Coconut oil for skin issues

Hello!
I have a kitty with multiple issues, most of them being connected to the skin. She has food allergies and is prone to over grooming  due to anxiety, and today I've realized that she also managed to find fleas in the apartment. (I've treated both her and the apartment with appropriate products). Since her skin is very itchy and irritated - especially now, as her belly is full of red spots and bites - I was wondering if I could put some coconut oil directly on her belly. I've read (here and elsewhere) that coconut oil is good for cats and it has helped take care of my itchy skin as well. I know that she will lick it off soon after I put it on her, but I hope it will have at least some kind of effect. Has anyone tried to use coconut oil in this way? I'll also try feeding it to her, but so far, she refused to willingly take anything that is good for her  

Thank you in advance!

Hi, 

I would not do it. She will lick the oil off and that will make the spots worse and take longer to heal.

If the spots were on the back or any other place she can't reach with her coarse tongue, then yes, it wouldn't hurt to do the coconut oil. I've tried it on a cat with awful allergies and cant' be sure if it actually helped or not.

Best thing is to find out what the cause of the allergies are.

It is the only way to know what she is exposed to that is causing the itch.

You may try a limited ingredient food, but it is a hit or miss. OR go straight to the vet to get an allergy test if possible. 

Another thing you may do is give her zyrtec (antihistamine), but consult with the vet on that and for appropriate dosing.

They may want to give her prednisolone or another steroid you can taper (pill form to be safe) to stop the itchiness quicker and get her feeling better faster. 

Good luck, 

You are right, I didn't think that I can do more damage than good that way. I'll try hiding it into her food I know of a number of things that make her itchy, we have been battling this for almost two years now so prednisone is my best friend I'm also planing to do the allergy test, but unfortunately, it is very expensive and out of my price range at the moment. However, it seems that fleas were the main source of problems this time. I'm afraid not to jinx it but the scratching stopped almost completely since she had the flea treatment. I'm hoping the belly will heal too, as she is not licking it as much. Fingers crossed. Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it more than I can say