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*HELP*I'm Going Insane - Constant Meowing/ Tearing Fur Out/ Eating Litter/ Not Eating

post #1 of 10
9/2/11 at 6:36pm
Thread Starter 
My cat has been scratching her skin for a few years now. I on and off take her to the vet, and they always say it's an allergy to fleas. They give her Advantage, and a steroid shot. Her inflammation goes down for a while, but she gets right back to scratching right after. She's an indoor cat, but she is constantly looking outside, and jumping at the door when it's being used. She has scabs in her fur, and above her eyes (where sensory whiskers are located). She will not leave me alone. She meows from the time I wake up until I go to sleep, and sometimes she wakes me up in the night. She doesn't meow at a distance, but right next to my ear, and it sounds like she is being tortured. Her stomach is descended or saggy, but not full. She hardly ever eats or drinks water, unless I'm there with her. She sometimes eats her own litter, and when she escaped once she jumped straight to the grass outside. What is wrong with my cat?? Is it her stomach? does she have a parasite? Is she crazy? Why is her skin like this? What does it all have in common? I've looked everywhere online, and I don't have money to take her to the vet until next week.. I can't live like this, but I wont give up on my cat.. Please help..
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post #2 of 10
9/2/11 at 6:55pm
When was the last time you had blood work done?

Because eating litter is often a sign of anemia, a type of pica. Something like this could be caused by fleas as well. Does she escape outside very often? If she did once have fleas, did you ever get rid of them from your home? Because even one flea bite can really be devastating to a cat with flea allergies, though it wouldn't cause anemia, it would cause the crazy itching, scabbing and... suffering.

Your kitty clearly doesn't feel well, and must have some type of allergy or skin parasite or disease. I'm so sorry she has to wait until next week to see the vet.
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post #3 of 10
9/2/11 at 6:59pm
Is she spayed? That wouldn't do much for the flea allergy, but it would explain the desire to escape and the constant meowing if she isn't. If she is spayed, how much exercise does she get? Boredom can cause door dashing and meowing, but then again, some kitties are just noisy and want to go outside. If she really seems agitated, an anti-anxiety medication might help.

Is she always on Advantage? If she is allergic to fleas, even one bite could set off an allergic reaction, so she needs to always be on a preventive medication. Advantage and Revolution work the best for me.

Has she ever had bloodwork? Anemia can cause cats to eat litter. . .I'm not sure why, but it is a recognized symptom. I would ask for a full blood panel if it hasn't already been done in the last 6 months.
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post #4 of 10
9/2/11 at 6:59pm
I am glad you came to TCS as you will be getting alot of helpful advice here from people who care about what is happening to your kitty.

Hun, you need to take your cat to another vet for a second opinion. Your kitty needs full bloodwork done asap. I think there is more going on here than just fleas and allergies. Please try to get another opinion and bloodwork done.
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post #5 of 10
9/2/11 at 7:55pm
Thread Starter 
I've taken her to several vets, and they all say the same thing to me, that she his allergic to fleas.

This time she is much worse than before.. This time she is meowing constantly, and she never used to do this.

Also before, she used to tear her fur out more.. but now I'm just seeing clumps of scab in her fur more than torn out fur.. Also very strange and different. Almost like she is in too much pain to tear her own fur out..

She is spade, and has been since I got her. The only thing I can do to calm her down is to lock her in the bathroom, and she falls asleep. If I let her out, she screams non-stop next to my ear. I've gone crazy, and screamed a couple times.. I'm about ready to snap.. I don't know what to do, and I have no idea how to help.. especially with no money..

I've brushed her (gently), wet her fur & turned on our fan (to help with inflammation), bought her hairball food.. (which she will not eat..), and soft food (which she is able to eat, but not much of).

I've never seen her eat her own cat litter.. if it's anemia.. god.. idk.. This cat that was living next door to us stopped eating, and when they took the cat to the vet it's RBC count was very low.. but these two cats have never came in contact so it must be the environment we live in.. or idk.
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post #6 of 10
9/2/11 at 8:05pm
Does she currently have fleas?

If so, she needs to be kept on flea medication at all times and you may need to treat your home for them as well.
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post #7 of 10
9/2/11 at 8:31pm
Sometimes you have to be very insistent with vets. Like everybody else, they sometimes just want to take the easy way out. If the vet just wants to treat her for flea allergy again, tell him/her that there IS something else wrong, and you want to find out what can be done. Explain all the symptoms in detail (write them down before going so you remember them all). Insist on running bloodwork (it may seem expensive but it's a lot cheaper then going back to the vet a zillion times).

Does she currently have fleas? Even one bite will make an allergic cat absolutely miserable, and that can cause some weird behaviors. So if there are any fleas, that needs to be taken care of first.
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post #8 of 10
9/2/11 at 8:46pm
Thread Starter 
No, not that I'm aware of.

The thing is,
She's had fleas before and it didn't seem to effect her condition. In fact.. She was covered in them a couple years back when I lived with my mom. My mom owned a small puppy, which had fleas pretty bad. Her condition remained the same as it was the Winter before..

Another weird thing is, she never got this condition in any season but Winter.. and now.. it's all the time.

I have noticed an ant here or there, quite recently. Also, I did spot a very small circular insect with thin sharp wings on her, but only one..

The closest picture I could find resembled.. a termite..

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post #9 of 10
9/3/11 at 1:18am
This may not be of any help, but some people find that they have to alternate between flea products like Advantage and Revolution, as fleas can become resistant to certain products.
This might also work.
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post #10 of 10
9/6/11 at 11:49am
An anemic cat will usually have white or bluish gums, so you might check her gums to see if they are much paler than normal.

http://www.wisegeek.com/why-is-my-ca...tty-litter.htm

What kind of food do you feed her? Food allergies can also cause the itching.
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