# My cat has a scabby nose!



## torianne (Jul 15, 2013)

My cat has dry scabs on her nose and after a million vet appointments and a spending a fortune the vets have decided its an allergy, she is an indoor cat and I was curious if anyone knows what sort of things cat are most commonly allergic to.
I have changed her food and cat litter without any luck. Antibiotics don't work and steroids are the only thing that keep it away. 

Any advice would be much appreciated


----------



## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Grains commonly cause allergic type reactions. What foods are you feeding her?

Fleas also can cause allergic skin reactions.


----------



## torianne (Jul 15, 2013)

Just dry food now, Go-cat. She only ever used to eat wet food, so I thought I would change it to dry to see if it made a difference. 
And she is totally flea free, I put 1 flea treatment on about once a year to be sure but she is never amongst any grass so I figure she is fine.


----------



## maisiecat (Jul 27, 2011)

Sorry to tell you this but GoCat is about the worst 'food' you could feed, it is basically rubbish.

Dry food is not great, even the better ones, especially if it is an allergy to grains or soya.

Wet food is the best way to feed, grain free if possible, or raw. You will find a lot of information on the forum which will help you find a good food and many people buy their food from Zooplus.

Personally I try to avoid soya, it can cause behavioural problems as well as not being a natural food for cats.

My thoughts are that you don't see cats digging potatoes or beets, or harvesting grains or soya beans but you do see them catching birds and small creatures for food. Dry food contains potatoes, beets,grains and soya and some of the lower quality wet food contains grains and soya so best avoided. This includes tapioca which is often used in sauces and gravies. Another thing to avoid is colouring.


----------



## torianne (Jul 15, 2013)

Thanks for the info!! Guess I should try her on some new food, but I'm not even sure if its the food that's causing the problem. 

Can potted plants cause allergies?


----------



## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

What maisecat said! Switch to grain free food. She will need less of it as she won't be pooping most of it back out again so won't seem as expensive as you think. If you really have to feed dry at least try her on JWB as that is rice not corn. But wet is far far better for her than any dry.


----------



## maisiecat (Jul 27, 2011)

torianne said:


> Thanks for the info!! Guess I should try her on some new food, but I'm not even sure if its the food that's causing the problem.
> 
> Can potted plants cause allergies?


You would need to try the foods for a while to see if there is an improvement.

Do you use those poisonous Febreze type things, sprays, plug-ins, fabric conditioners that contain fake perfumes? They can all cause allergies. So can carpet fresheners and cleaning products. I won't use anything that is perfumed, especially if it has the man-made 'fragrance' added, perfumed candles, those sticks you put in a jar that stink to high heaven and give me a headache. If they do that to me what would they do to a little nose. Plus, the ingredients of those things are not all listed and are frequently very unpleasant chemicals.

I use unperfumed laundry products, not the Waitrose one as it has been changed since the re-packaging and now contains something scented although they swore to me it didn't, I have a very keen sense of smell, not to mention the ability to sneeze and get a headache with stuff llike that. We get Surcare and it really doesn't have perfume in. Washing up liquid too. I use white vinegar to clean the floors.

Also what litter do you use? Is it perfumed/pine? Pine can cause reactions, even if the litter is made of pine wood pellets.

Assume there have been examinations for mites?

Plants can cause reactions, it depends on what they are. Whatever you do don't ever have lillies anywhere near the house, they are lethal.


----------



## torianne (Jul 15, 2013)

Thanks for all the tips, I think I will get rid of the plants on my roof terrace, she didn't have a bad nose all winter she has only just started going out again amongst the plants. 
Thanks for your help


----------



## maisiecat (Jul 27, 2011)

It might be something to do with the sun.......


----------

