our cat keeps scratching

My wife and I need some advice on what is going on with one of our two cats.

For some reason she keeps scratching her neck and face. We cut her nails
every two weeks and I used a flea comb on her last night which came up
negative to everything but little white hairs.

The problem is that she continually has scabs around her neck and she has
gotten something with her eye causing it to redden slightly on the eyelids
and causing the area to swell. It doesn't cause her any pain, but it's hard
to tell since she starts purring if you get close to her.

There is another cat involved. They get along most of the time (mainly at
night when they have to sleep together when the heat is off), but they do
have theeir moments so we can't really rule out that it isn't the other cat
behind the small scabs. But then there is the scratching...

We have insurance and any ideas at all will be appreciated.

Thanks.

"Corey" wrote in message
...
My wife and I need some advice on what is going on with one of our two
cats.

For some reason she keeps scratching her neck and face. We cut her nails
every two weeks and I used a flea comb on her last night which came up
negative to everything but little white hairs.

The problem is that she continually has scabs around her neck and she has
gotten something with her eye causing it to redden slightly on the eyelids
and causing the area to swell. It doesn't cause her any pain, but it's
hard
to tell since she starts purring if you get close to her.

There is another cat involved. They get along most of the time (mainly at
night when they have to sleep together when the heat is off), but they do
have theeir moments so we can't really rule out that it isn't the other
cat
behind the small scabs. But then there is the scratching...

We have insurance and any ideas at all will be appreciated.

Thanks.

Sounds like allergies to me. Try vacuuming and dusting EVERY day for a
while. If you own an air purifier run it. If things improve, it could be
inhalent allergies. (If so, vacumming and a good air purifier do wonders to
keep the twitchies down.) If not, try food elimination. Your vet has
special foods with the protein completely broken down. You have to feed it
for about 8 weeks to see a difference. If it improves then you add different
foods back in until the behaviour recurs, then you know which foods are the
culprits. If the scabs are too bad, you must see a vet, who will put the cat
on antibiotics to keep out secondary infections. They might also try depo
shots, as that helps allergies, but I would not want to try that unless I
knew I coudln't control it through environment or food.

Karen

"Corey" wrote in message
...
My wife and I need some advice on what is going on with one of our two
cats.

For some reason she keeps scratching her neck and face. We cut her nails
every two weeks and I used a flea comb on her last night which came up
negative to everything but little white hairs.

The problem is that she continually has scabs around her neck and she has
gotten something with her eye causing it to redden slightly on the eyelids
and causing the area to swell. It doesn't cause her any pain, but it's
hard
to tell since she starts purring if you get close to her.

There is another cat involved. They get along most of the time (mainly at
night when they have to sleep together when the heat is off), but they do
have theeir moments so we can't really rule out that it isn't the other
cat
behind the small scabs. But then there is the scratching...

We have insurance and any ideas at all will be appreciated.

Thanks.

Sounds like allergies to me. Try vacuuming and dusting EVERY day for a
while. If you own an air purifier run it. If things improve, it could be
inhalent allergies. (If so, vacumming and a good air purifier do wonders to
keep the twitchies down.) If not, try food elimination. Your vet has
special foods with the protein completely broken down. You have to feed it
for about 8 weeks to see a difference. If it improves then you add different
foods back in until the behaviour recurs, then you know which foods are the
culprits. If the scabs are too bad, you must see a vet, who will put the cat
on antibiotics to keep out secondary infections. They might also try depo
shots, as that helps allergies, but I would not want to try that unless I
knew I coudln't control it through environment or food.

Karen

"Karen" wrote:

Sounds like allergies to me. Try vacuuming and dusting EVERY day for a
while. If you own an air purifier run it. If things improve, it could be
inhalent allergies. (If so, vacumming and a good air purifier do wonders to
keep the twitchies down.) If not, try food elimination. Your vet has
special foods with the protein completely broken down. You have to feed it
for about 8 weeks to see a difference. If it improves then you add different
foods back in until the behaviour recurs, then you know which foods are the
culprits. If the scabs are too bad, you must see a vet, who will put the cat
on antibiotics to keep out secondary infections. They might also try depo
shots, as that helps allergies, but I would not want to try that unless I
knew I coudln't control it through environment or food.

I agree that it sounds like allergies, but I would not rule out a flea allergy
even though you don't see any fleas. With this kind of allergy, just one flea
bite can cause severe itching and the cat can scratch itself raw.

Since you have insurance, why not consult your vet? A blood test can indicate
whether an allergic reaction is going on, and the vet can go from there.

"Karen" wrote:

Sounds like allergies to me. Try vacuuming and dusting EVERY day for a
while. If you own an air purifier run it. If things improve, it could be
inhalent allergies. (If so, vacumming and a good air purifier do wonders to
keep the twitchies down.) If not, try food elimination. Your vet has
special foods with the protein completely broken down. You have to feed it
for about 8 weeks to see a difference. If it improves then you add different
foods back in until the behaviour recurs, then you know which foods are the
culprits. If the scabs are too bad, you must see a vet, who will put the cat
on antibiotics to keep out secondary infections. They might also try depo
shots, as that helps allergies, but I would not want to try that unless I
knew I coudln't control it through environment or food.

I agree that it sounds like allergies, but I would not rule out a flea allergy
even though you don't see any fleas. With this kind of allergy, just one flea
bite can cause severe itching and the cat can scratch itself raw.

Since you have insurance, why not consult your vet? A blood test can indicate
whether an allergic reaction is going on, and the vet can go from there.

"Karen" dumped this in
on 23 Mar 2004:

snip
If it improves then you add different
foods back in until the behaviour recurs, then you know which foods
are the culprits. If the scabs are too bad, you must see a vet, who
will put the cat on antibiotics to keep out secondary infections. They
might also try depo shots, as that helps allergies, but I would not
want to try that unless I knew I coudln't control it through
environment or food.

A week or so ago I posted that Shamrock was starting to get lesions again
after 2 months on antihistamines, EFA vitamin pills, and a depo shot. I
don't like to bring him in for another shot unless it gets really bad
because he just gets so many of them. I almost discontinued the
antihistamines thinking they weren't doing any good, but one thing that I
did a week or so before the lesions showed up was give him a food with
fish. I suspected fish in the past but he'd been doing so good, and he
loves fish cat food. Instead, I'm back to keeping fish out of his diet
and surprisingly the lesions are going away, with a little help from a
topical steroid spray. They never go away without a depo shot, ever in
his history. I now think the antihistamines are working, but not to the
point of making an allergen a non-allergen. No more fish for Shamrock,
ever. Poor boy.

--
Cheryl

"Karen" dumped this in
on 23 Mar 2004:

snip
If it improves then you add different
foods back in until the behaviour recurs, then you know which foods
are the culprits. If the scabs are too bad, you must see a vet, who
will put the cat on antibiotics to keep out secondary infections. They
might also try depo shots, as that helps allergies, but I would not
want to try that unless I knew I coudln't control it through
environment or food.

A week or so ago I posted that Shamrock was starting to get lesions again
after 2 months on antihistamines, EFA vitamin pills, and a depo shot. I
don't like to bring him in for another shot unless it gets really bad
because he just gets so many of them. I almost discontinued the
antihistamines thinking they weren't doing any good, but one thing that I
did a week or so before the lesions showed up was give him a food with
fish. I suspected fish in the past but he'd been doing so good, and he
loves fish cat food. Instead, I'm back to keeping fish out of his diet
and surprisingly the lesions are going away, with a little help from a
topical steroid spray. They never go away without a depo shot, ever in
his history. I now think the antihistamines are working, but not to the
point of making an allergen a non-allergen. No more fish for Shamrock,
ever. Poor boy.

--
Cheryl

From: "Corey"

The problem is that she continually has scabs around her neck and she has
gotten something with her eye causing it to redden slightly on the eyelids
and causing the area to swell. It doesn't cause her any pain, but it's hard
to tell since she starts purring if you get close to her.

Keep in mind cats are very stoic by their nature as predators, so will often
not exhibit pain.

We have insurance and any ideas at all will be appreciated.

Since you have insurance, I would most definitely get your kitties to the vet
for a thorough examination.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

From: "Corey"

The problem is that she continually has scabs around her neck and she has
gotten something with her eye causing it to redden slightly on the eyelids
and causing the area to swell. It doesn't cause her any pain, but it's hard
to tell since she starts purring if you get close to her.

Keep in mind cats are very stoic by their nature as predators, so will often
not exhibit pain.

We have insurance and any ideas at all will be appreciated.

Since you have insurance, I would most definitely get your kitties to the vet
for a thorough examination.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

From: Cheryl

No more fish for Shamrock,
ever. Poor boy.

Give Shamrock a big hug from me. I can relate, I also have a fish allergy and
can never have fish.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm