# Cat who's scratching herself and has scabby lumps



## katzrok (Sep 26, 2004)

I have 5 strictly indoor cats. They never EVER get outside or come into contact with other cats.

Fuzzy, she's about 8 yrs old...a domestic long-hair, started scratching in one spot on the side of her neck about 3 days ago. When I saw her do this more than a couple of times, I began to watch her and keep track of how often. I noticed (or felt) a small little scabbed area where she seemed to be scratching..and chalked it up to her and my other cat Taco getting into occasional "swatting" matches. She can be a stinker at times..Taco loves her dearly, but sometimes he'll go up and want her to groom him and she'll strike at him.....he takes a fair bit but will eventually swat back (of course then 5 minutes later they're grooming each other..it's a love/hate thing, i swear!)....I just assumed maybe his claw punctured her and it was itchy from healing. 

After another day, I decided to take her to the Vet. My usual Vet (in the city) was not on this this weekend (the only one I really trust)....so I decided to take her to a local vet (small town). To add, I decided to give her 5 mg of Benadryl, a couple of times (8 hrs apart)...just to see if that would settle things down (as I was concerned that if she kept scratching, she'd just tear open the tiny healing scab). 

She's her usual self: no change in peeing, pooping, appetite and energy level is great. Her fur overall is silky and no matts, not ratty looking at all. She's always been a meticulous groomer (even tries to groom me! LOL).

Now it's definitely not fleas, that's for sure....though I did doublecheck (in case there's grass fleas and I inadvertantly brought them inside on my pantlegs..but nothing).

So the local Vet suggested we try some Revolution (it was applied to her) and same to be repeated in 3-4 weeks.....to rule out some kind of parasite that's causing this (like the mite that causes sarcoptic mange). Now how on earth could an indoor cat get sarcoptic mange?? Is that even possible?

She suggested it could be a food allergy, too.........now I haven't changed her diet but I do know that cats (as humans) can develop a sensitivity or allergy to food over time, even if it's something they've eaten forever. She eats only canned food.

I've felt a few more of these little tiny lumps on her skin, behind the flap of one ear. She doesn't scratch continuously....maybe once ever 2 hours. No bare spots, the scabbed area is nice and dry and healing (no signs of infection).

I got the Vet tech to clip her back claws so that she wouldn't develop some secondary bacterial infection from scratching at these areas.

She's always been a very healthy cat. 

It does NOT look like ringworm, either.

Now I'm paranoid and watching all my other cats like a hawk...afraid she's got something contagious and then I'll have 5 cats with whatever this is. I've noticed 2 of the others scratching off an on, but it's hard to say if it's more than usual -- because I likely didn't pay attention to their scratching habits before...and now I'm watching like a hawk LOL I have noticed a couple of them grooming more than usual, at least it seems to me.

I cannot get into see my regular Vet until NEXT weekend (Saturday).....because by the time i get off work, she's gone (during the week)..I just started a new job and I cannot get off work early.

The local vet suggested we do skin scraping and bloodwork and the whole she-bang but I didn't feel comfortable with her doing all that...would rather have my own regular Vet organize this if necessary, as I trust her immensely.

Nothing in my home has changed in terms of potential environmental allergens. I have checked Fuzzy all over from top to bottom.......no bumps to her belly or legs or anywhere else. I did notice a new one today, on the left side of her face..cheek area...it wasn't there yesterday.

Anybody have any ideas as to what this could be? I'm not looking for an online diagnosis, please know that...I'm just really perplexed here and it's going to drive me nuts until I can see my Vet in a week.
PS..I live in Southern Alberta Canada......we haven't had super hot weather this summer.......ticks aren't really a problem where I live, and like I said , my cats never go outside.
Thanks


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## Artful Badger (Jun 10, 2004)

I have a similar (perhaps) problem in one of my cats. As a kitten he had an elevated yeast problem in his ears. That was never for sure diagnosed. It might have just gone away on it's own or maybe it was a food allergy. The symptoms were itchy and dirty brown spots in his ears.

Several years later we find he has spells where he gets these odd quasi-scabs in his ears. I've never noticed them on his neck or face as your cat has them, but perhaps it's similar. These seem to always be just on the surface, so much so that I can rub them off gently just by feeling them pretty often and there is no mark underneath. 

We had a culture done about a year ago and there was some possible growth, but nothing substantial or identifiable. I believe we did some topical treatments. Meanwhile the problem seemed to have disappeared. Since then it's recurred a few times and I've never been concerned enough to make a special vet visit for it. He has other problems that are life threatening (kidney troubles) and this recurring condition is not so important in comparison. 

We did have the hypothesis that it was partly being caused by overzealous play by one of the other cats...I noticed Jadzia was biting his ears to irritate him...but I'm not completely convinced after the latest episodes.

He has been on revolution regularly during this period since my cats go out on a screen porch and we foster so occasionally there can be fleas in the house so I doubt it's mites in his case.

It's a mystery here. I hope your vet can help you.

~Heather


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## Doeremi (Aug 21, 2004)

Sounds like food allergy to me. I had to eliminate chicken. Chicken & fish are the top 2. There are others..wheat, dairy, soy, corn. He still grooms himself an awful lot and scratches his head area but the bumps have not come back. We also did the skin scraping for parasites, nothing. No fleas either. He had steroid shots, etc and then needed clavamox for the sores he caused himself. 

Good luck. Rotate foods for her as well as the others. Hypoallergenic diet is best because they do not include a lot of the bad stuff (fish, corn, wheat, dairy). Check out Dr. Jean's links on food allergies. You might also try the biosuperfood she recommends. But, it does sound like a trip to your trusted vet is in order. It wouldn't surprise me if a steroid shot is in your future.


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## zofia (Sep 23, 2004)

Whilst you get to the bottom of things you can also use some calendula cream on the affected area- it's not as hectic as the steroid creams. usually works well on any type of abrasion.


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

It does sound like an allergy. Could be to something in the food, or to something in the air like dust mites. Definitely needs a full work-up by your vet. 

About half of these skin cases are due to food allergy. The common allergens are chicken, beef, fish, corn, wheat and dairy. There are a few OTC canned foods that would work for a diet trial: Petguard, Merrick and Nature's Variety all make "hypoallergenic" foods. You must keep her away from the allergens for 8-12 weeks to know for sure if it is the food. It is well worth doing a diet trial before condemning her to a lifetime of steroids.

Cheers,
Dr. Jean


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