The very itchy cat... I need ideas, thoughts?

[Obsidian_Fire]

Charlotte has allergies. To what, we have no idea. Vet has given steroid shots, I used to get good mileage out of them but now, they last ~3 weeks or so and she’s back to scratching and sores all over.
This has been going on for several years, so far I have not found any obvious suspect. It’s not fleas.

Our vet visit in January he gave her Bravecto. He said there is a skin mite that can burrow really deep and Bravecto has been found to kill it. If the issue was this mite, that should work. Along with a steroid shot. She was itch free, doing better, improved everything, and then back to scratching and sores. I took her back yesterday. Another steroid shot, going to give another in 2 weeks, and see if that does the trick.
Aside from that we discussed every possible option he/I could come up with. Using dandruff shampoo, oatmeal shampoo, psoriasis treatments, anything to break the cycle. Food allergies - I did try several years back a simple, single protein diet but no change.
With 4 cats it’s difficult to have one that is ‘special’. He also told me chicken was the most common protein allergy, I thought it was fish. ???

Any thoughts what we might try for her?

[Simkie]

Have you tried a hydrolyzed protein diet?

[sascha]

I had an itchy one with a side of eosiniphilic granuloma. He did great on daily Medrol. He proudly wore a sweater for months while we sorted treatment out, long before dressing cats was a thing, Anyway, he wore the sweater until everything was healed and the Medrol was doing its thing.

IIRC, the vet had me start the steroids at a fairly high dose and then gradually taper down. I can’t remember for sure the final dose, but I think it was 1/4 pill every other day.

[Obsidian_Fire]

Yes. Nobody will eat it.

[DiamondJubilee]

You could always try bovine colostrum for allergies. I have heard of people using it for allergies in dogs and it works very well. I give my dog 1tsp/day (115lb) though she doesn’t have any allergies per say. I give it more to boost her immune system.

You don’t have to purchase from this site, as I’m sure its expensive. I have gone to my local horse feed store and purchase a large bag for $20ish and it lasts me about 6 months. You can also purchase it on Amazon!

5 Proven Benefits of Colostrum for Dogs and Cats - Veterinary Secrets with...

Top 12 Benefits Of Colostrum For Dogs - Dogs Naturally

[Simkie]

Ugh, that’s a bummer. I don’t think I’ve ever had one refuse z/d

Skin allergy testing might be worth discussing, just so you can figure out her triggers.

[Live_Wire]

Have you discussed hormone imbalance with your vet? Sounds left field, but it’s a thing.

[4horses]

Pemphigus? Autoimmune disease?

I had a cat with severe allergies. He would get hound and gatos pork cat food. Beef, chicken, lamb, turkey all made him itch. I swear he was allergic to life. Hydrolyzed foods didn’t work. Probably because of the corn.

Anyhow you need a strict limited ingredient diet. Probably for all cats in the house.

[hoopoe]

skin biopsy time

[TWH_Girl]

My vet had recommended this as our next option, but thankfully we didn’t end up needing it.

[Obsidian_Fire]

I am thinking to ask my vet about abx or something along those lines at next appointment. In the meantime I was going down the rabbit hole of shampoos and got to thinking about a chlorhexadine wash. I was perusing options on Chewy when their site just went poof! on me.

As for biopsy… he said it would come back as one of 2 things: Allergies or Autoimmune disorder.

I dunno…

[sascha]

@Obsidian_Fire

I am thinking to ask my vet about abx

…

As for biopsy… he said it would come back as one of 2 things: Allergies or Autoimmune disorder.

Neither of those issues are going to be aided by abx. OTOH, cats tolerate steroids really well.

[MsB]

I have an itchy kitty - currently she is on Atopica and limited ingredient food (rabbit ) and seems to be doing better. She is definitely allergic to any chicken/poultry products and didn’t do much better on lamb/rice foods.

[sascha]

My “secret*” weapon for weird cats (guts, but I’d try it for skin if I ever end up with another skin weirdness cat!) is venison cooked with brown rice in a slow cooker and chucked into individual servings in the freezer. Helps to know a prolific hunter who needs to get ride of some freezer-burnt roasts because otherwise it’s $$$

If you are able/wanting to try this do discuss with your vet though - you’ll need to supplement for taurine at the very least and it’s been so long I cant remember the ratio of rice to venison. The rice is merely for filler and fibre. You will NOT keep a hungry cat sated with just the venison apparently - something about the protein level and the lack of fat.

*recommended by my vet

[Peggy]

I had a super itchy cat that responded well to a limited ingredient diet. I think I stuck to rabbit and duck. He would still get a bit itchy if you let him go too long between flea treatments. He never had fleas but the vet did have an explanation fir it that I no longer remember.

[Catherine616]

What about daily prednisone since the steroid shots worked?

[sascha]

That’s what worked for my guy. I will say it was no picnic (pun intended) since he was a street cat before he knocked on my door. All food had to be locked up and it took a while for him to become ok with his twice daily portions and no snack between meals. Bag of bread? Fair game. Vegetables left out for meal prep? Fair game. Once the period of adjustment was over for both of us, it was fine, and pilling was no issue because “OMG! PRE-MEAL SNACK! GIMME!”