Sphynx Skin condition-allergies?

[Tatiana27]

Hello! My sphynx Fiona is just over a year old. Her and my other sphynx Enzo have been on the same food and litter etc for quite some time now. In December, Fiona started developing these bumps on her skin. I took her to the vet and he advised using some benedryl on her everyday. It ended up not working. We took her back to the vet, he gave her prednisolone and animax ointment and told us just to not wash blankets etc with detergent, or use free and clear. He also gave us revolution plus, just to make sure it isn’t fleas or anything (I’m 100% certain it’s not fleas) With the medication, her skin cleared up. A few bumps popped back up, but we went on vacation so my sister who was watching them started using animax on her again. When we got back, her skin was the worst I’ve seen. That’s the pics I have posted.

We took her back to the vet. He wanted us to do a food trial, so now she is on blue alligator dry food and hills z/d canned food. He gave us more pred and told us to slowly ween her off of it and eventually get her down to 1/4 of a pill every other day. Any time I’ve started to get her down to that, the bumps come right back. I know have her at 1/4 pill everyday and I am hoping to maintain that.

She has been on the special diet for over a month now, she has snuck a few times to eat Enzo’s food, but we usually catch her before she can eat more than a tiny bite. If her bumps come back without the medication, I’m thinking they are not caused by the food. I’ve also purchased a new medicated shampoo that’s supposed to be for allergies to soothe the skin, but I’ve only tried it once so far.

My question is, anyone who went through this with their sphynx, how did you figure out what the cause is?

The last photo is today. Looking better but she’s still on the steroid.


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[Catzzzmeow]

My guess is allergies and food could be the culprit. Unfortunately cats can develop allergic reactions to things they had previously had no problems with. What is the primary protein in the food you are giving her? Often we see food issues are due to chicken. I would look at trying a limited ingredient food with a different primary protein in it. It can take a few days to see a change. @Tatiana27

 

[Tatiana27]

My guess is allergies and food could be the culprit. Unfortunately cats can develop allergic reactions to things they had previously had no problems with. What is the primary protein in the food you are giving her? Often we see food issues are due to chicken. I would look at trying a limited ingredient food with a different primary protein in it. It can take a few days to see a change.

Well she was on chicken, but now the vet has her on prescription food (blue alligator kibble and hills zd canned) the reason he did this is because she’s never had alligator food before and the zd is hydrolyzed proteins so the body does not react to it. So that’s why I’m thinking it’s not the food since she’s been on those over a month now and she’s still getting bumps


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[Catzzzmeow]

Ahhhh gotcha. I missed the alligator part thinking you meant Blue Buffalo lol. Do you use dryer sheets by chance?


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[Tatiana27]

I actually do! And I just thought of it last week that it could be causing it. I started using free and clear sheets now but it will take a little bit before everything gets washed with them!


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[Catzzzmeow]

Dryer sheets could be the problem…worth going without them just to see. I am sure you are frustrated…finding the root of the problem can take time. You might need to get testing for allergies if you can’t pinpoint it. I’d be careful not to bathe too often as it could irritate the skin even more even when it says it soothes etc.

 

[Tatiana27]

Our dryer in our apartment building makes everything so staticky which is why I use the sheets. We don’t bathe them too often, only when they start to get really dirty looking


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[Boomer mom]

I think it could be allergies, or could be a bit of a skin infection.

My boomer had something similar and I've been washing his rash spots (not full baths) daily with dial antibacterial bar soap. He's getting much better since I started doing this. Itching less too. Hoping if I keep this routine up the rash fully clears.

Good luck!

 

[Boomer mom]

This picture it's not as red as real life because the camera corrects it. This is pre dial bar soap washes

 

[Yoda mom]

@Tatiana27 , awh.. hugs n positive vibes you get to the bottom of it. did vet do a skin scraping to see if yeast or bacterial?
food trials can take upwards to 12 weeks from my past experience.

does she wear any clothing?
I no longer use any dryer sheets. I have been using plain dryer balls I got at walmart. no issues with my crew.

do you use corn or wheat based litter? scented litter? some can be sensitive to worlds best litter, certain pellet litters, etc.
do you use any essential oil diffusers? than can be toxic.
some members have used Dreft detergent.

sharing a link

Sphynx Skin Conditions

#1 Food allergies: It is not uncommon for some sphynx to have food allergies. Many studies have shown that certain ingredients contained in cat food are more likely to cause food allergies than others. The most common offenders are chicken, beef, lamb, seafood, corn, soy, wheat gluten and dairy...

sphynxlair.com