itchy cat

our most allergic kitten either ate or came into contact with something two days ago that seems to have set his allergies off and he is scratching and licking at himself far far more than he ever has before. he has actually scratched a little patch of skin bare. he has food issues, and was eating biscuit scraps off our kitchen table which is what i think set him off. it was either that or i had just brought the rosemary plant inside for the winter so he could have been nibbling at it (he is allergic to corn and wheat that we know of, who knows what else) no fleas, i flea-comb all the kitties daily (not for fleas as much as for the hair removal) no ear mites, completely indoor cat. he is the one who is always trying to get in the trash, always up on the table trying to get into the food. he goes after people food like it is the holy grail.

he is scratching less today than he was yesterday, yesterday he was obviously really itchy. vets office is closed today, and i would rather not take him to the emergency vet unless it is a real emergency - he is eating, drinking, using the litterbox, being social, and not acting in any way off except for the scratching and cleaning.

i was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions on anything i can do to make him more comfortable in the meantime? would a bath help or make things worse? we picked up a hot spot anti-itch spray for the little bald spot yesterday night, it seemed to help. if this behavior continues without improvement for more than another day or so we will take him in to the vet, but i am hoping if it is food related the reaction will subside.

LOL not that anyone answered but it did turn out to be fleas... in spite of daily combing with the flea combs a few slipped by and the cats are all freshly revolutioned and we are washing all of the bedding and steam cleaning the few carpets we have, as well as vacuuming all the hard wood floors and putting diatomacious earth down outside around the house. i found 6 fleas on our long-haired cat and 3 on the short hairs. hopefully it won't get too bad, the little guy has only been scratching since thursday, and i only found 1 flea on him (2 more on his brother, who he cuddles with all the time) just goes to show no matter how diligent you are about keeping fleas away the little buggers can still get in!

Fleas are terrible, no matter how many flea treatments that you use, my cat Candy is allergic to fleas, even if she doesn't have them it only takes one to bite her and she itches ad goes scabby and then a trip to the vets is in order, she has flea injections now every 6 months and they are great but she is still at risk of being bitten by a flea,it's a nightmare.x