my cat continuously scratching her face and neck.. help!?
hi, i have a year old female cat and she's been scratching under her chin so much that it starts bleeding. so i took her to vet, and the vet said that its just an allergy. he didn't tell me what exactly shes allergic to, but he said it's not a food allergy.
So he gave me some pills that i can feed her so i've been feeding her a pill but it's getting more worse and worse. seems like she's scratching around her neck this time and she scratches until she bleeds.
I do clip her nail every weekend but that doesn't seem to help at all, and she's basically scratching around her face every minute.
What i really want to know is what she's exactly allergic to, and how i can treat this allergy? i believe that the allergy she have is seasonal, so should i not let her go outside this time of the year? please help!
?2010-05-15T09:25:34Z
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While I have the utmost respect for veterinarians as a rule, I have to say that your current vet is not helping. You need to find another vet who will find out exactly what is wrong with your cat, and treat it accordingly. Sounds like your vet gave a very general answer saying it was an allergy because he or she had no other name to give the condition. And the pills are likely some form of Prednisone, which is used in many cases of allergy and skin conditions. SO the vet had about a 50% chance of the pills helping.
Enough with suppositions and generalized pseudo-diagnosis from your current vet. Find a new one and make it clear that you expect results.
In the meantime, Please consider keeping your cat indoors all the time. There are so many risks to outdoor cats, that indoor only cats live over twice as long as cats allowed to roam outside. Cats can be very happy indoors and I've provided a link to a page about it. Also when your cat is indoors only you can finally know for certain where she's been, what chemicals she may have been exposed to and what food and water she's been taking in.
For some good information regarding your cats health, try the link below for WebMD Pets. It's an awesome resource!
My second cat, the newest of two, is now at home alone, without her "sister." They are complete opposites. My first cat, Bella, is extremely affectionate; she will sleep on or near you, and when you pick her up and place her on your shoulder, she will rub her face on your head and ears. The other one, Pinky, I purchased eight months ago at a rescue because she looked so forlorn. Still not able to be as affectionate as Bella, Pinky still demands her face, head and neck be scratched any time she is near me, but she does not like being held. She will sleep near me at night, but only when Bella is visiting my best friend, which she is at this time. So, a cat will want scratched on the head, face and neck whether it is normally very close and affectionate, and when its personality is a bit distant.
I'm not positive your cat has the same problem, but it sounds very similar to my grandma's cat. He constantly scratches around his chin and face and rubs it against everything. The vet was unable to really tell us much either. After doing some research we believe he has "feline acne" yea I thought it was crazy too, I had no idea cats could get acne. here's a link that will tell you a little more, and maybe help you determine if your cat has this. http://cats.about.com/cs/healthissues/a/acne.htm
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Petting and scratching a cat on it's head or where ever simulates the mother grooming the cat. When you pet the cat or scratch it, the cat remembers the mother doing that to them when they were babies. They adopt their human as their mom's. And, it feels good to them too.