My cat is suddenly very hungry and pulling out her fur and itching

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WMM201

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I noticed today two licked up spots on either side of the base of Mumu's tail today, and saw her licking and starting to pull on her fur back there once while she was sitting on my lap. It's been two days since her last dose of prednisolone, and she's been on her regular chlorphreniramine at least twice daily the whole time. I am really concerned that her itching is starting to ramp up again. I honestly don't know if it is an allergy, or if she is in pain with her glands or even bladder or kidneys at this point. She is still saying, thank goodness, but with slightly decreased appetite. If it gets worse and I have to call the vet, should I ask for any tests? Like I said, I think the vet thinks I am a nutty overly worried cat lady. But, I am the kitty's only advocate, so I don't mind as long as we can figure it out. It's too soon for a follow up kidney level blood test, since her last test was less than a week ago. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
 
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WMM201

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I noticed today two licked up spots on either side of the base of Mumu's tail today, and saw her licking and starting to pull on her fur back there once while she was sitting on my lap. It's been two days since her last dose of prednisolone, and she's been on her regular chlorphreniramine at least twice daily the whole time. I am really concerned that her itching is starting to ramp up again. I honestly don't know if it is an allergy, or if she is in pain with her glands or even bladder or kidneys at this point. She is still saying, thank goodness, but with slightly decreased appetite. If it gets worse and I have to call the vet, should I ask for any tests? Like I said, I think the vet thinks I am a nutty overly worried cat lady. But, I am the kitty's only advocate, so I don't mind as long as we can figure it out. It's too soon for a follow up kidney level blood test, since her last test was less than a week ago. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
I mean she is still eating, now! Silly autocorrect!
 

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Our vet told us that cats sometimes pull out fur when they are in physical pain. For my moms cat she pulls out fur when she has nerve impulses that are called hyperthesia. So she is on gabapentin for that. But every once in a while she still does it. But a lot less often and a lot less pulled out now. Like maybe sometimes a whole week without any fur pulling is a good week for Sheba, my Mom's cat. Maybe your cat is overwhelmed by extreme itching or is in pain. Definitely run both by your vet. You are right to be concerned because like you said we have to advocate for them. Never feel bad about asking your vet for more information. That's their job.
 
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WMM201

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Also sometimes it can be that their anal glands need expressed at the vet.
She does have a history of anal gland impaction, due to some kind of allergy. I should ask about that! It is a good thing thay she has a prescription for gabapentin anyway for her arthritis, because it might be helping her in other ways, too. I feel bad that she is so sedated with her gabapentin ans antihistamines, but it's better than when she was so agitated and pulling fur. She is due back in for a blood test in a couple of weeks so I have to make a list of her symptoms and questions! I will ask about hyperesthesia in case that's something to consider.
 
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Hello all,

Just wanted to update on my cat, Mumu. Her itching has subsided with her twice daily antihistamine (chlorpheniramine) and she is finally eating normally again. (Edit: she still sometimes pulls on her fur, but WAY less and not in an agitated way like before.) She had some severe appetite issues, not really eating, dehydration. We have done a couple of blood tests that showed elevated kidney levels. Her urinalysis also was somewhat dilute and had a little protein. She might be an early CKD kitty now, which makes me a little sad. The vet didn't make an official diagnosis yet, and we just got an ultrasound done yesterday and are waiting for a report from the internist. The internist also suggested another blood test, the Texas A&M GI panel. I am not sure what the internist is suspecting, especially since we did several blood tests and the IDEXX tests just a week ago where the only things off seemed to have been the kidney levels. I wasn't in the office while they did the ultrasound exam, so I couldn't ask questions on the spot. They drew the blood and are keeping it frozen. I'll wait until I go over the report with my vet before deciding to send it out. I probably will, but I just want to be sure I'm not paying for a redundant test. It's been very expensive already, but it's worth it for my Mumu to finally eat well and act comfortable again. She hasn't changed her food or anything, but I did get her a new water fountain. Thanks for supporting Mumu!
 
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Also sometimes it can be that their anal glands need expressed at the vet.
Turns out her glands were okay, but they did check them. She's been regular with her bowel movements, too, which is a relief.
 

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Cats sometimes also pull out fur when in pain our vet said. I have stage 3b CKD. Before I changed my eating and a few other things which stabled my numbers for my CKD stage I used to have a lot of lower back pain from my kidneys. Maybe your cat is having some pain with the CKD.
 
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WMM201

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Cats sometimes also pull out fur when in pain our vet said. I have stage 3b CKD. Before I changed my eating and a few other things which stabled my numbers for my CKD stage I used to have a lot of lower back pain from my kidneys. Maybe your cat is having some pain with the CKD.
We are waiting for her final blood test to come back to see if she might have IBD, but the vet has asked for her to switch to a turkey based diet for now. I asked if she might have some pain, like you said, and that vet said probably not at this stage. But I am definitely going to keep an eye on this, because I agree, maybe it could pain from her kidneys.
 
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