itchy balding cat HELP

[Whaazit2ya]

I have an older farm cat about 7yrs old. This is his first year ever indoors. He has adjusted great personality wise and is a completely loveable cat. Our problem is hes constantly scratching at his rear flanks...to the point where hes balding! Ive treated him for fleas which was my first guess...Ive given him tuna fish oil on advice from a friend. Im extremely concerned for him. This is my first inside cat ever as well...any advice would be greatly appreciated. There are no visible creepy crawlies on his skin at all...not bites or raised red marks or anything of that sort. I have no idea what to do for him. Thanks in advance

[paulette2]

I have a male cat with the exact same problem -- this is common in cats. My Jack used to suck the fur off his back hind legs [plus he gets a lot of dandruff]. I tried everything! My vet finally started giving Jack periodic steroid shots. I've been told by people on this board that this isn't such a great thing and that there's side effects so I'm probably going to get Heck for this. But my vet said he's done this for years with other cats and he's had a lot of success. No side effects.

Ever since Jack gets the shots he's fine. I also brush him religiously twice a day which helps to lengthen the time between shots and cleared up the dandruff. He's much more comfortable. While I realize this may not be the best solution, the alternative was so awful. Poor Jack -- it was terrible to watch him suffer that way.

Jack was a badly abused stray when I got him and he's such a happy fella now, I figure I'm giving him a better quality of life overall, so maybe this isn't the worst thing. If you do find a better solution I'd appreciate your sharing it with me!

[Traci]

Actually, in response to Paulette's post...it's not that we don't advocate corticosteroid use, we strongly advocate seeing a vet, so that all potential causes are ruled out before considering treating with steroidal approaches. As with all drugs and medications, there are side effects, especially with long-term use. With corticosteroids, there may be an increased risk with long-term use, same as in human medicine. And it does need to be tapered if it's going to be used for long-term use. There are many conditions that respond to corticosteroids when all other treatment approaches have failed to produce results, but it is ultimately up to the vet, the condition being treated, and kitty's health status, amoung other things, that will necessitate the need for steroidal approach or not.

As to guest user, your kitty needs to see your vet promptly to rule out other causes. If you treated for fleas and don't actually know if there are fleas present or not, you may be wasting your time and money, let alone applying a flea product maybe unecessarily. Also, if you used an over-the-counter flea product, please cease using them, they are ineffective, and many are potentially toxic. Your vet can tell you if kitty has a flea problem and he can recommend a safe flea product (Advantage or Frontline) if it's necessary.

Given the age of your kitty, you should get a full blood profile done for him to rule out potential underlying health conditions (i.e., hyper- or hypothyroid could be a potential concern, given kitty's age and combined with the initial complaint-scratching/aggrivating/fur loss)

Food allergies could also be a problem, a kitty can develop a sudden allergy to a food at any time, regardless of what he's been eating all the while. Atopy is another problem that needs to be ruled out by your vet.

Bottom line, only your vet can tell you what the problem may be stemming from, through examination and additional testing if necessary.

[Whaazit2ya]

Tyvm for the words of wisdom. We have an appointment with the vet on monday for a complete workup. Keeping my fingers crossed and will let you know the verdict next week. The thought of steriods freightens me a little I admit but the thought of a miserable bald kitty seems far worse in my mind. Thanks again!