Why is my cat so itchy all the time with scabs and skin infections?

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advantage is fine), 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). Hope this answer was helpful, but 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. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Hello. This may be a condition called military dermatitis, a type of allergy. You can try changing the things in her environment like the litter & food, but you cannot change what she touches & breathes in. You can try switching her to Science Diets Sensitive Stomach & Skin, but she may need a true hypoallergenic diet, or it may be something completely different causing her allergies. The best thing to do is to see your vet who may decide to give Mittens a long acting steroid shot. If it clears up her skin, then she may periodically need an additional injection. The alternative is allergy testing, but again this is something to discuss with your vet. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It looks like your cat has a skin infection, most likely caused by allergies or fleas. The allergies can be from a protein in her food or to something in the environment, like grasses, pollens, dust etc. I would recommend taking your cat in to see the vet so she can be started on some antibiotics to help clear up her skin. I would also recommend discussing with your vet some options for medication to help control her allergies and itch like Atopica.

It sounds like you are doing a good job ruling out the usual causes of chronic skin disease. You have one more month before you will know if its food (it takes 3 months to reset the immune system). I would recommend ruling out hyperthyroidism (although this typically affects older cats). Otherwise environmental allergies would be the most likely cause. These can be to ANYTHING (house mites, dust mites, grass, pollen..etc). I think you guys are on the right track. Keep going and best of luck!

If you have ruled out fleas/skin mites. I recommend to have him tested for hyperthyroidism and if that's not the cause, have him on a 12 week food trial with a hydrolyzed protein diet. You must start moving down the list of potential causes of the skin lesions. Atopy is still on the list but is harder to test for so rule out these other causes first. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

With itching in the face I would be worried about parasites or a food allergy. You can try changing to different formula if fiodbthat contains a different protein source or a hypoallergenic diet. There a promising allergy medicine called Apoquel that can be helpful in cats now. You can apply cortisone cream to the red area until you can talk to your vet about the new options

If Oliver scratches and grooms himself a lot, he could be itchy. This itchiness could be caused by fleas, mites, ringworm, or allergies. If he isn't up to date on his flea treatment, I can give you one for him. First, I would give him Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas within 30 minutes. Then follow up with a spot on treatment, such as Advantage or Revolution. This is a treatment that has to be used once a month. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash his bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home. If he is up to date on his flea treatment, I recommend taking him into the vet for an exam today or tomorrow. The vet can do blood tests, skin scrapings, and use a Wood's lamp to diagnose allergies, mites, and ringworm. Once the cause of the itching is found, the vet can prescribe the appropriate treatment. Best of luck.