Zorro's Allergy Trials

Poor Zorro! He's had allergies as long as I've had him, and probably for his entire life. Shortly after I adopted Curry and Zorro I noticed that Zorro had a propensity toward itchiness. He regularly scratched and over-groomed the fur near the base of his tail. It was so bad that he developed a temporary bald spot there. Of course, as a good cat owner I consulted my veterinarian. Because Zorro was new to my household, the doctor first thought the over-grooming was a behavioral issue and prescribed, of all things, Valium! It was a very low dose, and it chilled him out, but it did not prevent Zorro's over-grooming. Next, the vet gave Zorro a steroid shot (depomedrol) to see if that would control the itching. Voila! It did! But Zorro needed these shots every 6-8 weeks and I had to take him to the vet each time. We did this for more than a year, but this was clearly not sustainable. The vet was concerned about the health consequences of prolonged steroid use (namely, diabetes...so Zorro still has to have his blood levels checked annually).

The solution was for me to take Zorro to the veterinary dermatologist! Yes, there are vets who specialize in dermatology and allergy treatment. After a mild sedation, my boy was tested for allergies via the old-fashioned needle-prick skin testing method. Groggy Zorro was delivered back to me with a rectangular bald patch on his torso, showing the evidence of his allergy testing. Curry has some thoughts on this:

"My mom took my brother out in the carrier so I thought he was going to the regular vet for his usual steroid injection. But they always came back from that pretty fast, and this time mom and Zorro were gone for hours. Later I learned that the special vet was very far away, and that Zorro had been 'put under' and poked with needles. Well, all I can say is that he was a sight with his fur shaved and spots of blood. I would have laughed if he wasn't so pathetic looking. I was actually very concened about this, and Zorro smelled funny too. What indignity! In the end, I guess it was OK because instead of getting that nasty steroid shot, Zorro gets a custom allergy vaccination for his specific allergies (as it turns out: ragweed, pigweed, three kinds of mold, and house flies - and no, we don't have flies in the house). My poor, sensitive brother."

Curry's account of Zorro's diagnosis is accurate. He was tested for some 60 allergens including cat dander and human dander. I'm happy to report that he is allergic to neither. After getting Zorro's first vial of vaccine and a set of syringes, I had to begin giving him allergy shots daily. Then we tapered to every few days, then every week, then eventually to every three weeks. Poor Zorro, he was still too itchy. After a lot of experimentation with dosage and timing, I now give him an allergy vaccination once a week. He still sometimes itches in between doses, but we're all happy that we got him off the steroids.

Curry's closing thoughts: "Zorro gained a lot of weight from using the steroids and he never lost it. He looks fat to some people, but then when they get close to him they realize he's very muscular. I don't make fun of him because my brother Zorro is the strongest cat I ever knew, and I love him. But he is a bit squeamish with the needle, so mom needs help giving him his weekly shot. We have to have a neighbor hold him down firmly while mom injects the vaccine into the folds of skin around Zorro's shoulders. It's very quick, and the needle is very small, but Zorro fights it all the way. Man, I'm glad I don't have allergies!"