My kitty needs help

[Sunny971]

Hello fellow cat lovers

I am wondering if anyone can help me out.. My cat, Maggie, has for a couple weeks now developed some bumps on her back near the base of her tail.  She has  some hair loss there too. At first I thought it was fleas so I replaced her furniture and gave her a spot on treatment about 2 weeks ago.  I noticed nothing has changed.  I went and bought a flea comb to try to see if I could catch any of those suckers, but to my amazement not a single flea or egg was found.  So why is still suffering with this problem?  I do notice she does lick herself a lot and the occasional scratching.  I have been feeding her meow mix dry food and fancy feast wet food. I usually feed her dry in the day and a can at night.  I hope I can figure what's wrong with Maggie   Is there anyone out there who experienced this before or who can help me and Maggie out? Much appreciated :)  

Suzie

[opus88]

heres another good site with photo's that you may gain some info from...

http://www.cat-health-guide.org/cat-skin-problems.html

[opus88]

yes....it is darn near impossible to get them off fancy feast, but keep trying...very slowly:) these darn cats can detect event the slightest amount of an unwanted food.

many of these diets are higher in sodium(not sure if thats true of FF)?
and cats love salt just like we do....unfortunately its good for neither them nor us.
if not sodium than its other additives intentionally put into these foods to get our cats addicted.....

and for that reason they sure don't like the 'grain free' types....like us eating a steady diet of broccoli I guess. so like dr.  Piersons write up says it has to be a very slow transition...

good luck, thanks for keep us updated, I appreciate that!!!!!

[Sunny971]

Lol u r so right about fancy feast being kitty crack !  I am finding the transition is gonna be harder than I thought .  I'm trying authority from petsmart and she's not liking it much I put only a little of the wet food in with her fancy feast and she didn't care much for eating her food.  She's so  finicky!! But I'm still working on it eventually I hope she will like it .  I don't know what they put in that fancy feast but my cat is crazy for it.  Same with those temptation treats it's like crack cocaine for my cat. I have stopped that too .  Lol hope she don't go through withdrawals lol

[opus88]

just go abt the transition to any new food slowly or there will be diarrhea..and sometimes it takes a while to like the new food. I suggest you stay with the fancy feast and just add a very small amount of the new canned food each feeding..mix the two, than slowly lessen the fancy feast...
by getting rid of the meow mix is a real good start!!!! it may take awhile for her to transition off the fancy feast...its like kitty krack:) so go slowly. no grains and no dyes and with some omega3's hopefully that will solve the issue. keep us posted:)
heres a real good article on how to do this transition......

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf

[Sunny971]

Thanks so much .  I am going to change her diet right now.  She does love meow mix but if it makes her sick then I'm switching to something healthier.  I will stop the fancy feast too .  Ill talk to my petsmart people to see what brand is best for my Maggie as long as it has no grains or dyes  and well balanced.  Thanks everyone for your great advice  I will keep u posted on how Maggie takes the change in her diet

[opus88]

hi...Eve gave some good sound advice and I will jump in and add to it a bit.

it does sound like it could be allergies, like Eve said its best if you can feed a canned food with no grains, or if you do stay with the Fancy Feast stay away from any that has gravy...just a classic pate.

IMO real quick assessment on what you've written I would still suspect flea bite dermatitis...just one bite can give cats this allergy...I can send you more reading on that later.

another real strong possibility is the meow mix....it has colored pieces does it not? this coloring is DYE and a huge allergan. stop the meow mix right now.

third is start her on Omega3 fatty acids. I can also send you the name of the best brand to buy thats safe for cats. I will post this tomorrow if you are interested.

I am adding a link to a good article on cat allergies. all good info. EXCEPT towards the end, I DO NOT agree with cyclosporine, steroids nor antihistamines unless absolutely the last choice for relief. remember these will NOT heal they will only treat the symptoms and can have many health effects.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=2134

[AnnieBrooke]

You might change to a more complete wet food (Fancy Feast is fancy, but it is not that balanced) and a little less dry, tapering the dry off until it's only about a spoonful.  Be sure both the canned and dry are good quality, not full of grains, especially wheat.