Any vets around? Excessive scratching question

[Knackeredmum13]

I am completely at a loss about what to do with my four year old cat. She scratches herself excessively up to the point that she bleeds. She has done it since about six months old.

We have been to the vets countless times and tried everything to no avail. Steroids didn't stop her scratching. I've fed her a raw diet, Hills allergy food and I even fed her goat meat for 8 weeks but still she scratched.

She doesn't do it all the time. Sometimes she won't do it for a few weeks then randomly she will start again. At first it was just under one ear, then she switched to the other ear. Then she started around her mouth and on her neck. When it got bad I would put a cone on her to let her heal.

We had some success with Piriton but again only for a few weeks then she was scratching again. We have just tried Atopica at a cost of £90. The vet said it would start to work after about 8 weeks. I think we just about managed it with a few missed days. I've no idea how much she actually got though as it was such a struggle to administer it. However, she is still scratching and I think it's getting worse. She is currently in her cone and has scratched herself on her neck just underneath it. The first time she hasn't just sat scratching at the cone.

I really don't know where to go from here. I'm fed up of having to vacuum daily because of the clumps of fur everywhere. She also leaves scabs which is just disgusting. She has ruined the paint on the walls in our living room because it now has blood splatters where she has scratched and it's not washable paint. I have a crawling baby and I don't want him putting cat fur and scabs in his mouth. Once I finish maternity leave I won't be able to vacuum constantly and I dread to think what state the place will be in.

Our vet has made noises about potentially putting her down if the Atopica didn't work. We could have expensive blood tests done but they would run into hundreds of pounds and our insurance won't cover it. The vet wasn't that convincing that they would provide answers either.

I'm really unsure where to go from here. I do love the cat and would hate to put her down. But what life is it constantly either covered in bleeding wounds or in a cone??

Does anybody have any experience of this sort of thing?

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I would suggest allergy blood tests I find them very helpful in 99% of cases. In the mean time look at control measures for house dust mites and storage mites they are a common cause of allergies in cats.

[curlyclaz13]

Have you tried feliway? Possibly a stress related issue?

[Knackeredmum13]

Thanks for the reply!
I don't think we can run to blood tests as our insurance won't cover them and I've been told they will be hundreds of pounds. Our vet also said that it's probably not an allergy if the Atopica didn't work?

[curlyclaz13]

I'm not a vet btw. Just a cat owner!

[Knackeredmum13]

We did try feliway a couple of years ago but no change.

She is a nervy cat, always hides when we have visitors etc.
It was only a year or so ago that she started approaching us to be stroked. She would always run away before but now can be quite demanding but only to me and DH .

She has a sister that she used to be inseparable with but since they started going outside they don't like each other. They sleep apart now and often hiss at each other so it could be stress.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Atopica does work in most allergic cases, but not all I have seen failures that have had allergy testing - so confirmed allergies. I have found some cases that need Atopica and Steroids.

[cozietoesie]

Maybe stress is a contributory factor - do you have cats (eg toms) outside that could be causing dissension in the ranks?

[Lovethesea]

Mine scratched herself to shreds last year. Tried steroids and loads of things, in the end we changed the flea medicine and the vet thinks she has an allergy to the bites which the old treatment wasn't killing the fleas fast enough to prevent. On advantage now and the scratching has reduced loads and skin healed up. She gets itchy again just before it is time to add more flea drops.

[BadRoly]

Interesting Lovethesea. Mine are on Stronghold and I'm not convinced at the moment. I might ask to switch to Advantage when I go in for the flea spray for the house

[Knackeredmum13]

There are other cats around here yes. I think that's what has caused my once inseparable cats to fall out.

Well I have just found 2 fleas so that's a bit grim. I've front lined my other cat as the fleas were where she was sleeping earlier. I need to buy more for scratchy cat. I flea combed them both and there aren't any other signs. Could they have just been picked up today or am I kidding myself?

So flea bite allergy may be why scratchy cat is getting worse but she scratched in our old place when she had never seen the outside so wasn't likely to have had fleas?