This isn’t really an illness—more a malady, I guess—but my little buddy Irving has severe allergies and licks himself obsessively. He is almost 9 years old and I have taken him to a number of vets about it. Ultimately, the best piece of advice I received was from one doctor who basically said, “Yes, you could take him for allergy tests and give him weekly shots, but the bottom line is even that might not make it better, and you need to decide how invasive you want to be with him, provided that he is safe and comfortable and not in distress.”

All that said, we opted to keep him on a drug called Elavil, which is for both anxiety and an antihistamine for allergies. This has worked to some extent—he no longer licks himself until he bleeds—but he is still bald and raw on his butt and armpits. We have tried all sorts of foods, cleaning supplies, etc., but nothing makes it better.

Has anyone ever had a cat with such severe allergies before? Has anyone ever taken their cat in for allergy testing? If so, how expensive is it?

Hey there

I have a 12 year old cat who does this as well. She has a bald belly from licking so much and her ears and eyes are always inflamed, red, liquidy, etc. I have spoken to the doctor about her belly licking but at no point did they suggest allergy tests for her. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s too costly and they don’t suggest it for that reason? Seems odd, because our vet loves to take our money. ;]

When Schmitty got sick, we took him to the ER on 5th Avenue. I loved them. They were extremely knowledgeable. I might suggest calling them and asking one of their ER doctors. (Don’t contact just the front desk. They are nice people but they don’t know a lot about ailments, etc.) See if you can get an actual doctor. They were awesome. We were in very capable hands. Here is the link. You can even leave voice mail messages with certain doctors. I did that once as well. (All the doctors are on the site. I can’t tell you how helpful they were.)

But! They were pricey. I imagine they would at least give you an estimate should you want to check him out. They gave us estimates at each step. We were never blindsided by any costs.

I’ll also write to Aimee who is really awesome with cats and see if she knows more personally. Lisa might be able to help as well. Let me see if I can’t find them for you.

I’m not sure how much allergy testing costs, but a call to your vet (or another, if they don’t do it themselves) could easily answer that question. I also recommend 5th Avenue Vet, but they may not be willing to see Irving since it isn’t an emergency situation. There’s a cat-specific vet on the upper west side called “Manhattan Cat Specialists.” That’s a bit of a hike for you. I don’t know of any really good vets in Brooklyn.

The testing would enable you to determine what the irritant is and remove it from your household if it is some specific thing, like your laundry detergent, certain fabrics, or something in Irving’s diet. The most common thing that cats are allergic to, unfortunately, is the same stuff we’re allergic to: pollens, dust, molds and if that’s the culprit, then there are only a few options. Steroids, antigen shots to reduce sensitivity to allergins, occasional baths…

Have you noticed any patterns in his itchiness? Is it worse during a particular time of year?

This website has a ton of info about treatment options for cats with allergies, hope it sheds a little more light on the problem!

ttp://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/allergies.html

Is the 5th Avenue Vet the same as the 5th Avenue Cat Clinic on 5th and President? That is where we take our cats. The vet there was the one who suggested that we just let him be unless it got very bed…our concern (and hers) is that he will develop a secondary infection from the raw spots where his licks. We’ve tried various kinds of medical foods for Irving with no luck. Prednisone worked when he was little but doesn’t anymore, and I am wary of using it too frequently because it can cause liver problems. I think it was the antigen shots that AnimalKind suggested (that is where we took him this weekend when he hurt his eye).

I just feel really bad for our little buddy. I’m not sure what we can do re: relieving allergens in our house. There used to be patterns (at the beginning of seasons) but now he just licks himself all the time. It has gotten worse with age, just as it does with humans.

calallille, different vet. This one is in the city. I think you’re talking about the one in Brooklyn, no?

Hey callalillie – The Fifth Ave. Vet referred to above is in Manhattan at 15th St. and 5th Ave. Their website is here: http://www.fifthavevetspecialists.com/

I’ll also add high praise for them; when our Dub was sick in October, they were seriously awesome.

I’m also a HUGE fan of our vet Dr. Sullivan at The Cat Practice on 5th between 20th/21st in Manhattan. We’ve been with them since I moved to NYC in 2004, and they have done an amazing job getting Dub’s chronic anemia under control with the lowest dose of meds possible. They’ve also been great for emergency stuff as well as routine care for both Dub and Kali. We haven’t taken our newest (June, f/k/a Stumpy) in to see them yet, but I’m confident they’ll do just as great a job with her as they have with our other kitties. I know that Dr. Sullivan refers cases that require specialty care to the vets at Fifth Avenue (they are referral and emergency only), so that may be a good place to start for Irving?

I loved Dr. Sullivan as well but I wasn’t crazy about the woman working there. I won’t name her here for google reasons. But she wasn’t super with Schmitty. I feel like she could have been better.

But Dr. Sullivan is OUTSTANDING. I will vouch for The Cat Practice as well. But you should see if you can get Dr. Sullivan specifically.

Just my two cents.