Is Your Cat Allergic? Wow, That's a Switch!

by Marjorie Dorfman | More from this Blogger

Whenever I think of cats and allergies, I am reminded of a t-shirt I once saw a woman wearing in a New York subway. It read:" Husband and Kids Gone- Cat Allergic!" While this may seem an exaggerated twist of fate, it is more than ironic that a cat can contract allergies just like people can- namely my Maine Coon cat, Jasmine Dee.

She started scratching both in and behind her ears, and did so with such force that the poor thing scratched the fur off the back of her ears! I rushed her to the vet and he gave her a shot of something, the name is which is too Latin and too long to recall. He told me at that time that the shot would last for two weeks at best, and could only be given to her one more time, as it had side affects, which included serious adrenal problems and even diabetes! The cost of discovering exactly what the nature of her allergy was he discouraged, telling me it would cost a fortune and not really help the situation. He was convinced that the source was some kind of inhalant that was in the environment (not the husband or kids).

I changed the food and now cook for all five of my cats and mix it in with regular cat food. Still, the scratching continued unabated and I had to administer a salve called "Panalog" to ease her itching and her pain from open sores. I was beginning to itch and scratch myself in sympathy for my poor baby, and finally called the vet again to ask for his advise. And this time, it looks like I got the $64,000 dollar answer!

He suggested ordinary, every day, over the counter Claritin. And it works! I break up one 10 milligram pill in half and was giving her one every day. I lowered the dose to every other day because she became dry-mouthed and a bit listless. But now, so far, she is fine and has responding to the medication for about two weeks. She is finally not scratching, which means all of us can stop scratching too!

All's well that stops scratching well...or something like that.

Check out Aimee's article on human medication for cats for additional information. http://blogs.families.com/admin/b2browse.php?blog=28&p=3499

Learn more about Marjorie Dorfman

Marjorie Dorfman is a freelance writer and former teacher originally from Brooklyn, New York.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger