Hello all, new poster with some major concerns about my kitty's health!
I should state up front that yes, she has been to a vet and will be going to a vet again soon, but I feel a bit at wits end and need to ask some more knowledgeable folks.
My little girl Katie has really severe allergies; we don't know what to beyond the fact that it's likely not fleas (flea medication doesn't seem to really curtail the allergic reactions nor are any fleas found on her). She scratches and gnaws on every inch of herself so incessantly that she's constantly scabby and periodically bloodied. She's been this way to one degree or another since we got her but she's been getting progressively worse over time to the point that it's really becoming a major concern for her well being. At this point, she's got nickle sized scabs on her chest and sides (managed to rip the chest one open today, red streaked all in her white fur). Some time ago, she had gotten a burst abscess on her neck in one of the places she used to scratch a lot. Of course I'm concerned for her general well-being, she's obviously not enjoying being so itchy if she's willing to do such harm to herself to relieve it, but more than that I'm concerned about her scratching causing further infections and abscesses to potentially lethal ends.
Last time we were at the vet, she got a shot, which was nice, though I admit that it didn't really seem to stop her scratching much, if at all. We have attempted to give her some antihistamine (a variety which, while not specifically intended for pets, was confirmed to be usable by them at specific low doses that we recorded). Unfortunately, even by cat standards, she is so violently opposed to any kind of pill, syringe, ect that it's just physically impossible to get medicine into her (even wrapped tight in a blanket and held down by two people, she finds a way to wrench herself away). She appears to smell or taste the medicine in any food or water she's given and refuses to consume it, so dosing her secretly hasn't proven much of a solution either. The best solution we've come up with thus far is just squirting it into her fur so she has to lick it out, but again, this doesn't seem to have helped her scratching any.
Given our location and home, there are a million and one things she could be allergic to. Her food, dust, mold, pollen, potentially fleas (though we doubt it at this point). We can afford to take her to the vet every once in a while, as we will be doing soon, but doubt we can afford extended allergy testing to determine what she's actually allergic to and unless it IS fleas or her food, there isn't much we could do about it anyways (we certainly can't afford a high end HEPA filter).
Is there anyone who has experience with this sort of thing who can offer advice? I'd like to help the poor girl before she flays herself alive, but I'm honestly out of ideas.
I should state up front that yes, she has been to a vet and will be going to a vet again soon, but I feel a bit at wits end and need to ask some more knowledgeable folks.
My little girl Katie has really severe allergies; we don't know what to beyond the fact that it's likely not fleas (flea medication doesn't seem to really curtail the allergic reactions nor are any fleas found on her). She scratches and gnaws on every inch of herself so incessantly that she's constantly scabby and periodically bloodied. She's been this way to one degree or another since we got her but she's been getting progressively worse over time to the point that it's really becoming a major concern for her well being. At this point, she's got nickle sized scabs on her chest and sides (managed to rip the chest one open today, red streaked all in her white fur). Some time ago, she had gotten a burst abscess on her neck in one of the places she used to scratch a lot. Of course I'm concerned for her general well-being, she's obviously not enjoying being so itchy if she's willing to do such harm to herself to relieve it, but more than that I'm concerned about her scratching causing further infections and abscesses to potentially lethal ends.
Last time we were at the vet, she got a shot, which was nice, though I admit that it didn't really seem to stop her scratching much, if at all. We have attempted to give her some antihistamine (a variety which, while not specifically intended for pets, was confirmed to be usable by them at specific low doses that we recorded). Unfortunately, even by cat standards, she is so violently opposed to any kind of pill, syringe, ect that it's just physically impossible to get medicine into her (even wrapped tight in a blanket and held down by two people, she finds a way to wrench herself away). She appears to smell or taste the medicine in any food or water she's given and refuses to consume it, so dosing her secretly hasn't proven much of a solution either. The best solution we've come up with thus far is just squirting it into her fur so she has to lick it out, but again, this doesn't seem to have helped her scratching any.
Given our location and home, there are a million and one things she could be allergic to. Her food, dust, mold, pollen, potentially fleas (though we doubt it at this point). We can afford to take her to the vet every once in a while, as we will be doing soon, but doubt we can afford extended allergy testing to determine what she's actually allergic to and unless it IS fleas or her food, there isn't much we could do about it anyways (we certainly can't afford a high end HEPA filter).
Is there anyone who has experience with this sort of thing who can offer advice? I'd like to help the poor girl before she flays herself alive, but I'm honestly out of ideas.
