Please help. Our cat occasionally itches around his eye until it bleeds.
Background: The cat is 12 years old. Around age 4 he was diagnosed with herpes. When our regular vet couldn't seem to get them under control, he sent us to a eye specialist. The specialist showed me the outbreaks he was having on both of his eyeballs. We were eventually able to get those under control. However, the itching (randomly) continued. The eye specialist finally gave up and suggested that it must be a skin issue and suggested we go to a dermatologist.
We took him to that specialist where they ran a series of parasite, worm, and mite tests. All came back negative, but he wrote a script for Advantage Multi anyway, with the suggestion that the mites might not turn up in the tests even though they really are still there. The script called for Advantage Multi once a week for four weeks (on all three of our cats) and then monthly after that. That was a month and a half ago. Today I found him with a bloody eye and back paw.
Also, we've tried various diets over the years, including a raw diet at one point for about a year, and none of that has helped either.
This is completely frustrating. Thousands of dollars spent and he continues to suffer. Please tell me that someone here can work some wonders that the medical community around me can't.
Background: The cat is 12 years old. Around age 4 he was diagnosed with herpes. When our regular vet couldn't seem to get them under control, he sent us to a eye specialist. The specialist showed me the outbreaks he was having on both of his eyeballs. We were eventually able to get those under control. However, the itching (randomly) continued. The eye specialist finally gave up and suggested that it must be a skin issue and suggested we go to a dermatologist.
We took him to that specialist where they ran a series of parasite, worm, and mite tests. All came back negative, but he wrote a script for Advantage Multi anyway, with the suggestion that the mites might not turn up in the tests even though they really are still there. The script called for Advantage Multi once a week for four weeks (on all three of our cats) and then monthly after that. That was a month and a half ago. Today I found him with a bloody eye and back paw.
Also, we've tried various diets over the years, including a raw diet at one point for about a year, and none of that has helped either.
This is completely frustrating. Thousands of dollars spent and he continues to suffer. Please tell me that someone here can work some wonders that the medical community around me can't.