At wits end with his scratching!

silverwinged

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I posted a thread here a month or so ago... Link

Any ways...

Took kitten to the vet... After many tests and many dollars later, it has been determined that he has an allergy to "something"

He has been to three different vets.
We have changed his food 5 times now.
He was on steriods for two weeks and showed a HUGE improvement. He stopped scratching himself raw and licking all his fur off. As soon as his perscription was done, back to the same behavior.
He gets plenty of love, play and attention... We got a feliway incase it was stress. Its done nothing.

Now, he wears a cone 24/7. He cannot move around properly to get into his litter box with the lid on, he has issues eating. But if I take off the cone for more than 10 minutes, hes going at himself... (He has soft paws on and STILL manages to scratch off his fur and make himself bleed.... Thats how bad it is)

I'm at my wits end. Two vets said they think it might even be fall allergies like people get. But its freezing and basically winter here now. Its no longer damp/cool. Its dry and cold.

I don't want to have to give him to a friend or the animal shelter, but the reason I got a cat was because they have a certain sense of independance to them. It seems so cruel to leave his cone on all the time, but if I don't hes doing signifigant damage to himself. And I just dont know what to do.


Edit: I spoke to the breader about this, and she has never experienced it before. Is this something that would warrant me asking for a refund of the kittens purchase price?
 

callista

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Steroids, huh? I wonder... are there "allergy shots" for cats? Something that can be given long-term?

Don't feel bad about the cone--it's less cruel than letting him lick himself raw, poor thing.

Does he have dry skin? I mean, it's not going to solve the whole problem; but if he's got that on top of everything, a bit of extra fat in his diet should help--fish oil, maybe? Ask your vet what's good for the skin and coat; I've not had that problem yet with a cat, but my friend's beagle had dry skin, and fish oil helped her immensely.

(BTW, mods, I think this should be moved to health board...?)
 

arlyn

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He may have done this to himself so much that it has become habitiual.
I have one here that was an OCD overgroomer.
I put her in newborn and premie t-shirts until she had completely healed.
I left them on her until I had broken her of the habit.
Worth a try and easier on him than wearing the cone.
 

siggav

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Since the steroids helped I think that's a good sign that he's dealing with allergies of some sort. I remember your older thread and I posted in there and told you about my girl who's also a Bengal that has overgroomed although not as badly as what you describe.

What have you fed him and for how long? I.e it can take up to 4-5 weeks to see an improvement from going to a food he doens't have allergies to. Also if you fed him any treats while you switched his food around that could "ruin" the food allergy testing.

Also it could be flea allergies. Cats that have flea allergies usually groom and scratch so much that they manage to get most of the fleas away so you never see any on them. I.e you never having seen a flea on him doesn't mean there hasn't been one. Are you keeping up on spot on flea treatments?

It could also be more people like allergies like dust or pollen. Did anything change when it started? I know of a cat who turned out to be allergic to air fresheners. His people stopped using one and the cat got better.

Of course if he has been doing this for this long it can become a mental habit and an OCD like behavioural problem. However since the steroids made him better I would think it's probably not just that. Steroids like he was given cut down on the itching feeling he's dealing with so basically if dampening his "I'm itching" senses makes him scratch less, that's a sign that he's scratching because he's itching.

Also exactly what do his hairless spots and scratches look like? Is it healthy cat skin that's just hairless or is it red and swollen looking or angry?

Wounds like that can become infected easily which makes them even more itchy so it can be a vicious circle, that has happened everytime my cat has licked her self too much (it has happened three times in total, it took a week for her to get better the first two times and two weeks to get better the last time) and I needed an antibiotic steroid ointment for her then. When the last spot was taking a while her vet was thinking about putting her on antibiotics in pill form to help her fight off the infections in her skin.
 

werebear

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You mention you changed his food, but is it with an eye to removing certain ingredients or just shots in the dark?

A lot of cats can't handle corn, which is in something like 85% of the pet foods sold in this country.

If I had a cat with allergies, that's the first thing I would try.

Also, I had a cat who got put on kitty birth control pills because of a hormone imbalance. And he was a fixed, male, cat! But it did wonders for him.
 
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silverwinged

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Originally Posted by Siggav

What have you fed him and for how long? I.e it can take up to 4-5 weeks to see an improvement from going to a food he doens't have allergies to. Also if you fed him any treats while you switched his food around that could "ruin" the food allergy testing.
He was originally on raw chicken with suppliments.
We stopped doing the suppliments for 3 weeks before even taking him to a vet. No difference.
The vet said change him to lamb no suppliments, 4 weeks and no difference at all.
The vet perscribed Royal Canin Gastro-hypo allergenic food no suppliments, just over 4 weeks now and no difference.
He has never been given treats. He gets the odd piece of cheddar cheese, but hes been eating cheese since the day we got him. We've stopped this too now (just over two weeks) and again... Nothing.

Originally Posted by Siggav

Also it could be flea allergies. Cats that have flea allergies usually groom and scratch so much that they manage to get most of the fleas away so you never see any on them. I.e you never having seen a flea on him doesn't mean there hasn't been one. Are you keeping up on spot on flea treatments?
We haven't been keeping up on his flea treatments... Maybe this is something we should start. Even though hes combed for fleas three times a day and the vet looked over him really well for bites. How much is flea treatments usually? Should I be taking him to the vet for these or?

Originally Posted by Siggav

It could also be more people like allergies like dust or pollen. Did anything change when it started? I know of a cat who turned out to be allergic to air fresheners. His people stopped using one and the cat got better.
Like I mentioned earlier, it only got really bad as soon as end of Aug/beginning Sept rolled around, which is why the vets have suggested its a seasonal allergy.


Originally Posted by Siggav

Also exactly what do his hairless spots and scratches look like? Is it healthy cat skin that's just hairless or is it red and swollen looking or angry?
All its been thus far is pinky colored skin. Some places were a little more red than others if he'd been scratching recently, but nothing swollen or to be concerned about thus far. Before he went on steroids, we was scratching himself to the point of breaking the skin and making himself bleed... Which is why the vet was so quick to put him on the steroids in the first place.
 
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silverwinged

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Originally Posted by Werebear

You mention you changed his food, but is it with an eye to removing certain ingredients or just shots in the dark?

A lot of cats can't handle corn, which is in something like 85% of the pet foods sold in this country.

If I had a cat with allergies, that's the first thing I would try.

Also, I had a cat who got put on kitty birth control pills because of a hormone imbalance. And he was a fixed, male, cat! But it did wonders for him.
He was raised on raw cat grade beef and we moved him to raw chicken with bone and suppliments. We were sure it was a chicken allergy at first, but apparently not!
 
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silverwinged

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Originally Posted by Arlyn

He may have done this to himself so much that it has become habitiual.
I have one here that was an OCD overgroomer.
I put her in newborn and premie t-shirts until she had completely healed.
I left them on her until I had broken her of the habit.
Worth a try and easier on him than wearing the cone.
The issue with our boy though is that he scratches at his neck quite a bit too.
That is the area where he usually scratches himself raw.... Usually just under his chin, although there are no signs of flea bites or fleas themselves.

So the cone prevents him from getting at those areas, but he looks so sad
 

siggav

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Argh! I had written a mini essay and the browser ate it.

To sum up, the flea treatment I'm thinking of is a spot on treatment, i.e you put liquid at the back of the neck of your cat and it'll guarantee that any flea that comes in contact with him will be dead before biting him. It lasts for around a month and is safe for cats as long as you use a product made for cats. There are similar treatments for dogs and one of them is fatal for cats.

I use frontline for Nikita, In the UK you need to buy it from a vet, don't know if that's the case in the States. You can read more about it here: http://frontline.us.merial.com/produ..._fltopspot.asp

As for the rest of it, it really sounds as if you've tried a lot with the food. His overgroomed spots sound very different from Nikita's when she had hers, her became oozing, moist, red and crusty very quickly. Last time it got infected even before all the hair had fallen off and in her case clearing up the infection fixes the overgrooming.
 
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silverwinged

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Originally Posted by Siggav

Argh! I had written a mini essay and the browser ate it.

To sum up, the flea treatment I'm thinking of is a spot on treatment, i.e you put liquid at the back of the neck of your cat and it'll guarantee that any flea that comes in contact with him will be dead before biting him. It lasts for around a month and is safe for cats as long as you use a product made for cats. There are similar treatments for dogs and one of them is fatal for cats.

I use frontline for Nikita, In the UK you need to buy it from a vet, don't know if that's the case in the States. You can read more about it here: http://frontline.us.merial.com/produ..._fltopspot.asp

As for the rest of it, it really sounds as if you've tried a lot with the food. His overgroomed spots sound very different from Nikita's when she had hers, her became oozing, moist, red and crusty very quickly. Last time it got infected even before all the hair had fallen off and in her case clearing up the infection fixes the overgrooming.
I'm in Canada... I'll call around to a few places and see if they sell it.

Edit: Thats not a product carried in Canada... Would it be worth going to eBay to find? Or should I use the brand that is carried here most? (Revolutions)
 

siggav

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I don't know. I use frontline, it's what the vet recommended to me and they sell it as well. However I'm in the UK, I don't think they have the Revolutions flea treatment over there.

However looking it through it seems like it's pretty much the same thing i.e using Revolutions should be fine.
 

glitch

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Just a dumb question, what kind of cat is it? It isn't a purrsian is it?

My mom also has a cat that get something called "mange" evidently most cats dont get it but hers does and she has to rub an ointment on it to get her to stop!

I hope things go better for you!
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Forensic

Mange is an infection, can be hard to treat... but it can be tested for. Skin scrapings, maybe?
Yes and no, sarcoptic mange is the one that can infect animals. Demodectic is present in all animals, including humans, and only becomes a serious problem if there is an underlying health or immune problem.

My best guess is even with the vet visits, that possibly something is being missed.



My 5 year old Sho used to have a bit of a licking problem at the base of his tail, partially food cause and also stress. He would really thin out the fur when people were in and out of the house around the holidays.
Food change and him calming down/relaxing around people as he got older fixed it. Also, now when my older cat is stressed or upset he has another cat to seek out for comfort.

Is he an only cat? If mange is ruled out (likely will be), and this is more of a behavioral problem maybe adding another cat would help him focus less on licking and scratching?
 
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silverwinged

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He's had more than one skin scrape done, he has had a few urine/stool tests.
They've done one blood test on him as well, and everything came back perfectly normal.

We've seriously been thinking about getting him a friend to keep him company and maybe help with these apparent stress levels/ocd behavior.
We'll be giving him some flea treatments this weekend and getting him some premie clothing from Walmart so we can take his cone off for awhile.

Its just starting to get so frustrating that we can't figure out whats making him itch so so much that he has to hurt himself before he stops scratching...
 

bonnie1965

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I am not sure if this has been addressed. If the scratching and itching is mainly under his chin, could it be the boawl he eats/drinks from? I know some plastics are especially irritating. Just a thought


Sending out lots of vibes to you all. Amazing how they get a hold on our hearts
 
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silverwinged

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He has been fed from a ceramic dish thats rinsed with hot water after each use.
I clean out his water dish twice a day too..
I got ceramic because I thought it was the best for preventing a reaction.
 

kalikat

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My border collie used to scratch incessintly. I changed her diet to premium food, lamb no meat. I used antiocidents. It eased for a while then she'd start scratching again. She had 2 courses of cortisone which helped until stopped. From spring to autumn she would get weepy, crusty sores. The vet gave me a peroxide lotion to put on which cleared up the sores. After putting up with this for a couple of years I started using Advantage spot on flea treatment monthly & she hasn't had a flea for the past 10 yrs. I now have a 14 mth old cat & have always used Revolution on her & she's never had a flea.
 

bonnie1965

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Originally Posted by Kalikat

My border collie used to scratch incessintly. I changed her diet to premium food, lamb no meat. I used antiocidents. It eased for a while then she'd start scratching again. She had 2 courses of cortisone which helped until stopped. From spring to autumn she would get weepy, crusty sores. The vet gave me a peroxide lotion to put on which cleared up the sores. After putting up with this for a couple of years I started using Advantage spot on flea treatment monthly & she hasn't had a flea for the past 10 yrs. I now have a 14 mth old cat & have always used Revolution on her & she's never had a flea.
This is similar to what happens when Sebastian gets a flea bite. He is very allergic and will begin to bald in the bite area. I treat him with Advantage monthly and we have had no itchiness problems with him in the last few years. Not sure about Daphne, she hasn't had a flea since I've had her.

Edit: what about carpet cleaners? I knew a woman whose dog was allergic to those powdered carpet cleaners. They used them weekly and the dog slept on the floor so was always exposed to the stuff.
 
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