Overgrooming

[Ravensong]

Ok, so I adopted two cats in December. My black Manx - Macie - has a difficult history, coming from a hoarding situation. When the rescue got her, she had very little fur and was severely malnourished. She also had fleas and staph dermatitis. They brought her in, took care of everything, and when I adopted her, her fur had grown back and she was healthy. She was missing fur on her back feet/legs, which looks/looked like she was overgrooming there. They had had her on Revolution.

She has overgroomed since I got her. I brush her every day, wash all blankets, etc...frequently, see no signs of fleas or flea dirt. The only thing I see when I brush her is dry skin.

The first time I took her to the vet they kind of blew me off. Said it was likely stress, and I should try Feliway. Did not inspect her skin at all, though. I tried the Feliway, and my other cat was way more aggressive after I plugged it in, and Macie never stopped the overgrooming. It actually got worse, and she then had a patch of fur missing, as well as fur pulled out around her tail. Because there was a sore, I called the vet again and took her in (which is super stressful for her). They looked at her and decided she had fleas. Couldn't find any, even when they combed. Didn't see any flea dirt.

I told them I didn't want her on Revolution, because she had been on that and was still scratching, etc....so if it was actually fleas, it didn't work. So they gave me Bravecta. That was last week. She is a LOT worse, with another patch of fur missing and a couple that are moving in that direction.

I have no idea what to do. The vet basically said to treat her with the Bravecta for 3-6 months and hopefully it will help. I feel like we need to be doing more to help her, but every time I talk/email the vet, she is stuck on the flea thing and just waiting.

Anybody else have this issue? I suspect it could be allergies, but I don't want to try something new while we're trying to treat for fleas.

Sorry, I'm just frustrated.

 

[mani]

Don't be sorry.. we all worry about these things .
It could be stress, but my boy overgrooms his hips and legs and we've discovered it's his arthritis.. it's painful and that's how he deals with it. Is that a possibility?

 

[FeebysOwner]

I highly doubt this is flea related - unless it is an allergy from being bit by fleas. Revolution and Bravecto kill fleas by poisoning the fleas when they bite a cat, but both certainly do not require months and months of use to be effective. The only reason that fleas might not be immediately eradicated is if your home is infested with them - and that is a whole other story/resolution effort required. So, if there are fleas anywhere near your cat, they can still bite her and she could be having a reaction to that. You didn't mention what is going on with the other cat you adopted - is s/he on flea meds as well? Any scratching or other signs that fleas are still prevalent? If there are no issues with your second cat, that is all the more reason to think this is likely something else besides fleas.

You mentioned dry skin - so that might be a simple thing to try to tackle - as in adding omega-3 oils to her diet. A lot of folks do this to help combat dry skin and help with overall skin health in their cats.

Beyond the flea issue and the dry skin - and aside from possible arthritis as mentioned above - any number of things can cause allergies that make a cat overgroom/scratch - food, litter, as well as environmental/seasonal related.

I think it would be wise to find another vet and start over in trying to determine what is going on with Macie. Perhaps, she could at least receive an injection of steroids, or be given antihistamines, to at least temporarily give her some relief while you look at your options for other potential sources/allergies affecting Macie.

 

[Ravensong]

Don't be sorry.. we all worry about these things .
It could be stress, but my boy overgrooms his hips and legs and we've discovered it's his arthritis.. it's painful and that's how he deals with it. Is that a possibility?

I think anything other than fleas is a possibility. I did consider this and mention it, esp. given she is a Manx, but...apparently, whatever I suggest is completely pushed aside.

 

[Ravensong]

I highly doubt this is flea related -

Yeah, I'm 99% sure it isn't.

You didn't mention what is going on with the other cat you adopted - is s/he on flea meds as well? Any scratching or other signs that fleas are still prevalent?

She's fine. I did start to treat her again with Bravecta, since we are treating Macie. And she was on Revolution, also. No issues at all with scratching or biting. And she does not have fleas in her history.

I think it would be wise to find another vet and start over in trying to determine what is going on with Macie. Perhaps, she could at least receive an injection of steroids, or be given antihistamines, to at least temporarily give her some relief while you look at your options for other potential sources/allergies affecting Macie.

Yeah, I'm leaning in that direction. Unfortunately, I have a wellness plan with both cats at this vet that I don't think is refundable and I just don't have the money to go to another vet right now. I have to look into it again.

 

[cat princesses]

It could be so many things - an allergy to food or a filler in the food. You could do a food trial where you just try a hydrolyzed diet and see if that makes any difference. I also was trying something called ultra oil skin and coat - if your cat would be OK with it in the wet food you could try that, the omega's should help to hydrate the skin. Or maybe a raw diet? You can also seek out a dermatologist - they can do a skin scrape test to rule out anything like a fungal infection causing it - and then help you to develop a plan from there.

 

[Ravensong]

It could be so many things

I know! Thanks for replying. I'm going to be adding the Omega 3 to her food...I mostly can't get her to eat anything but dry, though, so right now raw is out. I'm trying to work in tandem with my vet, but she is making it really hard.

Will continue to keep an eye on her and probably switch her food next.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Try some baby food meat (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut) to give to her with the Omega 3. Or, some of the lickable treats - Tiki Cat Stix, Vitakraft, Applaws, Wholehearted, or Inaba Churu - even Tiki Cat Mousse (which is a complete cat food meal). Any of these might help her to adapt to the idea of canned food over time. If she likes any of them, that might be a way to introduce some canned food, adding any of them to a bit of a canned food.

 

[Ravensong]

Try some baby food meat (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut) to give to her with the Omega 3. Or, some of the lickable treats - Tiki Cat Stix, Vitakraft, Applaws, Wholehearted, or Inaba Churu - even Tiki Cat Mousse (which is a complete cat food meal). Any of these might help her to adapt to the idea of canned food over time. If she likes any of them, that might be a way to introduce some canned food, adding any of them to a bit of a canned food.

Yeah, thanks. I've done all of that. She will sometimes eat Fancy Feast wet, but not with any regularity, and she turns up her nose at everything else. LOL My beautiful, finicky baby. :-)