Allergic dermatitis on my Maine Coon

Suzy is not purebred by any means, but she's that beautiful slick black, fluffy brown, and downy grey... and balding. It's 95% allergic dermatitis from fleas and 5% nerves. I noticed her chewing over a year ago when my then-kitten, Ethel, would chase her. She'd plop down and start gnawing the base of her tail, but the fur only thinned out a bit.

Suzy is the kind of female cat I'm most familiar with - she does NOT like other cats (she gets along fine as long as they leave her alone, although sometimes she'll corner our newest cat and torment him. And she tolerates Buster only because he's scared of her, haha. I treated them for fleas about 2-3 weeks ago and it was a disaster. Buster got really sick from Frontline and although the flea dirt isn't nearly as bad, I'm still seeing it in places. Suzy's hind end, tummy, and elbows are bald and she doesn't have her cute grey tufts behind her ears anymore because she scratched them off She has dry, scaly patches that she's sensitive about - she's extremely vocal anyway, but she lets me know she's really not happy if I try to touch her bald spots. 

Any advice? I'm still paying Buster's $400 vet bill and will have another in a couple of months when we go back for more blood tests just to make sure his kidneys aren't going out. It's too soon to apply more flea meds (I'm getting Revolution next time. NEVER again with Frontline/fipronil) I'd wash her with Dawn to get rid of the fleas, but I don't want to dry her out more and the other three still have a few, so they'd be right back on her. I've heard good things about a dilution of apple cider vinegar and water. I've thought about shaving her, but her skin seems sensitive right now. I'm debating on coning her, too. I'm open to just about anything.

Aside from being sassy and vocal, she's really well behaved. She takes pills like a pro and gets timid if I use a stern voice, so I use that if needed, followed by love and rewards after the deed is done (I've had her since she was 6 weeks old and she's always been like that. She's never been abused) And, obviously, if it doesn't show any improvement soon, I will take her to my vet. I just thought I'd try some safe home remedies because I'm not in a huge rush to rack up more lab costs :/

You might try bathing her.  I used to bathe my cat with flea allergies during his itchy, scabby times, and it seemed like it soothed him more than anything.  I used the bath packets that were pure oatmeal as the only ingredient, they are sold in pharmacies in the area where the poison oak medicines are stocked.  My vet told me that was okay to use as long as it had only the colloidal oatmeal as the only ingredient, or to boil oatmeal with excess water then sponge the cooled water on him.  I would put him in the sink and pour the lukewarm oatmeal bath mix over him and let him sit for a few minutes.  It really seemed to help.  I would soak a rag in it and hold it on the spots in front of his ears. 

My cat has horrible reactions to even a single flea bite, and does the going bald thing too.  He doesn't go outside, but we have a huge yard and are surrounded by woods and fields, so we bring them in to him.  He has had to have cortisone shots before and takes a daily antihistamine during high pollen times for his other allergies, and I keep him on Advantage II for large cats.  We used to use Frontline with no problems but he started having a reaction to it, so back to Advantage for us.  He reacted to Revolution as well, but honestly, that is the best stuff, just imo.

hbunny said:

You might try bathing her.  I used to bathe my cat with flea allergies during his itchy, scabby times, and it seemed like it soothed him more than anything.  I used the bath packets that were pure oatmeal as the only ingredient, they are sold in pharmacies in the area where the poison oak medicines are stocked.  My vet told me that was okay to use as long as it had only the colloidal oatmeal as the only ingredient, or to boil oatmeal with excess water then sponge the cooled water on him.  I would put him in the sink and pour the lukewarm oatmeal bath mix over him and let him sit for a few minutes.  It really seemed to help.  I would soak a rag in it and hold it on the spots in front of his ears. 

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How often did you bathe him? I gave her a quick ACV rinse cut in half with water and then let her sit with colloidal oatmeal. She wasn't very pleased with me, but she seems way more happy right now. I can touch her bald spots without her getting upset and she's rolling around like she's finally comfortable again, which makes *me* really happy. Is once a week too often?

Glad it helped!!  Well, when Wurp was so bad with the scabs I did it every other day.  He has never fought me to take a bath, but man he hates me afterwards!  He would pout for hours.  But, I could tell a HUGE difference in his comfort level after I did it.  It seemed to give him instant relief.  And the oatmeal wasn't really drying to his skin.  I went to once a week after he started losing the scabs.

Thank you so so much for the tip. She can't get enough of me today, haha. She doesn't really fight me when I bathe her, which is nice, but she's still not really excited about it. I have a bathtub with closing doors, so I put on some ratty clothes and locked us both in  She's had fleas before, but never had this reaction. I think the nerves and her getting older (she's 8 now) probably have something to do with it. 

I'll keep an eye on her and if she starts itching and being more crabby than normal before a week is up, I'll give her another. Thank you again from Suzy and me both!

You are welcome, from me and the Wurp!  It always gave him instant relief.

Another tip---ask your vet about an antihistamine to help with the allergic response.  Wurp is on one commonly taken by humans, only at half the adult dose.  It has made a difference in both the flea allergy and his seasonal snotty-sneezy allergies.

I bathe Wurp in the kitchen sink where I can use the sprayer too, he flips out in the tub!  (And yes, I bleach/disinfect it afterwards )