Vet or not? Skin issues.

[ADarkandStormyKnight]

Normally I would whisk elderly cat to the vet but he finds vet visits highly distressing - pees and defecates everywhere.

He's about 17, semi-long haired. His skin is a bit sore and every now and again he goes crazy biting at the bits that irritate him.

I have been over him with a flea comb and can't see any evidence of fleas. No black specks or actual fleas.

Any suggestions that I can try before wrestling him into the cat basket?

Half a tablet of Piriton in case it's an allergic reaction to something.

Where is he itchy? If it’s his paws, ears and/or tummy and he goes outside it could be harvest mites. Look for orange “dust” between his toes and in the folds of his ears. My last cat used to gnaw his paws raw with them you need frontline spray ( not spot on) to kill them. They are evil, I get eaten alive by them and they itch like nothing else. We used to get an antihistamine injection as well because he was an impossible cat to pill.

Will he drink weak cool camomile tea. Really helped our cat s itchy skin

Chemenger good suggestion, but no, nothing like that.

It's patches on his body, but it looks like he's aggravated it by scratching.

He does go out but doesn't explore much.

Might try the tea and piriton if he'll take them.

If it might be dry skin a spoon of olive oil in his food might help, most cats love anything with olives.

Ringworm? I’ve never had a cat with it but I think it causes patches of itchy skin.

My cat does the same OP unfortunately she is now on steroid tablets for the rest of her life.

But if you would like to try something, try CBD oil, I get mine for my epileptic cat from a company here in the UK called Simply CBD, it is the Simply light I use on her. They have a support group on facebook called Simply CBD Users support, they might also advice you but try the piriton first never thought about that.

I think you should take the cat to the vet anyway.

The short-term distress of the journey will soon be over and is better than the long-term distress and discomfort of the skin condition.