Itchy Cat

Elli452

Hi All,


I have a cat who has an itching problem, which results in ripping out huge chunks of fur from her bottom. She definitely doesn't have fleas. We've been to the vets multiple times and they have no clue what is causing it. She's had steroid injections, tablets and all sorts of other things. The injections stopped her for a while but now it's started back up again! I'm ready to start ripping my own hair out now.


I'm curious if anyone else has ever had a similar problem and what it ended up being so I could try pointing the vet in another direction than regular injections. I'd rather solve the problem than cover it up.


Thanks

teddysmum

Years ago, I bought a puppy who developed itchy bald patches on one leg and on the edges of his ears. His breeder,who had a grooming parlour gave him free treatment baths (I suspect with Hibiscrub) and the PDSA vet prescribed steroids.


I then met someone whose young dog had the same problem, but she moved from PDSA to a private vet,who scanned for mites,found some and treated. This vet said that he didn't like young animals being given steroids.


I asked the PDSA vet to do the same,as the dogs had played together, but the scrape came back negative.They tried the treatment jab anyway,as mites do not always show up and everything cleared up, with no recurrence.

One of my present dogs developed an unknown allergy,which responded to steroids, that could not be a long term solution, so my vet asked if we'd try Atopica,which did work,but, as a weekly maintenance dose, can be for life. It worked, but after a number of years, I have discontinued it as the tablets began to make him sick (This is a known side effect when starting out on a course,but the dose is useless if followed my vomiting every time, thereafter).

It's also possible to have a flea allergy with no actual fleas present,as they can jump on defecate, so causing irritation, then leave or drop off when dead.


Is the cat wormed,as worms can cause itching,too ?

GwylimT

Has the cat been on a proper elimination diet?

paddypaws101

GwylimT wrote: »

Has the cat been on a proper elimination diet?

Good question.
You would need to feed her a single protein source that she has not eaten previously. I believe Vet Concept provide foods made from meats such as Hare, Goat and Reindeer.
https://www.happykittcompany.co.uk might have some single protein foods too

Elli452

Thanks for the comments :-) She is wormed at regular intervals but I have not tried a full elimination diet, she has had restricted diet with no improvement but it is probably worth giving it a shot?

StaffieTerrier

My cat was doing a similar thing but with the fur on her neck. The vets and I worked out that it was stress related, after everything else had been check out. I started using feliway and she calmed down and stopped.

paddypaws101

I seem to remember reading that food issues tend to manifest as itchiness around the head but not sure how hard and fast true that is.
As someone else said, not seeing fleas doesn't rule out a flea allergy though, and there is also the option of it being mites.
A good fish oil supplement can help with overall skin condition and inflammation, and using Leucillin as a skin wash on affected areas could help if it is mites but I think that would need veterinary intervention too.

Haffiana

Do you use Febreze or any sort of air freshener? I have known these cause huge red itchy patches (almost like burns, but itchy) on a dog. Febreze was used on smelly patches on the carpet and was finally discovered to be the culprit.