Help for an itchy cat?

[lngrid]

Hi there. I've had my beloved cat, Toby, since last July when I rescued him as a stray. My neighbor had noticed him around and I decided to take him in when I found what looked like a gash on the back of his neck. He was only 14 months old and she said he had been stray for about a year. I was thinking he was being attacked by other cats. He has such a sweet, friendly nature and loves being an indoor kitty so much that it's amazing that he lived a year as a stray.

I took him to a vet to be tested, checked, vaccinated and neutered right away. A couple of weeks later I noticed a bare patch on the back of his neck about the size of a dime, but the skin looked, felt and smelled normal, so I just assumed it was caused by the hormone fluctuations resulting from neutering a genitally mature male cat. In early December an emergency on the job meant I had to pretty much work around the clock for about six weeks, leaving Toby alone at home for much of that time. I began to notice puffs of his fur on the floor and, sure enough, he had a bare patch again on the back of his neck. The skin was normal, except for scratches from his own claws because he was scratching quite a bit. By the time the emergency at work was resolved and I had time to do anything about Toby, the scratching had stopped and the fur grew back.

Just lately though, I noticed another gash-shaped bare spot on his shoulder blade with a shallow gash in it. I'm now thinking that what I had mistaken last July for an injury caused by other animals was actually Toby scratching himself too much. So what do I do for him? I can't take him to a vet because I recently got laid off from the second-highest-paying of my 5 jobs and I now can't afford it. I tried asking at a cat forum but they don't think they should give out veterinary advice, even for non-life-threatening issues. When they failed us, I remembered BYC because I've seen people here with good common sense give sound, knowledgeable advice. I hope one of you can help Toby and me. We'd both be grateful.

 

[Mak]

If he's scratching at himself, then he's being irritated by something. Have you checked him for fleas? Brush his fur along his back and tummy back the wrong way, and look for either the fleas themselves or "flea dirt"- tiny black specks that look like dirt. Flea bit allergies are not unusual. Treat him for the fleas and the itching should stop. If no fleas, then it could be an allergic reaction to something in his food or even an environmental allergy. Those can be really tough to track down.

 

[Appytaz]

My first thought was also flea allergies.

On a different note - I have a mini donkey who is very itchy! This winter he rubbed all the hair off his back and spots on both sides of his face. I use a mixture of shampoo and mouthwash. It has to be a antiseptic mouthwash (I get the cheap blue or green stuff from a dollar general or family dollar) Suds him up and let it sit for a few mins then rinse. This REALLY helps with his itching. Maybe a little of that may help if it is a skin issue that is causing the itching.

 

[CarrieW]

I have a Ragdoll with horrible allergies. He has been tested and is on allergy shots now. But along with the shots, he gets a half of a Benadryl twice a day. It's just the regular Benadryl you buy at the store, the oval shaped pink ones. I cut them in half. On days he gets his shot, he can have 3 halves. I thought this was alot, but the vet gave me the ok. He is declawed in the front, but he scratches alot still, so I use Soft Paws on his back feet. They are little plastic caps that are put on the claws with glue. He didn't like them at first, but now he thinks he is stylin' with his purple claws. (They have lots of colors, but my favorite color is purple)

 

[xchairity_casex]

bald patches can be caused by ringworm. try a deworming medicine for a little while that treats ringworm if no luck try putting him on a fish oil supplement.

 

[GallusGal]

try a deworming medicine for a little while that treats ringworm

Ringworm is not a true worm; it is a fungal infection of the skin. Deworming medications are useless for it. However, athlete's foot creams and vaginal yeast infection creams generally work well (I prefer the former unless it is close to a mucous membrane). Ringworm generally comes along with very obvious scaley looking, irritated skin however, so if the OP isn't noticing that I would be inclined to think it is something else.

The skin condition can be a number of things. Flea allergy is very common, so I would first check for that. Even if he stays indoors, if you have any pets that go outdoors, the cat should probably be on a monthly flea preventive if he isn't already. If there are no fleas, the second most likely thing I could think of would be a food allergy. They are fairly common in cats and are often linked to either "fillers" or protein items. Trying a grain free food or food that is corn/soy/wheat free, or alternately buying a limited ingredients diet that uses an alternative protein may help, as may supplementing the diet with omega 3's. General allergies (seasonal/not diet related) are also possible and can often be treated with over the counter feline allergy medicines or an appropriate dose of benadryl - and topical feline anti-itching sprays may help as well. Finally, there are a number of medical conditions ranging from bacterial and fungal infections of the skin (these usually have a foul odor and discharge, however), thyroid conditions, cancers, and a number of other problems could be the cause, so if you rule out flea dermatitis, food allergy, and environmental allergy it might be time to worry and perhaps ask a friend or family member about some financial help for kitty to see the vet.

Good luck, I hope he feels better soon.​

 

[patandchickens]

First, it does not sound terribly severe or like it is bothering him THAT much, so I would venture to say that if you can't manage to get him to the vet these days that is probably ok, tho if and when it *does* become feasible it might be a good idea if he's still the same way.

Flea allergy would not be one of my major guesses; IME it almost always shows up first as itchy/scaly/bumpy stuff on the lower back above the base of the tail, not on the neck.

Ringworm would not normally go away entirely then recur at the same site. (And as mentioned, it is NOT a worm and worm medicines do nothing for it; it is fungal, and the animal's own immune system "usually" gets rid of it on its own after some months even if not treated)

Two other possibilities to consider (in addition to the good ones in previous posts): does this cat by any chance wear a collar or flea-collar? And/or, is it microchipped? Those things might be causing irritation. (Flea collars are particularly notorious for doing that, and if you have a flea collar on the cat I'd suggest removing it right away). Or, this isn't by any chance the site you're putting a spot-on flea product, is it?

Good luck, hope you get it sorted out,

Pat

 

[xchairity_casex]

Quote:
Ringworm is not a true worm; it is a fungal infection of the skin. Deworming medications are useless for it. However, athlete's foot creams and vaginal yeast infection creams generally work well (I prefer the former unless it is close to a mucous membrane). Ringworm generally comes along with very obvious scaley looking, irritated skin however, so if the OP isn't noticing that I would be inclined to think it is something else.

Sorry ive never dealt with it before though i have seen symptoms in others cats before so i have heard of ti and just wanted to bring it to attention thanks for the info!

 

[lngrid]

I knew BYCers wouldn't let Toby and me down! Thanks so much to all of you who replied! If you all can, though, Toby and I may need you to stick with me on this one for a bit because it doesn't seem to be simple.

Possibility of flea allergy:
This is always possible, but Toby is an only pet and I don't let him go outside. (My neighborhood is not kitty-friendly.) He doesn't get up into the windows to sit (having grown up stray I don't think he learned what they are and mine are usually covered by closed blinds. He watches the outdoors through a closed sliding glass door.) I also park my car about 10 feet from my front door and only walk over parking lot pavement and a sidewalk to enter my apartment.

Possibility of food allergies:
Food allergy: I now suspect Toby was scratching himself before I took him in. Back then I thought animals were attacking him because he had a gash on his shoulder similar to what I see right now. And at that time he was only eating what he could catch or beg from humans. Now Toby eats Evo dry catfood, produced by Natura. They outsource nothing and make it with only human-grade ingredients. No fillers, no by-products and no grains. Right now he's eating the Herring and Salmon that I bought long before the Fukushima radiation crisis, but until then he was eating the Turkey and Chicken. I'm thinking it's probably not a food allergy.

Environmental allergy:
To my knowledge, Toby's scratched fur off in July, September, December and April, so it's not sounding like a seasonal thing. He did it when he was stray and living with me, so I'm thinking it's not environmental.

So, even though he scratches a lot, I'm thinking it's not an allergy. I'm still willing to consider the Benedryl, though.

Benedryl: Is it possible to dissolve the benedryl in Toby's water? I'm a caregiver for 4 profoundly disabled people and if one of my clients injures herself, she may need care from me overnight (that's what happened in Dec/Jan.) so I may not be able to be home to give Toby the benedryl.

Microchip Irritation: Toby doesn't wear a flea collar, but he IS microchipped. I got him chipped after the first 2 episodes of fur loss I witnessed (when he was stray and when he was neutered) but before the last two (when one of my clients needed me and now). When the chips cause irritation, is it only at the chip site or also nearby, because the fur always goes missing from the same general area, but not the exact same spot.

In thinking things over I realized that, while it is true that I don't have extra money at the end of the month anymore, I DO feed Toby premium catfood and use premium cat litter (World's Best brand litter). Am I being a bad cat mom if I switch to cheaper litter and food, saving up THAT money to pay for vet visits? I'm an only child and my father has just entered a board and care home because he has alzheimer's. His long-term care insurance won't pay for all of the fees, so I don't really think my step-mom has the money to help with vet bills.

Thank you all very much for your support and good, sound, intelligent advice. You have no idea how comforting you are. Toby is an amazingly loving creature and life has pooped on him enough. I just want him to be well, happy and have a human who will love him the rest of his life (ME).

 

[AinaWGSD]

Quote:
Actually, cats can be asymptomatic carriers of ringworm. Dogs and humans will always have lesions of some sort (although not always the typical scaly round type) if they have ringworm, but cats can have ringworm and show no symptoms. If a cat that is a carrier of ringworm gets stressed, then the ringworm can cause skin problems. And cat ringworm often does not have the red, irritated, scaly appearance typically associated with ringworm. Plus, ringworm can look like anything. Seriously, we once removed a small mass from a boxer's foot because we were concerned that it was a tumor and sent it away for histopathology and it came back as just being ringworm. Much better than cancer, but very weird!

The typically atypical presentation of ringworm in cats aside, humans are often a better test for ringworm than the fungal culture used to diagnose it. So, if none of the humans (or dogs) in the house are showing any skin problems, it probably isn't ringworm. Especially given how long it's been going on.

I would second checking for fleas. Flea allergies are very common and an animal that is allergic to fleas can have severe reactions to even one single flea bite. It certainly doesn't hurt to rule out fleas as they are a common cause of itchiness and hair loss. You would be amazed at how many people who have indoor only cats that never ever go outside and no other pets that go outside and live on third floor apartments come into the clinic where I work with fleas! During particularly bad years you can carry fleas in on your clothes. And it is always possible (perhaps not likely, but possible) that Toby could have brought fleas in when you first brought him home and they are breeding in your house in your carpet and furniture.

Environmental allergens are also extremely common. Cats can be allergic to anything and it is quite common for them to be allergic to more than one allergen. And just like humans, they can be allergic to indoor allergens such as dust mites. Cats and dogs can even be allergic to humans...I've seen the allergy tests that confirm this (although obviously if Toby were allergic to humans you'd be seeing allergy symptoms all the time). So even though there doesn't seem to be a seasonality to it I wouldn't rule out allergies yet. You can try to treat the itchiness with antihistamines. Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is 1mg/lb for cats and dogs can be given two or three times a day...which means while it is a cheap and safe option, it isn't an easy one unless you have a very large cat as it only comes in 25mg tablets (and don't even think about trying the liquid, it tastes horrible and there's no way you'd be able to get it into a cat two or three times a day).

Another excellent, safe, and relatively inexpensive option to help relieve itchiness is vitamin E and omega fatty acids. Vitamin E and fatty acids not only helps support healthy skin and coat, it is also actually an anti-inflammatory so it will help with any inflammatory response involved in the itching regardless of whether it is caused by fleas, allergies, ringworm, or infection.

No, I don't think it would make you a bad cat mom if you switched to cheaper food and/or litter (at least temporarily) so that you could afford to pay some vet bills. While there are certain cat foods I would not feed my cats unless I absolutely had to (and by that I mean you may actually have to hold a gun to my head), the three oldest cats I've ever seen in my life have eaten the cheapest, crappiest cat foods I can think of and had very few health problems until they were very geriatric. Just be careful about switching litters though as some cats are very particular about their litter boxes and suddenly changing textures or smell on them can cause them to stop using the litter box.

Good luck! Skin issues are extremely frustrating as there are about a bazillion different skin conditions that all have almost identical symptoms. Even with vet visits it can take a really long time to peg down what's really going on, so don't get frustrated if things don't improve very quickly. Whatever you decide to try, give it at least 2-3 months before you decide it isn't effective and give up on it.