losing hair, scratching and chewing paws!

[Catlady711]

Whoa! I didn't know that. So maybe Smudge just can't eat tuna (I was worried it had hypersensitized him to all fish, and a Smudge without fish is a sad kitty!) That's REALLY useful information. Thank you!

Love, Columbine

You're welcome. We went through this with Dusty when she started licking all the fur off her belly. To eliminate possibility of food allergy we had to get a prescription diet and that's all she could have for 3 months. Had to go so far as to get a baby gate for the kitchen so she couldn't get the other cats' food since she couldn't jump high enough to clear the gate. Turns out in her case it was an obsessive compulsive thing and she got to go back to her regular food and treats although she never did have hair on her belly again.

Bad thing is sometimes people find out the cause of the food allergy then after a while forget. There was a dog at our hospital quite a while back that had an allergy to dyes in foods. Things went well with the new dye free diet and dog's skin looked great until that Christmas when the neighbors gave them some red/green doggie bones. They gave him two bones and the allergy came back full force and it was like 9 weeks before the dog returned to normal even though they immediately stopped the treats after the itching started again.

[Nak4cats]

I agree with Cat Lady when she mentioned Ring Worm. This is a very contagious fungus and my youngest adoptee had it above his eyes and an inverted V on his forehead. He also had a spot on the back of his neck. Because we have a 19 year old, we had to really be careful and he was segregated for about 2 months. All he knew was a little room but in the end he has bonded with us quite well and is very loving. Ring Worm can take while to heal but I didn't go for the dipping. Too chemical for me. I just used an ointment twice a day and because he was getting good food and gaining weight his immune system got stronger. I think having a vet take a skin scraping is your best bet, before you try using any chemicals thinking it is fleas. Don't buy any ring worm medicine unless it is diagnosed as that is not a good thing to do.
Good luck with your babies. They are dependent yet independent. What would we do without them.