In two ways. Primarily, we first need to find out the problem's source. I say two ways, but it depends on the problem. If I suspect a food allergy, then first things first, we're going to change the diet. The three most common causes of food allergies in cats are dairy, fish, and beef. That's going to account for the majority of food allergies we see in cats. If we suspect a food allergy, first, let's change the diet. With flea allergies, pretty simple, we'll get them an effective flea product. We carry a range of different flea products that do work, not like the crap you buy at the pet stores and such. I like to give those cats a cortisone shot, not for the fleas but for the relief from the intense itching, biting, scratching, licking, and chewing they're doing. If they get a seasonal allergy, typically, the first thing I'm going to do is also give those cats a cortisone shot. I should mention the cortisone shot usually lasts about four to six weeks. So it gives them plenty of time to get some relief from the itching, which takes a few days but also gives them continuous protection from the itching, so they're not back at ripping themselves again. We have to get those allergies under control. With the seasonal allergies, at the very minimum, I'll encourage pet owners to start taking the washcloth and water and keep wiping their kitties down three times a day to remove any pollens, dust, and things of that nature that could be triggering a seasonal or environmental allergy.

A lot of the diagnosis comes from information that the kitty apparent can provide to me. Let me know if this problem has been a recurring problem? Has this been about the same time each year? We're trying to get a better sense of if this is a problem that's year over year or if it is a brand new problem? But again, we're trying to get a better sense of the problem's origin. Once we have the kitty on the table, we're going to take a look and see what kind of hair loss, sores, lesions, scabs, or whatever is going on with this cat's skin to give me a better sense of what the origin is. If I see problems primarily around the head, neck, and face, I'm always going to think of food allergies first. If I see a cat with not necessarily hair loss but a lot of scabbing from the neck, in the back end, or above the tail, we're always going to think of either seasonal allergies or a flea allergy. Then we like to look at the belly of the cat. A lot of times, people never look at their cat's belly because unless their cat happens to be laying on a sofa and you want to give a little belly rubbing, some cats like it, some cats don't. But when you happen to look at the belly, they may be ripping. We've seen cats with horrendous areas on their belly where they're red and raw, and they've ripped out all the hair. All of that will be information for me to better understand what's likely causing the problem in the first place.

Seasonal allergies are typically seasonal. I know that sounds pretty obvious, but when somebody brings a kitty to me, one of the first things I want to find out is how long the problem has been going on and has this problem occurred in the past? Is there a pattern to it? Is there a particular seasonal pattern year over year? Maybe it's the first time it's shown up, but maybe it's the fourth or fifth time. If we can see a pattern to when it develops, whether in the spring or summer or a combination of those seasons, that is extremely valuable information to help us better understand the seasonality of an allergy.

There are three different types of allergies we see in cats: food allergies, seasonal allergies, and flea allergies, and all of those have different means of resolving the issue. Although it's so rare in cats, occasionally, we might see a cat that might even get a vaccine, for example, and react in a way where they might get intestinal upset, vomiting, and things of that nature. Another example is a bee sting. Cats can also be affected the same way people and dogs can from an insect bite or sting. So when we're talking about an allergic reaction, there's a wide scope of information.

You can, but it seldom works. It is safe, but most pet parents see with their dogs is it makes them really drowsy. They're too drowsy to pick up their leg to scratch. You're probably not going to see them itching as much, but that's the one thing I don't like about it. It just makes them pretty drowsy, and in so many cases, it just doesn't work. In my experience in talking to hundreds of clients, maybe about one out of 10 clients see any benefit from Benadryl, and the same goes for Allegra, Claritin, and Zyrtec. I do have dosages available in one of my handouts if somebody can't do anything else or they can't get to us and they want to try something like that. The first thing I'm always going to recommend is to get them in the bathtub. Just give them some relief short term. Then, if you want to try the Benadryl, Allegra Claritin, or Zyrtec, you can. Keep your expectations low because they don't work well.