Why is my cat licking, losing fur, and smells fishy all of a sudden?

There could be a couple of reasons why your cat is licking and biting himself. This behavior is a sign of itchiness, and it can be caused by fleas and allergies. Even though he's an indoor cat, he still get them. You could have brought them into the home yourself on your clothes, or a visitor could have brought them in. This does happen; in fact, it happened to my brother and his cats. They were indoors only, and their cats suddenly have terrible fleas that were brought in by a visitor to their home. If your cat isn't up to date on his flea treatment program, 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. As for the grain free diet, less than 10% of cats suffering from food allergies, it's the least common type of allergies in pets. If a cat does have a food allergies, it's most commonly related to a protein source, not grains so there is no need for your cat to have a grain free diet unless it's been specifically proven by a vet that he has it. You can switch your cat back to it's regular food. If you are sure he doesn't have fleas, then I would have him seen by a vet. The vet can diagnose if he does have allergies and can prescribe medication to treat his symptoms.

It could be an allergy or food sensitivities. It may also be behavioral or boredom. Place an e-collar (cone) on him to prevent further licking. Have your veterinarian examine Astro to diagnose skin infection (bacterial or fungal) and to discuss allergy testing, hydrolyzed diets and food elimination trials. Consider interactive toys to keep him distracted and pheromone products such as Feliway spray or plug in diffuser to decrease any anxiety.

Calli could certainly be allergic to some component of her food, causing her licking and hair loss. Cats most commonly develop allergies to the protein source of the food, but other allergies to fleas or environmental factors, or infectious issues like ringworm or mange can all cause similar signs. With excessive licking and scratching, skin infections can develop, which only serve to worsen itching and scratching. At this point, your best bet is to take Calli to the vet to rule out signs of a skin infection, ringworm or mange, as these would require a different course of action. If these issues have been excluded, you next need to assure that Calli is receiving a high quality flea preventative (such as Advantage, Revolution or Bravecto) regularly. If you want to try a diet trial to determine if food allergies are occurring, you can choose either a prescription based hydrolyzed hypoallergenic diet or a novel protein diet (such as Dick van Patten's Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet, choosing a new protein source like venison or rabbit). To change Calli's diet, mix the old and new foods together over 5-7 days. After that time, exclusively feed the new food without adding other treats or table foods. It can take at least 6-8 weeks to see the full effect of a diet trial. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

I'm so sorry to hear that Loki is having this problem. The most common reasons that we will see a cat have sores and be itchy are due to allergies, a skin infection, or parasites such as mites or fleas. I am attaching a handout about itching in cats below. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952664 Since Loki already has sores, I would recommend having your veterinarian examine him to determine if he has any evidence of secondary bacterial, fungal or parasitic infections. If not, then you can discuss using anti-itching medications such as anti-histamines or steroids short term to resolve the itching and chewing. And if those techniques are unsuccessful, then the final step might be a diet change. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

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.

Midnight could have allergies, fleas, or a bacterial skin infection. Inspect her for any fleas and then treat with a medication, like Revolution, Bravecto, or Frontline. If she has allergies or a skin infection then she would need to be treated by a vet with an antihistamine, corticosteroid, and/or an antibiotic. Some cats also pull out hair from stress so you could also try a Feliway diffuser/spray and talk to your vet about an anti-anxiety medication to help.

IF she is licking and biting constantly don't wait for the food as it will either take weeks to take effect but will most like,y have no effect at all. the vet will give her an injection to stop the itchiness of the skin to start with.