any vets here?

[BeautifulBatman]

My poor cat has been scratching herself raw behind her ears. I've been to the vets with her - earmites/fleas/ringworm all.been eliminated as possible causes. Her ears are clean. Nothing has changed such as food/household products/laundry detergent etc. I'm at a loss now and whilst she's still chatty, playful, eating and toileting as normal, she looks so sad sometimes if she doesn't hold her ears up properly . All I can think of is an allergy but to what, I don't know. She's an indoor cat so not much from outside affects her.

How old is she, Batman ? And how is her health otherwise eg is she suffering from any conditions, on any meds etc?

She's just 2. Rude health otherwise. Never been sick. No meds. Vaccinated, neutered etc. The vet prescribed fucicort which I'm applying twice a day but it doesn't seem to be doing much... a friend visited about 3 weeks ago and left some stick treats. One of the other cats managed to get the cupboard open and they raided the treats overnight. Al were shitting foil for a week.... thought it might be that but I think it's been too long ago for that now.

I'm not so sure that it's too long ago if there is a coincidence of dates of occurrence. (Is there?) I'm wondering whether something in the treats could have triggered something in her - or even caused a reaction which she is now exacerbating.

Yes, you do need an experienced vet I think. We have some vets who post here although you never know when they might turn up. Keep an eye on the thread.

Maybe have a read of this as well?

Poor lass. Is she insured by the way?

No. I live in Saudi, no such thing as pet insurance.... I'm pretty sceptical of the vet care here too. Thanks for the link, will read it

Ok, maybe if she is allergic to one of the treat ingredients it's not long enough gone to rule it out. That's good to know. Will persevere with the cream.

Whoah, Batman - I was just musing aloud. As I said, I think you need a vet's view so keep an eye on the thread in case one comes on to the board and answers your post.

If you have ruled out parasites (ideally by vet examination, skin scrapes (to look for demodex) and monthly flea control with imidacloprid or fipronil) then the other options are reaction to diet or environmental allergens. I would recommend hills d/d food as it contains high levels of essential fatty acids which can reduce itching. Diet can take up to 12 weeks to work. I would be cautious about using topical steroid cream for longer than a few days. You should ask your vet for some steroids to take orally to reduce the itching. Alternatively as she is indoor ciclosporin could be used. See if you can find vet with dermatology qualification.
Disclaimer- I am a vet but in miserable cold Blighty so may be stuff not aware of in Saudi. Very difficult to advise without examining patient!

Just checked out the link- nearly recommended icc myself! They publish a list of cat friendly vets so look on that too.

Out of interest, might you be recommending a temporary collar in case she's got into a scratching habit, kitty? None of mine would have tolerated one but I know that they do some cats the world of good.

It's ok cozie, my second reply was after reading the link you supplied. I guess I was musing out loud too.

kitty the vet examined her, checked under uv light etc. No fleas. No mites. The best food available here is Royal Canin. Which is what I feed her and have done since I found her at 4 weeks old... animal medicine availability is very hit and miss here which is why most vets tend to prescribe human medicines..

I would try Royal
Canin hypoallergenic then. And steroids to reduce the itching until diet has chance to work. Human prednisolone will be fine. Don't recommend collars- if itchy not fair to stop he scratching IMO.

I know there is a practice in Dubai ( I know a long way away) which imports a lot of European animal meds, so your vet may be able to get hold of cyclosporine through them.
It might be worth trying environmental controls. Firstly storage mites never buy more than 30 days food at a time and keep it in air tight containers. House dust mites hover regularly, use a spray such as acclaim or indorexx that kills them. Wash cats bedding every 72 hours on hot wash, if cat has soft toys once a week freeze them for 24 hours.
Your vet may be able to send a blood sample to one of the labs in the UK that do allergy testing that will give you better ideas.
Most cats I have tested are allergic to house dust mites so if you can work really hard on that ( I guess you may have staff which could make the cleaning stuff easier) you may get an improvement.

This page may also be of interest if you haven't already seen it, Batman.