Q: My cat has been pulling his fur out for the past 4 years. The first vet kept giving him cortisone shots that lasted maybe 6 weeks. I changed vets. This vet changed everything: food, litter, flea meds, everything. He also put him on Prednisolone. It worked for a couple of years but has stopped working. Last year this same thing happened and I was able to leave off the pred for a few weeks and that seemed to help.

In January of this year, he started back biting the hair off his stomach again. From January until late March he got a little worse every week. I took him into the vet and he gave him an allergy shot (cortisone). Four days later he was constipated and dehydrated. We almost lost him twice: in March and again at the first of May. I have since changed his food (from Royal Canin Duck and Green pea to Purina Naturals). When I would give him the Duck and Green Pea, he would throw it up every time. After his episode in May, I started him out slow with just canned food. I did not give him any hard food. I started his hard food last week. I wanted to get his stomach stable before graduating to hard food. He has done really well. Last week I also started putting the Halo Herbal Salve on his skin. Before I started putting the salve, he had his skin raw from licking and biting and scratching. He has bloodied his skin on his head and neck and his stomach. He looks absolutely terrible.

Last night I started putting Dream Coat in his food. I’ve started out slow with just 1/4 tsp. I will eventually work up to 1/2 tsp like it says on the bottle.

Do you think between the Dream Coat and the Herbal Salve that this will help his skin condition? He’s also still taking the Prednisolone. The cortisone shots are out of the question. It seems to me the cortisone was the reason for him becoming constipated and dehydrated twice after taking the shot. Each time there was four days in between.

The vet doesn’t know what to do except run up another bill. By the way, since March we have spent $1300 with this vet. Please help!

A: Hi Christy, thanks for your inquiry about our Dream Coat and Herbal Salve. There can be many things that cause skin irritations like what your cat is dealing with. These include flea allergies, food allergies, inhaled allergies–called atopy, and even some neurologic and behavioral problems. Given the severity of your cat’s problem and the non-responsiveness to therapies tried, I would recommend that you see a board-certified dermatologist. They can often pinpoint the problem and get you on the right regimen. You can visit www.acvd.org to locate a specialist in your area.

However, I certainly feel that your cat may benefit from both the Dream Coat and the Herbal Salve. While your cat has a rash or visibly crusty skin, the Herbal Salve will provide gentle relief and naturally help to ease the itchiness he is feeling. The Dream Coat is a blend of 6 virgin oils that provide critical fatty acids to keep skin supple, soft and non-inflamed. These fatty acids have proven beneficial in many cases of allergies in cats. Although they don’t target the underlying problem they help ease many of the symptoms. Barring any major food allergy, I also recommend the use of a natural diet (like Halo cat foods) that does not contain synthetic chemicals (such as dyes and preservatives), as many time these things can stimulate an allergic-type reaction.

Hope this helps.
Keep us posted.
Dr. Donna Spector

Here’s a wonderful video sent in by a good friend. Enjoy!

To help us all get in the spirit, here’s a 25% off coupon code for Halo’s all natural herbal shampoo (but hurry, it expires at the end of May)!

Coupon code:

DOGWASH
(enter coupon code AFTER you enter your credit card information on our site).

Of course we use the shampoo on our boxer boy Bert at home. It smells GREAT and rinses super-fast. We especially like the ingredients, which are:

Ingredients: Saponified Oils of Coconut, Olive and Jojoba, Tea Tree Oil, Rosemary Oil, Sage Oil Cedarwood Oil, Peppermint Oil, Sweet Orange Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Pine Needle Oil, Aloe Vera, Rosemary Extract (as a preservative)

Here’s where you can buy Halo’s herbal shampoo. Or even better than this 25% discount: just go to your local halo retailer, save the shipping charges, and print and bring this $2 coupon!

Enjoy – and get a towel!

Lynn MacRitchie Quire, the Denver Pet Products Examiner for Examiner.com addresses an issue that’s of concern to many passionate pet lovers. She writes that “many over the counter and some prescription pest control products contain dangerous chemicals, in particular propoxur and TCVP, tetrachlorovinphos. Further, she explains that “Side effects range from allergies to skin irritations to, in extreme cases, fatalities.”

We’re thrilled she considers Halo’s more holistic perspective in her article!

The Natural Resources Defense Council, a leader in saving the environment, issued a report in 2000 called Poison on Pets, with a list of dangerous chemicals contained in flea and tick products; since then, the NRDC has helped to get most of the poisons banned, and is working on getting rid of the final two still on the market.

The issue is so important that the NRDC has created a special web site — www.GreenPaws.org — to increase awareness of pesticide use on and around pets. Many of the most popular brands of flea and tick treatments and their ingredients are listed, with possible side-effects including cancer-causing agents.

The site also has tips on how to protect your pet without the use of chemicals, including regular combing and baths.

As you probably know, Halo does not use any of these unsafe chemicals, and offers a full line of natural pet grooming products as a safer alternative for both your pet and the environment.

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