Hello! This is my first post, hoping to get a little advice/encouragement for my cat Chloe regarding itchy ears
Info about Chloe:
She turns 4 on May 14
Female/spayed/domestic short hair
Rescued her from a shelter when she was very little 5-6 weeks. She had fleas from the shelter but never again.
Never had any health issues. Gets a year annual exam from vet.
Inside only.
TLDR: cat has periodic itchy ears, prescribed Benedryl. Has anyone had good experiences with this? Is there anything else to try?
-Middle of 2020- she started scratching right in front of her ears raw (nothing super serious just red spots I’ll attach photos) one of my friends was a vet tech so I asked her and she said it was probably a flea allergy and gave me revolution (even though she didn’t have fleas). I put the treatment on and kitty caps on her back nails and the spot cleared up and she was fine.
-Every so often though, every couple of months, she starts scratching again. Sometimes I definitely lapse in doing the revolution but I know she doesn’t have fleas and none of my other cats scratch like she does.
-February 2022- took her to vet when she had a flare up (they usually heal quickly so I asked my vet for their soonest work in) and they did a skin cytology and impression which they said revealed normal ear flora. She also prescribed prednisolone for the flare up and Benedryl every 8-12 hours.
-Chloe got very sick after this appointment with a URI. it lasted for about two weeks. During this time, she did not scratch, her ear healed and until like mid April she was not scratching at all. Didn’t do benedryl since she wasn’t scratching and took so many medications while sick.
-Mid April 2022 started up again. Put kitty caps on back nails, I have a cone on her as her raw spots heal, and tried (and failed) to give Benedryl as prescribed by dr. We did get liquid to try but I haven’t yet.
I guess I’m just wondering if anyone has dealt with this? It’s so frustrating because she’ll go months without having a flare up and then it’ll be bad. I’m wary about Benedryl because I don’t want her to be sleepy all the time, but has anyone had experience with Benedryl helping? Vet thinks it’s environmental since it’s not all the time, but just looking for other opinions or if there’s anything I should ask specifically of my vet. I’m nervous about bringing her back because she got sick so bad last time
I should also mention that I’m currently battling a very bad case of life-anxiety (working through with my doctor and therapist LOL) so I think every little thing that happens is the end of the world and like she’ll get a serious infection because of the scratching, so I’m panicking more than usual. So any encouragement or comforting stories would be lovely right now. Thank you!!
Madison and Chloe Decker
(first pic is current raw spot thats healing- second pic is a flare up from February
Info about Chloe:
She turns 4 on May 14
Female/spayed/domestic short hair
Rescued her from a shelter when she was very little 5-6 weeks. She had fleas from the shelter but never again.
Never had any health issues. Gets a year annual exam from vet.
Inside only.
TLDR: cat has periodic itchy ears, prescribed Benedryl. Has anyone had good experiences with this? Is there anything else to try?
-Middle of 2020- she started scratching right in front of her ears raw (nothing super serious just red spots I’ll attach photos) one of my friends was a vet tech so I asked her and she said it was probably a flea allergy and gave me revolution (even though she didn’t have fleas). I put the treatment on and kitty caps on her back nails and the spot cleared up and she was fine.
-Every so often though, every couple of months, she starts scratching again. Sometimes I definitely lapse in doing the revolution but I know she doesn’t have fleas and none of my other cats scratch like she does.
-February 2022- took her to vet when she had a flare up (they usually heal quickly so I asked my vet for their soonest work in) and they did a skin cytology and impression which they said revealed normal ear flora. She also prescribed prednisolone for the flare up and Benedryl every 8-12 hours.
-Chloe got very sick after this appointment with a URI. it lasted for about two weeks. During this time, she did not scratch, her ear healed and until like mid April she was not scratching at all. Didn’t do benedryl since she wasn’t scratching and took so many medications while sick.
-Mid April 2022 started up again. Put kitty caps on back nails, I have a cone on her as her raw spots heal, and tried (and failed) to give Benedryl as prescribed by dr. We did get liquid to try but I haven’t yet.
I guess I’m just wondering if anyone has dealt with this? It’s so frustrating because she’ll go months without having a flare up and then it’ll be bad. I’m wary about Benedryl because I don’t want her to be sleepy all the time, but has anyone had experience with Benedryl helping? Vet thinks it’s environmental since it’s not all the time, but just looking for other opinions or if there’s anything I should ask specifically of my vet. I’m nervous about bringing her back because she got sick so bad last time
I should also mention that I’m currently battling a very bad case of life-anxiety (working through with my doctor and therapist LOL) so I think every little thing that happens is the end of the world and like she’ll get a serious infection because of the scratching, so I’m panicking more than usual. So any encouragement or comforting stories would be lovely right now. Thank you!!
Madison and Chloe Decker
(first pic is current raw spot thats healing- second pic is a flare up from February
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