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5817271 tn?1374792599

Cat is scratching herself raw... Help please?

Hi, I need help with my cat. She is an indoor/outdoor cat. I’ve had her for a good 10 years, found her when she was a kitten. For a few months now, she has been scratching herself raw and bloody. All over. During this she loses so much weight she looks sickly, with her bones popping out and all. The fur disappears mainly from her forehead, hind legs, and shoulders, but it thins out everywhere else too. A few weeks later she will get better, her fur will grow back soft and full, she will regain her weight, and be very friendly and affectionate. This only lasts 3-7 days, though, and then I will hear her scratching and feel scabs appearing, eventually she will return to the sickly bloody kitty.
Her personality does not really change, but the vets we took her to recommended that we try allergy cream/anti-itch medication, and she is less likely to come up to you because she knows she is going to get goop rubbed on her if she does.

We do not change our cats’ diet, they used to be very picky and stop eating certain foods every few months or so, but I believe that they have settled down with that. Both of my cats also get half a can of wet food in the morning, but there is a dry food bowl and water available all day.

We have taken her to multiple vets; nobody can find anything wrong with her. She is not very timid, so I don’t believe it is stress. She gets plenty of entertainment, and lives in a healthy environment, with 1 other cat, a dog, and a rabbit. The cats and dog have had their shots.

***One other thing, I do not know if this is relevant, but if her problem is genetic, it might be. Her front feet have 7 toes. She gets along fine with it, actually it kind of helps her out. I figure she is inbred or something.

Thanks in advance, I would really like to know what is going on with my kitty!
Best Answer
874521 tn?1424116797
I am assuming your kitty was checked for fleas?.....since you did take her to a Vet that would be the first thing they would check for.

if not fleas...than I'm 905 certain its food allergies....particularly to GRAINS...most cat foods are full of grains because they are cheap..much cheaper than meat...and most cats are intolerant to grains..
even if her diet hasn't changed, like us humans allergies take a while to develop and some will be more affected than others..

also dry kibble has tons of preservatives and other chemicals that canned food doesn't, even has mites due to long storage after bagging.
I strongly suggest you try changing her food to a GRAIN FREE CANNED FOOD...there are many available a good pet stores (not walmarts or grocery stores!!!)
It is more expensive, however you will find kitty won't be as hungry when she's on a good diet with more protien rather than grains...and you will save all the Vet bills and she will look and feel so much better, can you imagine how uncomfortable she is with all the itching..

I will send you a site and you can look at the photos also read the causes of itchy/hair loss..

but I will say DO NOT follow the natural treatments mentioned, these are NOT good for cats...besides why spend money of medications and creams when a diet change works...

if you need more info I would be happy to help..I will mention most cats aren't crazy abt the taste of grain free canned food, because its lacking all the artificial flavoring that many other commercial foods have added. so you have to start feeding this slowly to get them used to the new taste..start with 1/4 of her feeding a new food and 3/4 of the old...than gradually increase the amount of new food...also by adding slowly she won't get any gastro-intestinal issues like diarrhea..

http://www.cat-health-guide.org/cat-allergy-symptoms.html

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5817271 tn?1374792599
Thank you, i will get that food asap. Your post has made me remember a little bit more info. Before her scratching got really bad, she would still go through phases of getting super skinny, and was constantly coughing and hacking. It sounded like she was trying to cough up a hairball for hours on end, but it was not very often that she actually hacked one up. This excessive hacking has stopped.

She has trouble jumping up onto the dryer to reach dry food and water, and seems very weak in general. As of these past couple days, I have been finding her sitting alone in a dark corner. This is very out of habit for her, and I have heard that when cats are sick/dying they will hide away so as to avoid showing natural predators any signs of vulnerability. Could this mean that she is very sick? (should prepare for goodbyes? )
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1 Comments
Yes my cat has scratch the hair off of his ear and has it so bad he has it bleeding. Can you help me?
134578 tn?1693250592
Flea allergy dermatitis can flare up and you never see a flea.  Cats are really fast at biting them off once they feel them.  One bite can cause a flare.  Keep her on an approved flea med (not one from the store but one from the vet) at all times.
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Avatar universal
It really just sounds like a severe allergy, and it may take several attempts at trial and error to figure out what's causing it. Check to make sure there is not something that she is ingesting or coming in contact with that she is not used to. Perhaps she might be coming in contact with if not eating something like poison ivy, which may result in the symptoms she's experiencing, and then she seems to have a week or so where she seems to get better, just to possibly end up going back around or ingesting what previously made her ill/seriously allergic in the first place. Good luck to you, I hope you will find what is causing it. Growing up I had a cat for quite a long time who towards the end (for a few years) was scratching a licking his fur off, he had almost none on his belly, and his forehead especially near his ears was almost gone also. He began to urinate around the house, and even began to urinate blood. We never found out what was wrong with him, as the vets always only said "allergy" but were unable to elaborate as to what. I went off to school one day to come home to find that my mother had taken my cat to the pound, stating we couldn't take care of him anymore, that his health was too much, and the possible necessary surgeries were going to be costly (which we couldn't afford), so she got rid of him. Broke my heart, I truly hope you find what is going on with your cat! It can be heartbreaking to feel like you cannot help them when they clearly aren't comfortable, I know I wouldn't be having to scratch myself silly!
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