Sore cat

[Kiraude]

I've got a male neutered cat who has for the second summer running come up with the same symptons, which makes me think it's the heat.

He is incredibly itchy ... I've 'frontlined' him, put an anti flea collar on and tried all sorts ... he's getting small scabs and around his ears he's losing some fur ... he's also licking his 'derriere' a lot a that's getting red now!!!!

What can I do? I know you'll tell me to take him to the vets but I went there last year and he was put on a course of pills and a second course of 'anti-stress' pills to stop him scratching(Pussy Prozac I think!!!)

This is not a wind-up .. but an unhappy owner with an unhappy cat (who spends a lot of time outside in the sun!).

Any ideas?

Thanks

Kira

[Penny29]

Hi,

Not trying to set myself up as some kind of "instant expert" here, just that I have had many, many cats over the years and have experienced a whole myriad of health problems with them!

One of our (male) cats had a similar problem - (I am assuming here that yours has been wormed as well as Frontlined, so worms can be ruled out???? ), anyway, my cat had itchy scabby skin and after much to and fro-ing to the vets and much experimentation with various medicines the vet suggested that his diet was to blame - too high in protein. We switched him to a low-protein diet and within weeks all the scabs and sores had gone away. That same cat is now 13 years old, because of his diet he is under-weight but my vets have always said that it is better for an animal to be under rather than over weight.

Penny

[Teejay]

LAST EDITED ON 23-Jun-04 AT 06:07 PM (BST)

LAST EDITED ON 23-Jun-04 AT 06:04PM (BST)



My cat suffered from the same symptoms and it was due to a mite that lives in long grass (forgotten the name). They develop bald patches and in my own cat's case some areas on her body which she continually scratched became septic. The vet told me that the sores develop as a result of the cat being allergic to the bites, and recommended a course of antihistamine treatment. Frontline does absolutely nothing to eradicate these little blighters.

Eventually the sore areas will calm down as the summer progresses, but for a while they look simply awful, almost as if they've been in a fight or are suffering from neglect.

PS. Edited my posting as I've remembered the name. It's the harvest mite or aoutat.