Does anyone's cat have this problem?

[Ms. Becky]

My cat is a female calico and she is 2 1/2 yrs. old. About 3 months ago she began to scratch at her neck behind her ears. Nothing I did seemed to help her at all. She was just miserable. The area turned into an awful area with patches that were scratched raw. I took her to the vet several times and several things were tried from anti-inflamatory injections to topical ointments. Nothing gave her any relief. In the place of normal scabbing, the area became covered with something akin to leather. Finall, my vet, who has been my vet for 25 yrs. and whom I trust removed this area surgically. I picked her up a couple of days after her surgery and all was well for a couple of days. She began to scratch again and had scratched out a couple of the stitches and the area was looking bad again. I took her back to the vet who kept her for a little over a week. I picked her up 3 days ago. The stitches are out. The vet thinks she has an anxiety reaction to something here at home. He says it doesn't necessarily have to be anything traumatic and that we never know what it is. She now takes valium. The dose doesn't make her dopy or sleepy etc. but I hate for her to take it. Can anyone offer any suggestions please?

 

[Dagna]

First, make sure she doesn't have ringworm or mange. Have a skin scraping done. Then, make sure she's not allergic to foods. Try a vet diet to test it. She will need to be on it for at least a month, while not being on valium. Also make sure she is regularly treated for fleas as well as your house. It only takes one bite to make an allergic cat go nuts. When you had the skin removed, did you have a biopsy done? Might be a thought. Also look into autoimmune diseases. Cats can get lupus and a few other nasties that can cause hairloss. Also, make sure you haven't done anything in the past few months that could cause this. Did you have carpets cleaned, walls painted, pest treatment? Past that...it might be anxiety. Try Feliway for a while and see if that helps. It might be a better option than a valium drugged kitty. And don't worry, you aren't alone. My cat has been going through this as well and we still haven't pinned down exactly what's wrong. It's a bit of work, but worth it in my opinion so my kitty doesn't have to be a druggie.

 

[sarahbug]

Dagna had a lot of good advice! I was going to suggest the food allergy too. My cat had an allergy to milk and he got really itchy and very flakey.

Anyway, Dagna gave great advice, and another thing I'd suggest is maybe going to another vet and getting a second opinion.

 

[U.2.K. Tha Greatest]

The best thing for you to do is dont give her nothing and pray for her to get better in due time. That's always the best and there is no second options when it comes to the creator who created your cat. If you feel bad about the pills, dont give her none.