| Parents Speak How Raw Food Can Help Allergies By Paula Keriazes July 25, 2010 |
I had been fostering for a local rescue group for only a few weeks when they told me about a cat that was coming
into their system. He’d lived with a family but had some health issues that the family couldn’t deal with. He went to
a local kill shelter but the workers there adored him and asked my group to take him out. He went straight to the
vet because he appeared to have a skin issue. The vet kept him for a few weeks but couldn’t seem to help him so
they asked if I would foster him while they looked for someone else to treat him. When he came to my house and I
got a good look at him, I was shocked. His head was covered with scabs and open sores, he was completely bald on
his belly and inner legs and he didn’t even have whiskers! He was so itchy he had licked and scratched his own skin
until it bled. He was the homeliest kitty I’d ever seen. And this is how our love story began…I called him Bald Kitty.
into their system. He’d lived with a family but had some health issues that the family couldn’t deal with. He went to
a local kill shelter but the workers there adored him and asked my group to take him out. He went straight to the
vet because he appeared to have a skin issue. The vet kept him for a few weeks but couldn’t seem to help him so
they asked if I would foster him while they looked for someone else to treat him. When he came to my house and I
got a good look at him, I was shocked. His head was covered with scabs and open sores, he was completely bald on
his belly and inner legs and he didn’t even have whiskers! He was so itchy he had licked and scratched his own skin
until it bled. He was the homeliest kitty I’d ever seen. And this is how our love story began…I called him Bald Kitty.
Update: October 11, 2010 - On October 9th we had to let Teddy go quite suddenly. He hadn't been feeling well for about a week and had a lot of
health problems since I took him in as a foster, a year and a half ago. Recently his auto immune system started acting up. His gums got inflamed even
though his teeth were good, the vet told me he was allergic to his own tooth enamel. I upped his allergy medicine dosage and that helped for a while.
But they seemed to be bothering him again last week. Back to the vet and more allergy meds. Then he stopped eating his normal portions. Normally
he loved his food so I was pretty concerned. Back to the vet again and this time she took blood and gave him an antibiotic shot for what she thought
was just a little bug.
While we were waiting for the antibiotic to start working he started eating much less and looking more and more uncomfortable. I made him special
things to eat each day so he'd always have something in his tummy but he was barely interested. We went back to the vet on Friday because by then
the antibiotic should have been making him feel better. The vet took an x-ray and took me into a quiet room to tell there was fluid in his abdominal
cavity. She thought he might have cancer so she wanted to draw some fluid to send to the lab. But when she did, we got even more bad news. The vet
said that the color and texture of the fluid told her he had FIP. She was sending it to the lab, but since there's no definitive FIP test, it probably
wouldn't tell us much.
The vet told me to take him home and keep an eye on him but I think I knew he was coming home to say goodbye. Teddy had some pain meds but
was still obviously uncomfortable. He didn't sleep well that night, he didn't want to snuggle like he usually does and he was hunched like he was in pain
all night. That look continued into the morning - he didn't want to walk around and he even moved away from all the food I'd brought in to try to
tempt him. He stopped purring and his eyes looked bad so I called the vet again.
Although FIP is very difficult to diagnose, the vet said that he had so many symptoms that there was just no doubt. So I made the decision to let him
go, I couldn't let him suffer any longer. Rest in peace little Teddy.
health problems since I took him in as a foster, a year and a half ago. Recently his auto immune system started acting up. His gums got inflamed even
though his teeth were good, the vet told me he was allergic to his own tooth enamel. I upped his allergy medicine dosage and that helped for a while.
But they seemed to be bothering him again last week. Back to the vet and more allergy meds. Then he stopped eating his normal portions. Normally
he loved his food so I was pretty concerned. Back to the vet again and this time she took blood and gave him an antibiotic shot for what she thought
was just a little bug.
While we were waiting for the antibiotic to start working he started eating much less and looking more and more uncomfortable. I made him special
things to eat each day so he'd always have something in his tummy but he was barely interested. We went back to the vet on Friday because by then
the antibiotic should have been making him feel better. The vet took an x-ray and took me into a quiet room to tell there was fluid in his abdominal
cavity. She thought he might have cancer so she wanted to draw some fluid to send to the lab. But when she did, we got even more bad news. The vet
said that the color and texture of the fluid told her he had FIP. She was sending it to the lab, but since there's no definitive FIP test, it probably
wouldn't tell us much.
The vet told me to take him home and keep an eye on him but I think I knew he was coming home to say goodbye. Teddy had some pain meds but
was still obviously uncomfortable. He didn't sleep well that night, he didn't want to snuggle like he usually does and he was hunched like he was in pain
all night. That look continued into the morning - he didn't want to walk around and he even moved away from all the food I'd brought in to try to
tempt him. He stopped purring and his eyes looked bad so I called the vet again.
Although FIP is very difficult to diagnose, the vet said that he had so many symptoms that there was just no doubt. So I made the decision to let him
go, I couldn't let him suffer any longer. Rest in peace little Teddy.
| Bald Kitty pre-raw diet & sickly |
| Teddy, pre-raw diet and in rough shape |
| Teddy, healthy and adorable in his little shirt! |
| BK, healthy, strong & handsome! |
He was on multiple medications, none of which seemed to helping. He couldn’t go into the adoption center looking the way he did, so he just stayed
with me. Eventually the group was able to locate a veterinary dermatologist and make him an appointment. The dermatologist reviewed all the tests
and did a few more. At the end of the exam while I was talking to her, he crawled into my arms like a baby and snuggled there quietly while I rocked
him. He’d never even sat in my lap before, never mind cuddled in my arms. I felt another little piece of my heart give way.
All the test results came back; he didn’t have fleas or mites. There was no obvious reason for him to be that itchy. After eliminating all other
possibilities the dermatologist diagnosed him with food allergies and some other allergic reactions. An indicator that we were dealing with allergies was
the fact that he had constant ear problems. Whether bacterial or yeast infections, these ear problems often go hand in hand with allergies. There is
blood testing available for allergies but this dermatologist doesn’t think it’s reliable. However, we do know kitties that have benefited from the test so
it’s worth pursuing.
Now that it was time for treatment, we discontinued all his meds, including the steroids he’d been on. We put him in a soft cone to protect his skin and
we began the first step of allergy treatment; the elimination diet. An elimination diet consists of removing all sources of the old food and switching to a
single, novel protein source. In Bald Kitty’s case, he was given Hill’s prescription rabbit and green pea. (Note: I was new to both cats and fostering and
had no idea that this diet is not ideal and that I had other options. I, like many others, was just following instructions.) The idea behind an elimination
diet is simple. Cats are not allergic to foods they’ve never had before. They become allergic to things already in their diets. So by giving them a new
protein source, and only that protein source you are removing the offending protein completely. It’s not always that easy though. You can’t give
treats, no matter how much begging goes on. If you have other cats in the house the allergy cat has to eat separately. And you have to keep the cat on
this diet strictly for 8-12 weeks because it takes that long for allergens to clear their systems.
I started to see improvement about 2 months in and I was able to remove the cone. Although there was still scratching and licking, it wasn’t as
extreme as before. The dermatologist was very pleased with his progress. As time went on and it became clear that food wasn’t the only culprit
causing Bald Kitty’s itchy reactions, the doctor pulled out the next weapon in her arsenal; Atopica. Atopica is an immune suppressant (generic name
Cyclosporine) that is commonly prescribed for dogs with skin problems. It’s off-label for cats but this dermatologist had good results when she
prescribed it for other kitties. For us, it was like magic, within a week the itching stopped. Soon afterwards we had to make a name change. Bald Kitty
was now BK.
Eventually BK stopped eating the prescription food – he’d had enough. The dermatologist didn’t want him on a different protein source yet so I had
the brilliant idea of cooking him fresh rabbit. I must have hit 10 upscale grocery stores, butchers and specialty stores before I found one that sold
whole, fresh rabbits. $40 later I started cooking. I still didn’t know much about cat nutrition so I threw it in the oven, de-boned it, chopped it up and
put it on top of BK’s food to get him to eat. It worked! For about 2 months. Then even the cooked rabbit wasn’t good enough. I started doing research
until I found Natural Balance Limited Ingredient cans. I didn’t think BK had a lot of venison in his life and there was nothing obviously allergenic in the
ingredients so we switched to the venison/green pea flavor. BK was happy again and mommy could relax.
As BK and I traveled this long, winding road together I couldn’t help but be in awe of him. He never complained, no matter how uncomfortable he
must have been, he always kept his even-keeled, fun personality. He never minded fosters constantly coming into the house – never once hissed at
anyone. He was curious about everything and loved everyone. How could I not fall in love? We made it official about 5 months after he arrived when I
signed his adoption papers.
After my success with BK and a lot of research about his condition, I put the word out to the rescue that I would be interested in fostering any other
allergy kitties they came across. Soon after they asked me to meet Lance. Lance was an older, chubby tabby. He had a very sweet disposition but
always had skin issues and had been in the system for almost his entire life because no one would adopt a kitty with lesions like he had. I was happy to
take him in and start the process again: A consultation with the dermatologist, soft cone so he could heal, elimination diet to settle his skin and Atopica
to suppress additional allergens. In three months Lance was like a new kitty. He’d slimmed down, he was out of the cone and had stopped itching, he’d
also become best friends with BK and we were both crazy about him. One of my favorite memories of Lance was his happiness at finding a stuffed
mouse, carrying it into the bedroom while meowing wildly (and with his mouth full) and dropping it on the bed at my feet. He found such joy in giving.
I think we could all learn a lesson from him.
I woke up one morning shortly after to find that Lance had died in his sleep. I took his body to his vet to see if she could explain what had happened.
She said he’d had a heart murmur and had probably thrown a clot. The fact that he died peacefully was of some comfort. Lance’s vet was impressed
with how well he looked and how far he had come with his allergy treatments and asked if I wanted to meet a homeless kitty who was staying there
for treatment. His name was Teddy McLovin’.
with me. Eventually the group was able to locate a veterinary dermatologist and make him an appointment. The dermatologist reviewed all the tests
and did a few more. At the end of the exam while I was talking to her, he crawled into my arms like a baby and snuggled there quietly while I rocked
him. He’d never even sat in my lap before, never mind cuddled in my arms. I felt another little piece of my heart give way.
All the test results came back; he didn’t have fleas or mites. There was no obvious reason for him to be that itchy. After eliminating all other
possibilities the dermatologist diagnosed him with food allergies and some other allergic reactions. An indicator that we were dealing with allergies was
the fact that he had constant ear problems. Whether bacterial or yeast infections, these ear problems often go hand in hand with allergies. There is
blood testing available for allergies but this dermatologist doesn’t think it’s reliable. However, we do know kitties that have benefited from the test so
it’s worth pursuing.
Now that it was time for treatment, we discontinued all his meds, including the steroids he’d been on. We put him in a soft cone to protect his skin and
we began the first step of allergy treatment; the elimination diet. An elimination diet consists of removing all sources of the old food and switching to a
single, novel protein source. In Bald Kitty’s case, he was given Hill’s prescription rabbit and green pea. (Note: I was new to both cats and fostering and
had no idea that this diet is not ideal and that I had other options. I, like many others, was just following instructions.) The idea behind an elimination
diet is simple. Cats are not allergic to foods they’ve never had before. They become allergic to things already in their diets. So by giving them a new
protein source, and only that protein source you are removing the offending protein completely. It’s not always that easy though. You can’t give
treats, no matter how much begging goes on. If you have other cats in the house the allergy cat has to eat separately. And you have to keep the cat on
this diet strictly for 8-12 weeks because it takes that long for allergens to clear their systems.
I started to see improvement about 2 months in and I was able to remove the cone. Although there was still scratching and licking, it wasn’t as
extreme as before. The dermatologist was very pleased with his progress. As time went on and it became clear that food wasn’t the only culprit
causing Bald Kitty’s itchy reactions, the doctor pulled out the next weapon in her arsenal; Atopica. Atopica is an immune suppressant (generic name
Cyclosporine) that is commonly prescribed for dogs with skin problems. It’s off-label for cats but this dermatologist had good results when she
prescribed it for other kitties. For us, it was like magic, within a week the itching stopped. Soon afterwards we had to make a name change. Bald Kitty
was now BK.
Eventually BK stopped eating the prescription food – he’d had enough. The dermatologist didn’t want him on a different protein source yet so I had
the brilliant idea of cooking him fresh rabbit. I must have hit 10 upscale grocery stores, butchers and specialty stores before I found one that sold
whole, fresh rabbits. $40 later I started cooking. I still didn’t know much about cat nutrition so I threw it in the oven, de-boned it, chopped it up and
put it on top of BK’s food to get him to eat. It worked! For about 2 months. Then even the cooked rabbit wasn’t good enough. I started doing research
until I found Natural Balance Limited Ingredient cans. I didn’t think BK had a lot of venison in his life and there was nothing obviously allergenic in the
ingredients so we switched to the venison/green pea flavor. BK was happy again and mommy could relax.
As BK and I traveled this long, winding road together I couldn’t help but be in awe of him. He never complained, no matter how uncomfortable he
must have been, he always kept his even-keeled, fun personality. He never minded fosters constantly coming into the house – never once hissed at
anyone. He was curious about everything and loved everyone. How could I not fall in love? We made it official about 5 months after he arrived when I
signed his adoption papers.
After my success with BK and a lot of research about his condition, I put the word out to the rescue that I would be interested in fostering any other
allergy kitties they came across. Soon after they asked me to meet Lance. Lance was an older, chubby tabby. He had a very sweet disposition but
always had skin issues and had been in the system for almost his entire life because no one would adopt a kitty with lesions like he had. I was happy to
take him in and start the process again: A consultation with the dermatologist, soft cone so he could heal, elimination diet to settle his skin and Atopica
to suppress additional allergens. In three months Lance was like a new kitty. He’d slimmed down, he was out of the cone and had stopped itching, he’d
also become best friends with BK and we were both crazy about him. One of my favorite memories of Lance was his happiness at finding a stuffed
mouse, carrying it into the bedroom while meowing wildly (and with his mouth full) and dropping it on the bed at my feet. He found such joy in giving.
I think we could all learn a lesson from him.
I woke up one morning shortly after to find that Lance had died in his sleep. I took his body to his vet to see if she could explain what had happened.
She said he’d had a heart murmur and had probably thrown a clot. The fact that he died peacefully was of some comfort. Lance’s vet was impressed
with how well he looked and how far he had come with his allergy treatments and asked if I wanted to meet a homeless kitty who was staying there
for treatment. His name was Teddy McLovin’.
Teddy had been caught in a TNR trap but was obviously not feral. However he’d
been burned somehow and had multiple operations to try to repair his damaged
skin. He was living at the vet for months while he recuperated and was a favorite of
the staff. He came waddling out in a cone that was bigger than he was and I was
immediately struck by his big eyes and adorable face. It seemed that although he
was recovered from the burns and surgery he had certain spots on his chest and
shoulders that he wouldn’t stop licking, to the point that they were open wounds.
The vet was beginning to wonder if it was allergies and she was thinking of fostering
him herself.
I went home to BK and we both grieved for Lance. Poor BK didn’t know where his
best friend had gone. He started asking to go out in the apartment building hallway
as if he was looking for him. He cried at night, which he’d never done before. I knew
I had to get another foster in quickly so he would have company.
been burned somehow and had multiple operations to try to repair his damaged
skin. He was living at the vet for months while he recuperated and was a favorite of
the staff. He came waddling out in a cone that was bigger than he was and I was
immediately struck by his big eyes and adorable face. It seemed that although he
was recovered from the burns and surgery he had certain spots on his chest and
shoulders that he wouldn’t stop licking, to the point that they were open wounds.
The vet was beginning to wonder if it was allergies and she was thinking of fostering
him herself.
I went home to BK and we both grieved for Lance. Poor BK didn’t know where his
best friend had gone. He started asking to go out in the apartment building hallway
as if he was looking for him. He cried at night, which he’d never done before. I knew
I had to get another foster in quickly so he would have company.
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Shortly after that I got a call from the vet saying that her pets hadn’t adjusted well to fostering and would I consider taking in Teddy and helping with
his skin. She still wasn’t sure it was allergies, but we decided an allergy treatment was worth a try. I couldn’t resist that sweet face and readily agreed.
He showed up with that huge cone – it was so big he couldn’t see his feet! The poor boy couldn’t even play. I knew I had to come up with something
better. So after a couple of failed experiments I started dressing him in dog shirts and infant size ones with the bottoms cut off. They fit him fine and
he wasn’t able to get to his itchy spots so his skin started healing right away.
During this time I had been doing more and more research into the best treatments for allergy kitties and had learned a lot about raw food diets. By
the time Teddy came to live with us I was starting BK on my first stab at raw feeding so Teddy joined us. I began with the recipe on catinfo.org. I
purchased rabbit ground with bones and organs (knowing neither of them was allergic to rabbit), supplemented it and froze it in portioned freezer
bags. Both cats of course refused it. So I started putting some in a non-stick frying pan and cooking it just enough to get a cooked-meat smell
happening. All of a sudden everyone was more interested.
Although Teddy stayed with this recipe and eventually got to the point where he would eat it raw, BK graduated to RMB’s – Raw, Meaty Bones. I was
nervous about giving a variety of meats to an allergy kitty but he now eats a rotation of about 6 different protein sources, along with liver, kidney,
sweetbreads and chicken necks for bone.
his skin. She still wasn’t sure it was allergies, but we decided an allergy treatment was worth a try. I couldn’t resist that sweet face and readily agreed.
He showed up with that huge cone – it was so big he couldn’t see his feet! The poor boy couldn’t even play. I knew I had to come up with something
better. So after a couple of failed experiments I started dressing him in dog shirts and infant size ones with the bottoms cut off. They fit him fine and
he wasn’t able to get to his itchy spots so his skin started healing right away.
During this time I had been doing more and more research into the best treatments for allergy kitties and had learned a lot about raw food diets. By
the time Teddy came to live with us I was starting BK on my first stab at raw feeding so Teddy joined us. I began with the recipe on catinfo.org. I
purchased rabbit ground with bones and organs (knowing neither of them was allergic to rabbit), supplemented it and froze it in portioned freezer
bags. Both cats of course refused it. So I started putting some in a non-stick frying pan and cooking it just enough to get a cooked-meat smell
happening. All of a sudden everyone was more interested.
Although Teddy stayed with this recipe and eventually got to the point where he would eat it raw, BK graduated to RMB’s – Raw, Meaty Bones. I was
nervous about giving a variety of meats to an allergy kitty but he now eats a rotation of about 6 different protein sources, along with liver, kidney,
sweetbreads and chicken necks for bone.
Teddy’s allergies seem to have slightly different symptoms from BK – he has his itchy “hot
spots” but also digestive problems. At first I was feeding him both canned prescription
food and the ground raw and although his skin healed, he vomited a lot and his stool was
soft and always seemed to have traces of blood in it. Eventually I stopped the canned food
completely and his stool seemed to clear up overnight. Now that he’s on raw only, his stool
is small, dry and has no odor. Both cats have been able to taper off the meds slightly as
well. It’s a continuous journey for us, but I'm lucky to have two of the greatest little
companions along for the ride.
See also www.ibdkitties.net/rawinstructions.html for instructions on feeding raw.
If you'd like to join our support group click here:
www.catster.com/group/Cats_with_allergies-14743
spots” but also digestive problems. At first I was feeding him both canned prescription
food and the ground raw and although his skin healed, he vomited a lot and his stool was
soft and always seemed to have traces of blood in it. Eventually I stopped the canned food
completely and his stool seemed to clear up overnight. Now that he’s on raw only, his stool
is small, dry and has no odor. Both cats have been able to taper off the meds slightly as
well. It’s a continuous journey for us, but I'm lucky to have two of the greatest little
companions along for the ride.
See also www.ibdkitties.net/rawinstructions.html for instructions on feeding raw.
If you'd like to join our support group click here:
www.catster.com/group/Cats_with_allergies-14743
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