Cat Licking Belly&BackLeg fur off

[Nadia88]

I have a 10 year-old, orange, shorthair, indoor (though we could have tracked anything indoors on our shoes), female cat.

Approximately 2 months ago she started licking her back legs a lot. Over a few weeks she licked her inner back legs and lower belly completely bare. About 2 weeks ago I noticed very faint pink dots on the bare skin. They were not raised bumps. They were not there before. One week ago she has licked the pink spots so much they are much more noticable now, though still not raised even as much as acne bumps to make a comparison. This week she has licked a spot or two to rawness. She is also licking small bald areas to her front legs.

She has NO FLEAS. I do not think it is ALLERGIES as her diet/environment has not changed. I've seen her go hours and hours without licking her belly but then I'd come into my bedroom some afternoon and she's licking her belly and legs again. None of my other cats as of yet have begun to lick their fur off.

[lindapalm]

Thanks opus.  It could be the rug shampoo,  I use so many  different kinds it would be hard to tell which one.  Laundry soap is scent free.  He's always been like this, but now he is so much worse.
We also have one of our cats on Prozac for peeing, and it works great for him.  I'm glad you mentioned yours is on a liquid form, because Spencer is so hard to pill. If I used the pill pen he would work the pill back out while foaming, so I tried using my fingers,  He struggled so hard he foamed and bit down on my finger (not purposely) and now my finger is infected.  The liquid should be easier, hopefully.
Its very hard to give him his food and not have him get the other cats, but we've been doing really good considering.  

You think 2 weeks time isn't enough to judge with the new food?  If it is allergies, will the Prozac help the itching?  I have to try it, I guess, his let is so bad I have to follow him around the house cleaning blood everywhere and I'm afraid it could become infected and he could loose it.  I go back to the vet Thursday, I know he will leave it up to me he seems to not come up with any good ideas but Convenia and steroids, and that did nothing to help him last time for longer than 2-3 days

[lindapalm]

I took Spencer back to the vet today because of the leg bleeding.  He put the collar back on him, and told me to try and pad the edges somehow so it wouldn't cut into his fur and skin, and bandaged his leg.  He also put him on Amitriptyline because he feels it helps with preventing itching more than Prozac.  
He also said if it is food allergies it would take a lot longer to see a difference, just as CML2014 stated.  I hated to do it, but he is so chewed up on every spot he can reach, and his leg is so bad I had no choice.  It would be nice if after awhile everything healed and I could get him off the drug, the vet is calling me Friday to see how he is.

[aroniafly]

My cat is suffering too, why vets know nothing that would help?

[lindapalm]

We put our cat on grain free,chicken free cat food, plus are using unscented litter.  He is also on anxiety pills (hopefully only temporary) and it seems to be working.  He no longer is pulling out his fur, or chewing.  The only problem is he has a huge sore on his back leg from chewing it raw, and for 3 months we have been trying to get it to heal.  Don't let your cat get this bad, we have tried EVERYTHING to get him to try to stop licking the sore, but are having no luck at all.  

[mixologist]

in the same boat trying to get the back leg healed so the vet can stitch it together am at my wits end, feel so guilty keeping the hood on him even though it is a soft collar but he is so long he can still lick

[lindapalm]

Mixologist, I'm not trying to scare you, but it is imperative that you keep your cat from making the sore get larger.  Our cats was on a back leg joint, and no matter what we tried (everything) Spencer would manage to reach it, and it kept getting bigger and would bleed.  
After trying for months, we took Spencer for a second opinion, and after xrays the new vet said there was no way he could sew up the sore, and it had calcified so much it had gone through his tendon.  He said the only thing left was amputation.  We took him for another opinion, and she agreed with the amputation.  It has been about a month since Spencer lost his leg, and things are slow but improving.  

Have you found out why your cat licks his leg, is it allergies, OCD, or something else?  He will want to lick the sore because it hurts, but you have to eliminate the reason the licking started in the first place.  If you have any questions, ask.  Unfortunately I've been through the same thing and know how frustrating it is

[KittheKat]

I'm taking my cat to the vet ASAP. He's my buddy he's always there for me. Now I've gotta be there for him before it's too late...