Help. =[

Okay, so I'm sure you guys have seen the pictures of Bella I posted in General a few weeks ago with her elephant hat. Well, apparently, Bella has bigger problems.

She licks herself until she makes sores. She scratches, bites, licks, chews... anything she can think of. Her poor body is, honestly, gross to the touch because she is covered in scabs and sores.

We've tried vetwrap. That kept her from licking and scratching her body, but she still accumulated sores on her head and ears from scratching. Heck, she even has a sore between her toes from chewing! :(

I don't know what I'm doing wrong, or what's wrong with her. The only other thing I can think is to maybe put a cone on her, but she would HATE that, and I'm afraid she probably wouldn't eat. Besides, that's only a temporary solution to the problem. She can't wear a cone her whole life.

I've eliminated fleas and ringworm. I'm a groomer, I've seen plenty of fleas, and Bella definitely has none. Ringworm, no, only because Edward hasn't gotten it, along with any of the hoomans and she doesn't have the right "spots" for it to be ringword. She got taken to the vet a couple months ago because I thought it was ringworm and he said no. He told us Edward was doing it ( :rolleyes: blame it on the boy) and gave us some ointment to put on her. That clearly didn't help.

I've also tried a vitamin supplement in her diet for skin and coat problems. She got fed separately from Ed so I could make sure she ingested the whole supplement. That continued for a few weeks and I noticed no results.


*sigh* Any ideas? I have no idea why she is doing this. Behavioral, you think?

Take her to ANOTHER vet. She or Ed may need to be rehomed.

Second opinions can be valuable.

Also - Denise (Brody's Mum) also does readings now, very reasonable price $20. Send her a PM.

My guess is that it is an allergy of some type. Maybe to something in her environment, like the litter or the detergent you use for her bedding or your bedding? I had a reading done for my cat George and the pet communicator said that he reacts to carpeting as well as preservatives in food. My other thought is it could be an allergy to her food or something in it, like preservatives. Could be to a certain protein, you could try feeding her a food with duck and oatmeal or other proteins that are different from the ones she is currently eating. She could also be allergic to grains or just a particular grain like wheat. You can have your cats blood tested for allergies at your vet and they can send it to an allergy testing lab called VARL in California and they test for proteins like different meats, grains, dust etc..
My cat Paddy overgrooms himself on occasion and I believe it is behavioral. I think it's a bad habit that he picked up during stressful times and like a 'blankey', he doesn't want to give it up. There are a few things you could try if it is behavioral, like Feliway spray or plug ins to help calm her. You could also try some Bachs Rescue Remedy drops to calm her as well.

But, it sounds like she is really itchy more than anything which makes me think it's an allergy of some type.

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Originally Posted by Catty1

Take her to ANOTHER vet. She or Ed may need to be rehomed.

Second opinions can be valuable.

Also - Denise (Brody's Mum) also does readings now, very reasonable price $20. Send her a PM.

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What makes you say that one of them needs to be rehomed?

We had a cat in my rescue group which had an autoimmune dermatitis. If possible, you should go to a feline dermatologist. Willie's symptoms were much like your cat's.

I think Catty1 may have mentioned rehoming one of them because it may be stress-related.

But my first impulse is that she's got allergies to something. It can be a pain in the neck to figure out what she's allergic to, as an allergic human I know that well, but when I am in the middle of certain allergic reactions, EVERYTHING itches.

Made me think of Zella, who was COTD a week or so ago. She had food allergies and her Mom wrote where you could get the kind of food that saved Zella....see below... I also think blood work might be helpful...I work in human medicine so I know things are a little different but see if there is anything available to test for allergies through RAST testing and an ANA to check for autoimmune disorders.



Hi, I'm Zella, and I would like to tell you my story. When I saw my mum and dad one day at the shelter it was love at first sight! They wanted to take me home as soon as they saw me, even though they were told that my previous family had dropped me off because they could not deal with my food allergies. When my mom and dad took me to my new house I felt at home as soon as I walked out of my little cage and explored my new surroundings. I was very skinny then and weighed only three pounds. My parents fed me the vet recommended anti-allergy cat food but I did not like it and still had skin allergies. One day my mom stopped at the health food store and bought me organic holistic cat food. That I liked and I have not had any skin problems since! Now my fur is soft and shiny and I have put on five pounds! My parents are so happy and so am I.


Mom here. If anyone is interested, I wanted to let folks know that the cat food that cured her skin allergies is Holistic Natural Feline Formula from Bench & Field. Before that she was given Z/D Science Diet from the vet but her allergies did not go away with that so we switched.

Hmm. I'll have to look at that food next time I go to Katzenbarkers. Thanks for the info.

Zella's mom also found it at Trader Joe's, if you have one of those nearby!

Your cat may need Prednisone to help with the itching. It's probably very irritating. Poor thing.

How old is Bella? How long have you had her?

Bobby came to live with me at age 8 months. I had him about 3 months and he went crazy with itching to bloody sores. I did a thread about it, here:

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...ht=Bobby+itchy

Page 2, post 18 has photos of some of it.

He wore an e collar for 4.5 months while we figured out what was causing the problem. Meantime we tried Benadryl, Cepha drops and several other things to try and stop the itch. None successful.

Bobby has food allergies. He is one a presciption food, Royal Canin Greens Peas and Venison and he is FINE.

I did take him to a vet dermatologist in the end. She explained that they have NO tests for food allergies. It is all trial and error, with YOU reading lables and eliminating items. The most common cat food allergies are wheat, grains, fish. Bobby seems also allergic to beef, chicken and lamb!

The dermatologist DOES have a test kit with 45 or so things for environmental allergies. It is expensive to run the test, and food allergies are more common.

At the start, I asked how old and how long you'd had her. Bobby did NOT show any of this during the 8 months he was living in the feral cat colony and being fed by the colony caretaker. Plus it took several months for it to show up once he came indoors and started living with me! No idea why.

I must have tried 8 or 9 foods before hitting on the 'right' one. It was a tough time; I can't imagine being itchy and not being allowed to scratch. But we couldn't let Bobby scratch as he would lick, scratch, etc to a sore that was bleeding. What a terrible time for him; I was frantic to find something that worked!

Oh, and the vet will say you need to test a food for 8 weeks. I didn't feel I had that long to try all those foods, so I only tried them 10 to 14 days. When I hit on the right one, I saw improvement on day 4!

Best wishes!

Mr Scrappy Had Hyper Thyroids And That Made Him Scratch Something Awful And He Had Sores Everywhere.
And He Was Flea Allergenic.
Theres Nothing Worse Than Having To Scratch All The Time, We Are Praying That Your Vet Can Find A Solution To Ease Bellas Suffering.

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Originally Posted by Freedom

I did take him to a vet dermatologist in the end. She explained that they have NO tests for food allergies. It is all trial and error, with YOU reading lables and eliminating items. The most common cat food allergies are wheat, grains, fish. Bobby seems also allergic to beef, chicken and lamb!
The dermatologist DOES have a test kit with 45 or so things for environmental allergies. It is expensive to run the test, and food allergies are more common.

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The Veterinary Allergy Reference Lab in California does perform tests to determine what food allergies cats and dogs can have. Our vet sent George's blood serum off to them and the results came back with George being allergic to Wheat, Dairy, Pork, Rice and Turkey. They offer a desensitizing product that they create that can help your pet adjust to whatever they are allergic to but it's expensive. But the results were quite helpful and allow us to figure out what food to give George. It's been nearly impossible finding a food without all the above ingredients though! :)
p.s. the test cost us around 200.00 but that was a couple of years ago.

Here are a few paragraphs from the VARL Website:
VARL – Veterinary Allergy Reference Laboratory – is a USDA licensed laboratory serving veterinarians all over the United States and 24 other countries worldwide in the specialized area of serum allergy testing and formulation of customized allergen prescription vaccines for individual allergic dogs and cats. The laboratory is dedicated solely to helping veterinarians precisely identify the allergens causing their patients’ allergies and, when requested by the veterinarian, formulate the treatment allergy vaccines to desensitize them to the identified culprit allergens.



Before 1990 veterinarians desiring to identify the individual allergens causing their patients’ allergies had only two options. The patient was either referred to a veterinary dermatologist for intradermal skin testing or the patient’s serum sample was submitted to a laboratory using the RAST/ELISA technology to identify culprit allergens. Patients, however, cannot be skin-tested while under the influence of antihistamines or corticosteroids – the same drugs that relieve them of their allergy symptoms. Weeks of abstinence and withdrawal from these drugs are necessary before skin testing can be performed. In the time being the pet suffers. The RAST/ELISA serum testing employs a solid-phase methodology to identify culprit allergens from a patient’s serum but with a reputation of unacceptable high incidence of false positive results. So, when veterinarians started asking for a serum allergy test that is accurate for determining the culprit allergens that make their dog and cat patients itch so miserably … We Heard!



In 1990, VARL developed the first serum allergy test technology that is not based on solid phase reaction like RAST/ELISA. VARL engineered a unique liquid phase matrix technology which, for the first time, is capable of accurate identification of offending allergens from serum samples of dogs and cats without the notorious false positive results commonly encountered with solid phase RAST/ELISA. The Liquid Gold’s truly innovative and, without a doubt, revolutionary technology combines the exquisite selectivity of avidin-biotin interaction with the superior sensitivity of our unique liquid phase matrix to give veterinarians the most accurate and dependable identification of offending allergens. Based on these results, VARL then formulates customized allergen prescription vaccine mixtures in our state-of-the-art USDA licensed facility to desensitize the patients to their allergies. These patients can now live a normal life without aggravating their owners with constant scratching, recurrent skin and ear infections and the debilitating complications that inevitably accompany long-term usage of corticosteroid drugs.

Good luck checking out the new food.

It's tempting to give her prednisone to calm the itching...but you wouldn't be able to tell if the food cured the problem til after the pred had worn off. Still - it might be worth it to give her relief for a few days. Poor baby! Check with your vet.

Cats can have seasonal allergies too. Smudge has his "spring bald spot" in full view right now. But discontinuing an allergenic food (tuna) and an allergenic treat (cat lube) really took the edge off. I also give him 3V caps to help strengthen his skin, rub a little hydrocortisone in when he's sleepy and not really paying attention (if I only use a little bit and mash it on rhythmically, like a momma cat licking him, when he's tired & content, he won't lick it off immediately) and give him vitamin E as a treat just because it's safe and he likes it. He's a longhair, so I snip out mats, although it took him a while to get used to human groomin'. Now he just purrs.

Now if only he'd let me do his nails!

I can't change his base food (c/d kibble, prescription) because he needs it to keep from getting urinary crystals. But I changed his "treat food" that I mash his meds into (3V caps, chlorpheniramine, Cosequin, and psyllium fiber) to Newman's Own Organic, and that's helped a lot too. But some cats are just itchy and hypersensitive, and you might not be able to totally remove all the stimuli. Just keep trying. If she's really miserable, a steroid shot can give her a chance to heal up a bit, but it works by turning down the immune system, so if it makes her sneezy, be very careful.

It might be behavioral, too - stress can cause it. Definitely get a second opinion.

Love, Columbine

Yes, it does sound as though it could be an allergy. Bella is doing exactly what my Creamsicle does and we still haven't pinpointed exactly what she's allergic to yet, although I've eliminated all treats and have discontinued a dry food that has too many artificial colorings in it. That's helped tremendously but she still itches and licks a lot, so she's on Prednisolone every day. She was getting an injection once a month but a daily dose makes it easier on me and her. You might mention this to your vet. Please keep us posted.

I know this is somewhat unrelated but my parents had a dog who was alergic to lamb and dyed foods and sagebrush. Poor guy itched something terrible and had sores all over him until the vet did the testing for the environmental alergies and it took a lot of guesswork to find the food issue. I'd start looking into what detergets you use around the home as my parents current dog is alergic to some laundry soaps lol.

Pets are just like people when it comes to alergies, you never know WHAT is going to set a particular animal off!

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Originally Posted by DJFyrewolf36

I know this is somewhat unrelated but my parents had a dog who was alergic to lamb and dyed foods and sagebrush. Poor guy itched something terrible and had sores all over him until the vet did the testing for the environmental alergies and it took a lot of guesswork to find the food issue. I'd start looking into what detergets you use around the home as my parents current dog is alergic to some laundry soaps lol.

Pets are just like people when it comes to alergies, you never know WHAT is going to set a particular animal off!

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She's right. It could be environmental, too.

Just thought I would let everyone know that Bella is completely healed. I took her to another vet for a second opinion, and he suggested that maybe she had some type of mites. Sure enough, he put... wow... can't remember what it's called! Revolution! Lol... he put some Revolution on her and within a week or two, her spots were gone, and she is completely healthy! Thanks for the warm wishes and suggestions! =]

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Originally Posted by ILoveMyAbbyGirl

She is completely healthy! Thanks for the warm wishes and suggestions! =]

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Thanks for the good news update!

YAAY! I am glad Bella is feeling so much better! :) She must have slept for 2 days straight when she started healing (though with a cat, how do you tell 2 days straight from the norm? :D )

Give that beautiful girl a hug and cuddle for me!

This is wonderful news!!! Not those nasty mites that were torturing poor Bella but that now you know what the problem is. Did your vet mention any prevention methods to keep them from coming back? Please give her loads of lovies from me?

He never really mentioned giving her anything else, but she hasn't had any problems since. I'll probably continue with the Revolution just in case. She has a nice, beautiful coat now, and no more icky spots. =] Thanks everyone!

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Originally Posted by ILoveMyAbbyGirl

He never really mentioned giving her anything else, but she hasn't had any problems since. I'll probably continue with the Revolution just in case. She has a nice, beautiful coat now, and no more icky spots. =] Thanks everyone!

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Normally in a situation like that, Revolution would be a long-term thing to apply to keep the mites from coming back if she is prone to them. All dogs and cats have mites under the skin but they normally don't bother them unless their immune systems are down or compromised. This could be illness, stress, allergies, you name it, then the mites flourish.

If it was stress that lowered her immune system to the point where the mites were causing problems, if the stressful situation is over and she hasn't ever had problems with mites before then you may not need to continue it. It's always a good choice, though, since Revolution is also a monthly dewormer, you won't have to worry about her getting worms or even heartworm and even ear mites, which those are very common in our kitties :)

I didn't know that, thanks Jessika! Is Revolution something you can buy at Petco or is it through the vet only?

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Originally Posted by ILoveMyAbbyGirl

I didn't know that, thanks Jessika! Is Revolution something you can buy at Petco or is it through the vet only?

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Since it is a heartworm preventative you will have to get a prescription from a vet, however with the prescription you can buy it anywhere :)