Cat dermatologist?

Is there such a thing as a cat dermatologist? I think Nanki-Poo needs one.

A couple of years ago, I noticed a bald spot on the back of his neck. It
was perfectly round, about the size of a penny. There were tiny blood
spots. My first thought was that a bird had pulled out a beakful of hair.
The spot bothered him, and he started digging at it. He ended up with a
nasty wound on the back of the neck, and it took quite a while to clear it
up. Even though I was using Frontline, TED was convinced it was a flea
allergy. She ignored my theory about the bird.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a similar spot on the back of his neck, so
I took him to TED right away. She found a similar spot on the side of his
neck. This time, neither spot bothered him, and he hasn't dug at them at
all. TED shaved around the spots and cleaned them. She also gave him a
steroid shot, and gave me some antibiotic pills to give him and told me to
come back in two weeks. She also gave (sold) me some very expensive
hypoallergenic food, because this time she had decided it was a food
allergy.

He wouldn't eat the food, although Lindy ate some of it. I finally went
back to their regular food. When we went back, the spots were pretty well
healed. However, they have become red and raw looking again.

I don't see how it could be a food allergy, since he gets pretty much the
same food all the time. He is an indoor-outdoor cat, and I suspect it could
be an allergy to something he encounters outdoors, but only occasionally.

I'm going to have to take him back to the doctor on Monday, unless I can
come up with an alternative solution. She offered me a different kind of
hypoallergenic food last time, and I turned it down. She'll probably push
it this time. She is also likely to tell me to keep him in the house.
Unfortunately, Lindy can open the cat door if I lock it, and does as soon
as she finds it locked. That means the only way I could keep him in the
house would be to shut him in one room. I did that when he was really sick
soon after I got him, but doing it when he's perfectly healthy is another
thing. He would be miserable. Also, the only room that would work is now
filled with fernows (I'll put it here for now and figure out what to do with
it later), so he'd be really cramped.

Does anybody have any suggestions?

--
Joy

Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never
forgotten this.

On Aug 18, 4:58 pm, "Joy" wrote:
Is there such a thing as a cat dermatologist? I think Nanki-Poo needs one.

A couple of years ago, I noticed a bald spot on the back of his neck. It
was perfectly round, about the size of a penny. There were tiny blood
spots. My first thought was that a bird had pulled out a beakful of hair.
The spot bothered him, and he started digging at it. He ended up with a
nasty wound on the back of the neck, and it took quite a while to clear it
up. Even though I was using Frontline, TED was convinced it was a flea
allergy. She ignored my theory about the bird.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a similar spot on the back of his neck, so
I took him to TED right away. She found a similar spot on the side of his
neck. This time, neither spot bothered him, and he hasn't dug at them at
all. TED shaved around the spots and cleaned them. She also gave him a
steroid shot, and gave me some antibiotic pills to give him and told me to
come back in two weeks. She also gave (sold) me some very expensive
hypoallergenic food, because this time she had decided it was a food
allergy.

He wouldn't eat the food, although Lindy ate some of it. I finally went
back to their regular food. When we went back, the spots were pretty well
healed. However, they have become red and raw looking again.

I don't see how it could be a food allergy, since he gets pretty much the
same food all the time. He is an indoor-outdoor cat, and I suspect it could
be an allergy to something he encounters outdoors, but only occasionally.

I'm going to have to take him back to the doctor on Monday, unless I can
come up with an alternative solution. She offered me a different kind of
hypoallergenic food last time, and I turned it down. She'll probably push
it this time. She is also likely to tell me to keep him in the house.
Unfortunately, Lindy can open the cat door if I lock it, and does as soon
as she finds it locked. That means the only way I could keep him in the
house would be to shut him in one room. I did that when he was really sick
soon after I got him, but doing it when he's perfectly healthy is another
thing. He would be miserable. Also, the only room that would work is now
filled with fernows (I'll put it here for now and figure out what to do with
it later), so he'd be really cramped.

Does anybody have any suggestions?

--
Joy

Don't have any suggestions, but that's really weird, isn't it? I'm
afraid I
don't know much about allergies. I hope Cheryl sees this. She's very
knowledgeable about skin allergies from trying to help Shamrock. She's
done about everything humanly possible to help him.
I bet there is an animal dermitologist in most larger cities. At least
an
animal allergist. I drive by a sign in Oklahoma City that says "Animal
Allergy Clinic." I used to think it was for *people* who were allergic
to animals. Found out later it is for the animals!

Sherry

"Sherry" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Aug 18, 4:58 pm, "Joy" wrote:
Is there such a thing as a cat dermatologist? I think Nanki-Poo needs
one.

A couple of years ago, I noticed a bald spot on the back of his neck. It
was perfectly round, about the size of a penny. There were tiny blood
spots. My first thought was that a bird had pulled out a beakful of
hair.
The spot bothered him, and he started digging at it. He ended up with a
nasty wound on the back of the neck, and it took quite a while to clear
it
up. Even though I was using Frontline, TED was convinced it was a flea
allergy. She ignored my theory about the bird.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a similar spot on the back of his neck,
so
I took him to TED right away. She found a similar spot on the side of
his
neck. This time, neither spot bothered him, and he hasn't dug at them at
all. TED shaved around the spots and cleaned them. She also gave him a
steroid shot, and gave me some antibiotic pills to give him and told me
to
come back in two weeks. She also gave (sold) me some very expensive
hypoallergenic food, because this time she had decided it was a food
allergy.

He wouldn't eat the food, although Lindy ate some of it. I finally went
back to their regular food. When we went back, the spots were pretty
well
healed. However, they have become red and raw looking again.

I don't see how it could be a food allergy, since he gets pretty much the
same food all the time. He is an indoor-outdoor cat, and I suspect it
could
be an allergy to something he encounters outdoors, but only occasionally.

I'm going to have to take him back to the doctor on Monday, unless I can
come up with an alternative solution. She offered me a different kind of
hypoallergenic food last time, and I turned it down. She'll probably
push
it this time. She is also likely to tell me to keep him in the house.
Unfortunately, Lindy can open the cat door if I lock it, and does as
soon
as she finds it locked. That means the only way I could keep him in the
house would be to shut him in one room. I did that when he was really
sick
soon after I got him, but doing it when he's perfectly healthy is another
thing. He would be miserable. Also, the only room that would work is
now
filled with fernows (I'll put it here for now and figure out what to do
with
it later), so he'd be really cramped.

Does anybody have any suggestions?

--
Joy

Don't have any suggestions, but that's really weird, isn't it? I'm
afraid I
don't know much about allergies. I hope Cheryl sees this. She's very
knowledgeable about skin allergies from trying to help Shamrock. She's
done about everything humanly possible to help him.
I bet there is an animal dermitologist in most larger cities. At least
an
animal allergist. I drive by a sign in Oklahoma City that says "Animal
Allergy Clinic." I used to think it was for *people* who were allergic
to animals. Found out later it is for the animals!

Sherry

Thanks, Sherry. I'll do an Internet search and see what I can find.

Joy

I don't see how it could be a food allergy, since he gets pretty
much the same food all the time.

Human and cat food allergies are pretty similar, and it's not at all
unusual for a human to develop an allergy to something they've been
eating regularly for decades. It's also not unusual for formulations
of processed foods (either for humans or animals) to change without
warning and without adequate documentation on the packet.

Since the problem did clear up as a result of the elimination diet,
it looks like your vet is onto something. Stick with it.

One problem that is common with human food allergies is for people
to be addicted to foods that make them ill - the allergic reaction
releases morphine-like substances and you literally get withdrawal
symptoms when removing the offending food from your diet. (This
seems to be most common with wheat and dairy allergies). It
wouldn't surprise me if a cat reacted the same way. In humans, the
withdrawal phase usually lasts two weeks to a month.

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557

There is an animal veterinary clinic that I've seen in Marina del Rey

http://www.animaldermatology.com/han...ate&cpid=14749

Animal Dermatology Clinic
Marina del Rey
13286 Fiji Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
(310) 822-3376 phone
(310) 306-9623 fax



We specialize in diagnosing and treating:
Chronic and severe skin and ear disease
Immune mediated and hormonal skin disease
Nail and nail bed diseases
Skin manifestations of internal disease

Wayne Rosenkrantz, DVM, Dip ACVD
Rudayna Ghubash, DVM, Dip ACVD
Kinga Gortel, MS, Diplomate ACVD
Christina Restrepo, DVM
Allison Kirby, DVM

Gennie

Thanks, Gennie.

--
Joy

Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never
forgotten this.

"Gennie" wrote in message
ups.com...
There is an animal veterinary clinic that I've seen in Marina del Rey

http://www.animaldermatology.com/han...ate&cpid=14749

Animal Dermatology Clinic
Marina del Rey
13286 Fiji Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
(310) 822-3376 phone
(310) 306-9623 fax



We specialize in diagnosing and treating:
Chronic and severe skin and ear disease
Immune mediated and hormonal skin disease
Nail and nail bed diseases
Skin manifestations of internal disease

Wayne Rosenkrantz, DVM, Dip ACVD
Rudayna Ghubash, DVM, Dip ACVD
Kinga Gortel, MS, Diplomate ACVD
Christina Restrepo, DVM
Allison Kirby, DVM

Gennie

"Joy" wrote in message
...
Is there such a thing as a cat dermatologist? I think Nanki-Poo needs
one.

A couple of years ago, I noticed a bald spot on the back of his neck. It
was perfectly round, about the size of a penny. There were tiny blood
spots. My first thought was that a bird had pulled out a beakful of hair.
The spot bothered him, and he started digging at it. He ended up with a
nasty wound on the back of the neck, and it took quite a while to clear it
up. Even though I was using Frontline, TED was convinced it was a flea
allergy. She ignored my theory about the bird.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a similar spot on the back of his neck,
so I took him to TED right away. She found a similar spot on the side of
his neck. This time, neither spot bothered him, and he hasn't dug at them
at all. TED shaved around the spots and cleaned them. She also gave him
a steroid shot, and gave me some antibiotic pills to give him and told me
to come back in two weeks. She also gave (sold) me some very expensive
hypoallergenic food, because this time she had decided it was a food
allergy.

He wouldn't eat the food, although Lindy ate some of it. I finally went
back to their regular food. When we went back, the spots were pretty well
healed. However, they have become red and raw looking again.

I don't see how it could be a food allergy, since he gets pretty much the
same food all the time. He is an indoor-outdoor cat, and I suspect it
could be an allergy to something he encounters outdoors, but only
occasionally.

I'm going to have to take him back to the doctor on Monday, unless I can
come up with an alternative solution. She offered me a different kind of
hypoallergenic food last time, and I turned it down. She'll probably push
it this time. She is also likely to tell me to keep him in the house.
Unfortunately, Lindy can open the cat door if I lock it, and does as soon
as she finds it locked. That means the only way I could keep him in the
house would be to shut him in one room. I did that when he was really
sick soon after I got him, but doing it when he's perfectly healthy is
another thing. He would be miserable. Also, the only room that would
work is now filled with fernows (I'll put it here for now and figure out
what to do with it later), so he'd be really cramped.

Does anybody have any suggestions?


Bam-Bam gets similar, mostly on the front and sides of his neck,
occasionally on a cheek. We noticed the first one after he picked a fight
with Barney. And there was a tuft of white fur on the floor near where the
skirmish broke out. No such marks on Barney. Seems that Bam-Bam is a
bully - just not much of a fighter (more of a lover, actually)! Seems he
gets the worst out of the fights he picks - no matter who the oponnent is!

--
http://www.firstgiving.com/nalee1131964
About my charity:
Monroe County Humane Association
Established in 1956, the MCHA is the longest standing animal welfare
organization in Monroe County. The MCHA is dedicated to "Leading, Advocating
and Educating for Animal Welfare."
Find out more at www.monroehumane.org.

On 2007-08-18 16:58:38 -0500, "Joy" said:

Is there such a thing as a cat dermatologist? I think Nanki-Poo needs one.

A couple of years ago, I noticed a bald spot on the back of his neck.
It was perfectly round, about the size of a penny. There were tiny
blood spots. My first thought was that a bird had pulled out a beakful
of hair. The spot bothered him, and he started digging at it. He ended
up with a nasty wound on the back of the neck, and it took quite a
while to clear it up. Even though I was using Frontline, TED was
convinced it was a flea allergy. She ignored my theory about the bird.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a similar spot on the back of his
neck, so I took him to TED right away. She found a similar spot on
the side of his neck. This time, neither spot bothered him, and he
hasn't dug at them at all. TED shaved around the spots and cleaned
them. She also gave him a steroid shot, and gave me some antibiotic
pills to give him and told me to come back in two weeks. She also gave
(sold) me some very expensive hypoallergenic food, because this time
she had decided it was a food allergy.

He wouldn't eat the food, although Lindy ate some of it. I finally
went back to their regular food. When we went back, the spots were
pretty well healed. However, they have become red and raw looking
again.

I don't see how it could be a food allergy, since he gets pretty much
the same food all the time. He is an indoor-outdoor cat, and I suspect
it could be an allergy to something he encounters outdoors, but only
occasionally.

I'm going to have to take him back to the doctor on Monday, unless I
can come up with an alternative solution. She offered me a different
kind of hypoallergenic food last time, and I turned it down. She'll
probably push it this time. She is also likely to tell me to keep him
in the house. Unfortunately, Lindy can open the cat door if I lock it,
and does as soon as she finds it locked. That means the only way I
could keep him in the house would be to shut him in one room. I did
that when he was really sick soon after I got him, but doing it when
he's perfectly healthy is another thing. He would be miserable. Also,
the only room that would work is now filled with fernows (I'll put it
here for now and figure out what to do with it later), so he'd be
really cramped.

Does anybody have any suggestions?

It really could be a food allergy. It's the most common reason besides
flea allergy I believe. Currently Pearl has a bald spot on her neck but
it is not irritated at all, so I think she grabbed a chunk of hair out
with her toe. But "hot spots" seem to be related to food and they *can*
become allergic (as we can) to anything at any time. Very often, it can
be to grains. You might see if you can get some grainless wet foods and
feed just that for a while. Wellness has some (look for the little
triangle symbol on the label) and there are a few Fancy Feast flavors
that do not have grains in them (you just have to read the labels:
chicken gourmet feast and tender beef are two that are grain free.)
Many cats with bad allergies have turned around on a raw diet, but that
is a tricky proposition to make raw food at home and switch them.
Allergies just suck all the way around.

"Magic Mood Jeep" wrote in message
...
"Joy" wrote in message
...
Is there such a thing as a cat dermatologist? I think Nanki-Poo needs
one.

A couple of years ago, I noticed a bald spot on the back of his neck. It
was perfectly round, about the size of a penny. There were tiny blood
spots. My first thought was that a bird had pulled out a beakful of
hair. The spot bothered him, and he started digging at it. He ended up
with a nasty wound on the back of the neck, and it took quite a while to
clear it up. Even though I was using Frontline, TED was convinced it was
a flea allergy. She ignored my theory about the bird.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a similar spot on the back of his neck,
so I took him to TED right away. She found a similar spot on the side
of his neck. This time, neither spot bothered him, and he hasn't dug at
them at all. TED shaved around the spots and cleaned them. She also
gave him a steroid shot, and gave me some antibiotic pills to give him
and told me to come back in two weeks. She also gave (sold) me some very
expensive hypoallergenic food, because this time she had decided it was a
food allergy.

He wouldn't eat the food, although Lindy ate some of it. I finally went
back to their regular food. When we went back, the spots were pretty
well healed. However, they have become red and raw looking again.

I don't see how it could be a food allergy, since he gets pretty much the
same food all the time. He is an indoor-outdoor cat, and I suspect it
could be an allergy to something he encounters outdoors, but only
occasionally.

I'm going to have to take him back to the doctor on Monday, unless I can
come up with an alternative solution. She offered me a different kind of
hypoallergenic food last time, and I turned it down. She'll probably
push it this time. She is also likely to tell me to keep him in the
house. Unfortunately, Lindy can open the cat door if I lock it, and does
as soon as she finds it locked. That means the only way I could keep him
in the house would be to shut him in one room. I did that when he was
really sick soon after I got him, but doing it when he's perfectly
healthy is another thing. He would be miserable. Also, the only room
that would work is now filled with fernows (I'll put it here for now and
figure out what to do with it later), so he'd be really cramped.

Does anybody have any suggestions?


Bam-Bam gets similar, mostly on the front and sides of his neck,
occasionally on a cheek. We noticed the first one after he picked a fight
with Barney. And there was a tuft of white fur on the floor near where
the skirmish broke out. No such marks on Barney. Seems that Bam-Bam is a
bully - just not much of a fighter (more of a lover, actually)! Seems he
gets the worst out of the fights he picks - no matter who the oponnent is!

--
http://www.firstgiving.com/nalee1131964
About my charity:
Monroe County Humane Association
Established in 1956, the MCHA is the longest standing animal welfare
organization in Monroe County. The MCHA is dedicated to "Leading,
Advocating and Educating for Animal Welfare."
Find out more at www.monroehumane.org.

Lindy and Nanki-Poo don't fight, but there are other cats in the
neighborhood. However, it seems strange that all three of the sores have
started out being almost perfectly round.

Joy

"Karen" wrote in message
news:2007081818380816807-kchuplis@alltelnet...
On 2007-08-18 16:58:38 -0500, "Joy" said:

Is there such a thing as a cat dermatologist? I think Nanki-Poo needs
one.

A couple of years ago, I noticed a bald spot on the back of his neck. It
was perfectly round, about the size of a penny. There were tiny blood
spots. My first thought was that a bird had pulled out a beakful of
hair. The spot bothered him, and he started digging at it. He ended up
with a nasty wound on the back of the neck, and it took quite a while to
clear it up. Even though I was using Frontline, TED was convinced it was
a flea allergy. She ignored my theory about the bird.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a similar spot on the back of his neck,
so I took him to TED right away. She found a similar spot on the side
of his neck. This time, neither spot bothered him, and he hasn't dug at
them at all. TED shaved around the spots and cleaned them. She also
gave him a steroid shot, and gave me some antibiotic pills to give him
and told me to come back in two weeks. She also gave (sold) me some very
expensive hypoallergenic food, because this time she had decided it was a
food allergy.

He wouldn't eat the food, although Lindy ate some of it. I finally went
back to their regular food. When we went back, the spots were pretty
well healed. However, they have become red and raw looking again.

I don't see how it could be a food allergy, since he gets pretty much the
same food all the time. He is an indoor-outdoor cat, and I suspect it
could be an allergy to something he encounters outdoors, but only
occasionally.

I'm going to have to take him back to the doctor on Monday, unless I can
come up with an alternative solution. She offered me a different kind of
hypoallergenic food last time, and I turned it down. She'll probably
push it this time. She is also likely to tell me to keep him in the
house. Unfortunately, Lindy can open the cat door if I lock it, and does
as soon as she finds it locked. That means the only way I could keep him
in the house would be to shut him in one room. I did that when he was
really sick soon after I got him, but doing it when he's perfectly
healthy is another thing. He would be miserable. Also, the only room
that would work is now filled with fernows (I'll put it here for now and
figure out what to do with it later), so he'd be really cramped.

Does anybody have any suggestions?

It really could be a food allergy. It's the most common reason besides
flea allergy I believe. Currently Pearl has a bald spot on her neck but it
is not irritated at all, so I think she grabbed a chunk of hair out with
her toe. But "hot spots" seem to be related to food and they *can* become
allergic (as we can) to anything at any time. Very often, it can be to
grains. You might see if you can get some grainless wet foods and feed
just that for a while. Wellness has some (look for the little triangle
symbol on the label) and there are a few Fancy Feast flavors that do not
have grains in them (you just have to read the labels: chicken gourmet
feast and tender beef are two that are grain free.) Many cats with bad
allergies have turned around on a raw diet, but that is a tricky
proposition to make raw food at home and switch them. Allergies just suck
all the way around.

I suppose it could be a food allergy. However, my vet is adamant that a
little wet food is okay, but they should have mostly dry food. I've noticed
that both sores look a little better than they did when I posted.

Joy