Allergies, Linear Granuloma, and Diet

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
Oh, Mary. I should also say that someone on a yahoo group I read
said
that when she brought her cat to a vet. dermitologist, that a hard
to
find parasite was found. At my Shamrock's regular vet, they scraped
his skin for mites and it was negative but apparently certain types
can be hard to find. Cheyletiella. A sign of them is to make the
cats
back ripple. Something called a "storage mite" was also brought up
in
this discussion.

Thanks, Cheryl. Cheeks has been indoor only for two years, but had
been at a
shelter before that for four months, so this is possible if it is
outside of the
normal things vets check for. I'll look into it.

"Karen M." wrote in message
...

Mary, there is indeed an allergy test for cats - it's expensive in
the
short run, but in the long run it could save you a lot of headaches
and
$$$ if LG is indeed exacerbated by other allergies.

Thanks for letting me know! Have you had this done to your cat?


I would ask your vet
about and hopefully he/she can make a referral to a certified vet
dermatologist. On a personal note, I have a dog with a skin
condition/allergies/food sensitivities and one can make the other
worse.
It's a constant battle, but after taking him to a dermatologist I
have a
better handle on it. For cats there's not as many commercial
choices -
you either pretty much need to go prescription or have a specialist
help
you formulate a homemade cooked or raw diet, and it looks like
Lauren
has that well covered. Did your vet mention if there are any
special
shampoos that could help?

He didn't. But the bumps are very tiny and Cheeky seems unaware of
them, so there are no
open lesions. They are tiny hard bumps.

Oral steroids vs. shots that may help lessen
side effects and/or different formulations?

I will call and ask him. The reason they did shots originally was
because she and I were new to
each other. Literally the first night I brought her home from the
shelter she had an asthma attack. The vet said he thought we had
enough to do getting used to one another without me giving her a pill
every day. Do you know of any benefit oral steroids may have over
shots?

I would definitely consider
a visit to the specialist, I learned a lot more from the one I saw
than
the 4 vets I took Bub to previously about his condition. HTH!

Helps a lot, and I will see about a specialist. I don't want her to
have the itchy sores that others mention these little bumps can turn
into. Thank you for your help.

K

"Karen M." wrote in message
...

Mary, there is indeed an allergy test for cats - it's expensive in
the
short run, but in the long run it could save you a lot of headaches
and
$$$ if LG is indeed exacerbated by other allergies.

Thanks for letting me know! Have you had this done to your cat?


I would ask your vet
about and hopefully he/she can make a referral to a certified vet
dermatologist. On a personal note, I have a dog with a skin
condition/allergies/food sensitivities and one can make the other
worse.
It's a constant battle, but after taking him to a dermatologist I
have a
better handle on it. For cats there's not as many commercial
choices -
you either pretty much need to go prescription or have a specialist
help
you formulate a homemade cooked or raw diet, and it looks like
Lauren
has that well covered. Did your vet mention if there are any
special
shampoos that could help?

He didn't. But the bumps are very tiny and Cheeky seems unaware of
them, so there are no
open lesions. They are tiny hard bumps.

Oral steroids vs. shots that may help lessen
side effects and/or different formulations?

I will call and ask him. The reason they did shots originally was
because she and I were new to
each other. Literally the first night I brought her home from the
shelter she had an asthma attack. The vet said he thought we had
enough to do getting used to one another without me giving her a pill
every day. Do you know of any benefit oral steroids may have over
shots?

I would definitely consider
a visit to the specialist, I learned a lot more from the one I saw
than
the 4 vets I took Bub to previously about his condition. HTH!

Helps a lot, and I will see about a specialist. I don't want her to
have the itchy sores that others mention these little bumps can turn
into. Thank you for your help.

K

Jeremy writes:

As with people, you will never remove all the allergens from your pets life,
but you can control them and greatly reduce the impact they have on your
pet.

What if the cat is allergic to humans, should the human be kept out of the
bedroom? ;-D

My allergist is a wonderful dr (as are his 2 sons in practice with him). Only
1 of the 3 had the guts to tell me to keep my pets out of the bedroom. The
other 2 knew better. How could I possibly sleep soundly without a cat nestled
against my legs? Thats what meds are for (and Hepa filters, and Ionic
Breeze's, and electrostatic air cleaners, and great vacuums, hot water,
etc,,,,,,,,, )!


Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Jeremy writes:

As with people, you will never remove all the allergens from your pets life,
but you can control them and greatly reduce the impact they have on your
pet.

What if the cat is allergic to humans, should the human be kept out of the
bedroom? ;-D

My allergist is a wonderful dr (as are his 2 sons in practice with him). Only
1 of the 3 had the guts to tell me to keep my pets out of the bedroom. The
other 2 knew better. How could I possibly sleep soundly without a cat nestled
against my legs? Thats what meds are for (and Hepa filters, and Ionic
Breeze's, and electrostatic air cleaners, and great vacuums, hot water,
etc,,,,,,,,, )!


Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

My oh my, there just doesn't seem to be any disease that the BARF diet
folks can't cure with this fad diet.

You really are an ass, Steve.

Lauren, grow up and quit calling names. Why are you so defensive?

My oh my, there just doesn't seem to be any disease that the BARF diet
folks can't cure with this fad diet.

You really are an ass, Steve.

Lauren, grow up and quit calling names. Why are you so defensive?

As a matter of fact, humans shed just like animals, and poor guys like me
with a receding hairline are evidence of this fact.

It could be your cat is allergic to you.... We could give the cat a human
free home for a few weeks and check his reaction.... Oh, wait, if we check
his reaction then we are exposing him to human dander....... maybe it is
just better to move out and let the cat have the house! :-)

"J1Boss" wrote in message
...
Jeremy writes:

As with people, you will never remove all the allergens from your pets
life,
but you can control them and greatly reduce the impact they have on your
pet.

What if the cat is allergic to humans, should the human be kept out of the
bedroom? ;-D

My allergist is a wonderful dr (as are his 2 sons in practice with him).
Only
1 of the 3 had the guts to tell me to keep my pets out of the bedroom.
The
other 2 knew better. How could I possibly sleep soundly without a cat
nestled
against my legs? Thats what meds are for (and Hepa filters, and Ionic
Breeze's, and electrostatic air cleaners, and great vacuums, hot water,
etc,,,,,,,,, )!


Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

As a matter of fact, humans shed just like animals, and poor guys like me
with a receding hairline are evidence of this fact.

It could be your cat is allergic to you.... We could give the cat a human
free home for a few weeks and check his reaction.... Oh, wait, if we check
his reaction then we are exposing him to human dander....... maybe it is
just better to move out and let the cat have the house! :-)

"J1Boss" wrote in message
...
Jeremy writes:

As with people, you will never remove all the allergens from your pets
life,
but you can control them and greatly reduce the impact they have on your
pet.

What if the cat is allergic to humans, should the human be kept out of the
bedroom? ;-D

My allergist is a wonderful dr (as are his 2 sons in practice with him).
Only
1 of the 3 had the guts to tell me to keep my pets out of the bedroom.
The
other 2 knew better. How could I possibly sleep soundly without a cat
nestled
against my legs? Thats what meds are for (and Hepa filters, and Ionic
Breeze's, and electrostatic air cleaners, and great vacuums, hot water,
etc,,,,,,,,, )!


Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Jeremy Lowe wrote:
Mary,

As a CIE (Certified Indoor Environmentalist) I often am called to
help
people deal with asthma in their homes.

Jeremy, this is wonderful information because I have allergies--was
tested
and am most intensely allergic to dust, mold, cats and one kind of
tree that
is indigenous to the northeast but does not grow where I currently
live. So--
I am very lucky to have been spared the plant allergies, but when one
is
allergic to dust and mold it is like being allergic to the world! And
.... of
course, I live with two cats. When I was diagnosed as allergic to cats
my baby was 16. Get rid of her? HELL no! In fact I got another and
when my 1st cat died, adopted an adult from a shelter. I love cats,
and
the level of allergic reaction I have is just annoying, not
life-threatening.
However--lately I have been wheezing. My father and sister have
asthma,
so I wonder if I do or will. Point: for me and my cat, all of your
suggestions are very helpful.

Mary, in 18 plus years of dealing with IAQ (Indoor Air Quality)
issues in homes and offices, I have found that these "triggers"
widely vary from person to person. Triggers may be bug and pest
dander, household dusts, mycotoxins released from molds, and even
chemicals may trigger severe asthmatic reactions.

What we do: I have hepa filters in all the rooms where creatures
sleep, including mine. We have professionals clean ever two
weeks. I could do a better job of dusting in between--those
static "Swiffer" things look pretty good. I was the bedding often,
but I imagine getting a mattress cover that "seals in" dust mites
might be good, you think?

I was giving Cheeks and Buddha baths about 4 times a year, but gave up
bathing Cheeks
as she appears to be convinced I am about to murder her--every time.
What is pretty funny
is that I take her to the vet for allergy shots but I am allergic to
her and just take over-the-
counter antihistamines. I love Claritin, hate benedryl as the latter
dries me out and makes me
sleepy.



First and foremost is humidity control. We must maintain a relative
humidity of less than 55% year round in the home to prevent mold
growth and to reduce the life cycle of dust mites which are a well
documented allergen.

How does one do this, Jeremy? And what is wrong with my vet who
told me to put a humidifier under the place where my Cheeks likes to
hang out and look out the window? He had me thinking moisture was
best?

Third we need to reduce and eliminate if at all possible the use of
chemical based cleaning agents in our home since many chemical
sensitivities are documented to be involved with humans with asthma.

I had not thought of this. I will research it. I always sneeze in the
bathroom
but I thought that was mold induced.

Now as I said before, this is for humans, but since our feline
friends are at ground level often they are even more susceptible to
these allergens and chemicals and molds.


Thanks so much for taking the time to give us your good ideas.