Best shampoo for cats w/allergies? Instinct treats ok?

[dirtybirdsoaps]

Two totally different topics lol.......................


I am looking for a shampoo to help Hideys skin allergies. Ive read some reviews on chewy.com and amazon.com and it seems the virbac brand is the top selling with the most reviews BUT that doesn't mean everything since 95% of the reviews are for dogs. So basically I'm looking for any suggestions as to what will help his skin. Right now he is on clavamox, and an antihistamine for his allergies and I keep trying to apply some neosporin on the area thats bad, but I'm looking for something to help soothe the dry itchy irritated skin. Any ideas are welcome. PLEASE!

When I stopped by Petsmart yesterday I browsed the treats looking for something special to give him as a "treat" for taking the meds. He gets freeze dried chicken as a treat every night so I was looking for something special.....ohhhh how we spoil our babies. Anyways I came across Instinct Raw Boost minis, they had chicken or duck formula. I read the label didn't look BAD but not great either. HEres the %

crude protein 40%
crude fat 30%
crude fiber 15%
moisture 6%

calories 2 kcal/piece

ingredients: Duck (including ground duck bone)turkey, turkey liver, turkey heart, pumpkin seeds, apples, carrots, butternut squash, ground flaxseed, montmorillonite clay, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, dried kelp, apple cider vinegar, parsley, honey, salmon oil, mixed tocopherols, olive oil, rosemary extract, blueberries, alfalfa sprouts, persimmons, inulin, rosemary, sage & clove

Not sure how I feel about the clay & honey, but I hope its something I can at least give him for the next week or so as a reward.

 

[Anitafrnhamer]

Do you have any idea what may be causing the allergies? When Squeaker had skin issues I even changed laundry products to perfume/dye free. The gen vet prescribed a topical product "Ketoseb+PS Mousse" which is non-steroidal. It helped some but didn't clear it up. Then the internist saw him and thought it might be food allergies so we changed food and he healed up and hasn't had any issues.

As for shampoo that might help-----I would suggest getting colloidal oatmeal products from the store like you would use on people. I would then get chamomile flowers (health food store) boil some in water to make a tea and let it COOL. Then bathe with the colloidal oatmeal and rinse with the very cool chamomile water. The colloidal oatmeal will help to stop the itch and the chamomile water will help to calm and soothe the skin. The best part is the products are natural and non-toxic.

Anita and Squeaker

 

[dirtybirdsoaps]

Thank you,

Vet thinks its more of a reaction to the flea bites, but that its also attributed to everyday allergens. I use dye free/ fragrance free laundry detergent and have an air purifier going about half of the day. I was going to ask the vet if she suggested anything yesterday when I was picking up his blood work but she was swamped. He's always been itchy now that I think back but never bad, so I'm guessing the flea bite threw him into FULL on scratching. he's missing most of his fur on the right side of his neck :sad: Im giving him antibiotics and an antihistamine but I can tell his skin is really dry so I was looking for something to help the healing process and soothe it not just hide it lol. She didn't think it was food because he doesnt have any other issues. I guess when its food its usually accompanied by vomiting and/or diarrhea, is that correct?

The oatmeal, this may be a stupid question but the only type I have ever used was aveeno...is that what your referring to, something like that?

Chamomile flowers...check....Ive used that before. Make like a tea mixture, flowers strained and cool correct? I have psoriasis so I'm familiar with some of this stuff lol

 

[lshaffer]

My path to this board started with Long John's allergies! The vet allergist gave me a sheet of paper listing the human over-the-counter antihistamines that you can use on the cats to stop itching and bring down swelling. The only one I've tried is Zyrtec, 5mg. It worked great so I've never tried anything else. At this point Long John still has to have shots twice a week for environmental allergens. You might try taking your cat to a veterinary dermatologist/allergist and getting the pin-prick test that humans get.

Beware of any steroids the vet recommends for the itching/swelling. This same vet initially gave us the steroid triamcinolone for the swelling and itching, which is THE reason we're here...it gave Long John diabetes.

And as if things weren't bad enough, he also has, apparently, a staph infection on his skin. The vet gave us shampoo with chlorhexedine in it. That seems to have stopped his bothering with his back end. We'll see if the fur grows back though.

Good luck. I would try the Zyrtec first and see if it does the trick.

 

[Anitafrnhamer]

Squeaker's itching began with a reaction to Methimazole for HyperT. So we did radio-iodine. But the itching didn't stop. So they began treating with steroids and he became diabetic, anemic, his heart and kidneys were also damaged.

After getting the diabetes under control he did well. But late last year he began wounding himself badly. He had torn the flesh off his head and neck and had serious wounds near his ears and all around his neck. I decided to put him through allergy testing and when they combed fleas off of him we just assumed that's what the issue was. However after the flea issues were cleared up he kept gouging the flesh off his head and neck. So when the food allergy was suggested and his food changed he healed. He did not experience vomiting or diarrhea just extreme itch/scratch. Just to have something to try that doesn't involve medication you really might want to consider a food change to Hill's Rx d/d canned. If it's food allergies it will heal him up, if not you haven't negatively impacted the health and may be one stop closer to an answer.

Yes a product like Aveeno is what I was talking about. You might also look in the pet section at Walmart for the Oster Naturals Pet Wipes with oatmeal. Just be really cautious about the use of steroids. The use of those for skin issues is what just about killed my cat 16 months ago and left him with 2 serious health issues that will dramatically shorten his life------the damaged heart and failing kidneys.

Anita and Squeaker

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

Something else you can try is coconut oil - both to put in his food as well as on his skin - like you are doing the neosporin - I've heard many good things about coconut oil and it just may help stop the itchies... not to mention make you want a pina colada!


I've used all kinds of anti shampoos and even still have them in the cabinet - they all worked as a temporary fix on Maui, never a permanent fix. Malaseb and Virbac - Allegroom are two of the several I used.