At my wits end what’s wrong with my cat

[B3ck89]

Not an AIBU, but what can I do?

My cat has always been a bit of an over groomer but only ever to the point of being a bit bald by his tail ( no broken skin)
But for the last month or so my cat has been licking and biting himself to the point his skin is broken and very sore. So after vet trips, Steroids and anti biotics it’s no better and I have no idea what to do
Previous diagnosis have been stress and a flea allergy but nothing is clearing him up.
He’s waiting to get a biopsy done, but in the mean time I have got a litter tray and put the cone of shame on him.
He’s extremely annoyed to say the least, he will hardly move all day and is refusing to use the litter tray.
He let out some loud noises earlier and I assume he’s desperate for the toilet.
I don’t know what else to do with him, the second the collar comes off he is nibbling and making himself red raw.
Anyone have any experience with an outdoor loving cat that has to stay in? I’m literally tearing my hair out on how to keep him happy but stopping him from licking himself to the bone

Where is he balding and biting? Is it in a specific place?
Have they given him a version of cat antihistamines for the allergy?

As for the crying, this is a more immediate issue. You should ring the vets for some advice.
Has he been eating and drinking as usual?
When did he last toilet?

Has he been given happy pills? My cat got put on those he had flea dermatitis one bite and he would strip himself of fur injections to stop the itch only went so far so he got a short dose of happy pills he was better in no time

Poor cat. I would get this moved to The Litter Tray board. I was going to say flea allergy and/or stress, but I see that's been covered. If your vet doesn't know the answer I can't see that anyone on the internet will have it either.

I presume you've tried Feliway for stress? The spray is supposed to work better than the plug in. And no, it's very difficult to make an outdoor cat happy with confinement. You have my sympathy.

Do the steroids not stop the itching at all? My overgroomer normally gets at least some relief for a short period. Fleas and food are the usual suspects for allergies, try treating your house for fleas if you haven't already (it only takes one bite to trigger a reaction) and a dry 'hydrolised protein' food should prove or rule out a food allergy.

Is there anything that could be stressing him out, change at home, strange cats hanging around etc? If there's no let up whatsoever with the steroids I'd be leaning towards a stress/habit issue rather than an actual itch - have you tried Feliway plugins? Zylkene tablets on their food can help with anxiety too.

You could try a babygro rather than a collar, he might find that less stressful?

Have you changed your household products or are you using anything perfumed?

He loves being outside and normally seems happy and content coming and going, don’t seem to be stressed.
Vet been combing him every time he comes in and no sign of fleas, but he said all it takes is 1 flea so I have no idea.

It’s on his back and on his belly/hind legs, did look at the cat vests but it would still leave his legs exposed.
He’s always an over groomer, and I do wonder if it’s more habit but it’s never been this bad.

Steroids and anti biotics haven’t done anything and I made sure he didn’t miss any doses, he’s also up to date on flea treatment.
He looks so depressed at points I feel like whipping the collar off, but I know the second I do he starts at his skin again.

Spongecat is a rescue and is like this. She has over-groomed herself a brazilian, but this is normal for her, but when we were away, although she had live-in carers she over groomed into sores I put the cone of shame on her for a week, plugged in a Feliway, and it got better. Cone inteferes with cat flap etc, and stresses her more. Have bought the smallest baby-gro I can find, and if it happens again I will put it on her, cutting off the bottom bit to accomodate toilet arrangements.

Has he had his anal glands checked? (Though if they're bad enough to upset him like this, you'd probably be all too aware of them 😅) - can sometimes be a cause of biting round their tail though

Mine was a rescue too, had taken off all the fur she could reach when I got her

She's never been that bad again, though always sports a Brazilian too. But then goes through stages of gnawing her back too, and that's when she causes sores. It's so frustrating when you just want to make them better

Aww lellochip poor kitty

I haven’t tried the plug ins etc, I thought they would be w waste of money but you all seem to recommend them so maybe worth a try.
I’m trying to hard to persist with the cone, without it he will just get worse and worse

Can I ask how I do a baby gro for him so he can still use the toilet?

She's much better now, though currently a bit scabby 🙄

The babygro, use one without legs, cut a hole in the crotch for the head, poppers fasten behind the neck, front legs through leg holes, back legs through sleeves, which leaves the neck of the gro for tail and toileting 😆 It's very much pot luck if they fit right though, I couldn't get it to work, and cat was distinctly unimpressed...

Oh I love her facial expression 😂

We’re going through the exact same problem with mine at the moment. Steroids completely fix it, but they aren’t safe in the long term. It’s heartbreaking, isn’t it. Wish I could advise.
Antihistamines are apparently not an option because allergies don’t produce a histamine reaction in cats and dogs, it’s different.
It seems to me that any of the potential fixes- cones, suits, keeping them in- would be more stressful and unpleasant for them than the itching and overgrooming.

Have you checked it's not food. One of my cats cant eat fish as every time he does he starts to bald, get itchy and over groom. We now just make sure to get the meat cat food and it's fine. Apparently it is not that unusual. With baby grow they actually do something similar for cats that has a space so they cat go toilet without making it mucky. We had one from vet when cat had operation. It was basically the same as baby grow but with cut out for tail and bum and fitted to leg

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07JH7T5W4/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?psc=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&ie=UTF8 these are the outfit you can get for cats which perfectly fited

Have you tried a plug in feliway diffuser ? There about £16 from pets at home I bought one when my little boy was stressed and started pulling his fur

Doobigetta My vet told me that long term steroids, while not ideal, aren't necessarily a big problem for cats. They apparently tolerate it better than dogs? I still try to only resort to a jab if she's making herself sore, but if it's the only thing that works for your cat then it might be worth it.

I read that antihistamines can occasionally work, but I can't face a daily fight getting a tablet down to try it 😅 That would cause her and me stress

I had a similar problem with my cat when I first got him, also linked to stress and flea allergy.
As well as giving him steroids and recommending Feliway (which is excellent) she gave him a hormone injection. Apparently it can help neutered male cats with their self-confidence.
I thought I'd mention this as it hasn't come up on any of the other responses.
Best of luck!

We had a cat years ago who had some sort of skin irritation too, it was the fishy cat food, too much fish isn’t good for them apparently - I didn’t know that! It got better when we cut them out and gave just the meaty varieties.

Lellochip that’s interesting, thanks- I’ll do some more research.
In return, mine has Smilla multivitamin paste (you can get it from amazon and zooplus) and she loves it so much she doesn’t even notice if there’s crushed up tablet in it. Maybe worth a go?

Is he stressed? My parents cat went through similar. All the tests were negative and he had steroids. He was put on Zyklene and he calmed down and it stopped. He's a very highly strung, nervy boy though.

I've not found anything yet that she'll eat without suspicion lol, but not tried crushing tablets. I've been trying to wean her onto hypoallergenic food for about 4 months now, and she can even pick out her preferred Purina biscuits whilst leaving the allergy stuff in the bowl. Have to admire her pickiness! 🙄

DTwatcat2 did that. Cost me a fortune.

Until I coincidentally moved the SKY box to a place where she couldn't lay down on it when I was at work and not there to tell her to get off. Healed almost immediately, but it about a week for me to realise it was related.

Does your DCat have any particular sleeping spots that might be warmer than usual? Like behind the TV or the top of the fridge?

The plug in has worked for my DCat.