Any vets online?

[ebbie22]

My cat has been ill since about may time,has scatched herself til red raw,and dripping with blood round her neck and ears....
...Have taken her to two vets,and after nearly 200 pounds,still dont know what is wrong with her....It could be a dairy allegy but that will cost loads of money,which we would[if we had too]be prepared to pay if it gave us a solution to what could be wrong but even the vets have said this would still be unconclusive....
Does anyone know where i can turn too?

[OhTickletownofbethlehem]

Just a humble vet's wife I'm afraid, but can you give a quick rundown of the tests they have run & results? Might corner dh later if I can

[ebbie22]

Oh yes that would be great...im at my wits end,she did have a collar round her neck but got another sore patch,so we took it off,cant find it anywhere,so has a sock round itto stop the scatching.......
She has been checked for mites,fleas etc....

[ebbie22]

anyone else..

[WigWamBam]

Would you be able to try a different vet for a second opinion? Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can spot a problem that someone else has missed.

My cat over-grooms herself, which basically means that she scratches great lumps of fur out and ends up with bald patches, which sometimes she scratches and makes sore. She's prone to stress, and this is one of the ways it manifests itself. I wonder if it could be something like that?

[nickiey]

When we first got my dig we had problems like this, he was a rescue but for the first year he had big sores all over him, tried loads of stuff steroids, allergy testing, hoemeopathy etc all the vet could say is it could be one of a million things, they suggested I bathe him once a week in this really expensive shampoo (bigg dog one bottle did one wash) anyway one day i ran out of this stuff so used my herbal essences on him and it worked i now bathe him once a month and the sore have gone, we get one everynow and then but a bit of savlon spray heals it up, plus he is never too smelly!

[ebbie22]

Thanks for ur replys,we have been to two different vets,and too be honest i just feel like im wasting my money....She doesnt seem poorly in herself as still eats etc...she is a bugger for nicking our food,and loves chocolate,though we stopped her having any food of ours or dds...it hasnt really made much of a difference....

[ebbie22]

gotta go out for now,but am awaiting ur replys xx

[OhTickletownofbethlehem]

But did the 2 diff vets do any tests for the £200? Any results?

[fishie]

my dog was really itchy for ages, it was awful he scratched and scratched. vet said it must be flea allergy or oversensitive skin, but in the end it was MANGE took weeks before it was bad enough to diagnose. are you sure all mites etc are really ruled out?

[fishie]

my dog was really itchy for ages, it was awful he scratched and scratched. vet said it must be flea allergy or oversensitive skin, but in the end it was MANGE took weeks before it was bad enough to diagnose. are you sure all mites etc are really ruled out?

[ebbie22]

Thanks again for all the replys....It was two different vets,first one was pets at home,crap
paid 40 odd pounds for anti botics and consultation.....They checked for fleas and mits,through the skin comb then went out of room and said nope to both.....
4 wks later went to another pets that was recommended to us,and give them there due,they did try to get to the bottom of it,had an injection and tablets,to stop the scatching,it didnt stop altogether but slowed it down,then went bk a wk later,had another injection...and now months bk down the line it is worse than ever......
What is mange?and how do i go about getting her tested for it?I cant afford to spend anmore money and am about to pop second baby so really could do without the stress....though its killing me seeing her as poorly as she looks...

[ebbie22]

am going to have to call it a night but if you can pls can anyone find out.....
What tests could be done?
How much am i looking at for a blood test?would this help at all|
How much for an allegy test?

If you go to www.only1smiler.co.uk under pics there is a pic of my dds cat,if you look closely u willl see under her neck is the sore patch...i dont know if that will be any help for you helping me.....It is so much worse than that now though....
Thanks again xxx

[ebbie22]

sorry scoll right to the bottom of the page,pic where she is eating choc cake...thanks xx

[fishie]

mange is a sort of mites infestation - have a look on google, cat/dog versoins are different i think. poor cat, do hope you get her better soon.

[ebbie22]

Have had a look but do think hers looks alot worse....unless they send it off though it could be a possibilitiy....do u think its worth taken her to another vets?

[ebbie22]

...

[ebbie22]

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[Tan1959]

Did you ask your vet what tests they carried out and what condition they were treating your cat for with the antibiotics? You should seek advice from a vet as if it is mange, I believe it is highly contagious (correct me if I am wrong 'OhTickletownofbethlehem') but can be treated easily - Any sort of skin condition that is weeping is prone to infection and infection needs treating! how is the cat now?

[incognitovet]

It is really hard to diagnose anything over the internet, but your cat sounds like she has either a parasitic infection or an allergy (could be allergic to a parasite too)
You need to find out if she has had a skin scrpae to try to rule out mitess, the comb test can often rule out fleas and lice.

However, any itchy animal MUST be treated for fleas effectively and regularly as this is the most common reason for itching in cats (around 70% of itchy cats are flea realted problems IIRC)
And the household must be treated too as much of the flea lifecycle is off the cat, in the household , carpets, cushoins, beds etc.

The cat may well have another parasite, but in all honesty mites are rare in cats,(except ear mites) and more common in dogs. Many of the products vets supply are againts mites too. Don't rely on pet shop stuff, it is often not very effective.
I would definitely NOT recommend you to use randmoly chosen herbal/iol based products on the cat, if the skin is broken this can cause further problems.

She may well be allergic to anything at all, fleas, mites, pollen, house dust mites, some thing in her food...
very difficult to prove and blood tests are often not conclusive.

It really is hard to decide what she has, she probably had some steroids at some point which will control the ithcing but not actually cure the problem I am afraid.

It is very difficult to know what is wrong with the cat even with "tests" as there are no conclusive tests for allergy I am afraid.
it is important to treat the cat vs fleas with stronghold or frontline or advantage, and to treat the environment. A vet may be able to help by presscribing more steroids and helping you to decide if you want to try an "avoidance diet" to see if is a food allergy.
I am sorry not ot be able to say "it is obviously xxxxxx" and there are no simple answers, but until you have a 100% tight flea treatment going on, there isn't much point in considering anything else TBH.

[ebbie22]

hi thanks for all the replys,have had my baby now,so am planning to take the cat bk to the vet but only really for more advice as to wear to go from here....
She has had skin scrapped,all clean...Also have done 2nd lot of front line on both cats and carpets etc....
The sterids didnt cure the scatching altogether but did limite it.....The blood test are not really something we can afford just now because as u say they are still not 100 percent true results.....
oh what do i do,keeping her in for 6 wks is not an opion with a wk old baby and a toddler,plus if i put her on a specail diet that means both of them to have it..and my cat is a bugger for nicking food and crumbs...

[ebbie22]

Thanks,its not the fleas,even if she did have any now[she def didnt when this all started..]But unfortantly i am not on any benifits....I did state this in post last night but messages that were here yesterday have disappeared[how did that happen,she wonders...lol]
I really dont know what to do,and it makes me so sad that i cant afford to do anything more unless i can be entilily sure that what i pay for will work......

[ebbie22]

wow,my spelling is really bad...

[ebbie22]

my cats just had 4 beautiful kittens xxxx