Can anyone help me?? Cat scratching until red and sore!!!

nicki jacombs

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I have a beautiful cat who is around 11 months old.

For about the last 6 months he keeps getting a skin irration. He will scratch at his ears so much he rubs all the fur off the sides and often makes then bleed. Then it will get better and he will be fine again for a coupl of weeks and the fur will grow back. The last couple of times it has happen though he has been scratching around one of his eyes as well making it swollen and sore
.

We have been back and forth to the Vets about this about 5 times. They said it could be ringworm or fleas, they tested for ringworm and couldn't find it. We de-flea him, and the entire house.

We have kept up a flea control systems and make sure we are treating him on time.

The last time we went to the vet he said he thought he could see a couple of ear mites, so we have treated him for that (and I am not sure why ear mites would make him scratch his eye??), and it go marginally better for awhile?

We are going to take him back again soon, but I was hoping that someone may be able to give me any insight into what could be causing the problems??

Apart from the scratching he is a very happy kitty and doesn't seem to bother by it, but I am worried as i don't want him to cause himself any permanent damage
.
 

hissy

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may I first ask what flea treatment you are using?

This could be anything from a food allergy or a reaction to an over the counter flea treatment (if you used that)

Did the vet check his ears for mites? If he is scratching just his ears and his face he could have earmites and they are treatable it just takes awhile to get rid of them.

What type of bowl does he eat out of? That is another possibility if you are using plastic, switch to ceramic or glass.

if all else fails get him to a specialist who can do a skin scraping and determine what this is.
 
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nicki jacombs

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We are using the Flea Treatment called Fronline which we have been given by the Vet.

He does eat out a plastic bowl, so i will change that at once to see if it makes any difference.

The Vat did say he could see a couple of mites in his ears and we gave him ear drops for a couple of weeks for that, and there was an imporvement. It has just got worse again in the past few days
 

hissy

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He may need another round of ear drops- those mites burrow down pretty deep and if you don't put the medication in, and then clean out the ear with dry, soft cotton they can come back.
 

sandie

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Did your vet take a sample from your cats ear and look at it under the microscope?
It's possible there is a problem with mites, but there's also the chance there's an allergy. Allergies can cause the ears to become overloaded with yeast, and they can get ear infections. Which would explain the scratching at the ears and the itchy eyes.
What kinds of tests or things has the vet done so far, that way I don't go overboard with my thoughts
 

cat-tech

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I concur with Sandie, your vet needs to do a microscopic exam on the exudate from the ear to determine if this is mites, vs bacterial vs other infection.

If he can determine it is an infection, it might be a pseudomona, which is difficult to treat and usually always requires ear rinse (or medicated foam), antibiotics and tresaderm, each requiring a special application on it's own.

Since you've been to your vet 5 times about this and there has been no diagnosis nor acceptable resolve, I would strongly suggest seeing a new vet altogether.

Btw, ear infections (especially pseudomonas) can cause abrasions and fur loss wherever the paws come into contact...if kitty rubs, paws at or scratches his ears, the bacteria will spread by the paws to anywhere else on the body........................Traci
 
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