cat scratching itself

[CanadianJohn]

Our indoor cat is scratching a lot... no sign of fleas or mites. In particular, her forehead (just above the eyes) is scratched to the point of bleeding.

Any thoughts as to what is causing the itching, and what we can do about it. Unfortunately, the local vet is very expensive, so we would like to avoid taking her to the vet if there is something we can do ourselves.

Please note, she is an indoor cat, we've had her about 7 years, and we have no other pets.

You need the vet, it's not normal to scratch an area until it bleeds.

Yes you need a vet. She will almost certainly need a steroid injection to make her more comfortable straight away and then hopefully the vet can find the root of the problem. And if you generally try to avoid vets I would also get the vet to check her teeth. Seven is around the age that dental problems tend to start - so two birds with one stone as it were.

Out of interest, when did she last have flea treatment?