feline dermatitis

Question
Am desperate for help! My female cat is 4 yrs old and for the past 2 years I have made many many visits to the local vet. She has itchy crusts underside of chin and along sides of mouth and the skin around both eyes is red and inflamed and itchy. She bleeds. Feline acne has been ruled out. She has been on prednisone pills and injections off and on for almost 1 1/2 years. I have changed her food and treats to grain free. We have applied topicals from her vet. It will clear up following an injection and return after two weeks. She is an indoor cat but at times I take her outside on a leash. The vet and myself have never seen a flea. She is currently with both eyes red and inflamed and her chin is crusty with spots where she has itched the fur off. She has also had antibiotic injections and ointments. Not only is she uncomfortable but I am spending a fortune with no permanent results. I feel so bad for her discomfort. I would desperately love to hear suggestions from you. I cannot afford a Bx or a visit to a feline dermatologist at this time. Thank you in advance for any advice.

Answer
Hi there,
You could try doing a proper food allergy trial. Most cats are allergic to meat proteins rather than just grains if they have a food allergy, so putting her on a 'novel protein' diet may help. For example feed her a meat she has never had before like venison, kangaroo, rabbit, duck and combine it with a carbohydrate like sweet potato. Use 2/3 meat to 1/3 carbohydrate. Feed this for 8 weeks and see if there is any improvement. Make sure any skin infection is cleared up first (ie she may need some antibiotics from your vet first and to be checked for fungal disease).

Hope that helps a little

Eloise