Skin problem

[Alexa]

Hello

This is my first post here, I have 3 cats 2 Black and White mogs, Layla and Frodo and a Silver Black Tabby BSH, Roo

Roo is off to the vet tomorrow, at the beginning of the week he started licking patches on his body to the point of removing the hair and making it red raw.

It looks like some sort of allergic reaction to me and tried to get hiom booked in as soon as possible. Unfortunately much to my dissapointment I wasn't overly impressed and had to fight tooth and nail to get the slot I have tomorrow - apparently he isn't classed as urgent, even though if left to his own devices he would be in a much much worse state by fri than at the mo. It was really hard even getting them to give me a buster collar for him to prevent him from making it worse and they asked me to bring him in but refused to look at him when I did........I know vets are busy...but really. :shock:

Although I have seen allergic reactions before I have never actually had one of my animals suffer before, what sort of treatment should I be expecting - just in case they are as unhelpful tomorrow. Next job on my list is to find a better vets in the area.

[dinahsmum]

Hi Alexa - welcome to Catsey! I hope you feel happier after you have visited the vet today.
I can think of 2 reasons Roo may have this problem. The first is a genuine skin condition such as excema. An anti-imflammatory (steroid) medication should keep it under control.
Another possibility is that your cat is overgrooming. This could be because of an underlying irritation from a genuine skin problem, or it might be a stress issue. Have there been changes in your household, or has the pecking order of your cats changed? A Feliway DAP spray or plug-in diffuser is reputed to be really good for helping with this.
Anyway, I'll pipe down and leave it to your vet now! Please come back and tell us how Roo is, won't you?

[Fran]

Hi Alexa and welcome to Catsey :D DM has mentioned two possible reasons for the type of condition you are describing. Something else which can cause an 'allergic' reaction in some cats are flea bites. Might be worth checking that he hasn't picked up some fleas....good luck at the vets and let us know how you get on

[charliebubs]

Hiya Alexa,
Welcome to our little community!!
I hope you got on well at the vets today. The others above have already pretty much said what I was going to say. I have had a cat that pulled her own hair out from her tail due to stress (after losing her kittens) and I've also had another one that has FAD (flea allergic dermatitis) which means that if she gets bitten just once by a flea she gets really irritated by it and will over scratch and make herself sore. She is also allergic to frontline and can only have stronghold. when I first got her from the shelter she looked quite scabby, but most of that has cleared now.
DM also mentions excema, which I have seen in a pair of sister cats at the shelter. I never knew that cats could get excema until I saw them. It was over their back legs mainly and it caused them to overgroom to such an extent that their skin was red raw. We had to bathe the areas with special shampoo every day, apply a cream and give them tablets. Poor girls. :(
Anyway - hope you have got to the bottom of Roo's problems.
Charlie
:)

[yola]

Hello and welcome! One of my cats, Darcy periodically scratches himself little bloody raw patches (sometimes up to the size of a penny) on the top of his head. I have some cortizone cream for it, but the vet is almost certain that he has an allergic reaction to something around the house; dust, dust mites or even human skin dander. It could be something similar with Roo.

I was terrified 1st time it happened as it looked wet and horrible, but it quickly healed over. I'm less concerned when it happens now, but still apply the cream and keep him strictly indoors for a day or two after.

As for your vet - if you're not happy, either have a word with them or change vets. Mine usually see me the same day, but then they are a large practice.

good luck and try not to worry too much.

[Alexa]

Thanks everyone for the posts.

He has been diagnosed witg what they think is a flea allergy and been given an injection to stop him scratching as well as some antibiotics to trat the yucky scabby bits he has now got.

He will be frontlined every month as told by the vet and I'll keep my fingers crossed he doen't have an allergy to that too. Poor lad is looking very sorry for himself and very bald in places. It looks like the hair will take some time to grow back but as long as he is happy and comfortable I really dont care.

[alexgirl73]

Good to hear that he has had his treatment, fingers crossed it works for him. Welcome to Catsey!

[Mags]

Good to hear it's been diagnosed ......... I hope it will clear up very soon...

[dinahsmum]

I'm glad it's the simplest solution.
Hope he'll soon feel loads better

[Fran]

So glad that you got a simple diagnosis. If Frontline doesn't suit him then there are other preparations you could use. Hopefully now, the itching will stop and his hair will start to grow again. Do let us know how he gets on...

[charliebubs]

Oh that's good news. Hope he's back to himself soon and we'd love to see some photos of him when he is please!!!!

:)

[Alexa]

Not the best piccie in the world but here he is in his favourite helping Mummy position when Im on the computer

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k151/Alexa_019/th_DSCF0065.jpg

Will put some of the other two on when Im not meant to be working ;)

[charliebubs]

Awwwwwwwwwww - what a cute pic!! He looks like a cheeky chappie!!!

Look forward to seeing the other furbabes too. :)

(I know what you mean about working, but it is Friday afternoon and only 10 days to Christmas.............that's a good enough excuse to be "working" on Catsey!!! lol)

[Fran]

Wow!! Isn't he a gorgeous boy :cool:

[Mags]

He's simply gorgeous........ :D

[alexgirl73]

What a lovely face he has. x

[Alexa]

Roo has been improving nicely and taking his meds every day.

We tried taking the buster collar off on Sun evening but he went straight back to licking etc so it went straight back on. Might try again this evening. I had thought that the injection to stop his scratching would have started to take effect by now.

Have been looking into alternative methods of flea treatments that can be used more often than the medicated sort from the vets. He already has garlic in his food but would be interested in any other ideas.

[yola]

Alexa - Roo is a darling!! What a lovely face :D

There are many homeopathic remedies on the market, I did have the reference to one (and I'll try and find a moment to dig it out), but probably worth searching the internet for retailers.

[John]

Hi Alexa...My Millie is always cleaning and licking hereselve .shes 11 years old and has always been the same since a kitten..I have mentioned it to differant vets over the years only thing that seems to keep it clear for a short time is frontline.A friend told me to mix garlic in the food ,I asked several vets about this they said they had heard about using garlic but it did not work.if you find a cure let me know

john

[Alexa]

Exactly 4 weeks on from his treatment Roo has the same problem again.

The hair has not grown back from the last flare up he had and he is looking very sorry for himself. No sign of fleas though on him or any of the other pets.

If it is a flea allergy he muct be super sensitive and I dont know how I can stop him getting bitten.

[yola]

Alexa - have you treated your house with flea spray? Fleas can live in soft furnishings, carpets, rugs and even floorboards. It could be that they are still getting to Roo even though he shows no signs of flea infestation himself.

I hope he gets better soon - a fella as cute as him shouldn't have bald patches :)

[Fran]

Exactly 4 weeks on from his treatment Roo has the same problem again.

The hair has not grown back from the last flare up he had and he is looking very sorry for himself. No sign of fleas though on him or any of the other pets.

If it is a flea allergy he muct be super sensitive and I dont know how I can stop him getting bitten.


Has you vet taken any skin scrapings? Might be worth another trip to the vet? Do let us know how he goes

[Alexa]

Went off to the new vet tonight who was much better than the previous ones. I have faith that they will get to the bottom of this buit it will just take time.

The whole house has been treated for fleas and so have all the other animals, Roo is just undergoing his bath in antibacterial shampoo bless him. He has to have it left on for 10 mins so thought I would update inbetween.

Again he has had sterois injections to stop the scratching and anti biotics to clear his skin up. My poor baby.

[Mags]

It sounds like you are doing everything you possibly can Alexa ........ I really hope you get some results soon....