Cat collar

[jenniferd]

Originally Posted by LDG

It's certainly worth a try. With the Royal Canin dry, he doesn't need the wet. If he misses his wet food, try giving him chicken baby food with a little water mixed in.

Also, instead of the sock, maybe try an ace bandage. This you might be able to get up around the back of his ears, then down around his neck. Make sure it's not too tight - and use the one that attaches with Velcro instead of the little clips.

Is he on the Royal Canin hypoallergenic food? If he's on the Royal Canin Urinary Tract Health food, maybe it's something in there. I don't know what the difference is because none of our kitties have had allergies, so I haven't had to research it. But I do know that head and neck scratching is very often a sign of food allergies.

Can you search for a cat specialist - or a cat nutritionist - in your area? I really think you need someone to work with you on figuring out if this is caused by an allergy, which it very likely is.

Laurie

He is on Urinary So dry food.
But I also feed him wet fancy feast cat food. Anyhow, who knows if it's even food allergy. Vet told me he might be self-mutilating because he is stressed out. And this cat stresses out a lot. Maybe he is like one of those people that cut themselves. My cat is a freak. As for searching for a specialist, considering how much vet visits cost, I think I am going to wait and see how he is doing. I switched his old fancy feast to their new line that has greens in it. If that doesn't help I will try some other wet food. The problem is he won't eat the premium food. He only likes chunky styles, not pate.

 

[ldg]

I'd try giving up the wet food altogether for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

Because stresses easily, I'd consider purchasing Feliway Spray and the "Calm and Serene" Flower Essences - some cats respond well to these. They are available here: http://www.catfaeries.com/essences.html

I'd also give him an extra 15 - 20 minutes of play time a day. The extra play and attention also sometime help a kitty de-stress.

Did you say you'd already tried an anti-anxiety medication? I'd try the above things first. But if the scratching doesn't stop, I'd ask the vet about a low dose of elavil. One of our kitties was stressing heavily, and started peeing outside of the box and excessively licking herself. We tried a zillion things, and ended up resorting to Elavil - 10mg per day. Her stress cleared up. We were able to successfully wean her off of it after 3 - 4 months. I'd certainly try that before declawing your kitty.

Laurie

 

[jenniferd]

Originally Posted by LDG

I'd try giving up the wet food altogether for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

Because stresses easily, I'd consider purchasing Feliway Spray and the "Calm and Serene" Flower Essences - some cats respond well to these. They are available here: http://www.catfaeries.com/essences.html

I'd also give him an extra 15 - 20 minutes of play time a day. The extra play and attention also sometime help a kitty de-stress.

Did you say you'd already tried an anti-anxiety medication? I'd try the above things first. But if the scratching doesn't stop, I'd ask the vet about a low dose of elavil. One of our kitties was stressing heavily, and started peeing outside of the box and excessively licking herself. We tried a zillion things, and ended up resorting to Elavil - 10mg per day. Her stress cleared up. We were able to successfully wean her off of it after 3 - 4 months. I'd certainly try that before declawing your kitty.

Laurie

I can't play with him. He runs under the bed as soon as he sees me. And he also walks around real low, on bended legs, with his ears down. LOL. Because I had to medicate him, he is scared of me. He really hates being medicated.
I tried feliway spray. It seems to have no effect on him. He did better on xanax, but because it has to be given orally, and he really freaks out when he is being medicated, I had to stop it. At least he stopped peeing all over my apartment since being put on Urinary So food, so I can't stop feeding him that food. It really works for him. I am hoping maybe he was allergic to his wet food, so I will see how he does on the new fancy feast line (my cats really like it), and if that doesn't work, I will try something else.

 

[purplerosesgirl]

Well maybe as for the scratching, I suggest that you trim his claws. That might help a bit

 

[jenniferd]

Originally Posted by purplerosesgirl

Well maybe as for the scratching, I suggest that you trim his claws. That might help a bit

His claws have been trimmed by the vet every time I go there. Trimming isn't the problem.

 

[purplerosesgirl]

Originally Posted by jenniferd

His claws have been trimmed by the vet every time I go there. Trimming isn't the problem.

Well then I'm not much of a help ^^; I don't really know what might make this kitty scratch himself so badly other than ear mite or fleas. Sorry