Susan
Go Ahead, Make My Day!
Becky, YES! She originally had no hair on her ears when I got her, but the vet gave her an antibiotic to treat what appeared to be a secondary infection and had me switch her food. She was fine for a long time but now seems to be having the same issues. Her hair is thinning in her temporal region and along the sides of her face and she has some spots around her mouth. I know that she doesn't have fleas, and I'm seeing no evidence of mites, but I wouldn't know about a fungal infection. There's no fungal type odor in her ears, but that's not a definitive test.
Susan, is a prescription required for that Hills food you suggested? I'd like to avoid another office visit if at all possible and just try a different food first, but I'm not sure if I can just walk in and buy the food.
Thank you both for the help and suggestions!
The problem originally started on the ear flaps? That is a major sign of Notoedric mange which then spreads to the face and eventually the body. Extremely easy to treat, just a dose of ivermectin now and then again in 2 weeks. It can be administered by injection or orally (Heartgard for cats will probably work) or you can even use Revolution (selemectin) for cats, applied now and then again in 2 weeks. Well worth a try. Since your vet has a record on your cat, you should be able to get the Heartgard or Revolution (my choice) right at the clinic over the counter. The food should also be able to be purchased there if your vet carries Hill's diets. If not, try another clinic. Many vets are lax on the "prescription" part for the diets as it is a little ridiculous. However, you may find a vet that is a stickler for that. Just keep looking until you find it. Petco and PetsMart may even carry it.
Where do you guys get this "Diamond" brand food? Can you get it at the chain pet stores?
Diamond food can be found in many pet stores. It is a very good food, but I would avoid lamb and rice diets because "everyone" is making those, people are using them when they don't need to and allergies to lamb and rice are now showing up. The object of a limited ingredient diet is that the protein sources are novel...having never been seen by the immune system of the pet. That way, the body cannot be allergic to it...yet.
People have difficulty understanding what an allergy is. The process is very similar to how vaccines work. The body is exposed to something (allergen or vaccine) and at that time, decides that it doesn't like it. It can't do anything about it the first time except make notes and start production of stuff (such as antibodies) against that foreign (or sometimes not-so-foreign as in the case of an auto-immune disease) substance. The second time the body is exposed, the body's defenses are ready for it and attacks it immediately...your allergic reaction, or as with vaccines, protection against the disease. It is this process that allows veterinarians the ability to not have to test blood types when giving a transfusion. You can use any blood type the first time as the body can't do anything against the different type. But the next time, you must test for if you give the same different type again, the body reacts violently. You can do that in people as well in an emergency situation as long as the person receiving the transfusion has had absolutely no prior exposure to a different blood type.