Skin Issues Please Help

My sphynx Zoe is about 15 months old. I've been dealing with her inching herself so badly. It's just getting worse. I feed her good food, blue buffalo. And bathe her weekly, keep her warm play with her. I'm not sure what the issue is. I've brought her to the vet twice and antibiotics both times. Second time the antibiotics just made it ten times worse. Just not sure what to do. Vet wants to steroid shots and makes me nervous to try it. Anyone know what to so about this or has seen this type of problem before?

I would recommend to get a second opinion from another vet.

If possible one who is specialized in skin problems. Looks like her skin is itchy and she scratches. Maybe it's caused by a food allergy.

Some of those pics make me think of a type of mite. Have any of the sites been scraped/biopsied/cultured?

Food allergies can cause this too. Hope you get to the bottom of it!

Or maybe a sensitive skin reaction to the shampoo you use.

I agree with everyone's advice: mites; food allergy; shampoo allergy.
Which Buffalo Blue do you feed: dry, wet? What is the source of protein?
For a good allergy: you could try the boiled chicken and rice diet. (Boil chicken with no additivies, spices. Cool. Save the water the chicken was boiled in, and cook rice in it. Serve for a few days. If the skin starts to clear up, then chances are it's a food allergy. Unless of course she's allergic to chicken.)
And, get a second opinion, preferably with a feline cat vet only. Sphynx's aren't all that common, and have special issues, so I think it worth while for a vet with extra knowledge about cats.

I think too as far as skin care itself such as type of shampoo etc maybe a breeders club or responsible breeder would be a good source of info.  I don't think we have any sphynx breeders here, can you still contact her breeder.

Of course it could be many things and a second vet opinion is also needed.  That looks a lot like the eczema that one of my kids had when he was little.  A dermatologist had me using hypoallergenic soap and lotion for sensitive skin on it.  It cleared up quickly but if I tried to use regular soap on him it would start to come back.

Thanks guys! Yea she has been to vet twice they scraped her skin and found infection but it's infected cause it's an open cut. They keep telling me it's normal. But she looks like I beat her up. It's sad. And we feed her blue buffalo dry food. Usually indoor cat or sensitive stomach. I was told to switch her liter and wash her less cause we bathe her weekly. I'll try the chicken thing though. I just want her better. Thank you

Sorry, but this is not  normal. She must feel very uncomfortable having itchy skin and scratching herself so extremely.

 I would strongly recommend to see a dermatologist. 

I agree this isn't normal.  The Sphynx is more prone to skin issues but this isn't normal.  Everything I have read or heard has said that a weekly bath is one of the things needed to avoid skin issues.  We used to have a breeder here, he actually bred Bengals but he got a member a sphynx kitty from a breeder that he knew.  Both of the them unfortunately are no longer on the site.

Hi 00smith, I've got a sphynx and I also show mine, so I know a few sphynx breeders.

It does look like an allergy but figuring out what is causing it is the big problem.

One of the main things that cause this in sphynx is shampoo. I saw in the other thread you posted in that you have been changing shampoo. This could be your problem. Also now she has this rash, every time you bath her you are just irritating the rash even more. The best thing to do while she has this rash is, if you bath her don't use any shampoo at all. Just wash her in warm water only. Just until you have this sorted out

You need to really think long and hard of anything in the house you might have changed also
Washing powder you use for cat blankets and your clothes.
Cleaning products for floors, kitchens, bathrooms
Even any sort of hand cream, body lotion you or anybody else in your home is using.

There is a site on the Internet called the "sphynx lair " if you go onto their main page and do a search for "rash". There are loads of threads from people who have the same problem with their sphynx cats and loads of great advise. It would definitely be worth having a look

I've been dealing with sever skin problems in one of my cats, he came to us with them, I know it can be frustrating for you and your kitty. I'd def get your cat checked for mites, we've had ours checked 3 times since they an be hard to spot.

As far as shampoo allergies go I've never had a cat with that issue but one of my Pugs would get huge raw spots after being bathed so that's something to keep in mind. Do the spots get worse within 24 hours of bathing? It took us a few times to figure out the shampoo was an issue for our dog because the spots didn't show up right away. We thought he got bitten by something the first time as did the vet, skin issues can be a pain to narrow down so stay positive!

I hope your cats skin improves quickly!

It looks like Miliary Dermatitis to me.  Which is normally caused by an allergic reaction whether it be fleas, food, or environment.  You might want to do a food elimination trial diet by feeding her something she hasn't been exposed to like Duck or Venison and feeding it only (no treats) for 12 weeks.  I would get a 2nd opinion at another vet or preferrably an animal dermatologist.   Steroids just suppress the cats immune system, they don't take care of the underlying problem.

While it's true that steroids will just supress her symptoms, it may not be a bad idea to do a short-term prescription of a steroid just to make her comfortable if she's uncomfortable while you're trying to find out what's wrong with her.  I highly advise against a steroid injection~~so many negatives w/ the injection but a short course of oral steroids will make her comfortable and for such a short time is highly unlikely to cause her any harm.  

I have 3 sphynx's. I love them more than anything. We tried blue buffalo as well. Turns out there's too much protein in that food cuz one of my cats got really dry skin too. And little sores. I felt terrible for her. But we switched them to purina and they're doing a lot better. Look up blue buffalo& sphynx's. I saw that the high protein has killed a few sphynx's so I switched food immediately.

I stopped using blue buffalo because the smell of there litterbox was sooo bad and they kept getting diarrhea,I have sphynx and I just switch to rachael ray I know its cheaper but they both seem much happier and less itching.

My laundrysoap was one issue and moved to new place with carpet tht was also an issue.

Hi I know this is an old thread, but I have 2 Sphynx cats with the same issues. We have tried different foods, steroid injections, creams etc. I was wondering if you found anything that worked long term?