Deanna & Billie
Member Since 2014
Hello!
Yesterday's condo: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=125374
We just had our appointment with the allergy specialist. She was very nice and spent an hour with us. She thinks Billie definitely has allergies, and she thinks the cough is an asthmatic cough triggered by allergens, but she wants to find the allergens rather than just calling it asthma and treating the symptoms (as long as her cough doesn't get worse). She wants to start a 4 week food trial with a novel protein to see if that clears things up. She also tested for heartworm to rule that out as a possible cause of the cough, and I should have those results back tomorrow.
I can't use the Hound & Gatos lamb that I have been using, because it also has duck in it. My options are Hound & Gatos pork, Evo venison, or something home cooked. The vet is connecting me with a nutritionist at Cornell who can give me some recipes to try. With the home cooking, I worry about getting the balance of nutrients right. But, if my picky lady won't eat the H & G pork or Evo venison, that is our only option. As far as I know, there are no other novel protein options that are also low carb and have high quality ingredients. I scoured the pet store last week. Royal Canin makes a rabbit and pea formula, but pea is the first ingredient, followed by rabbit meal, coconut oil, pea protein and soy protein, which doesn't sound good to me.
If her allergies don't clear up after 4 weeks on this food, she'll try testing for environmental allergies, and I think allergy shots would be the next step. She said steroids are a total last resort unless her cough gets more frequent or more severe. She said she would start with an inhaler if we need to address the cough more urgently.
So, at least we have a plan, and we have an expert saying that it is in fact allergies. I asked if she sees skin issues + cough often, and she said she sometimes sees it in cats. That was reassuring.
I hope everyone is having a nice day! Vines to all the cats and beans needing vines.
Yesterday's condo: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=125374
We just had our appointment with the allergy specialist. She was very nice and spent an hour with us. She thinks Billie definitely has allergies, and she thinks the cough is an asthmatic cough triggered by allergens, but she wants to find the allergens rather than just calling it asthma and treating the symptoms (as long as her cough doesn't get worse). She wants to start a 4 week food trial with a novel protein to see if that clears things up. She also tested for heartworm to rule that out as a possible cause of the cough, and I should have those results back tomorrow.
I can't use the Hound & Gatos lamb that I have been using, because it also has duck in it. My options are Hound & Gatos pork, Evo venison, or something home cooked. The vet is connecting me with a nutritionist at Cornell who can give me some recipes to try. With the home cooking, I worry about getting the balance of nutrients right. But, if my picky lady won't eat the H & G pork or Evo venison, that is our only option. As far as I know, there are no other novel protein options that are also low carb and have high quality ingredients. I scoured the pet store last week. Royal Canin makes a rabbit and pea formula, but pea is the first ingredient, followed by rabbit meal, coconut oil, pea protein and soy protein, which doesn't sound good to me.
If her allergies don't clear up after 4 weeks on this food, she'll try testing for environmental allergies, and I think allergy shots would be the next step. She said steroids are a total last resort unless her cough gets more frequent or more severe. She said she would start with an inhaler if we need to address the cough more urgently.
So, at least we have a plan, and we have an expert saying that it is in fact allergies. I asked if she sees skin issues + cough often, and she said she sometimes sees it in cats. That was reassuring.
I hope everyone is having a nice day! Vines to all the cats and beans needing vines.
