deboned bison. I have stopped feeding that, and have replaced it with Orijen's 6 Fish which has no ingredients he is allergic to. For raw I was feeding a variety of novel proteins, including elk, duck, lamb, rabbit, and bison (). I have cut the bison out of his diet. I was also giving him rib bones from a cow (), and have switched to elk bones.

I have started adding a fish oil rich in Omega 3 and 6 to help with his skin coat.

I believe since cutting out the bison and beef in his diet, that should help him alot. I am avoiding those foods, and would like to see how his condition improves within a few months. I have also removed the timothy hay from my house (I have a rabbit), and have been giving her oat hay instead (it is VERY hard to find hay for a rabbit that is NOT timothy or alfalfa).

If his allergies don't improve I have a few other options:

1. http://www.atopica.ca/ This is a new drug in Canada for treatment of allergies. It is not a steroid. I'm curious to try it, but it's quite expensive ($42.00 approx for 15 pills). I am not sure how much he would need to start, but obviously I would eventually get him down to a maintenance level so it may not be that expensive in the long run. I have also looked at purchasing Atopica online, which would save me some $$ (I would need to send in the Rx first). Does anyone have any experience with this drug and how successful was it?

2. The lab I had the allergy panel done at will create a custom injection for the environmental allergens Furby is allergic to. It costs approx. $20/month. Initial treatment would start off with numerous injections and would eventually whittle down to a maintenance level where I would probably only give one injection a month. Again, I am curious as to other's experience with this?

Personally I like the sounds of #2 better, as it specifically targets only what he is allergic to, but I have also heard many pet owners have had alot of success with Atopica.

Thanx!