Unrelenting itch, never ending vet trips

Colonel Empress

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We’re hoping someone here has dealt with something similar and can maybe give us some guidance on questions for our vet or other recommendations.

We adopted Fifi in early January, she’s about a year old, some kind of blue Russian mix. Early on we noticed her scratching around her neck with her back a lot. We used some cat-specific, anti-allergen wipes we use to bathe our Siberian to wipe her down. We of course highlighted this on our first vet visit as it hadn’t gotten better.

since then & as a result of multiple trips to the vet we’ve: administered 2 courses of anti fungal meds, gotten negative results for ring worm, tried a Zyrtec dose daily, gotten infections from open wounds from scratching, had 2 steroid shots, were told to change diet but then given food with same ingredients and subsequently told probably not a diet issue, never found any sign of fleas but we’re giving Revolution Plus to both cats. All OTC sprays/meds ineffective & spray noise terrifies her.

most recently the revolution plus made her fur fall at the application site. She continues to scratch, bite & lick excessively. Currently has two reopened scratch wounds on her neck. She is otherwise healthy, happy and playful. Eating & pooping fine.

Is our next stop a dermatologist? What do we say and what should we ask? We just want her to stop itching so she’ll stop scratching & wounding herself. Can anyone offer advice?
 

Hannah518

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Have you tried calming products? Although getting a new cat is exciting and she is well loved, she could have anxiety because of the change. I have an overgroomer that tends to bite and pull out his hair when he’s stressed. He licked the hair clean off his belly when we moved across country and has even causes little blood bruises. He does it from time to time and we have done prozac on and off. It doesn’t seem to be allergies or other issues as we’ve had him checked multiple times for it. Right now he’s doing cbd and calming spray and cat diffusers.
Best of luck!
 

gilmargl

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Are you sure this isn't a behaviour problem? One of my foster cats, Meghan, had a bare patch on her right side when I first met her. The vet said it was a flea-bite allergy. Even though I couldn't find any fleas on her, she got the flea treatment. But, it didn't help. Finally, she'd bitten through the skin and the vet admitted that she was simply unhappy! I was given tablets (I think they were hormone tablets) and for a month things improved. Because of a heart defect, we had to stop these and, unfortunately, things have got a lot worse. Her stomach, inside of both front legs and the patch on her side are bare! Though she hasn't actually bitten through her skin again.

I would love her to go to a new home without other cats. But who wants a nervous black, half-naked cat, with a heart problem and crossed-eyes to boot? My 3 other cats are easy-going and it is always Meghan who tries to attack them rather than the other way round. I have never had any success with calming sprays and diffusers, I have 3 diffusers, perhaps I would need even more, though the cats are only on this one floor where they have 3 large rooms (plus kitchen) where they can get away from one another. Normally, they are all in the same room!

I hope things improve for Fifi. It is early days yet and, if it is a behavior problem, it may sort itself out with time and patience.
 

LTS3

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If the Revolution caused fur loss, then stop using it. Indoor only cats don't really need to take a monthly parasite preventative.

You can dicuss diet again with the vet. Lots of things in food can cause skin issues.Chicken is the most common cause of food sensitivities. Grains and fillers are others. There is a TCS member whose cat is super sensitive to multiple ingredients in cat food. There are very few foods the cat can eat without triggering a reaction. Many food sensitive cats do well on a limited ingredient diet. There are commercially available ones that are better quality than prescription stuff. Some people prefer to feed a raw or home cooked diet but it's not as simple as giving the cat a bowl of meat. There is a forum here on TCS that discusses those diets more in detail.

What litter are you using? An allergy to the litter is possible.

Keeping the claws trimmed or using claw caps may help keep the wounds from getting worse.

Did your cat have these skin issues before you adopted her?
 
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Colonel Empress

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Have you tried calming products? Although getting a new cat is exciting and she is well loved, she could have anxiety because of the change. I have an overgroomer that tends to bite and pull out his hair when he’s stressed. He licked the hair clean off his belly when we moved across country and has even causes little blood bruises. He does it from time to time and we have done prozac on and off. It doesn’t seem to be allergies or other issues as we’ve had him checked multiple times for it. Right now he’s doing cbd and calming spray and cat diffusers.
Best of luck!
Hi Hannah518
we Do have a spray that hasn’t done much, but I think a diffuser would be a good next step! Thanks for taking the time to respond.
 
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Colonel Empress

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Are you sure this isn't a behaviour problem? One of my foster cats, Meghan, had a bare patch on her right side when I first met her. The vet said it was a flea-bite allergy. Even though I couldn't find any fleas on her, she got the flea treatment. But, it didn't help. Finally, she'd bitten through the skin and the vet admitted that she was simply unhappy! I was given tablets (I think they were hormone tablets) and for a month things improved. Because of a heart defect, we had to stop these and, unfortunately, things have got a lot worse. Her stomach, inside of both front legs and the patch on her side are bare! Though she hasn't actually bitten through her skin again.

I would love her to go to a new home without other cats. But who wants a nervous black, half-naked cat, with a heart problem and crossed-eyes to boot? My 3 other cats are easy-going and it is always Meghan who tries to attack them rather than the other way round. I have never had any success with calming sprays and diffusers, I have 3 diffusers, perhaps I would need even more, though the cats are only on this one floor where they have 3 large rooms (plus kitchen) where they can get away from one another. Normally, they are all in the same room!

I hope things improve for Fifi. It is early days yet and, if it is a behavior problem, it may sort itself out with time and patience.
Hi G
I’m not sure of anything. When she’s biting it’s like she’s looking for bugs/fleas. It’s very convincing. The vet told us about a study done that showed cats will search & destroy every single flea on them, but of course they still get bitten and react. I haven’t seen any flea dust either, I wonder if that’s groomed off.... I hope it’s a behavior thing: it’s only been 4 months and it’s clear she went thru some drama early on. She’s not going any where so time may tell.
Don’t give up on patchy! Someone somewhere could pick her up one day just like we did with FiFi. We didn’t know about the skin issues but it was clear she was traumatized.
 
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Colonel Empress

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If the Revolution caused fur loss, then stop using it. Indoor only cats don't really need to take a monthly parasite preventative.

You can dicuss diet again with the vet. Lots of things in food can cause skin issues.Chicken is the most common cause of food sensitivities. Grains and fillers are others. There is a TCS member whose cat is super sensitive to multiple ingredients in cat food. There are very few foods the cat can eat without triggering a reaction. Many food sensitive cats do well on a limited ingredient diet. There are commercially available ones that are better quality than prescription stuff. Some people prefer to feed a raw or home cooked diet but it's not as simple as giving the cat a bowl of meat. There is a forum here on TCS that discusses those diets more in detail.

What litter are you using? An allergy to the litter is possible.

Keeping the claws trimmed or using claw caps may help keep the wounds from getting worse.

Did your cat have these skin issues before you adopted her?
Hello
We’re going to find an alternate treatment, we live in a duplex that shares some strange walls & the neighbors have pets. Our porch is also a gathering spot for some outside cats... we may have also been flea victims once, so we aren’t going to risk it.
Right now they’re on a GI Pro Diet food that cost a million dollars. If we are going the diet direction I think we may opt for fish based, though seems hard to find. Interesting idea with the litter, haven’t even considered that. I’m going to do some exploring there. Thanks!
 

stephanietx

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Have you tried an all-natural litter? Sometimes scented litters can cause allergies. I also concur with the calming agent suggestion. We have used Feliway multi-cat with good success but have recently switched to Comfort Zone diffusers and had even better results. You might also want to switch her to a wet food diet with one protein such as venison or turkey or duck. Sometimes fillers in dry food can cause allergies and chicken and fish are known allergens for many kitties.
 

Furballsmom

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Hi - also, from Mamanyt1953 Mamanyt1953 try store-bought (garden grown is unsafe for cats), brewed, chilled chamomile tea dabbed on itchy irritated areas. It is anti bacterial, anti fungal and will ease itchiness. If they lick it, it's safe for a cat to ingest, and can actually be calming. For humans as well :)
 
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