My cat is licking & scratching - A LOT

applecruncher

applecruncher

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Ohio USA
Bella is an indoor cat, 8 yrs old. She had her shots and annual check-up in October, also nail trim. Everything was fine.

A few weeks ago I noticed she was scratching and licking quite a bit. I looked her over, didn't see anything unusual. No change in her eating or litter habits. I occasionally put a bit of Vaseline on her front paw....that's supposed to be good for hairballs. I brush her regularly; no matted fur.

Recently the licking has intensified - almost to an obsessive level. Today I looked her over and saw 2 patches of fur missing - about the size of a quarter.

I'm going to call the vet tomorrow morning; they'll probably want to see her.

Anyone ever had this issue with cats?
 

Is she on a new or different diet? Maybe a food allergy. Or allergy to something in the food. New litter? Anything in the environment to cause her anxiety? Hope the vet can give you answers.
 
Marie5656 said:
Is she on a new or different diet? Maybe a food allergy. Or allergy to something in the food. New litter? Anything in the environment to cause her anxiety? Hope the vet can give you answers.
Click to expand...

No changes on her diet/food or litter.
 

OK, just asking because my brother's dog had the same thing happen and it turned she had a allergy to chicken. Hope you find out something to help your little one.
 
My cat has really thick fur and has has some hairball problems in the past, he will lick and pull out small clumps of fur, but never to the point of leaving a bald spot. Along with canned food, I free-feed him dry Blue Weight Control and Hairball formula. I also put a drop of light olive oil in with his canned food every day. When I think he's starting to have a hairball issue, I rub some Sentry Petroleum-Free Hairball Relief on his leg for him to lick off. So far doing these things has helped him not have any hairball coughing problems like he had several years ago.

I hope Bella is okay, I think they also scratch to free up the fur, mine does that too, but not obsessively. Hope the vet can help her.
 
I called vet and we have an apt tomorrow (Friday) morning.

Meanwhile someone told me they had similar problem with a cat and the vet did a skin scraping to check for parasites......not sure what treatment was but their cat is fine now.

So, we'll wait and see.
 
FLEAS! :mad:

Yep.

Took Bella to vet this morning. After listening to what I said and giving her an exam, vet said it was definitely fleas - and even showed me. eewww.

Gave her a shot (steroids)
Gave me a medication to put on her once a month for 3 months
Also a spray to use called Knockout (especially after I get carpet cleaned) $30 for a 16oz can
Advised me about laundering sheets, etc.
She also got nails trimmed

Since Bella never goes outside, I was puzzled how fleas got in. Vet said I (or even a visitor) probably brought them in on pantleg, etc. Said they have had a lot of flea cases this year.

This is interesting----> couple weeks ago when Bella started itching I was having an itching problem on my ankles when I was in bed. I thought maybe it was detergent used or lotion. I showed vet the area and was told it was flea bites! I remember using a medicated cream, and next day I did laundry and the itching (on me) stopped.

Anyway, vet said the excessive licking/scratching should decrease and stop in a few days.
 
WOW. Bella is so much better. Friday evening she was vomiting and just laid on the kitchen floor for a long time. I was worried and sat with/petted her. Could have been reaction to shot/meds or eating a bit too much. After about an hour she went to her little bed.

Licking & scratching has stopped. She is eating normal and drinking water (usual amount). Sleeping quite a bit but that's ok. I'm so glad I took her to the vet. :)
 
Thanks for the update AC, so happy to know she's better now. I know she's an indoor cat, so I didn't think of fleas.
 
Yeah SB, it's surprising to know that me and/or someone else may have brought them in. Even something as simple as taking trash out or being in someone's vehicle (that might have fleas from a pet) can cause the problem. Few weeks ago when it was much warmer I recall walking outside with just thin slip-on shoes and no socks - walking thru grass/leaves to the recycling bin or someone's car. Also a few friends and a repairman have been here in recent past. Never know. :shrug:
 
I've been lucky not to have flea problems in my area over the years, my cat goes out for short periods of time and usually stays right in our yard, and the dog goes in and out all day. We get voles digging holes in our lawn and I was always concerned that they're carrying fleas. The cat and dog are always stalking them, the dog killed on when he was a pup. They both sleep in bed with us, so if there was a flea problem we'd all know about it.

My dog was starting to itch too much last August, but he has thick wavy hair that mats and knots easily. So after we checked him thoroughly for fleas, and there were none, we just gave him a couple of baths in a natural anti-itch shampoo and conditioner, and clippered his hair down to a shorter length. Also bought some Dinovite to give him in case that would help.

He soon started to itch less, we brush him religiously every day now so he doesn't mat at all, etc. I was thinking in his case it might have been some seasonal weeds in the area that were affecting him in an allergenic way. He runs loose through the weeds in the park every day, and behind our back fence is an open space with a lot of different weeds. He always picks up tiny pieces of weeds, foliage, briars, etc. in his coat.
 
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