Kitten formula allergy? Can I use goat milk? What about skin rash?

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Having said that, in terms of diets, exclusion diets are probably the best way to rule out certain allergens (what triggers the allergic reaction). Exclusion diets are made with one source of proteins (turkey, venison, salmon etc etc) and one of carbohydrates (usually potatoes or peas). These diets and ABSOLUTELY nothing else must be given for 4 weeks at least. I would recommend to discuss their use with your vet rather than try an home made diet (which is very difficult to be effective). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

It does sound like she is having an allergic reaction to something. This can be an insect bite hypersensitivity (such as fleas or mosquitoes) food or environmental allergy. A vet visit would be a great place to start if she is itchy or any of the lesions appear to be infected as she may need medication to feel better. I would recommend stopping the milk as this may be a cause and typically is not good for most cats. Discuss your concerns with the vet and they may also recommend a diet change but as long as she is on a good quality cat food I would not immediately change it. Make any changes one at a time so you can evaluate her response. It can take up to 4-6 weeks to notice a difference after resmiving a possible allergen. Good luck and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Poor kitten! The skin looks very uncomfortable! It looks as though she may be dealing with skin mites or a severe skin infection. If her URI signs have not resolved, I would consider nebulization therapy with antibiotics along with Orbifloxacin. For the skin, I would discuss administering a product called Revolution for cats to help out with the possible skin mites. I would also recommend using a shampoo such as Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo which can be found online and bathe twice weekly until resolved. I hope this helps and that the poor little kitten gets better soon! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please remember to rate this answer as helpful or not. Thank you!

I would advise having a fungal culture done. Ringworm doesn’t always fluoresce with the black light. It may require a culture to rule it out. It could also be a bacterial infection. If the skin issue started after the Clindamycin was introduced, there is a possibility that it’s use in the way that you are administering it may cause a serious skin problem. The injectable Clindamycin should only be administered intravenously or in the muscle. SQ administration can cause toxic epidermal necrolysis. I would strongly recommend that you see a veterinarian ASAP with this little kitten. Perhaps a full service vet instead of the shelter vet as they will be able to do the fungal culture, etc. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

An itchy face and neck is typical for food allergies in cats. Besides this he coulld also have a problem with the shampoo and/or an ear infection since he is shaking his head. I suggest you take Coyote to your veterinarian for an exam. If the itching started when you started to transition him to the new food, immediately stop feeding the new food and put him back on his old food. If the itching then stops over the next week or two, then he is definitely allergic or oversensitive to the new food and must not be given that. But I do think a vet visit is in order to rule out any other cause.

This is probably caused by an allergic reaction. first of all make sure you de-flea Sweep regularly every month with a high quality spot on (ex. Advantage) as fleas are by far the most common reason for these reactions. If the fleas are not the problem, it could be an allergic reaction to food or an environmental factor. this is more complicated to treat and will sometimes require medications such as Steroids, anti histamines or cyclosporin in order to stop the allergy.

There are several types of food allergy. If you have not had any luck with the brands you have tried, I recommend to try a prescription brand made by Royal Canin called Ultamino. The protein is broken down to the amino acid level, thus it will not trigger an immune response. Basically you need to feed this diet for 8 to 12 weeks. During this time she cannot eat anything else. No treats, no canned food, nothing. At the end of the 8 to 12 weeks, if her skin is all cleared up, then you know it is food. If her skin is not cleared up, then it is not likely food and you should look into other causes. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions!