Help! Cat skin issues... no fleas?

Hello everyone!

My poor cat has struggled with what the vet has called an allergy, though we do not yet know what it is an allergy to. Every 1-2 months my cat will have scabs that flake off and reveal small sores. The areas affected vary from her face, her neck, to the top of her head. My cat does not overgroom nor does she go outside. We also do not have any other pets. Initially, we thought maybe ringworm, fleas, etc.? However, whenever we bring this up, the vet says she is perfectly fine and we just have to wait for it to clear up. Last time this happened it got so bad that we had the vet come see her and she gave her steroids and an antihistamine, which until now has cleared the condition beautifully. When these bouts come she seems to be somewhat itchy, but unaffected otherwise. In terms of diet, she is on a limited ingredient wet/dry food alternating diet. Pictures are attached, please excuse how unkempt my poor cat looks because of all she has going on! 

I really appreciate any insight/thoughts into what is going on/what we can do to give her some temporary relief/prevent infection.

Thanks kindly for the help.

 

First, change vets. Your vet is treating the symptoms as they come up instead of addressing the underlying cause; waiting for allergies to clear up without knowing what they are is miserable. My doctor as a child did the exact same stuff with my allergies, which is why it is a sore spot, it wasn't until my adulthood that I got proper treatment and it was life changing. I will also say that because I itched all the time and had no relief I stopped noticing unless it got bad. Even now I constantly have a background itch because of contact allergies to things I can't avoid. Because I always itch in some way it takes a lot to make me appear itchy to others; for reference my tattoo did not itch (or wasn't enough to notice) but I have heard they normally itch like crazy. 

I am not implying that your vet is not good but this is specific situation is falling out of your vets ability or area of expertise/interest somehow. It isn't a lacking because even in human doctors their are specialists and areas of interest for a reason; no medical professional in any field can properly and thoroughly know everything. Call around to the vets in your area and ask two questions, what percentage of your patients are cats and what is their area of interest/specialty. Ideally you want a cat only or certified cat vet but I wouldn't go with anyone who says they rarely see cats and if you can find someone who focuses on dermatology or coat or something similar that would be good. The other option would be to check yelp in your area and search for "cat" in the reviews to see how cats at treated. Either way, new vet would be step one in helping your little one. 

Sorry, mini rant over.

What you can do right now is:

* Make sure flea medicine is up to date and kept current. Even if you don't see fleas it only takes one biting her to cause a reaction if it is a flea allergy (even if she is indoors) and that reaction can linger for weeks. I would assume that is already handled but it bears repeating.

* If the reactions seem to happen around the same time each year then it is likely pollen or plants so you can talk to your vet about an antihistamine and give it regularly during those times of year.

* If there isn't a seasonal trend to it then it could be anything in the environment from scents in laundry detergents to cleaning products. The problem with that is without 24/7 supervision it is difficult to say which exactly is the problem. I would just switch to unscented and natural cleaners/products where ever possible. Believe me when I say, without the chemical scents around you all the time you can smell better and won't believe the number of products out there with overlapping scents (and for fresh laundry a wool ball with a drop of lavender essential oil does wonders).

* If you use litter make sure it is a dust free, unscented litter because that could be the culprit too. 

* Getting her in a regular bath routine might help some. There is a fine line between too much and enough to help so once once or twice a month and be careful to use a shampoo that isn't drying. You can wash your hands with it and if you feel like you need lotion use a different one. You can also find a spray with oatmeal or aloe (for example, http://www.allivet.com/p-6966-derma...r-12-oz.aspx?gclid=CIva3YGAzdICFQKSfgodSe8MrA) which would help with the itch and moisture. Test a small spot on her skin by spraying on a q-tip and wiping it on exposed skin, wait 24 hours, if no reaction you are good to spray.

* An Omega 3 supplement might help with allergies. Make sure to get a named fish (salmon or krill) and you can get one that is approved for human consumption. The easiest is probably a gel capsule and poke a hole with a pin in it then squeeze a few drops into her food. You can also feed whole sardines (unsalted and packed in water, 1 per day or a few once a week, Trader Joes has them as just the fish and water).   

Thanks so much for the reply, Kieka! I appreciate your rant and can only imagine how frustrating that situation has been/can be. I really appreciate all of your recommendations. I think most have been addressed for us but I think the bath routine and finding a vet who is better versed in allergies will really be key. I also appreciate the omega-3 tip, what a great idea! I know my cat will be delighted with the sardine method.

Can't thank you enough for taking time to share some knowledge and concern.

Have a great weekend! 

I know this thread is a bit old and I hope you've found a solution for your kitty but if not, maybe I can help. My girl has had awful reactions over her eyes and cat acne on her chin for her whole life with no help from anything I tried. Finally, I put her on a high-quality wet food (Lotus brand Just Juicy Pork), mix it with good water (I use Fiji for the pH), a tablespoon or so of (organic and bpa-free) pet-friendly pumpkin, .5-1 teaspoon of Cannagurt (anti-inflammatory cannabis and goats milk supplement), and I top it with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast (not too much). The pumpkin seems to be what really helped her skin. She loves it and I love how much better she feels.
Best to you and your fur babe!