My Mom’s cat has taken to scratching herself like crazy and even drawing blood. I’m hoping to go to my Mom’s house next week and help take her to the vet but thought I’d ask here for any suggestions perhaps for something that would relieve the itch. My mom thinks the solution is to get her a cone, but I don’t think that’s a long term solution. I doubt she’s scratching out of habit, but because something is really making her itch. She’s been eating the same food for awhile.
Our dog benefited from a change of food. You never know when they change the formulation, and maybe she’s allergic to something new. I’d try it anyway, before spending $ on a vet.
Assuming that you have ruled out the obvious causes such as fleas, it could be an allergy. Our dog is in the midst of his seasonal allergies. He doesn’t get it every year, but when he does it is horrible. He scratches to be point of drawing blood. We have gone to the vet each time and were givem medicated shampoos, steroids, antibiotics, eye ointments, etc. We have also been advised to give him antihistamines such as benadryl or zyrtec. None of it works well, although the steroids have provided some relief. It is usually just a matter of trying to keep him comfortable until whatever is bothering him goes away, and then hoping the hair grows back where he has scartched himself bald.
Check the cat for fleas, especially around neck and tail.
My Mom uses some Diatomaceous Earth tablets and also has some of it in powder form, which worked very well when she had a flea problem a few years back. The cat may have them now, but if so, they are not bothering my Mom and I’m sure she would notice that. Her eyesight is poor. I’ll suggest that she put a capsule in some cat food. I was thinking of ordering her some grain free dry cat food via Amazon (I live two hours away) as that seemed to help our new dog’s skin problems.
You are able to give cats benedryl (google the dosage by the cats weight). If the cat doesn’t show relief from that then there would be an underlying problem.
@Tyberius, you should ask your Vet about Apoquel. It is literally a miracle drug that stops itching in dogs. Unfortunately, it’s not approved for use in cats. Vets have been having a very hard time getting it as the company has been sending most to canine dermatologist. So, if your vet doesn’t have it yet (or got cut off like my vet did awhile ago) you should try to get an appt. with a canine dermatologist.
we used to give our cat atarax (prescribed by the vet) Worked great.
I realized I had not updated this thread. I went down to visit my Mom shortly after I last posted. I had one of my kids with me and we were able to get the cat into her carrying box and take her to the vet. He said she had a bad case of mites and after cleaning out her ears, gave her a shot of cortisone (maybe benedryl?) and a prescription for the mites. She was scratching herself, and especially one ear, because the mites cause the ears to produce excessive ear wax and that itches.
The kicker, of course, was that the mite medicine was stuff that had to be squirted in her ears, twice a day, something that would have been impossible for my Mom. The vet was at a satellite office with no boarding facilities. I was able to find a boarding facility just a few miles away and called them. They said they would apply the medication for a minimal charge - total cost was $12/day. We went straight to there from the vet. Poor kitty was pretty traumatized about all that commotion. BUT, after ten days, everything was cleared up and we got her Revolution, which should keep the mites away, along with fleas and ticks.
Glad the kitty and her owners are doing much better! 