Cat has an itchy rash

[annamariaa]

Hi guys, I’ve been searching the internet for hours for an answer to this issue to no avail. I came across this website and I decided to join to see if you guys might be able to help me with my problem. Just a warning this post is probably going to be super long. So a few months back, I’d say about 4-5 months ago (my cat is 9 months old), my cat, Mr. T, started to develop this black, scabby rash under his chin which the best way for me to describe is that it looks like coffee grains. He started itching it a lot and fearing he had fleas (i have 2 other cats and a dog, yikes) I took him to the vet. The doctor told me that it appears he might have ringworm and took a sample of his fur and skin and sent it in to a lab. The test came back negative. So the doctor then decided my cat may have an allergic reaction to something. We changed his litter to a hypoallergenic litter the vet recommended and we changed his food to a dry food the doctor gave us. None of this worked and the rash continues to spread all over his face, around his eyes, under his chin and neck, and in between his toes. He continues to itch which causes him to bleed and his hair to fall out. We tried putting him in a clean room by himself with his toys, litter box, food and water which has not seemed to help either. So we took him back to the vet AGAIN and they gave him a face cream and started cortisone shots. He has had 2 shots and they are not working. WE switched to another vet who basically said the same thing and tried to make us do another ringworm test. We also got my cat a cone and bandaged his face but every time we do this he just breaks the cones and finds some way to get all of the gauze off. So far I have spent more than $1000 on vet bills which would be worth it if any of it was working. So I’m here asking if anyone else has gone through this or something like it? I’m at my wits end and I’m not sure what to do. Friends have told me that I should just declaw him to get him to stop itching but I know that procedure does hurt and I also have other animals who my cat will sometimes fight with. I’m so frustrated please let me know if you guys have suggestions.

 

[margd]

I'm hoping someone will weigh in about the itching - I don't have any experience with anything this severe.  I can only think of three things to do:

--  Ask your vet if he'll prescribe benadryl for Mr. T.  Benadryl might reduce the itching considerably.

-- Have the second ringworm test run just in case the first one gave a false negative.  

-- Start experimenting on your own to see if you can identify a food allergy.  Since canned or raw foods are generally better for cats than kibble, I'd start there and keep a food diary to see if you can identify the culprit.  

I'm really glad to hear that you aren't considering having Mr. T declawed.  Declawing involves amputating the last bone of each toe.  It's very painful and cats often develop behavior issues, like biting and litter box avoidance as a result.   Frankly I'm horrified anyone would suggest this as a way to deal with chronic itching. Declawing wouldn't solve anything - it would just make Mr. T more miserable than he is already.   The idea is to stop the itching, not stop the cat from being able to scratch the itch.   

I'm sorry I can't be of more help with this but hopefully someone with some experience in this will chime in.

 

[stephenq]

 
Hi guys, I’ve been searching the internet for hours for an answer to this issue to no avail. I came across this website and I decided to join to see if you guys might be able to help me with my problem. Just a warning this post is probably going to be super long. So a few months back, I’d say about 4-5 months ago (my cat is 9 months old), my cat, Mr. T, started to develop this black, scabby rash under his chin which the best way for me to describe is that it looks like coffee grains. He started itching it a lot and fearing he had fleas (i have 2 other cats and a dog, yikes) I took him to the vet. The doctor told me that it appears he might have ringworm and took a sample of his fur and skin and sent it in to a lab. The test came back negative. So the doctor then decided my cat may have an allergic reaction to something. We changed his litter to a hypoallergenic litter the vet recommended and we changed his food to a dry food the doctor gave us. None of this worked and the rash continues to spread all over his face, around his eyes, under his chin and neck, and in between his toes. He continues to itch which causes him to bleed and his hair to fall out. We tried putting him in a clean room by himself with his toys, litter box, food and water which has not seemed to help either. So we took him back to the vet AGAIN and they gave him a face cream and started cortisone shots. He has had 2 shots and they are not working. WE switched to another vet who basically said the same thing and tried to make us do another ringworm test. We also got my cat a cone and bandaged his face but every time we do this he just breaks the cones and finds some way to get all of the gauze off. So far I have spent more than $1000 on vet bills which would be worth it if any of it was working. So I’m here asking if anyone else has gone through this or something like it? I’m at my wits end and I’m not sure what to do. Friends have told me that I should just declaw him to get him to stop itching but I know that procedure does hurt and I also have other animals who my cat will sometimes fight with. I’m so frustrated please let me know if you guys have suggestions.

It sounds like a classic case of feline acne and/or dirty chin and i'm surprised your vet didn't discuss this because cats get this under the chin and it often looks like little coffee grounds (black heads) and the usual treatment is some form of cleaning, using any number of vet suggested cleaning aids.  Sometimes feline acne is associated with plastic food bowls as they can't be sterilized, but regardless, the chin's proximity to food is a source of bacterial growth etc.