hello,
my cat owlie is always scratching herself, mostly on her neck but sometimes on other parts of her body. she does it so often that the spots become infected. i took her to the vet the first time this happened and they gave me a pill to releive the itching, antibiotics for the infection, and they treated her for fleas. it cleared up, but now it's getting bad again (she has lumpy, scabby spots all over the underside of her chin and neck). she doesn't have fleas, as her and the other indoor cat have both been recently treated. the vet said she might have some type of skin allergy and says these can be tricky to treat. any suggestions? thanks.
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Cat always scratching herself-doesn't have fleas
Re: Cat always scratching herself-doesn't have fleas
I'd strongly suggest asking your vet about a trial diet of a hypoallergenic diet, give it up to 4 weeks to note improvement. There are various veterinary-prescribed diets for this purpose, but I would first opt for Hill's Rx Z/D...your vet can choose based on his knowledge and experience and kitty's health history.
Combined with the new dietary approach, ask your vet about a skin scrape and culture to rule out various types of mites, and the culture to rule out various types of bacteria, the culture results will help your vet determine which antibiotic approach would best benefit. During this time frame, feed only in stainless steel dishes, both for food and water (stainless steel, when kept clean on a regular basis, will not harbor bacteria as plastics, glass, other materials do).
If the culture results are negative, you may need to opt for a feline serology with a fungal profile to rule out fungal disease. Open lesions starting in the face area and spreading to other areas on the body could also indicate a fungal infection, so it's important this is ruled out. Another rule out would include eosinophilic granuloma complex, which an appropriate hypoallergenic diet can be initiated as a first treatment approach.
Also, and equally as important, is to rule out pain, whether that may be related to her prior condition/surgeries or something unrelated, it needs to be ruled out. Scratching in a particular area can be indicative of a pain response, with the lesions spreading due to bacteria transmitted and spread through her claws during scratching.
Don't wait on this, ask about the hypoallergenic diet, the culture and take it from there.
Combined with the new dietary approach, ask your vet about a skin scrape and culture to rule out various types of mites, and the culture to rule out various types of bacteria, the culture results will help your vet determine which antibiotic approach would best benefit. During this time frame, feed only in stainless steel dishes, both for food and water (stainless steel, when kept clean on a regular basis, will not harbor bacteria as plastics, glass, other materials do).
If the culture results are negative, you may need to opt for a feline serology with a fungal profile to rule out fungal disease. Open lesions starting in the face area and spreading to other areas on the body could also indicate a fungal infection, so it's important this is ruled out. Another rule out would include eosinophilic granuloma complex, which an appropriate hypoallergenic diet can be initiated as a first treatment approach.
Also, and equally as important, is to rule out pain, whether that may be related to her prior condition/surgeries or something unrelated, it needs to be ruled out. Scratching in a particular area can be indicative of a pain response, with the lesions spreading due to bacteria transmitted and spread through her claws during scratching.
Don't wait on this, ask about the hypoallergenic diet, the culture and take it from there.
..........Traci