For over a month now my 19-year-old kitty “Baby” has been scratching and itching like crazy. He’s got patches of hair missing from his body and seems a little miserable. 🙁
First time we took him to the vet they gave him an allergy shot to control the itch. He was back at the vet the following week for another allergy shot. At the first visit, Baby had a couple red spots on his skin and they have disappeared. The red spots have not come back.
Third time I took Baby to the vet I was told that the problem was “psychological.”
We do have two other cats that Baby does not interact with, Little Black Kitty and Cujo. LBK and Cujo were abandoned by neighbors and we adopted them. They both came into our lives in 2018, shortly before Baby’s brother “Lucky” passed away in December 2018.
Now, after almost three years with these other cats, Baby appears to be fearful of/irritated with them. He seems to be looking for them when exiting a room and he’s taken to itching pretty badly.
I’ve tried some new foods for skin/fur issues, every “calming” product available at PetSmart, and Dinovite. I now keep Baby isolated from LBK and Cujo as much as possible although I’m sure he can still hear and smell them. Nothing is stopping his itching.
Have you ever had an itch issue with a cat like this before? If so, how did you handle it?
Any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated. I know my Baby is very senior in cat years and I would like to make his last months (maybe year?) as comfortable as possible.
Baby in 2015 showing off his mouser skills.
THANKS!
DCG
Cats are obligatory carnivores. They must eat meat to be healthy. Along with this, they are usually highly allergic to grains (present in almost all regular dry cat food) and may also be allergic to legumes (pea powders and pea proteins that are often found in high-end “natural” cat foods).
We originally fed regular commercial cat food. We started looking for alternatives when we had a cat with joint inflamation and tooth problems when he was only about 5 years old. We found this recipe and started using it.
We didn’t change soon enough to save the cat with the severe health problems, but the other two cats (the litter-mate sister to the one we lost and a stray old fixed tom that adopted us about 10 years ago) seem to be doing much better on this diet (less scratching, fewer hairballs, groom themselves more regularly, much more affectionate to us humans).
Our old cat took to the new diet immediately. He loved it. The little female had to be habituated to the new diet slowly, but now, it’s mostly what she will eat.
As for price, we actually calculated that as long as we buy bulk packs of chicken at around $1.50-1.80/lb, we’re spending less than premium cat foods and about the same as the better quality store brand kibble. Additionally, if you live where you can hunt rabbit, you can actually pay less by using hunted rabbit in the recipe instead of grocery store chicken.
Thank, I’ll give that recipe a try!
Poor Baby.
“Now, after almost three years with these other cats, Baby appears to be fearful of/irritated with them. He seems to be looking for them when exiting a room and he’s taken to itching pretty badly.”
From your account of Baby’s demeanor and behavior toward the two “new” cats, he has a problem with them, for whatever the reason. It may be Baby’s advanced years. I doubt it is because of his diet, because if it were, then Baby would be itchy before, as would the two “new” cats.
I know, I figured it’s them. Trying so hard to keep them sparated…
Yes, DCG, my dear cat Velvet (now deceased) was scratching and licking herself constantly. She licked most of the fur off her stomach. My vet tried various things and eventually decided it was “psychological.” Her diagnosis was that Velvet was devastated by the loss of her fellow cat Tuxedo, who had died some months prior. But this licking/scratching went on for a long time. I finally realized it was FLEAS, which my super-competent holistic vet had not noticed. Velvet did such a good job controlling the situation that scarcely a flea was in evidence. I did find a few, however, and after she was treated for fleas, they went away, and she recovered. Is this a possibility for your cat Baby? Even though the experts may say no, why not look into it for yourself?
Could be! I think I’ll try another vet this week and see if he brings that up.
My vet found no fleas nor did he recommend flea treatment.
Yesterday I applied the Advantage topical flea treatment to Baby. Today I have not seen him scratch at all, not once,, and he was scratching constantly. He also seems less “irritated.” Amen!
Thanks for sharing your story/suggestion!
I suggest also giving Baby a bath. There’s a waterless foam shampoo for cats that won’t traumatize cats. It also smells wonderful. My cat loves it.
I have to go get more food at Petsmart. I’ll see if they have that shampoo!
Did the vet take a skin scraping to see if there was a mite, or a mange, or lice, or a flea problem? My brother’s cat had a scratching/missing hair problem for years. She was in constant misery and could not be cuddled or petted/loved on. They took her to vet after vets who had all sorts of regimens/medicines to treat her for one thing or another, including mange. Nothing helped her. In desperation one evening, my brother picked her up and slathered Crisco all over her (except head) and they caged her for the night. In the morning, they shampooed her with Dawn. She never had a problem again. Now, I don’t know if I’d be brave enough to do this, ( or that any one of my cats would put up with it or come out of it without trauma) but I posit that the cat had some sort of mite and the Crisco smothered them in one overnight application far better and quicker than what they’d been trying through the veterinary help.
No skin test. I just bought some Advantage flea topical medication & will see if that works. I cannot envision me going the crisco route 🙂
And yes, I believe his hearing is declining. He’s with me all the time. Laying on my chest right now. He’s most calm when with me.
Also another thought on Baby being afraid of the other cats: when my elderly cat (who lived to be 23-1/2) started acting afraid of the others in his last year, and wanted to be near us 24/7, we figured that his hearing and sight were failing. He was doing what he had to do to manage his space and safety in light of this. His “world” had to be small, and we had to make an effort to keep him in the same room with us when he wasn’t sleeping, so that he felt safe and could navigate by our footsteps and proximity and touch.
Thanks everyone for your input. Much appreciated!
It seems like everyone’s suggestions are most thoughtful and potentially effective. My suggestion is to ask Jesus in prayer to heal Baby. I have done this with my cat, Annie Maria, and experienced a little miracle. She keeps to herself and won’t let you pet her, and this has gone on for a long time. I told Jesus that her life would improve so much if she accepted love freely and then was able to love others as well. Well, she came over to me and sat right above my head and has been more present to us ever since. I know that Jesus loves his creatures and is interested in all of our endeavors and projects and difficulties. In fact, in my prayers, I will ask Jesus to heal Baby. Maybe we could have another miracle. DCG, you are a very loving mommy; therefore, your prayers are so important. I send you my love and best wishes for Baby’s healing.
Thank you 💗
I would suspect mites (scabies).
Sounds to me like your cat has a bit of mange. When dogs and cats itch this much it’s usually a sign of a vitamin deficiency.
Ask your vet about vitamins for cats. In the meantime, get a liquid vitamin E and put it in Baby’s food. Also, make sure your cat eats meat: They cannot live without it for long.
Also, get some venison kibble for your cat. It’s cereal based, but with real venison blood. Feed her this once or twice a week.