Cat's not doing so well....

[Seraph]

I have no idea what's wrong with the poor guy....getting him examined again tomorrow. I'm at my wit's end with him...I hate seeing him like this.

A couple months ago, Vincent started licking his fur. A lot. He ended up, within a couple of weeks, licking off all the fur on his stomach and inside his back legs, and under his front legs. Vet figured allergies again, so we got him a cortisone shot, and it helped for a month...then he reverted right back. Due to the side effects cortisone can have, they didn't want to do it again...so they put him on an expensive medicene called Atopica.

Its not been pretty. The medicene causes him to drool in obscene amounts. Like, I have to clean him up and put him by a bowl of water, amounts. It's also caused a pavlovian effect now as well. Just him seeing the syringe for the meds causes the drool, and even touching his mouth can cause him to start up as well.

It got really bad this week. I noticed him scratching like crazy at his neck...overnight, he tore up a big patch of skin on the underside of his neck. I've been putting neosporin on it to try and help.

This afternoon, when he went to do his standard "nap beside Seraph while she works", I noticed a crunching noise. Like he was chewing on dry food really loudly. I pried open his mouth, and nothing was in there. I set him back down, patted him, and turned back to work...there it was again. He was moving his mouth, but there was nothing in it.

So, I called the vet right off the bat, and he's going in as soon as they open tomorrow. I really, really hope they figure out what in the blazes is going on...I just want my kitty to get better.

[Aethian]

Mom's boy was doing that. We sprayed benedryll on his skins to stop the itch and after his fur finally grew back in he hasn't over groomed.

[MaggieTheCat]

Has the vet discussed food allergies with you? Those can sometimes cause skin irritations or just chewing out of frustration.

[Seraph]

Has the vet discussed food allergies with you? Those can sometimes cause skin irritations or just chewing out of frustration.

Not yet, but we haven't changed his food in over a year. =/

Mom's boy was doing that. We sprayed benedryll on his skins to stop the itch and after his fur finally grew back in he hasn't over groomed.

Hm, I'll have to give that a shot.

[MaggieTheCat]

Humans can develop food allergies practically overnight...I dunno if cats are the same, but it might be worth asking the vet about, anyway. Either way, I hope you're able to figure out what's going on and find a treatment for the little guy.

[CaptainJaneway]

If you want to change his food you can always try a raw diet. Sometimes cats can be allergic to the food dyes and preservatives that are found in their food.

[Mishi]

The fur problem might also be from other reasons - we adopted our cat from an animal shelter and found out much later that she had psychogenic alopecia, and needed a quiet home. She was fine at our place until Danny decided that she was the perfect alternative to his plushie, and began trying to carry her around so that he could cuddle and groom her. She began overgrooming, we took her to the vet, tried prednisone, and then she finally went to live with Nanna B because Nanna B wanted a companion. Within a week, she'd stopped overgrooming and the problem hasn't returned.

I hope the jaw problem is figured out quickly!

[retailworker7]

Cat's can develop food allergies suddenly. I have a friend who is going through this with one her cats. She worked with her vet while she was trying to find a food that did not cause problems. She is feeding her cat a grain free dry food. I do not remember the name of it but I can call her and find out if it would help you.

Is there any changes that may have been made to the food itself by the manufacturer? You may be feeding the same food but perhaps something has suddenly changed that is causing this reaction.

[MoonCat]

The things I know that can cause over-grooming and hair loss include stress, allergies and fleas (often with a related allergy to the fleabites). I assume your vet already checked into the flea thing (don't take this as a criticism of you--the buggers can be brought in on your shoes or clothes and you won't know they're there for a while).

If it's not stress, the vet can check allergies. Retailworker7 has a good point. I'm sure there are other things (thyroid problems? IIRC that can be a problem...dry skin, etc) but vets usually start with allergies.

Good luck, I hope he's better soon!

[Seraph]

Welp, we're finally back.

So, the Atopica is not helping. They're now cutting him off of it, and gave him a cortisone shot again to break the cycle. In about 3-4 weeks, we're going to start him on antihistamines, etc, to see what's going on.

I brought up his food...it's a possibility but not a likelyhood. We're going to switch slowly to a different kind anyways, to see what happens. It's also definitely *not* fleas, we keep them on Frontline like clockwork. As for stress...who knows. He usually is a pretty happy cat, and when the girls are running around, he simply goes to the master bedroom, where I have what we term "the dresser nest". Basically a soft towel that is surrounded by a few of my shirts, and has a little bit of catnip spray.

So, for now, it's cortisone to bring him back to not scratching anymore, and then we move from there.

[Pixilated]

Aw, poor kitty ... and poor you! It's tough when your furbaby is in trouble and you can't figure out what it is. Crossing my fingers that you hit on the right combination and he's back to his normal self soon ...

[HiddenMica]

Have you looked into neurological problems? With the crunching sound, he might be grinding his teeth.... That is usually a tell tale for a neurological problem. Coupled with the licking and itching it might be. No idea what but that's what it sounds like.

[Seraph]

Have you looked into neurological problems? With the crunching sound, he might be grinding his teeth.... That is usually a tell tale for a neurological problem. Coupled with the licking and itching it might be. No idea what but that's what it sounds like.

Aside from the joke about well of course he's brain damaged.... it's a possibility, but not a likely one. The teeth grinding stopped as soon as we dropped Atopica, so they think it was related to his anxiety/nausea from that.

[BlaqueKatt]

I brought up his food...it's a possibility but not a likelyhood. We're going to switch slowly to a different kind anyways, to see what happens.

most common food allergens for cats:
Rice
Corn
Wheat
Beef
Lamb
soy

Some info on food allergies in cats

My cats developed allergies to all grains after being on the same diet since birth(previous owner fed very poor quality food-oldest was 4 when I got her), they now get EVO dry food(1/4 cup a day) and Before grain canned food.