Hi, I am new here and have decided that it is time that I educate myself on the life of being an elder cat owner.
My Zen came to us in Sept of 94 and was about 2 years old at the time. She has been a great cat, true to form in most ways (has to have things on her own terms, lets you know when she is unhappy... you know the drill) except for one thing. She is horribly allergic to fleas. Like horribly in the most horrible way. Loses all of her hair, can't sleep for all the itching, gets cranky (-er) and so forth. She doesn't get to go outside, but she does sneak out maybe twice a year... grrrr and we do not bring any other animals into the house. Of course you can't exactly screen house guests for fleas, and I am sure that we bring them in from time to time on our clothing after hiking, camping, general outdoor stuff.
In the past what has worked is a quick trip to the vet, a shot of Methylphenid and then 6 weeks of Prednisone at home. However, now I have been informed by the vet that fleas may not be all that she is allergic to and that she could just be randomly "acquiring" new allergies as she ages. The vet also told me that using the Prednisone can make her more susceptible to disease and infection and shorten her life. We let the vet know that a shorter more comfortable life is better than a long drawn out life of misery... and at at least 14 years of age (this was last year) she had already lived longer than any cat either of us has ever owned.
The last round of Methylphenid and Prednisone has not done the trick and she is fairly miserable. I have flea bathed her, she is up to date on her flea meds (advantage) and we have bombed the house. None of us have seen fleas anywhere except on her and we don't have bites ourselves. Finally, in desperation last night I bathed her with some moisturizing shampoo/soap in hopes that it would soothe her itchiness a little bit.
Any other suggestions for soothing her dry irritated skin? I am totally all for anything natural/herbal/whatever. I just want her to feel better. I hate the idea of having to put her down if there is something that can be done to make her more comfortable.
Thanks,
Lochlainn.
My Zen came to us in Sept of 94 and was about 2 years old at the time. She has been a great cat, true to form in most ways (has to have things on her own terms, lets you know when she is unhappy... you know the drill) except for one thing. She is horribly allergic to fleas. Like horribly in the most horrible way. Loses all of her hair, can't sleep for all the itching, gets cranky (-er) and so forth. She doesn't get to go outside, but she does sneak out maybe twice a year... grrrr and we do not bring any other animals into the house. Of course you can't exactly screen house guests for fleas, and I am sure that we bring them in from time to time on our clothing after hiking, camping, general outdoor stuff.
In the past what has worked is a quick trip to the vet, a shot of Methylphenid and then 6 weeks of Prednisone at home. However, now I have been informed by the vet that fleas may not be all that she is allergic to and that she could just be randomly "acquiring" new allergies as she ages. The vet also told me that using the Prednisone can make her more susceptible to disease and infection and shorten her life. We let the vet know that a shorter more comfortable life is better than a long drawn out life of misery... and at at least 14 years of age (this was last year) she had already lived longer than any cat either of us has ever owned.
The last round of Methylphenid and Prednisone has not done the trick and she is fairly miserable. I have flea bathed her, she is up to date on her flea meds (advantage) and we have bombed the house. None of us have seen fleas anywhere except on her and we don't have bites ourselves. Finally, in desperation last night I bathed her with some moisturizing shampoo/soap in hopes that it would soothe her itchiness a little bit.
Any other suggestions for soothing her dry irritated skin? I am totally all for anything natural/herbal/whatever. I just want her to feel better. I hate the idea of having to put her down if there is something that can be done to make her more comfortable.
Thanks,
Lochlainn.
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Re: Hi, New here with a question
Sun, December 2, 2007 - 4:38 PMwhat are you feeding her? Many times food allergies in animals cause severe skin problems. The biggest culprits are corn, wheat, chicken and beef. If you've been feeding her the same thing for years it can cause the allergy to worsen over time. Also a cat can develop an allergy to a food after eating for a long period of time.
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Re: Hi, New here with a question
Sun, December 2, 2007 - 9:34 PMWow you have an old lady there! 15 years old? I'd say she's doing good.
Stay away from the essential oil/smelly herb flea powders/washes and sprays. They can harm kitty's liver - kitty metabolisms are very sensitive to smelly stuff like mint, rosemary, lavender, tea tree.
I put borates in my carpet. It's safe for the cats and kills the fleas. Borates are the flea-bomb! So if you track eggs/fleas into the house they have a smaller chance of getting through the life cycle and getting to Miss Zen.
I got a 12 year old boy - he's pretty allergic and sensitive too. Innova Evo worked for him.
Good luck.
iris -
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Re: Hi, New here with a question
Sun, December 2, 2007 - 9:39 PMThanks both for these words.
I have hardwood so I am not sure where I would put the Borates... I do have 2 area rugs, so could do that I suppose.
And yes, 14-15ish is where my Zen is sitting, and some days it doesn't show, and others she is the oldest cat in the world. Lately she has really been showing her age, but I can't help feeling like it is the being miserable from the itchiness that is doing it to her.
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Re: Hi, New here with a question
Sun, December 2, 2007 - 10:01 PMHealthy cats can live to be twenty. So no, she is not the oldest cat in the world.
Given that she's an indoor cat, it sounds like food allergies (and probably vaccinations) are the root of her problems. I'd suggest flower essences and homeopathy to ease (and probably cure) her symptoms. Flower essences are NOT at all the same thing as essential oils. Essential oils can indeed be irritating and/or harmful to a cat. Flower essences are more like homeopathy in that they work energetically. The major difference is that inappropriate homeopathic remedies can actually cause harm whereas inappropriate flower essences will simply have no effect. So you are relatively free to experiment with flower essences (NOT essential oils!) whereas you need to use homeopathy under strict advisement from a homeopathic practitioner.
I can recommend both a homeopathic practitioner and a flower essence practitioner if you're interested. They're not exactly cheap, but they are significantly less expensive than a regular vet, and they both do phone consultations. I get regular checkups and blood work, etc at the regular vet, then take care of any problems with the flower essences and homeopathy. It's been working out well this way for 11 years now... and counting...
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