My 2 yr old cat is overgrooming

I have a 2 yr old black cat that I got from a local animal hospital after a couple in town brought her and her brother in to have the adopted.  The mother cannot be caught to spay and she keeps having litters, so maybe this is genetic.  Since day 1 (I got her @ 3.5/4 months old) she's had one issue or another.  I got her sick - eye infection, upper respiratory, then she was spayed and got a hernia and had surgery, then found blood in her urine from the litter box and took her to vet - she had crystals in her urine so he put her on prednisone for like months and dasaquin which he told me coats the bladder....said to keep her off dry food altogether that some cats can't handle it and have these issues...so I did. She got better from that and then had a stomach virus last xmas - took her to vet because she was throwing up every hour and moaning like I've never heard before (like a baby crying as well)...scary stuff.  $500.00 later for that visit I found another vet....(she's on her 4th).  I noticed since may of this year she had some areas where her hair wasn't growing - started on her back legs and from arm, then spread to her sides.  I took her to a holistic vet,they tested her (skin scrape, etc.) said it wasn't ring worm , mites, or bacterial - said it was more behavioral and gave me a cone to put on her with some herbal supplements, fish oil, etc. - then that wasn't working so I took her for acupuncture and have been dealing with this dr. since.  She's tried more supplements, and nothing is working...at one point - I was giving her 4 different supplements in her food and she stopped eating it with them in it so since I didn't notice a change - I stopped all of them, have kept the cone on for over 3 weeks not (straight) and her hair looks like it's growing in but when she slips it off she starts right up licking, chewing and scratching obsessively.  I've switched her over to Wellness (grain free wet food) and I give her dry (wellness core) at night.  I even had an animal communicator session.  She felt it's not behavioral, it could be allergies and her immune system has been compromised.  Suggested I cook for her.  I had tried raw food awhile back and she wouldn't eat it.  I've gotten rid of things around the house I thought she may be allergic to and still she does it.  Outside of and MRI, ultrasound, xrays, skin biopsy, I've done everything else and noone can seem to pin-point it.  For litter - I use now One Earth Premium Cat Litter - advanced clumping w/natural fragrances (smells like pine)....

Any suggestions on what else I can try?  I'm afraid to leave the cone off for very long because all the hair that's grown back will be licked off again...but I feel bad she has to wear it so much.  I have considered getting another kitten for a buddy for her but I'm leary of having more issues.  I must of spent 3-4,000 already on her w/all the visits, meds, etc.  I'm exhausted from getting nowhere...and am amazed that each vet sees things so differently and cannot pin point this for me......I know allergies can be hard.....Now I'm giving her Collodial Silver (just alittle) because I've heard that can help.

Any suggestions are welcomed!

Linda

[nancyjac]

I tend to agree with the animal behaviorist that it is most likely an immuno deficiency condition.  Have FeLV, FIP, and FIV been ruled out?  This are relatively simple and inexpensive tests.  

[29sillygirl]

Gee....you have really been through it with your kitty.  Can only imagine how frustrating the past two years have been.

I adopted a 6 month old black kitten about a month ago.  A few similar things: feline herpes caused conjunctivitis and sneezing and snuffling.  Treating him for this.  Lastest issue is the thinning of hair on legs mostly.  Sounds so much like your kit.  When I mentioned it to my vet, he didn't seem alarmed.  I was afraid he had ringworm or something like that and he sleeps near my face...........as I haven't come down with anything it is probably what nancyjac said.  

I'd definitely get kitty checked out...they are inexpensive tests compared to all you've spent.

Best....

[opus88]

Oh I can just hear the frustration in your words...bless you for all the trying and research not to mention the $$$..

Have not one of these Vets talked to you about eosinophilic granuloma complex (EGC). or else Atopic Dermatitis???
This is all IMO as I am not a Vet, but I have one cat that has similar symptoms and its taken me 2 yrs of research to come up with some knowledge of this and have been so far successful in helping him.

IMO the behavioral communicator was more on target than the Vets....its NOT behavioral!!!
It is very well due to the compromised immune system AND allergies, allergies with people will manifest themselves with sneezing,watering eyes...respiratory problems etc...BUT with cats the allergies show up as skin conditions....

We can go into tons of info together, I will help you all I can.
First of all the food she is on is an EXCELLENT food, however is it CHICKEN/turkey??
for some reason some cats are highly allergic to poultry....they can develop the food allergy secondary to an allergic response from a one time flea/tick/mosquito bite...just takes once, can also be an airborne allergy to chemicals/dust/molds etc.

I will chat with you more about all this but first will give you some sites to read up more on the condition.
Please do some reading and also do 2 other things in the meantime, take off that cone please, they IMO are cruel....imagine the suffering when she has this urge to lick/groom and cannot....this is causing alot of stress.
secondly if the food you are feeding is poultry go buy one based of venision preferably...Wellness or EVO (Innova)
do the transition slowly as a sudden change in diet will cause diarrhea....mix 25% venison to 75% usual diet and slowly over the next week keep increasing.
warning they don't really like the taste so it may take awhile to get her transitioned over.

2 sites I can give you off hand to read up on are
www.veterinarypartner.com/content.plx?p=print&A=597

the other sorry I don't have to URL but go to drsfosterandsmith.com and find the link
ALLERGIES AND ATOPY IN CATS

good reading, talk more later.
♥Opus

[Susie126]

Thanks for the info.  I have four cats, but only the solid black one has been licking his fur off.  He was a stray I took in about four years ago and only started doing this about a year ago.  Nothing has changed in the house and the cats never go out.  Guess he could develop an allergy just like people do.  My vet says it is stress and he could put him on Prozac, but he has not seen much improvement with that so I did not try it.

[opus88]

hi and welcome, yes cats can develop allergies at any time like we can...to food, or household cleaners, candles, room sprays(any chemical) or flea bite dermatitis from even a single flea bite. I will send you a link or two to do some reading. come back with more questions if we can help..this is actually very common. I am soooo glad you aren't using the prozac, in my experience this is rarely due to stress and I sure don't like drugging kitties...

www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=107386

www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2141&aid=195

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Pets/Eosinophilic-Plaque-Feline-Allergies-/show/1241?cid=2

consider adding some Omega3 fatty acids to her food, this will help keep her skin less dry. ♥

[FurballsMom]

My vet had me start giving Akira salmon oil.  It's a great way to add the Omega3 fatty acids and it's supposed to be  nutritional approach to constipation and hair ball issues that cats tend to get.  Even if it hasn't fully stopped that issue, it is a nutritional support that is easy to give to cats, because they like this natural oil that is closer to their native diet.

[Macs_Mau]

Some cats are especially sensitive to fleas even one flea bite can cause this problem. Even if you see no flea or evidence of fleas it is likely a flea - or at lease that is what happens to my cat. I use drops on the back of the neck it works for 6 months with no more raw undersides. The drops are expensive but they work immediately.