# Scabs and excessive grooming?



## WoptyDoodles (Oct 10, 2008)

Hi there, I'm new here and can I just say this is a good forum!
Anyway, Pierre, who is about 5 now, has developed small scabs more or less all over him, eg base of tail, legs, belly, neck. He is also licking and biting his fur excessively. I keep trying to stop him doing it but he seems adamant he needs to do it! He seems a bit down in the dumps too  he doesn't play anymore or sit with us much. He sleeps more than he used to.
We have taken him to the vets twice and they keep saying its a flea allergy causing the scabs, I disagree though because, although he did have fleas at one point about 8 months ago, he hasn't had them since and I have been rigorous about preventing them.
I was wondering has anyone ever experienced depression in a cat? We moved house about a yr ago and he's only been like this since we moved. Also recently we have had another cat(female) come to stay with us temporarily and she doesn't really like Pierre. Could this be causing it? Please help, as all the vets do is try to make me buy expensive flea products which he doesn't need! Thanks


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## helz (May 24, 2008)

Yeah some vets do seem to just be out to make money, if you are not happy with your vets, I would try another vet to see what they say.

Also, some flea treatments are not as good as others, if you are not happy buying the flea treatment from the vets, try going to a local pet shop (like Pets at home), they often have advisors there, and will keep licenced products in a locked cabinet.

I wouldn't know about depression in cats, so I can't help you there.


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## WhiteNile (Aug 24, 2008)

I've heard before that excessive grooming can be down to bordem. Does your cat have plenty to do during the day? Toys, play out time, company, cat trees, food, etc??


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## sskmick (Feb 4, 2008)

Personally I would go back to the vet, as I would want something for the irritation, I would also use a bucket temporarily and short term use say an hour after a cooling treatment to stop him constantly licking.

It could be an allergy to something else other than fleas, washing power, carpet cleaner, my dog has an allergy to certain outdoor plants. My rule of thumb is keep all cleaning products mild and safe for babies or animal friendly.

He must be uncomfortable, bless him.

Sue


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## kozykatz (May 18, 2008)

There is no reason to believe that this is flea allergy if the cat has been treated for fleas. It's pointless treating over and over again and could in fact be dangerous. as these products are not completely harmless.

I'd be considering food allergy, and also the stress may well be playing a part. In my experience it's useless putting any sort of ointment on a cat as it always gets licked off 

I have a girl myself who constantly gets sores and scabs around her neck, it's improved a little since I stopped feeding dried food to my cats several weeks ago, but hasn't gone away altogether, so I suspect she is allergic to something in commercial food. She certainly does not have fleas!!


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## Leah100 (Aug 17, 2008)

Excessive grooming can be stress related, if it was a habit he developed after losing 'his' territory when you moved, and now seems worse after this new cat has come, I would be thinking stress is playing a role. It could have started with the flea irritation, but with some cats it can become a vicious circle and they will keep plucking and grooming long after the original cause was treated.

I'd try and make extra sure there is space for them to be apart if they don't get on, so he can withdraw if he wants to. If they have litter trays I'd think about getting another one, and making sure they are spread throughout your home so there is always the chance for privacy in case sharing is making him feel more stressed.

Valerian compound that you can get from Dorwest herbs [I think, doesn't matter where it comes from so long as it's formulated cat friendly] can help soothe if you add it to bedding [it's a bit whiffy so be careful where you put it if you try it] and some people have had success using supplements like Bach Flower Remedies Rescue remedy [Boots of larger chemists] or Zylkene.


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## WoptyDoodles (Oct 10, 2008)

kozykatz said:


> There is no reason to believe that this is flea allergy if the cat has been treated for fleas. It's pointless treating over and over again and could in fact be dangerous. as these products are not completely harmless.
> 
> I'd be considering food allergy, and also the stress may well be playing a part. In my experience it's useless putting any sort of ointment on a cat as it always gets licked off


thanks i might try some kind of exclusion diet, see if i can find out the cause!


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## jeanie (Nov 11, 2007)

One of my cats gets tiny scabs all over mainly neck bottom of back , my vet said its a dust allergy, and i take her about every 6 mths for an injection and it keeps her clear, but i dont know what the injection is its not for fleas .hope you get it sorted


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## binxycat (Mar 15, 2008)

I don't know about allergies or stress in cats but my mother-in-laws dog came out in scabs and sores when my father-in-law became very ill. I can't remember the name of the condition (he was put on steriods to clear it up) and the vet thought that it may have been triggered by anxiety. Maybe cats can suffer in this way too?
Bless him anyway, hope he's OK poor little puss


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## kozykatz (May 18, 2008)

I agree that if the problem hasn't gone away with a change of diet, further treatment might be needed, or perhaps a referral to a dermatologist?


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## ErbslinTrouble (Sep 1, 2008)

the vet most likely knows what a flea allergy reaction looks like and has suggested treatment from the vets because they don't feel the one that the owner used works well. be it bob martin, joe shmoooes flea powder/collar/dip or frontline spot on(not combo) all which don't give full effective treatment with pets a lot of the time.


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## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

WoptyDoodles, I would definitely try looking at diet. Does Pierre have alot of dry foods in his diet?

You could also try a feliway plug in Bestpet Pharmacy - Feliway Diffuser they are supposed to help reduced stress and anxiety, so you can attack this from both sides. If the other cat is still with you, then it could calm her reactions as well.


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## audrey1824 (Aug 1, 2008)

WoptyDoodles said:


> Hi there, I'm new here and can I just say this is a good forum!
> Anyway, Pierre, who is about 5 now, has developed small scabs more or less all over him, eg base of tail, legs, belly, neck. He is also licking and biting his fur excessively. I keep trying to stop him doing it but he seems adamant he needs to do it! He seems a bit down in the dumps too  he doesn't play anymore or sit with us much. He sleeps more than he used to.
> We have taken him to the vets twice and they keep saying its a flea allergy causing the scabs, I disagree though because, although he did have fleas at one point about 8 months ago, he hasn't had them since and I have been rigorous about preventing them.
> I was wondering has anyone ever experienced depression in a cat? We moved house about a yr ago and he's only been like this since we moved. Also recently we have had another cat(female) come to stay with us temporarily and she doesn't really like Pierre. Could this be causing it? Please help, as all the vets do is try to make me buy expensive flea products which he doesn't need! Thanks


You may be right it may have nothing to do with fleas and maybe a skin complaint such as Eczema, someone I knew had a Devon Rex with this, they had to fed a special diet as diet can affect it same as with humans, and yes it does make the cat very depressed, unfortunately not all vets will be knowledgeable about such specialist things, Aloe vera gel applied directly can soothe the inflamed areas.
*And before anyone jumps in with their usual ask the vet first, that and a few other remedies are advised by a vet, namely Richard Allport MRCVS*


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## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

Vets are not Gods, they are there to make money, they don't treat animals out of the goodness of their hearts. Just as there are alot of good ones out there who will go that extra mile for their clients there are alot of bad ones that really can not be bothered and just want to stick to their 10 min slot and be done with it, out the door with the easiest treatment possible.


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## ErbslinTrouble (Sep 1, 2008)

nevermind.


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## rottiesloveragdolls (Nov 2, 2007)

*I am closing this post until i have had time to look through it, *


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## rottiesloveragdolls (Nov 2, 2007)

*I Have Edited and Deleted posts this person was asking for Advise not for members to be accusing Insulting or abussive to eachother , now please stay On topic Thank you. *


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## WoptyDoodles (Oct 10, 2008)

Thanks all for your suggestions, so far we have tried keeping the other cat away from Pierre and he seems more relaxed. Whenever she's about and picking on him, he seems to be licking himself and biting his scabs more. We think it's stress to be honest. The other cat is going at the end of the month, and we are just going to keep them apart as best we can until then.
I might try that Feliway thing, thanks. 
Also the comment about the vets being able to recognise a flea allergy, well our vet actually said that it was an allergy, but she couldn't tell what to unless she did all tests and that, but that it was most likely a flea allergy because that's the most common cause.
This makes me think about human allergies, if they said oh you're allergic to milk don't drink it, but you still had an allergic reaction, they wouldn't keep telling you that you were allergic to it would they? They wouldn't just guess! So why are the vets doing it?
Thanks for all comments, I don't think it is a flea allergy I think it is stress. I have been stressed recently so it could have rubbed off on him! I might send him on a spa break haha.
Sorry for the long post!
Cathy


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## ErbslinTrouble (Sep 1, 2008)

WoptyDoodles said:


> Thanks all for your suggestions, so far we have tried keeping the other cat away from Pierre and he seems more relaxed. Whenever she's about and picking on him, he seems to be licking himself and biting his scabs more. We think it's stress to be honest. The other cat is going at the end of the month, and we are just going to keep them apart as best we can until then.
> I might try that Feliway thing, thanks.
> Also the comment about the vets being able to recognise a flea allergy, well our vet actually said that it was an allergy, but she couldn't tell what to unless she did all tests and that, but that it was most likely a flea allergy because that's the most common cause.
> This makes me think about human allergies, if they said oh you're allergic to milk don't drink it, but you still had an allergic reaction, they wouldn't keep telling you that you were allergic to it would they? They wouldn't just guess! So why are the vets doing it?
> ...


food allergies are very difficult to pin point in humans and in pets it has to be done in an elimination diet. they have something called a York test for pets but to be honest it's a very sensitive test and i personally think it's a waste of time unless your pet is VERY allergic to only one thing. They have allergy testing for pets that are patch tests which need to be done by a referral dermatologist unless you already go to the referral vets. But these are not cheap tests so if a vet can work out what the allergy is for you by process of elimination they are actually trying to save you the hassle and money. not just offer you expensive flea treatments that you don't need. all the flea treatments out on the market at the moment work in different ways. they don't all kill the full life cycle of the flea nor do they use the same drug. Your cat could have started out with a flea allergy and then with the stress of the itching from the flea allergy started making hot spots then with out veterinary flea treatment (i.e. prescription flea treatment) the allergy reared and the irritation became unbearable for your puss. continuing to exacerbate the inflammation by licking and pulling at the hair constantly. it became a habit when the cat felt stressed. now with or with out the fleas the cat will find comfort in being irritated by pulling and licking at it's self in turn making the skin problem worse. a similar thing happened with my dog and his allergy to grass even after we got him booties and kept him off the grass and treated him with the new meds for the allergy after his testing(the full patch testing) he still in stressed situations began to chew his feet. even though there was nothing wrong. there is an injection that your vet can offer to you to help your cats itching called Depo-Medrol or Depo-Medrone this is a steroid injection that will ease the itching long enough to let the scabs clear up and help you have time to work out what might be causing the irritation. be it stress or actual contact dermatitis. i hope this information is helpful to you .


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## audrey1824 (Aug 1, 2008)

WoptyDoodles said:


> Thanks all for your suggestions, so far we have tried keeping the other cat away from Pierre and he seems more relaxed. Whenever she's about and picking on him, he seems to be licking himself and biting his scabs more. We think it's stress to be honest. The other cat is going at the end of the month, and we are just going to keep them apart as best we can until then.
> I might try that Feliway thing, thanks.
> Also the comment about the vets being able to recognise a flea allergy, well our vet actually said that it was an allergy, but she couldn't tell what to unless she did all tests and that, but that it was most likely a flea allergy because that's the most common cause.
> This makes me think about human allergies, if they said oh you're allergic to milk don't drink it, but you still had an allergic reaction, they wouldn't keep telling you that you were allergic to it would they? They wouldn't just guess! So why are the vets doing it?
> ...


Eczema can be brought on by stress, so it is quite probably be this, but once the other cat has gone you will be able to judge that better.


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## ErbslinTrouble (Sep 1, 2008)

oh and i thought you might find this interesting 

skin diseases in dogs cats and animals from ringworm to ear mites

let us know how you get on


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## salina (Oct 3, 2008)

I have all my animals on an aloe vera gel drink this stuff is amazeing and has helped with digestive system and with the aloe gel, as Audrey advised, i dont get any skin problems anymore.My oldest dog used to have an allergy to flea bites,we cleared the fleas but found she would get the skin problems still every year after, even with no fleas, and as it was getting expensive to keep taking her to the vets my friend recommended we try the aloe drink and have never looked back since.


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## ChristinaJ (May 29, 2009)

How big is your cat? I was used spot on, frontline and anything I could find for my 5 year old male, Jack, and he still kept getting sores and forever licking himself, the vet said that he was allergic to fleas and needed a more powerful treatment as he is a large cat (not fat, he looks like a husky!) he weighs in at 5.8kg so I got advocate for larger cats, up to 8kg, it is £23 from my vets but it treats heartworm, roundworm and tapeworm too, he has no skin trouble at all now, 

Just a thought.... good luck with Pierre x


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

Hello Christina - you replied to a thread from 2008


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