Scratching and licking

[Gary Jarlson]

Starting about six or eight months ago, this adult male began scratching, chewing and licking. An inspection shows no traces of fleas or such. He can remain calm for a period and then randomly starts attacking himself. A vet gave him shots of cortisone and an antibiotic (at $300 a pop) and that curtailed the activity for nearly a month. The vet also provided Revolution Plus, a topical anti-flea etc solution, as well as Comfortis, which are anti-flea tablets. As I said, there are no signs of fleas. There is a second cat in the household who shows no signs of pest activity. Any ideas?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi and welcome to TCS! What's your little guy's name and how old is he?

I would suspect either a food allergy or something new(er) in the house that he is allergic too. This can be from new carpeting, furniture, laundry detergents, candles, fresheners, and on and on and on. Any changes in either food or things in the house shortly before the time he started this?

Although, I do have to point out that a cat can 'acquire' a food allergy at any point in time regardless of how long they have eaten the food. Not to mention, manufacturers change the ingredients in foods from time to time.

Something to start with in your search for answers.

 

[Gary Jarlson]

Thank you for your reply. If I had to choose from your suggestions, I would lean toward food allergies since none of the things you mentioned have changed. I'm also going to investigate the possibility of mange. I don't a lot about it so it will take some research.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Some forms of mange can easily be spread among cats, so not sure what that means in your case. Here are some articles (see below) about it to help with your research.

Revolution Plus contains an ingredient that can be helpful with some types of mange.
Mange in Cats: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment - Cats.com
Cat Mange and Scabies: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments (webmd.com)

 

[fionasmom]

11 Key Facts About Food Allergies In Cats - TheCatSite
Skin Conditions In Cats: An Essential Guide - TheCatSite

 

[stephanietx]

Did you change the brand of litter shortly before this started? It could also be a litter allergy.

 

[KSRS]

You can put a kitty t shirt on him to stop the initial licking but trim his back nails because he can still scratch his ears and face. My cat had an allergic reaction to a flea and tick med given to her by the shelter. I stopped giving it and put her on a novel protein diet (lotus just juicy venison stew) their raw foods are excellent too and don't contain bones. I fed that to another cat I had that had a reaction to a vaccine and gave him Vetriscience DMG (from chewy) and he cleared up. He also reacted to the weather but the above things still helped. There's also seasonal allergy drops from animal essentials but just know it contains nettle and cats with kidney disease can't take it. Hope this helps.