pics #18; flair up it is BAD

[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.