Hi Everyone,
On 4/14/18, I adopted my first cat, Odie. In the past two weeks he has been exhibiting excessive grooming behavior and I’m trying to figure out what’s going on. When I got him, he had very thin fur along his shoulder area, but that has grown in substantially. However, he has now licked the fur off spots on his chest, front leg, and almost down to the skin on both of his back legs. It seems that all he wants to do is lick and chew.
Here is the information that I received from the rescue:
· He was a stray that they estimate is about 5 years old
· Tested positive for FIV
· Distemper, StrongID, Revolution given on 3/15
· Rabies & neuter on 3/21
· Distemper booster & Strong ID on 3/30
· Depomedrol .8cc given for dermatitis on 4/11 (this wasn’t on his paperwork when I adopted him)
I gave him Advantage II and Bayer tapeworm medication on 5/7 after finding little rice looking bits in the house and stuck to his fur. I haven’t seen any more since then.
On, 5/9 I noticed he had licked his fur off his chest. I brought him to the vet on 5/10. She examined him and said he looked well and didn’t see anything physically wrong with the skin. She gave him Convenia, Dexamethasone, and Ivermectin. Without anything blatantly wrong, she thought it may be related to seasonal allergies, so she suggested giving him children’s Claritin. We are in Vermont and the pollen count is high right now. I had been walking him in my backyard with his new fancy harness, but have stopped that for now.
Since the vet visit, I have been giving him children’s Claritin each morning. I haven’t noticed any improvement in his behavior.
He also seems to have an insatiable appetite. He will go into the fridge, paw at your plate, and get on the counter as soon as he is done eating looking for more. One day I caught him with a whole chicken breast walking across the kitchen! I bought some slow feeders and an automatic feeder to help spread the food out throughout the day, but he still is crazy for food. I’m not sure if the incessant scratching could be related.
My next thought is maybe food allergies?? In my research, I saw that cats would scratch their face with food allergies, but he isn’t doing that. I’m at a loss and could use some advice.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
On 4/14/18, I adopted my first cat, Odie. In the past two weeks he has been exhibiting excessive grooming behavior and I’m trying to figure out what’s going on. When I got him, he had very thin fur along his shoulder area, but that has grown in substantially. However, he has now licked the fur off spots on his chest, front leg, and almost down to the skin on both of his back legs. It seems that all he wants to do is lick and chew.
Here is the information that I received from the rescue:
· He was a stray that they estimate is about 5 years old
· Tested positive for FIV
· Distemper, StrongID, Revolution given on 3/15
· Rabies & neuter on 3/21
· Distemper booster & Strong ID on 3/30
· Depomedrol .8cc given for dermatitis on 4/11 (this wasn’t on his paperwork when I adopted him)
I gave him Advantage II and Bayer tapeworm medication on 5/7 after finding little rice looking bits in the house and stuck to his fur. I haven’t seen any more since then.
On, 5/9 I noticed he had licked his fur off his chest. I brought him to the vet on 5/10. She examined him and said he looked well and didn’t see anything physically wrong with the skin. She gave him Convenia, Dexamethasone, and Ivermectin. Without anything blatantly wrong, she thought it may be related to seasonal allergies, so she suggested giving him children’s Claritin. We are in Vermont and the pollen count is high right now. I had been walking him in my backyard with his new fancy harness, but have stopped that for now.
Since the vet visit, I have been giving him children’s Claritin each morning. I haven’t noticed any improvement in his behavior.
He also seems to have an insatiable appetite. He will go into the fridge, paw at your plate, and get on the counter as soon as he is done eating looking for more. One day I caught him with a whole chicken breast walking across the kitchen! I bought some slow feeders and an automatic feeder to help spread the food out throughout the day, but he still is crazy for food. I’m not sure if the incessant scratching could be related.
My next thought is maybe food allergies?? In my research, I saw that cats would scratch their face with food allergies, but he isn’t doing that. I’m at a loss and could use some advice.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!