Any an all help or suggestions would be very appreciated.

I am so heart broken over this and I am extremely worried I am going to lose my best friend. I have tried so many different things to help her and nothing has stopped her from tearing herself apart. She rips her fur out by tufts, leaving the skin exposed, and then licks the area or scratches at the area until I give in and put her shirt and cone on again. Her problem areas are her left shoulder, the back of her head, the left side of her neck or under her chin. This has been going on for two years now, she'll rip away, I'll cone and shirt her so she can heal, take them off when she is okay and she does it again. That isn't working anymore either, she has found a new place to rip her fur out, which is the inside of her left leg, just next to her belly, I cant stop her from doing that short of putting her in pants or something and I don't want to have to do that to her.

I desperately want her to be free, to be able to run my hand over her cheek, over her head, and down the length of her back. I don't want to have to wipe her down with a warm, damp cloth if she is still too bad to un-cone and de-shirt. I just don't know what to do anymore.

We have tried capping her back paws, which only made her scratch herself harder, or worse, bite at her toes. I will not de-claw her, don't suggest it.

We have tried several different ointments and creams prescribed by our vet, Dr. Bail (Whom you can find out about here: http://www.yelp.ca/biz/st-margarets-bay-animal-hospital-halifax), which she will lick at, even if it makes her drool and tastes awful, until its totally gone. When we cone her with them on she scratches at it then licks the part of her foot she can get it.

She has had several steroid injections which didn't do a thing.

She doesn't have fleas of any kind and I regularly check to make sure.

I have tried giving her an all natural, homemade diet, no change.

I have tried different cat litters, no change.

I have tried colloidal silver water.

I have tried fish oils and all natural oils, both for her to injest, and to rub on her skin.

I have tried adding yeast to her food.

She has blood tests, stool tests, urinary tests, the works, all show up fine.

I have read countless articles, read books, you name it, looking for something that can help. I really don't know what to do anymore. I have just learned about Depo-Medrol, which I am going to call and ask Dr. Bail about Monday morning, I'm not sure if she has had it or not.

What do I do?

I am so sorry about your best friend.

About the diet:  you mentioned homemade.  Was it single source protein, and did you rotate proteins to see if one triggered an allergic reation?

Has she had a complete work up for allergies, including environmental (laundry detergent for example)?

Why are you thinking about using Depo-Medrol and not, for example, an anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medication?  (Ritz is on prozac for FHS.)

First of all, I'm so sorry you and your kitty are going through this. It's a terrible thing to have to feel so helpless. I've been there, with my Chumley. When after 6 months, the vets we normally work with could not help us resolve his scratching his legs and abdomen bare (and we tried various foods and hypoallergenic food), we sought out a holistic veterinarian.

She had his diarrhea fixed inside of four days. Though the scratching/itching is a different problem, so takes longer to address, it was clear inside of a week that the Chinese herbal prescription she had us use for him was helping. Inside of two weeks, there was no doubt, and inside of a couple of months, he was acting completely like a normal, happy kitty, and his hair had mostly grown back in (takes a little longer on the abdomen).

When there is an immune-related problem, it seems to me that Western Medicine doesn't know how to properly diagnose or manage it.

Chumley's diagnosis in Chinese Medicine was "Extreme Spleen Qi Deficiency," and "Extreme Yin Deficiency." :dk: It meant he was "too hot" (from an energy standpoint), and thus he was ripping his hair out, and constantly scratching at his skin, trying to get relief.

I don't know chinese medicine, but the vet was saw was also trained as a D.V.M., so she could choose the best method for treatment.

She also had us immediately stop feeding him kibble, and we went to a high-protein, low carb, no grain canned foods only. She wanted us to put him on raw, but only after he was better. One year later, we transitioned to homemade raw food. Two weeks on raw food, he stopped eating his herbal pills. And as it turns out, he no longer needs them. He is in fabulous shape now, a very, very healthy kitty, despite being FIV+ on top of everything else. (Knock wood!).

I looked up vets in your area, and found this one: http://fullcirclevet.ca/dartmouth-veterinary-services/veterinary-alternative-therapies/

I told our regular vet we were going to try alternative therapy, and we kept (keep) his records current at both vet practices.

I recommend talking to your vet about exploring non-Western medicine based treatment with a holistic DVM rather than trying another steroid. I'd give the holistic vet a chance. I have NO DOUBT that Chumley is a completely different cat than if I'd continued to try to pursue "normal" treatments through our regular vet. In fact, she now refers people with pets with immune-mediated problems that they're unable to treat to the holistic vet now. :heart2:

You have NOTHING to lose, and everything to gain. Vibes for you and your baby.

Thank you Ritz, it was a single source of protein and no, I didn't think to rotate, should have. She has had bloodwork done, like I said and I am not sure if that included an environmental workout. I landed on Depo-Medrol as a way to combat what most of the information I have read says could be an allergy combatant. From an overview, which said it is used on dogs, cats and horses:

What is Depo-Medrol[emoji]174[/emoji]?

Depo-Medrol is an injectable medication used to treat certain allergies, skin conditions, and arthritis. It can also be used to suppress the immune system.

What are the benefits?

* Depo-Medrol is a powerful anti-inflammatory medication in injectable form

* Used to treat diseases associated with inflammation including certain allergies, skin conditions, and types of arthritis

* Can also be used to suppress the immune system

* It is quick-acting and has a longer period of activity than prednisone or prednisolone

Depo-Medrol is a synthetic corticosteroid used in the treatment of many different conditions, including autoimmune diseases such as lupus and some hemolytic anemias. It is also used to treat asthma and certain skin diseases in cats.

Source:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=10327

My wife and I talked about Benodryl, going to ask Dr. Bail about that and see whats she says. I will ask about an SSRI as well, never thought of an anti-depressent cos she is an affection cat, despite the cone and shirt. Thank you for the suggestions I will make sure to check into them and get back to you with what my vet said.

LDG, thank you very much for such a wonderful suggestion and for providing me with a link. I will be calling them tomorrow to see what their asking prices are and when I can get an appointment. Dr. Bail, my current vet, also does holistic therapy and I will be asking her about some alternatives we maybe haven't tried. Thank you for sharing the story of you Chumley, was uplifting!

Will give you an update on what they've said when I can.

Depo-Medrol is a steroid shot, so if she's been getting steroid shots, it's likely that at least some of the shots were Depo-Medrol.

I agree that holistic remedies should be tried, and possibly anti-anxiety medications. Sometimes a cat's brain just gets stuck in one spot and they need meds to get their brain chemistry back on track.

I also agree to try holistic/chinese medicine remedies.  Great that your vet already does holistic medicine.

The advice given by the others is spot on. LDG helped me w/ Angel, when he was going through a similar situation. He too was diagnosed w/ a spleen deficiency, & given some tea pills from the Holistic vet. I also tried the Chinese herbal pills, & they seemed to help. Angel is still & I think will always be a little itchy, BUT, he no longer chews spots raw anymore. I currently give him a half of a generic Clariton every night in a piece of pill pocket. That was originally recommended by his regular vet, & the most affordable for me right now.

Also something to consider that goes along with the Chinese medicine is only feeding her meats that are cooling or neutral, like beef, turkey, duck,& rabbit

I'm sure the others who know more about this can help you with that too. It's another thing you can ask the holistic vet about.

An update, I did call the Holistic vet and they haven't answered their phone all week, according to their hours they are open and for whatever reason. I did get through to my normal vet, Dr. Bail, and have been waiting for her to get back to me on a few things. Asked her about Benadryl too . Thank you again everyone, I will be calling again shortly to see if I can get through today, and if not Monday again.

jubejube said:

An update, I did call the Holistic vet and they haven't answered their phone all week, according to their hours they are open and for whatever reason. I did get through to my normal vet, Dr. Bail, and have been waiting for her to get back to me on a few things. Asked her about Benadryl too . Thank you again everyone, I will be calling again shortly to see if I can get through today, and if not Monday again.

Click to expand...

That's to bad you couldn't get through. I actually have not been back to the Holistic vet here,(after one initial visit), because he never followed up w/ me, even after I emailed him. I was very disappointed,

& not impressed.

Maybe I missed it, but did your regular vet ever give you a diagnosis for the problem? It's not something common like ringworm?

Seeing a second vet for a fresh opinion might be a good idea, even if you can't find an alternative vet. Good luck, I really hope she's feeling better soon!

Still no diagnosis and no relief, seeking out a second opinion Monday if I can, Wednesday if not. Sorry for the lack of an update and thank you all for caring so much about my JuJube. She is all healed up now and while I want to take off the cone and shirt I know that when I do she'll go right back at herself again. With her all healed up whatever we do Monday or Wednesday we'll be able to see the results of right away,  if she goes at herself its a no go, if she doesn't then she and I will both finally get some relief.

Again, thank you all for caring, we (Jubie and I) do appreciate it a great deal.