Cat has itchy patches with black specks on hair follicle...it's not flea dirt though. Advice?

Some background - last December, my cat started getting patches of itchy skin that he would scratch and they would bleed and become infected, etc.  The vet and I thought it was a food allergy so I did a few various trials, I thought I had narrowed it down to a fish allergy (he had been doing great on a duck and green pea diet).  He has just come off his steroids a few weeks ago and was doing great until the other day when he started itching again.  I'm going to call the vet and get him in for an appointment before it gets bad again, but something interesting about the itchy patches are that they are preceded by what looks like clogged hair follicles, almost looks like what comes up when you google 'feline acne.'  But the itchy spots are between his shoulder blades and not on his chin/mouth region.  It has already been determined it's not flea dirt and doesn't turn red (blood) when wet.  Has anyone seen this before in their cat?  Could it just be that he has dry skin and needs some supplements?  Has anyone had an itchy cat that improved with omega/fish oil?  Thanks for any advice!

mrsflipflop said:

 
Some background - last December, my cat started getting patches of itchy skin that he would scratch and they would bleed and become infected, etc.  The vet and I thought it was a food allergy so I did a few various trials, I thought I had narrowed it down to a fish allergy (he had been doing great on a duck and green pea diet).  He has just come off his steroids a few weeks ago and was doing great until the other day when he started itching again.  I'm going to call the vet and get him in for an appointment before it gets bad again, but something interesting about the itchy patches are that they are preceded by what looks like clogged hair follicles, almost looks like what comes up when you google 'feline acne.'  But the itchy spots are between his shoulder blades and not on his chin/mouth region.  It has already been determined it's not flea dirt and doesn't turn red (blood) when wet.  Has anyone seen this before in their cat?  Could it just be that he has dry skin and needs some supplements?  Has anyone had an itchy cat that improved with omega/fish oil?  Thanks for any advice!

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Hi, and welcome!  I had a cat with a chronic skin condition from kittenhood on.  Her vet sent her to a cat allergist at a local cat hospital and even they were never able to pinppoint her specific allergy.  Hers was something like your cat's - she would itch, and chew at her tummy so much that she created sores which would bleed.  We changed diet countless times, used all-green cleaning products, made sure her environment was as close to sterile as possible, nothing worked.  The steroids were the only thing that helped her, but as time went on, she had to get the shots more and more frequently.  Not a good idea to be on steroids for life, but she was in misery without them.  

The steroids usually work for about three weeks, so I don't think your baby's condition has cleared up at all. I think the steroids are out of his system and that's why he's having another outbreak.  If this was a diet-related allergy, it would seem that the duck and green pea would do the trick.  Also, is his food preservative-free?  The preservatives can often be the culprit rather than a specific protein..  Have you considered his water?  Even if he isn't a big drinker, they can be allergic to the additives in tap water.  I now give mine only filtered water, never water from the tap.  Many skin problems are specific deficiencies, including Vitamins A, E, C or zinc.  Chronic skin ailments, demodectic mange, or seborrhea usually respond to Vitamin C; rashes, eczema and hair loss are often Vitamin E deficiencies; abscesses and sores respond to zinc, and bacterial skin eruptions, scratching, or sebaceous cysts require Vitamin A.  I used Desitin ointment on Maggie's tummy for years; it contains lots of zinc.  Hope this helps!