Cat Scratches Herself To Bleeding. Treatments Not Work.

tommy2015

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Since 3 weeks ago my girl Io has scratched herself a lot, mostly on the ears, skin above the eyes, as well as the chin. She is so itchy that she won't stop until those parts are bleeding. In addition, she also grooms herself a lot.

The vet did not find signs of flee, ringworm, and other infections. Have visited vet twice, but the situation has not improved. Instead, it has become worse: she still scratches to bleeding and started to lose hair around her neck and on her back.

The treatment Io received:
First visit: Chloramine Tablets 4mg (anti histamine) + Tri-Micon cream (anti-biotic/anti-fungal/anti-inflammatory);
Second visit: Depredil injection (steroid) + Silvin cream (antibiotic).

The Depredil injection supposedly stops itching for two weeks, but it only worked about 2 days. Io still scratches a lot.

I am very worried about the little girl. Any suggestions are highly appreciated!
 

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Have there been any changes in your home? New litter? New food?
 
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tommy2015

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Have there been any changes in your home? New litter? New food?
didn't change home and litter. As she is not very fond of wet food, I have been giving her different types of wet food. She ate some of them.

If it is due to food allergy, shouldn't the steroid injection work to her?
 

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If it is due to food allergy, shouldn't the steroid injection work to her?
It may but the food allergy symptoms may still continue somewhat. Eliminating the source of the food allergy is better. Common food allergies are to grains, gums, fillers, and proteins. What exactly are you feeding your cat? Brands and flavors would be helpful to know.

There's info about food allergy and treatment options here: Article on Feline Cutaneous Adverse Food Reactions (aka food allergies) and treatment You can ask the vet about yoru cat having a possibly food allergy / sensitivity. I think there is a food allergy test that can be done by the vet.

A limited ingredient diet is helpful to many cats. There are a few commerical brands of food like Nature's Variety Limited Instinct and Blue Buffalo Basics. And there's also prescription food which most vets are familiar with. Some people find that a home cooked or raw diet is best for their food sensitive cat.
 
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tommy2015

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It may but the food allergy symptoms may still continue somewhat. Eliminating the source of the food allergy is better. Common food allergies are to grains, gums, fillers, and proteins. What exactly are you feeding your cat? Brands and flavors would be helpful to know.

There's info about food allergy and treatment options here: Article on Feline Cutaneous Adverse Food Reactions (aka food allergies) and treatment You can ask the vet about yoru cat having a possibly food allergy / sensitivity. I think there is a food allergy test that can be done by the vet.

A limited ingredient diet is helpful to many cats. There are a few commerical brands of food like Nature's Variety Limited Instinct and Blue Buffalo Basics. And there's also prescription food which most vets are familiar with. Some people find that a home cooked or raw diet is best for their food sensitive cat.
Thanks. Before we figure out whether it is due to food allergy, should I ask the vet to do a de-flea treatment even if there is no sign of flea? Some internet articles say flea allergy is the most common reason to cause itching and hair loss.

Besides, are there any ways other than medicine to stop the cat scratching? For instance, will nail caps (soft paws) work?
 

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You need to get to the root of why your cat is itching. Covering her claws won't help.

If there is no sign of flea, it's probably not fleas. It's likely something environmental or food-related.
 

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Yes, a flea treatment / preventative would be a good first step. Ask the vet about using a flea and parasite preventative monthly.

A bath may be helpful. A groomer can do this if you don't want to attempt to do this on your own. Ask for an oatmeal shampoo. Oatmeal is known to help calm down itchy skin. A flea bath isn't necessary if you are sure your cat doesn't have fleas.

Keeping the claws trimmed or using Soft Paws can help minimize the irritation to the skin as the cat scratches.

Some people feel that adding omega 3s to the diet is helpful for skin health. There are supplements for skin and fur health sold in many pet stores. Some are liquids, others are chewable treats. Fish oil is the most common ingredient of supplements. Ask the vet before using one.

Is your cat indoors only?
 
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tommy2015

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Yes, a flea treatment / preventative would be a good first step. Ask the vet about using a flea and parasite preventative monthly.

A bath may be helpful. A groomer can do this if you don't want to attempt to do this on your own. Ask for an oatmeal shampoo. Oatmeal is known to help calm down itchy skin. A flea bath isn't necessary if you are sure your cat doesn't have fleas.

Keeping the claws trimmed or using Soft Paws can help minimize the irritation to the skin as the cat scratches.

Some people feel that adding omega 3s to the diet is helpful for skin health. There are supplements for skin and fur health sold in many pet stores. Some are liquids, others are chewable treats. Fish oil is the most common ingredient of supplements. Ask the vet before using one.

Is your cat indoors only?
She is indoor only now. I adopted her over 2 months ago from the street. At that time she had some hair loss and a little bit scratches above her eyes. So I suspected she might have infected something when she was out there.
 

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One of our cats developed both a flea allergy and a food allergy at the same time, and scratched himself to the point where he developed a nasty skin infection. The vet started him on Revolution (even though he's strictly an indoor kitty and we didn't *think* we had a flea problem), and we started Buddy on some novel proteins per the vet's recommendations. It's still an ongoing process to get everything all sorted out, but he's shown significant improvement with the new diet and flea treatments.

You might also ask your vet about other OTC antihistamines for the itchiness. The first antihistamines that the vet recommended for our cat weren't very effective, but the Zyrtec seemed to provide some much needed relief.

Hope you and your vet get this all figured out soon, and that your kitty feels all better. :)
 
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tommy2015

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You need to get to the root of why your cat is itching. Covering her claws won't help.

If there is no sign of flea, it's probably not fleas. It's likely something environmental or food-related.
That's exactly why I have been so worried - my vet does not know what is the root of the problem...
 
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tommy2015

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One of our cats developed both a flea allergy and a food allergy at the same time, and scratched himself to the point where he developed a nasty skin infection. The vet started him on Revolution (even though he's strictly an indoor kitty and we didn't *think* we had a flea problem), and we started Buddy on some novel proteins per the vet's recommendations. It's still an ongoing process to get everything all sorted out, but he's shown significant improvement with the new diet and flea treatments.

You might also ask your vet about other OTC antihistamines for the itchiness. The first antihistamines that the vet recommended for our cat weren't very effective, but the Zyrtec seemed to provide some much needed relief.

Hope you and your vet get this all figured out soon, and that your kitty feels all better. :)
Thanks a lot for the info! How did you figure out your cat's problem is due to both flea and food allergy? Any kind of tests were done? What is Revolution, a medication?
 

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Revolution is a flea treatment. I use it for one of my cats who is allowed in the backyard. If you read more on the site u will see how many of us having the same skin issues with our cats. I'm one of them, going tomorrow for my baby Creams 7th vet visit in less than 2 years. If I could recommend one thing to you, don't do the steroids, especially not injections. I don't know what's going on with animals but I'm convinced my Cream skin condition, is not food related. My cats do not have fleas n they all have itchiness, Cream unfortunately is way worse. Try organic coconut oil and also Vetericyn, u can find n read the Vetericyn on chewy.com. I really wish I would have done more homework before rushing to the vets bc now it's gone way too far. Please read all my u can on here. You will learn a lot . Good luck with your kitty
 

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Thanks a lot for the info! How did you figure out your cat's problem is due to both flea and food allergy? Any kind of tests were done? What is Revolution, a medication?
We were lucky in the sense that Buddy also had some other problems that the vet had treated before, such as chronic ear and skin infections. It wasn't until Buddy scratched himself up so badly and wound up with a really awful skin infection did the vet connect the dots. The vet didn't do any actual allergy testing, but since he was pretty sure what Buddy was allergic to, he suggested that we go ahead and get him started on a flea prevention med such as Revolution, and to eliminate chicken from his diet since that was the only protein Buddy would eat at the time.

If Buddy hadn't responded so well so quickly to the vet's recommendations based on a pretty good guess, allergy testing would have been the next step. In our case, it just turned out not to be necessary. :)

Best of luck to you and your cat!

ETA: Don't know if this helps or not, but now that I think about it, Buddy was also mostly scratching his ears, above his eyes, and under his chin. The outer edges of his ears also looked a little red and felt hot to the touch. He also started grooming himself excessively, and would occasionally start biting himself like crazy, like he had a hot spot. He did throw up a few times, which in hindsight could have been allergy related. However, at the time, we just assumed it was related to this year's shedding/hairball season which has been worse than usual.
 
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tommy2015

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One of our cats developed both a flea allergy and a food allergy at the same time, and scratched himself to the point where he developed a nasty skin infection. The vet started him on Revolution (even though he's strictly an indoor kitty and we didn't *think* we had a flea problem), and we started Buddy on some novel proteins per the vet's recommendations. It's still an ongoing process to get everything all sorted out, but he's shown significant improvement with the new diet and flea treatments.

You might also ask your vet about other OTC antihistamines for the itchiness. The first antihistamines that the vet recommended for our cat weren't very effective, but the Zyrtec seemed to provide some much needed relief.

Hope you and your vet get this all figured out soon, and that your kitty feels all better. :)
How long after you used Revolution did you see improvement? I applied Revolution to Io yesterday. Now over 24 hours passed she still scratched herself and made a number of scars....
 
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tommy2015

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Revolution is a flea treatment. I use it for one of my cats who is allowed in the backyard. If you read more on the site u will see how many of us having the same skin issues with our cats. I'm one of them, going tomorrow for my baby Creams 7th vet visit in less than 2 years. If I could recommend one thing to you, don't do the steroids, especially not injections. I don't know what's going on with animals but I'm convinced my Cream skin condition, is not food related. My cats do not have fleas n they all have itchiness, Cream unfortunately is way worse. Try organic coconut oil and also Vetericyn, u can find n read the Vetericyn on chewy.com. I really wish I would have done more homework before rushing to the vets bc now it's gone way too far. Please read all my u can on here. You will learn a lot . Good luck with your kitty
Hi, I read your posts about your cats. Have you figured out what's the problem underlying Cream's skin condition? Any improvement?
 

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How long after you used Revolution did you see improvement? I applied Revolution to Io yesterday. Now over 24 hours passed she still scratched herself and made a number of scars....
Oh, gosh. I'm not really sure since the vet recommended the Revolution and eliminating chicken from Buddy's diet at the same time. IIRC, we started noticing an improvement re: the itchiness within maybe 2 or 3 days, but I'm not sure which helped first. Sorry. :(
 
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tommy2015

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Oh, gosh. I'm not really sure since the vet recommended the Revolution and eliminating chicken from Buddy's diet at the same time. IIRC, we started noticing an improvement re: the itchiness within maybe 2 or 3 days, but I'm not sure which helped first. Sorry. :(
Thanks for your reply. Today is the 4th day after Io was applied Revolution. Since yesterday she has lost appetite and become much less active. I understand this should be the side effects of Revolution. Did you see the same effects on your cat? This is the second day that Io refused to eat her favorite canned food. I am getting a little worried...

Besides, looks she still scratches herself. There are some new scars on her ears.
 
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