2 Year Old Constantly Licks Until He's Losing Fur And Scabbed

[Komodran]

My family adopted two brothers two years back who were a month to two months old. When they turned one years old we brought both of them to get neutered at BC SPCA. When they came home they of course both had to wear cones, however, one of the brothers(Charcoal) came back with a spot on the back of their neck and was just generally more nervous.

Over the last year the small white spot on the back of his neck(specifically nape) hasn't disappeared and he licks a crazy amount! It grew more serious as he began to lick off his fur and scab. It's generally on his back and on the inner thighs of his back legs. He hasn't really reduced his licking at all. We've brought him to multiple different vets and they typically say it's through allergies/stress. One of them prescribed him some pills which were supposed to suppress his allergies(or make it less itchy) but it didn't seem to really help.

Not sure if this will help but when he's sometimes sleeping, his body will just suddenly become spastic and make him curl up hard.

Please help as we're very stressed this can be horrible for him long term. We've tried putting the cone on him when the licking was barely bad and it just made him more stressed out. His eating has been pretty normal. Please send any advice you can, thank you in advance! I can send more photos if needed!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Welcome!!

Not sure if this will help but when he's sometimes sleeping, his body will just suddenly become spastic and make him curl up hard.

Have you mentioned this to the vets?

Can you contact a university veterinary medical department, or get the vets to consult about this?

Could he be allergic to fleas?

 

[Komodran]

Hi! Welcome!!

Have you mentioned this to the vets?

Can you contact a university veterinary medical department, or get the vets to consult about this?

Could he be allergic to fleas?

It was actually my parents who went to the vet with him and I don't think they mentioned it last time he was there. We just assumed he was just dreaming really as I've seen other similar posts. Will do next time we go to vet for sure though.

Don't think I have any form of contact with a university veterinary medical department however.

We've never really approached fleas as a possible problem. His brother has never had any of those itching symptoms and we also assumed that the fleas would've went over to his brother if Charcoal ever had any. Is there any specific way to check other than visually considering his fur is nearly all black?

 

[jen]

My first thought is a flea allergy. Is he on flea prevention? All it takes is a flea or 2 to bite for a breakout like this and infection. Not all cats are allergic to a bite, but some have horrible reactions. Comb over the non scabbed parts and look for flea dirt.

If not flea related... I think I am beyond thinking this is stress. This is so severe. Could it be a food allergy? What is he eating? Maybe the vet could prescribe a couple cans of a limited ingredient or limited protein diet. You would have to give it a couple months to see if this clears up I think.

As for that little spot, it seems simply bald and not at all irritated. Is he microchipped? I have seen this before in cats who are chipped, the hole scabs a bit and heals with no hair growing back in the spot.

 

[Marlow cat]

Over licking/grooming can also be a sign of stress.

 

[Furballsmom]

Is there any specific way to check other than visually considering his fur is nearly all black?

This might help;
How to Check Cats for Fleas: 13 Steps (with Pictures)

 

[Ladewyn]

We've never really approached fleas as a possible problem. His brother has never had any of those itching symptoms and we also assumed that the fleas would've went over to his brother if Charcoal ever had any.

Ah, not all cats react to fleas the same way. His brother may simply not be allergic, for example. Not saying this is fleas, just that you can't rule it out just because his brother isn't dealing with the same thing.

Keep working with the vet. Often it's good to get a second opinion, but in this case what you might want is a single vet, at least as your primary vet. So choose a vet you trust most to work with (or they may recommend a veterinary dermatologist). This could be a case where you need to slowly work through the most likely disorders and rule those out until you find out what this is. That would probably be easier with one vet imo.

 

[SeventhHeaven]

Try a bath wash using Oatmeal shampoo. Change diet as mentioned grain free or holistic it works! When applying topical treatment don't always use the exact same spot everytime move it over slightly. When changing food you won't see instant results it can take up to 3 weeks. Have one cat with food /flea allergies very stressful for them. A good quality topical flea treatment works instantly.

 

[SeventhHeaven]

delete

 

[SeventhHeaven]

delete

 

[Komodran]

My first thought is a flea allergy. Is he on flea prevention? All it takes is a flea or 2 to bite for a breakout like this and infection. Not all cats are allergic to a bite, but some have horrible reactions. Comb over the non scabbed parts and look for flea dirt.

If not flea related... I think I am beyond thinking this is stress. This is so severe. Could it be a food allergy? What is he eating? Maybe the vet could prescribe a couple cans of a limited ingredient or limited protein diet. You would have to give it a couple months to see if this clears up I think.

As for that little spot, it seems simply bald and not at all irritated. Is he microchipped? I have seen this before in cats who are chipped, the hole scabs a bit and heals with no hair growing back in the spot.

Thank you for your response!

My family was given these flea drops to put on his nape area every month or so. As far as I know about them they're used to prevent fleas which is why I really doubt he has any fleas. Also, we've only brought them outside once ever into our front yard.

I can't think of anything specific that could be causing so much stress, he seems to be the dominant one between him and his brother. Both of them eat Purina Friskies 7 Cat Food and every second day or so we give them each a little bit of wet food on top of it. One of the vets gave him a specific bag of food which was supposed to be for allergies(I believe??) and it didn't seem to make any difference.

Lastly, yes he's microchipped in that spot. That helps reduce some of our stress as it's been there for a long time.

 

[Komodran]

Over licking/grooming can also be a sign of stress.

What are some really common causes of stress? I can't really think of anything that could cause that severe of stress other than my family occasionally being loud.

 

[Komodran]

This might help;
How to Check Cats for Fleas: 13 Steps (with Pictures)

Thank you! I'll check that out with my family and try the steps!

 

[Komodran]

Ah, not all cats react to fleas the same way. His brother may simply not be allergic, for example. Not saying this is fleas, just that you can't rule it out just because his brother isn't dealing with the same thing.

Keep working with the vet. Often it's good to get a second opinion, but in this case what you might want is a single vet, at least as your primary vet. So choose a vet you trust most to work with (or they may recommend a veterinary dermatologist). This could be a case where you need to slowly work through the most likely disorders and rule those out until you find out what this is. That would probably be easier with one vet imo.

Thanks for your response!

You and most other people seemed to have put it down to either fleas or stress so I'll try to work my thoughts around either of those problems.

We've tried to find a single vet to stay with but I feel like it's so hard to trust some of them. I know it sounds horrible but the reviews online just make some of them seem like they're terrible. We're not sure as to what we can do to find a trust able one.

 

[Komodran]

Try a bath wash using Oatmeal shampoo. Change diet as mentioned grain free or holistic it works! When applying topical treatment don't always use the exact same spot everytime move it over slightly. When changing food you won't see instant results it can take up to 3 weeks. Have one cat with food /flea allergies very stressful for them. A good quality topical flea treatment works instantly.

Thanks for your response!

I'll talk to my parents regarding your advice and possibly try them out. Is there a specific brand of food you could recommend?

 

[Ladewyn]

Thanks for your response!

You and most other people seemed to have put it down to either fleas or stress so I'll try to work my thoughts around either of those problems.

We've tried to find a single vet to stay with but I feel like it's so hard to trust some of them. I know it sounds horrible but the reviews online just make some of them seem like they're terrible. We're not sure as to what we can do to find a trust able one.

I wouldn't necessarily put it to fleas, I just wouldn't rule them out either, that's all!

And for vets, reviews are a bit of a double-edged sword. Sometimes you can weed out a truly terrible vet by seeing that they dozens of bad reviews, but sometimes one bad review by an unsatisfied customer can scare you away from a potentially good vet for you. Try to trust your gut; if you find a vet that takes your concerns seriously, even if there are one or two bad reviews, they'll probably be good to work with--and you can always change up later if it doesn't work out! Most vets are pretty trustworthy, but the nature of the job (charging money for medical care to work with potentially dangerous patients who also can't communicate their illnesses) can create a lot of opportunity for dissatisfaction. So don't scare yourself off too much if you have a good feeling with a specific vet.

 

[SeventhHeaven]

not a good night on PC / plus everytime I post I get 3 windows....try again later

 

[SeventhHeaven]

delete

 

[Komodran]

I wouldn't necessarily put it to fleas, I just wouldn't rule them out either, that's all!

And for vets, reviews are a bit of a double-edged sword. Sometimes you can weed out a truly terrible vet by seeing that they dozens of bad reviews, but sometimes one bad review by an unsatisfied customer can scare you away from a potentially good vet for you. Try to trust your gut; if you find a vet that takes your concerns seriously, even if there are one or two bad reviews, they'll probably be good to work with--and you can always change up later if it doesn't work out! Most vets are pretty trustworthy, but the nature of the job (charging money for medical care to work with potentially dangerous patients who also can't communicate their illnesses) can create a lot of opportunity for dissatisfaction. So don't scare yourself off too much if you have a good feeling with a specific vet.

Okay thank you so much for your response!

We'll try the best vet we've gone to so far some more. Hopefully they'll be able to guide us into healing Charcoal back into his normal happy state!

 

[jen]

Get a flea comb and look for the dirt in his fur. Also what flea treatment is he getting? It is SUPER important to stick to the name brands of flea products (from the vet) but if you do the same one for a long period of time they can become more immune to it. So it is a good idea to switch brands sometimes. Again, from the vet only not Walmart or some off label cheap product.

As for food, it is in their best interest, especially being boys, to get them on wet food much more often and drastically reduce the dry food. It is easier for them to not only over eat on free fed dry, but it dehydrates them, and being boys they are more likely to get a blocked urinary tract which is life threatening.