What causes a cat to excessively groom and scratch until skin is raw?

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. Abnormal overgrooming due to behavioural disorders (usually related to stress) should be considered as well as a possibility but all the other causes need to be ruled out first. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

This could be a sign of several things including environmental allergies, mites, ringworm, and food allergies. Without doing a physical examination on Shyannne it's difficult to say what it causing her to itch. Even if you are not seeing fleas, if she is not currently on a good quality flea preventative like Revolution you may want to start. You may want to try bathing with a soothing shampoo. Once a veterinarian checks her out they may prescribe a medicated shampoo. The Douxo line makes medicated shampoos and also mousses for animals that are more difficult to bathe. Omega-3s are naturally anti -inflammatory so these may help as well. If Shyanne's symptoms persist then she should be taken to your veterinarian. Her skin can be tested for mites and other types of infections. There are many treatments for allergies available as prescription medication. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope Shyanne's skin issues resolve quickly!

It could be allergies causing Lola's behavior, but typically it's the environment causing the allergy not food. I would hold off on switching food until after she sees the vet. The only way to know how to treat her problems is to have her seen by a vet, who can diagnose the cause in order to prescribe the correct treatment. If paying for a vet is an issue, you can see if your vet accepts payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, or you can apply for Care Credit online. There is also an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants. Best Friends also has a list of resources that offer financial assistance on their website. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html?credit=web_id91754962 https://www.redrover.org https://www.carecredit.com http://bestfriends.org/resources/financial-aid-pets http://lessonsfromaparalyzeddog.com/when-pet-owners-cant-afford-veterinary-bills/ http://www.dogheirs.com/resources-affordable-veterinary-care/ Check out these resources to see if one can help you, and have her seen by a vet this week. I hope this helps!

This is probably caused by an allergic reaction. first of all make sure you de-flea Beauty Rose Winborne regularly every month with a high quality spot on (ex. Advantage) as fleas are by far the most common reason for these reactions. If the fleas are not the problem, it could be an allergic reaction to food or an environmental factor. this is more complicated to treat and will sometimes require medications such as Steroids, anti histamines or cyclosporin in order to stop the allergy.

It is likely to be flea allergy dermatitis, so ideally the cat should also be treated for fleas with a good spot on product that is licensed for cats. The environment should be treated for fleas and eggs and larvae destroyed. Hope this helps, thank you for young Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach !

If you have been through a strict novel protein diet trial with no improvement, a food allergy is unlikely. It is possible that Dandy Lion has an allergy to something in the environment or potentially something like thyroid disease. I would recommend making an appointment with your veterinarian to have her skin examined and to discuss treatment options. While the probiotic probably won't hurt, there is not evidence that probiotics help with skin diseases.

This is an awful lot going on for your cat! As many of these things could be allergy related, or food related, or grooming related, or even immune-mediated related, I would highly recommend first scheduling a vet visit for an overall initial exam. Your vet can recommend a variety of things, such as changing to a more tolerated litter, trying out a food trial to check for food allergies or switching to a hairball remedy diet, checking for and treating parasites, and getting your cat on a prescription allergy medication to relieve initial symptoms until the cause is found.