Cat bites his skin…please help!?
I feel like we have exhausted all options, including vet bills!! my cat is a 6-7year old male he continuously bites himself, all over his skin, whereever he can physically reach. He will literally pull the fur right out of his skin. He soemtimes even draws blood. He is left with patches of rough, scaly, dry skin in certain areas of his body. It seems as if something is causing him pain, and its frusterating that we cannot figure out what it is. We have taken him to vets which say numerous things such as: he has allergies which we are doughting only because it is all the time, or stress related. Although it cannot be stress related because he has done it for the majority of his life-all the time. For a temporary treatment we have bought a light sweater for him to wear so he cannot access the areas which are affected. this works for the most part, but if infact he is in pain we would still like to figure out why, and how we can help. Even with the sweater he soemtimes takes it off when we are not around and when we find him (often in the morning) he is covered in wet patches (from biting) and sore red areas. The areas which he bites are not central in one area. Although mostly on his back, his legs, and his tail. We have even tried a stress relief herbal medicine. any input would be great!!! we would really like to figure this out. Thanks alot
We did look into allergy testing, but it was quite expensive..the food is something which a pet store owner also recommended and we soon will try this option, one that lacks all the additives that normal cat food has. We had him on steroid injections for quite awhile, we found that they were only helping a small amount and found out the shots lead to diabetes if they are taken long term, so we stopped that (he still was biting with the shots anyways). He is also an indoor cat, and he is given flea treatment every 6 months, i have never been able to see any on him. On his skin though he does seem to have what almost look like feckles in the areas which he bites??i dont know if this might be related or not, or if they are just small scabs..thanks for your answer though it was very helpful!! 
My first guess would be a food allergy and I would try changing his food first. You should know fairly quickly whether this is the case or not. Personally, I would suggest a raw diet, or canned with no grains, and no dry food. Actually, even if it turns out to not be a food allergy it is a better diet for kitty anyway.
My second guess would be a flea allergy. Even if you don’t see fleas it only takes one, and even an indoor cat can get a flea now and then. Try using the flea medication more often, and I recommend Revolution.
After the allergies, I would guess that he has an obsessive compulsive disorder. This is not too common but it does occur more than most people realize, and I’m surprised your vet did not think of this. People can laugh and/or scoff, but Prozac is used successfully for treating cats (and dogs) with any number of behaviorl/psychological issues including OCDs, it is quite safe, and not expensive although you may have to have some blood work done initially, and occasionally thereafter. A friend’s sister has a cat that was biting itself raw, similar to what you have described, and stopped doing so right after it was put on Prozac. The cat actually was "cured" after it was on Prozac for approximately a year, and no longer needed the Prozac.
I recommend finding a "cats only" vet and talking to the vet before you take the cat in so you don’t waste more money.
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July 5th, 2009 at 11:52 am
It could very well be allergies to something in his environment, etc that are causing it. Being constant does not rule that out.
Have you had allergy tests done?
What kind of food is he eating? A higher quality food may help. Grain free is best.
Could be flea allergies. One of ours has flea allergies. One bite and she sounds exactly like yours. She will carry on for months. Our vet said something about the allergy being triggered and then it becoming a psychological issue where they just cannot stop.
Allergies to the outdoors (one of our dogs has this although it is seasonal).
Did the vet suggest getting a steroid shot to help?
Edit:
Unfortunately it is quite expensive. This is one of the more frustrating things we’ve had with our pets and in the rescue. Sometimes they will abruptly stop. Our kitty Penny did this for nearly 2 years then just stopped. Nothing changed that would have caused her to stop but now she has a beautiful coat. Food really could be it. We put ours on California Natural which did seem to help. Not completely but things did improve. I cannot remember what it was but the vet did give us an ointment to put on the hairless patches that helped with healing.
References :
July 5th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
maybe try washing him? with hypo allergenic wash? he may hate it, but it could be soothing if you did it on a half weekly basis, do they have something like calamine lotions for cats? that might help ease the irritation…
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July 5th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
My cat had the same problem where she would bite herself near the base of her tail until she lost all her fur there. Our vet gave cortisone shots over a couple of weeks and she stopped biting. We’re not sure if she stopped because of the shots or because of something else. Sorry I can’t help more than that…I hate it when my cat is doing weird stuff and I can’t help her.
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July 5th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
It sounds like your cat has OCD. My chihuahua has it and does the same thing. We had her on steroid injections for a year, when we moved here, our new vet prescribed prednisone pills, we give her half of one every other day. It seems to be working better than the shots, because if she seems to be having a bad chewing day, we can up her dose a little. You may want to talk to your vet about this option, which is a little better for long term use.
Good luck to you and your cat!
References :
July 5th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
This definitely does sound like flea allergies. One of my cats and one of the dogs does the exact same thing if I miss their FrontlinePlus monthly treatment. It only takes one flea to drive them over the edge. Bathing them in equal parts of hydrogen peroxide and a generic antibacterial soap, once a week, works well to help clear it up. If you see a brownish-red tinge run off of your cat when bathing then that would be blood from the fleas biting. If this is not the problem then I would start buy trying to eliminate other possibilities. Gradually change to a higher quality food, change to a different type of litter, and what it sleeps on. If all of this fails to solve the problem then I would invest in the allergy testing by your vet. I know that it is expensive ( I had it done on my dog ) but the relief that your cat will get, with the proper course of treatment, will be well worth it. Good luck.
References :
July 5th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
My first guess would be a food allergy and I would try changing his food first. You should know fairly quickly whether this is the case or not. Personally, I would suggest a raw diet, or canned with no grains, and no dry food. Actually, even if it turns out to not be a food allergy it is a better diet for kitty anyway.
My second guess would be a flea allergy. Even if you don’t see fleas it only takes one, and even an indoor cat can get a flea now and then. Try using the flea medication more often, and I recommend Revolution.
After the allergies, I would guess that he has an obsessive compulsive disorder. This is not too common but it does occur more than most people realize, and I’m surprised your vet did not think of this. People can laugh and/or scoff, but Prozac is used successfully for treating cats (and dogs) with any number of behaviorl/psychological issues including OCDs, it is quite safe, and not expensive although you may have to have some blood work done initially, and occasionally thereafter. A friend’s sister has a cat that was biting itself raw, similar to what you have described, and stopped doing so right after it was put on Prozac. The cat actually was "cured" after it was on Prozac for approximately a year, and no longer needed the Prozac.
I recommend finding a "cats only" vet and talking to the vet before you take the cat in so you don’t waste more money.
References :
http://www.dermapet.com/articles/art-06.html
http://www.catvets.com/findadoctor/findadoctor.aspx