pics #18; flair up it is BAD

[Freedom]

I'm ITCHY, MOM!!! -- Bobby

Looking for ideas how to help Bobby.

He has a rash and is SO itchy. the 1st 2 trips to the vet, they put him on prednisone for 10 days. The frist time, the rash cleared up completely. Not so the second time.

I took him to another vet; who checked him all over for fleas; nothing. He has over groomed and scratched to having scabs all over as well. Now Bobby is on prednisone for a 3rd try, PLUS wearing an ecollar to stop him over grooming so we can try and get it all to heal. He is so long and lithe he reaches right around the collar!

Gave him a bath last evening, that relieved the itch for a bit.

Both vets think it is an allergy; but to what? Second vet thought first it was the allergy to flea bites; but there are NO fleas, no flea dirt, no one else in the house is itching or scratching. and with 13 pets here, if it was fleas you'd think SOMEONE else would show signs!

If it is the food, is one week on a different food long enough to tell?

I think he had the rash when he arrived here in April; not sure. I know he has had it since mid May poor guy! And it is getting worse. i just don't know what more to do to help him.

Suggestions, ideas, thoughts, welcome!

[emily_the_spoiled]

If it is an allergy then an antihistamine will tell you. After the prednisone has it under control (hopefully) talk with your vet about putting Bobby on an antihistamine. If it is an allergy then the itching should not re-appear as long as he is on the medication. If it does, then you are likely dealing with something other than an allergy.

[Medusa]

My Creamsicle just went through this for the third time. Does Bobby's hair come out as though it were a paint brush, y'know, in little clumps if you can easily tug on it? Cgirl had it so bad, the itching was driving her nuts and she seemed to be overgrooming but she was really trying to soothe the itching. He gave her a depo shot; that cleared the scabs up right away and thus, the itching. He finally had to do a biopsy on her because the shot would only last about a month, then the scabs came back. We've determined it's an allergy and, so far, it seems as though it's the treats that I was giving her. I cut the treats out for now and I'm waiting to see if the shot wears off and the scabs return. You might want to talk to your vet about giving Bobby a depo shot for some relief, poor little guy. My vet says it's so itchy, it's like having poison ivy. Cgirl lost a lot of hair before we got it under control. Her tail was like a little rat's tail and she had a bald spot on the top of her head and on her chest. But it's all grown back now and she's doing really well. Hopefully, a depo shot will help Bobby. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Freedom]

Thanks Emily & Mary.

Emily, do you ahve a name of an antihistamine I should ask about?

Mary, depo, got it. I don't give him treats, so I have to figure out what else it might be.

[catmandu]

Moose used to go through this as he was extremely flea sensitive and he would have scabs everywhere. We hope you Vet can help Bobby , maybe a Lion Cut to expose his skin to the air would help.

Prayers are coming for Bobby from all of us.

[kb2yjx]

Has your cat been tested for allergies??? Food and assorted things about the house? We just found out that Riley is severely allergic to canned z/d(Hill's allergy food)...

[Kalei]

Aw poor Bobby. I hope you get better soon Bobby, I can't imagine how torturing it must be to be constantly itchy to the point of licking your skin off.

I hope the vet and your mommy can find out what it is soon.

[columbine]

Smudge had the same problem, so my vet suggested that I try giving him chlorpheniramine maleate (trade name Chlor-Trimeton, but you can get it cheaper in generic) 1/4 tablet (1 mg) twice a day. I just grind it up in a bit of water and mix it in his canned food (with a spoonful of nice smelly Solid Gold tuna to cover the taste) and it clears the problem right up (except when he's in a kibble-only mood!) It does make for mooshy poops, though, so you might do well to discontinue any hairball remedy you're currently using after the first day or so and make sure he's got plenty of water to drink. Make sure it's just chlorpheniramine maleate with nothing else mixed in.

When he's not eating canned food, I put a dab of hydrocortisone cream on the worst spots once a day. I bought veterinary hydrocortisone (Corti-Calm) but it smells like alcohol (ewwwww, vet's office!) and he won't let me near him with it, so I just put it on my own eczema instead and let him use mine!

Love, Columbine

[Medusa]

It doesn't necessarily have to be treats that he'd be allergic to. Food allergies of any kind are the most common allergies in cats.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that Bobby is so itchy. When I first adopted Storm, the food that I was feeding him had a lot of fish in it. He started scratching a lot and then he lost the fur on his ears. I first thought that he might have ringworm but I was told that some cats are allergic to fish. I then changed his diet and it went away.

If it is a food allergy he'll need to be on a different food for at least 6-8 weeks or so before you can tell if this is the cause or not. He may also be allergic to grains. Starr has been battling severe diarrhea for many months now and is now on a grain free diet. He's still on pred and now he's also on 3 herbal supplements that are helping him a lot. I'm hoping to be able to wean him off of the pred once he's been on the supplements for at least 60 days.

There's an allergy blood test that can be done but many vets don't think that it's a very accurate test and it's quite expensive. He'd also have to be off of the pred for a while before having the test done. I sure hope that you'll be able to find out what's causing this or at least be able to treat him for his problem and keep him comfortable. Good luck.

Here's a link to a more holistic natural approach for itchy skin: Healthy Pet Journal-Natural,Holistic Health Care For Cats & Dogs.

[Freedom]

Wow I am getting tons of information and lots of ideas. I know Bobby would love to thank all of you for suggestions.

[Catty1]

If your vet okays some antihistamine, Bobby would get some quick relief...hope he feels better soon!

[jennielynn1970]

Honeybun, my FIV+ boy, was getting super itchy all of a sudden, and after I sat back and thought about what was different, and when he was doing it, I think I narrowed it down to one of the pouched foo products. That WHISKAS PURRFECTLY FISH stuff. He loves it, and chows down on it, but then the rest of that day and night, he is constantly jumpy and biting at his fur and twitchy all over.

I stopped the Purrfectly Fish (much to the rest of the gangs displeasure), and he seems much better. No twitchies or itchies since.

[Freedom]

I feed Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover and just checked the ingredients on line. It has lots of good stuff: chicken; fish meal and salmon; turkey and duck, various grains; just to name a few.

I think I will try to find a food with just fewer ingredients so that I can start eliminating things food wise. I just hate seeing him like this, and listening to his bell jingling all day and all night as he itch, itch, itches!

[jennielynn1970]

When my one cat was having a hard time with dry foods, the vet told me to get something the most simple kind of food available.. one without all the additives and stuff to help this, that and the other type of thing. I changed over to California Natural Chicken and Rice, and they all loved it.

I use Nutro Lamb or Chicken now, and they all seem fine, but I am also down to only one who had the sensitivity to the food. The others seem to eat anything you give them.