Head Shaking And Scratching, But Healthy Cat...

[Nature9000]

So to start, when I brought Prince home back in November he had a problem with shaking his head a lot and scratching behind his ear and neck. The first time I took him to the vet, Dr. Rowe tested for ear mites but found nothing other than some waxy buildup. She said he was a perfectly healthy kitten.

The second time I took him to the vet, a week ago, he was still shaking his head once in a while. She checked again, found no infection, no ear mites or anything at all to indicate he was anything less than a healthy cat. She even mentioned that if he had ear mites or an ear infection, her sticking the q-tip in his ear would cause him to squirm and react, which he did not do.

Now, I've brought Nikita home just this last week and what do you know, she's shaking her head quite often! So, I'm deducing that this problem isn't within the cats, but their environment. However, I'm in a small studio apartment, and with my bad sense of smell, I can't tell what could be causing this! Is it dust, could there be some sort of allergy affecting both cats, one since November? I don't know...

Do you guys have any idea, and in that case, do you know what I could do about it? I'm kind of lacking options, given the studio apartment, but it would be nice to figure out what's going on and how to correct it

 

[Nature9000]

Also I'll point out that I forgot to point out: No fleas whatsoever. Prince AND Nikita are and will be indoor cats, neither have ever gone outside or come into contact with animals carrying fleas, ticks, and so forth. Dr. Rowe checked Prince on both visits and said there were no eggs, no fleas, and so on. I've also not contracted them myself, so I know fleas aren't the issue.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! I have a couple thoughts...
Do you have a humidifier? Do you have an air cleaner?
Can you try a change of food?
Do you filter the water?

 

[Nature9000]

I'm going to say no on the humidifier because I'm not exactly sure what it is, in a way. I know what humidifiers are, but I don't have anything that does anything to the air. As for the food, I know Prince has been on different foods (ranging from Nutro to Performatrin, to Solid Gold and finally Wholehearted) and he's done the head shaking no matter what, there's nothing to indicate a food allergy-and what are the chances of both cats having the same reaction to food? I give them general water from the tap, as they received at the store and so on, no filtration.

I'm still thinking it boils down to the environment, my apartment. Perhaps dust or something, I'm not sure what it is but iI wish I knew so I could fix it.

 

[Furballsmom]

what are the chances of both cats having the same reaction to food

Pretty high, depending, but you've done food changes - however, were those the dry kibble formulas?

Can you try wet foods such as Nature’s Variety, Ziwipeak, Feline Natural, Rawz, Hound and Gatos, Blackwood, Redbarn, Now Fresh, Lotus Just Juicy, Fromm Gold? These are foods that are being discussed in another current thread where the original poster is looking for very safe commercial foods. There's also fancy feast and Walmart's Special Kitty--these last two have questionable ingredients, but still might be worth a try.

About the humidifier, I was thinking of this in case you live where you have super dry air which can irritate sensitive airways in cats. As a short term experiment, you could try having a pot of water on the stove at a low simmer for a couple days, and see if there's any difference.

Also, an air cleaner would help a lot with the dust and other allergens. You didn't mention, is the litter that you're using dusty?

Hang in there!

 

[CatLover49]

So to start, when I brought Prince home back in November he had a problem with shaking his head a lot and scratching behind his ear and neck. The first time I took him to the vet, Dr. Rowe tested for ear mites but found nothing other than some waxy buildup. She said he was a perfectly healthy kitten.

The second time I took him to the vet, a week ago, he was still shaking his head once in a while. She checked again, found no infection, no ear mites or anything at all to indicate he was anything less than a healthy cat. She even mentioned that if he had ear mites or an ear infection, her sticking the q-tip in his ear would cause him to squirm and react, which he did not do.

Now, I've brought Nikita home just this last week and what do you know, she's shaking her head quite often! So, I'm deducing that this problem isn't within the cats, but their environment. However, I'm in a small studio apartment, and with my bad sense of smell, I can't tell what could be causing this! Is it dust, could there be some sort of allergy affecting both cats, one since November? I don't know...

Do you guys have any idea, and in that case, do you know what I could do about it? I'm kind of lacking options, given the studio apartment, but it would be nice to figure out what's going on and how to correct it

Did u ever find out what the problem was??Cause my cat is doing same thing**

 

[Nature9000]

Not entirely. It may have been allergies of sorts or the prior litter, but the issue stopped a while back

 

[Burts]

My cats been doin the same, shaking his head, I check his ears and its clean as a whistle, praying the petwellbeing formulas help...I just know this is a food allergy, but how to eleminate when hes already on special formulas for urinary and constipation

 

[mayadot]

Burts & CatLover49 My cat has been doing the same thing for some time. No mites, no fleas. She's eating Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Rabbit wet food with a little Vital Essentials Freeze Dried Rabbit as a topper. Any new thoughts on the cause?

 

[Furballsmom]

mayadot you might want to start your own, fresh thread, since the OP's cat is ok. That will likely receive more replies than here in an old thread, and could provide more info for the other two members who posted here

 

[Burts]

My cat had steroid injection a while ago and his over grooming and scratching stopped but he still shook his head...Hes now on prescription limited royal canin hydrolyzed protein food trials.. He still shakes his head, also not sure if the new food gives him constipation...

 

[Furballsmom]

also not sure if the new food gives him constipation...

Could you ask your vet and maybe try a little miralax or something like that?

 

[Burts]

Im still waiting to see if it gives him constipation, he missed 2 days but I gave him lactulose on the 2nd day and he pooped twice on the third.. If it happens again im taking him off the food and back to the gastrointestinal food

 

[Furballsmom]

How are things with you-all?

 

[Burts]

I took him off the hydrolyzed because he wasnt poopin right, hes back on gastrointestinal, hes back to his old behavior...My vet mentioned long term steroids at low doses said it was fine but I dont know about that... The roids never stopped him from shaking his head but his grooming and scratching went down dramatically

I cannot fond anything about long term roids for allergys on this site and if its safe, vet said its safe with no risk for diabtetes...I dont know if it would be pills either....I might call and try some

 

[Furballsmom]

his grooming and scratching went down dramatically

I'm so glad to hear this!

 

[Burts]

Ughhh he be eatin himself alive again and scratchin, I plan to try royal canin limited venison and pea. I put him back on the hydrolyzed for 3 days now and his poop went from normal to hard dry turds, so back to the gastro yet again.....Sigh

Also been giving him cbd, every day a huge hairball from all that grooming...I wish my cat would let me rest already, so much money spent am tired

I will probably not have pets anymore after my two best friends leave me

 

[Furballsmom]

Burts , you might want to try and start your own thread, and copy/paste your post above, and see if you receive more feedback. I was wondering, did you ever try store bought (not garden grown), brewed and chilled, chamomile tea dabbed on his itchy irritated areas? And groom him with something less harsh, like a grooming mitt? ...and ask the vet about steriods?

 

[jen]

She even mentioned that if he had ear mites or an ear infection, her sticking the q-tip in his ear would cause him to squirm and react, which he did not do.

I hope she did more of a test than this. That is a ridiculous statement to make and use as a conclusion that there are no ear mites or infection. Tell me she did a proper cytology and looked at a smear of the end of that q tip under a microscope.

neither have ever gone outside or come into contact with animals carrying fleas, ticks, and so forth.

Fleas can come in other ways, your pant leg, through the screen, plus the eggs can lay dormant in your home in the nooks and crannies for a very long time and only come out when they come in contact with a host. If your pet is particularly sensitive or allergic to flea bites, all it takes is one single bite for a lot of irritation and scabs to break out, typically around the ears and neck.

All that being said, it sounds like environmental allergies. My one old cat has this and everytime the weather changes (which happens a lot, and very randomly here in the midwest) she will get super itchy around her ears, above her eyes/forehead area and her neck. I have Apoquel on hand which she is getting consistantly right now and it helps her drastically.