Allergies in cats?

[Gen G. :)]

My SIL has a cat who suffers chronic ear infections and appears to have a problem with her paws (seems to walk weird sometimes, licks her paws much, etc). My SIL told me that her cat has always had some kind of problem with her ears, they are always red and her earwax is a very dark brown or black. No matter what kind of eardrops or pills she'd give her cat, she would see a small improvement and then it would come back soon after. This has gotten so bad that the vet prescribed human eardrops and a ton of antibiotics. She doesn't even go to a normal vet anymore, she was referred to a very specialized vet hospital who is very costly (and far away!). They are actually discussing a $1200 treatment right now, I don't know exactly what they are suggesting... but this is a lot of money for a treatment that I'm not sure will change anything

I was wondering if the problem could actually be caused by allergies? I know a lot of dogs suffer from them, with similar symptoms (my dog Cindy, now at the Bridge, did have very black earwax and itchy paws from allergic reactions). I don't know if changing her food would be a good idea? Unfortunately right now I don't remember the exact brand she's feeding, but I wanted to know if any of you guys has had experience with an allergic kitty.

Thanks in advance for your input

[Caney Creek]

Never had an allergic cat, but for a dog, those symptoms sound like a classic case of food allergies. I'd definitely find out what she's feeding -- and no matter what, consider trying something new. The constant use of antibiotics can really take a toll on the immune system, too, so I'd suggest refusing any more since they haven't done much good anyways.

I'm curious to know what that $1200 treatment is??