She's Almost Bald!

My two year old Siamese, Amethyst, is nearly bald from itching and biting her hair out. She has dozens of these little dark brown "polka dots" for excessive biting. Her itching is all over! She's missing hair her on her chest, inner front legs, inner and outer back legs, belly and around her butt and up her tail. It has been a constant struggle to find the culprit. I've tried different foods, litters, detergents, salves and most recently the vet has been giving her monthly shots of a steroid to help with the itching. He says it's just allergies however I think it's more then that. I'm not sure how much more I can take, and her either. If she is awake she's itching. The shot is no longer working. Please help, any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! 

I don't know in which country you live, but if it's the U.S., you can search for a holistic vet here: http://www.ahvma.org You need to find someone trained in Chinese Medicine. If you're not in the U.S., I would try googling to see if you can find someone you can get to.

We had a kitty that mowed his abdomen and parts of his front legs clean. None of our regular vets were able to help him - same things you've tried. Western Medicine just doesn't deal with .... auto-immune (in this instance, a hyperactive immune system) type problems very well. In Chinese Medicine, our kitty was diagnosed with an "extreme yin deficiency," and an "extreme spleen Qi deficiency." (He also had chronic, horrible diarrhea). The herbs the holistic vet put him on cleared up the diarrhea within four days. And though it took longer to stop the itchies, we were pretty sure within a few days that the herbs she'd prescribed for that were working; inside of two weeks it was VERY clear they were working.

In the end, we also took her advice to put our cats on a raw food diet. But if you don't want to do that, if you are not feeding canned food only, grain free, low-carbohydrate (not all grain free foods are low carb), that is something that will only help. The fewer ingredients, the better. And being grain-free, the protein source will be meat. And if there's no holistic vet you can get to, then I do suggest considering a raw diet. Just like when things go so wrong in people, for our pets the less processed the food, the better. :heart2:

Vibes for your kitty!

there is a plant called "wandering jew" I know two of my friends dogs had the symptoms you describe and it was cause they had this plant in the back yard. cats and dogs are very allergic to it. Google the photos if you dont know what it looks like
 

OK, barrage of questions time!

Does Amethyst go outside at all?  Have you tried hypoallergenic diets?  Has she been evaluated for hyperesthesia (Siamese are known for having this disorder)?  Have you had her checked more than once for skin mites?  Do you ever bathe her?

I have a half Siamese (momma had papers and all, daddy was a bit of a mixed breed) who has a horrible combination of food allergies, pollen allergies and hyperesthesia.  She is on a hypoallergenic diet, I never bring cut flowers or flowering plants into the home anymore and in on clomipramine to control the hyperesthesia.  She used to be mostly naked, like Amethyst, but now only ever has a naked belly in the spring and fall.

Itching can be so frustrating!  Good luck to you.