This isn't my kitty. Her name is Roadie, and she owns neighbor Elly. Roadie and Elly have been together 16 years since Elly found her as an injured kitten that someone had thrown beneath a bridge. Roadie had bounced off the concrete, but fortunately survived to have her happy ending. She had some damage to her back legs and still walks like a coon, but she's a happy, healthy coon. :)

Yesterday I rode shotgun when Roadie had her annual trip to her vet in Flora ~ a wonderful lady named Dr. Deb, who saved the life of my third kitty, Elly Fae, in 2004. The clinic was in a bit of chaos yesterday because of a power outage, but the vets and staff were soldiering on and Roadie got her check-up and allergy shot.

Yep, poor Roadie is allergic ~ to flea meds like Advantage ~ so each season when she gets dosed for fleas, she also has to be dosed for a reaction to the med. This kind of allergy, called a *contact allergy,* is not that uncommon in kitties. Last summer, my own ~ my oldest ~ Melanie had a *seriously* negative reaction to a new flea med called ProMeris. Trying to save money since I have so many kitties, this summer I tried flea collars, but they were so potent that *I* had an allergic reaction to them. Usually for contact allergies, you just have to remove the irritant. In Melanie's case, I had to give her a bath with Dawn dish detergent. Sometimes the irritant isn't chemical. It can be something like fabric used in bedding.

The fleas themselves can cause allergies of their own. Again, I have a personal example because my second oldest, Chelsie, has this problem. Good ol' flea spit caused severe itching to the point that Chelsie was scratching herself hard enough to leave scabs and biting and licking her fur enough to leave bald spots. Consequently, each flea season, April to December, I try to be vigilant to nip any flea problems in the bud. I have learned to stick with Advantage despite the cost. It gets the job done without being so toxic that my kitties can't handle it. Last year Chelsie had to have a series of allergy shots to get her straightened out.


Like their purrsons, kitties can also have food allergies. Melanie can't eat ocean whitefish at all. She likes it well enough, but within minutes she hacks it up onto the carpeting. Elly's Roamer responded the same way to salmon. I can't offer mine too much variety because Melanie responds with digestive problems if I deviate from what she's used to. On the other hand, some allergies do arise from foods that kitties have eaten for a while ~ a reaction to the protein component of the food. Sometimes a simple change in diet ~ to a hypoallergenic diet ~ will help. Sometimes allergic responses to food involve respiratory and/or itching problems, too, so your vet will have to become involved.

The fourth kind of kitty allergy is an inhalant type. The same things that can bother us can bother our kitties. However, where we may respond by sneezing, kitties may respond with serious itching. Treatments can involve everything from hypoallergenic shampoos to allergy shots to desensitizing treatments.

A helpful article from Pawprints and Purrs, Inc., will give you additional information on all these kinds of allergies. However, I wish an itchless future for you and your furry loved ones. :)

[A personal note: In the right column, you may notice some links to certain shopping-for-pets sites. I am affiliated with these sites and earn pennies if you browse or shop there. Please click my links if you need something? Thanks!]