Why are my cat's chronic skin sores not healing and he's vomiting?

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, 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!

Your cat could have allergies, to fleas, substances in the environment, and most often, to foods. I recommend getting your cat seen by your vet for an exam and treatment and consider doing a food trial. There are commercial foods that have a single protein source. Try feeding your cat a food that contains a protein that he has never been exposed to, such as duck or venison. If his skin improves then he likely has an allergy to the protein in his old food.

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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It looks like Lily has a skin infection. I recommend taking her to a vet for antibiotic’s and something to relieve the itching. It is possible to be from a food allergy or an environmental allergy. This may be the cause of her vomiting as well. You need to speak with a veterinarian about what she eats and the environment she is in. They will then be able to treat her appropriately. Good luck and kisses to Lily!

I have a flea-allergic cat too and it is very frustrating. Ask your vet about giving her an over-the-counter allergy medication to help relieve the itching. Chlorpheniramine and cetirizine (Zyrtec) are commonly used to help cats with itching. Something else to consider is that your cat may have other allergies that are contributing to the problem. A common allergy is to the protein source in the food. Ask your vet about a limited diet or about getting Boris started on a product like Prescription Diet z/d. This diet is formulated with hydrolyzed proteins, a process that changes the protein in the food in such a way that the body doesn't recognize it as an allergen, and it still provides the nutrition your cat needs to be healthy. Also, consider asking for a recommendation to a veterinary dermatologist. They have more and better testing available to them as well as specialty education in skin problems that may make them better able to help you and your cat.

There can be many causes of sores in cats, including bacterial infection, ringworm, mites, fleas, allergies, and, yes, cancer is also a possibility. I would recommend that Carmen be examined by a veterinarian. After a thorough physical exam, your vet may recommend diagnostics like skin cytology to look at cells under a microscope, skin scrapes to look for mites, fungal cultures to identify ringworm, or biopsies to look for cancer.

Poor Gravy! Those do look painful. If you haven't yet, a skin scraping of the site sent to a lab may help determine if there is a specific bacteria or infection causing the wounds. This may give your vet the ability to target it better with a more specific antibiotic that will help it to heal. Making sure to keep Gravy from pawing at the spot with an Elizabethan (cone) collar can also help promote healing and prevent further irritation. In long-term non-healing wounds, many vets have also found success using Manuka honey (different than the honey you get in the grocery store) as a salve to help promote tissue growth and healing. If you'd like a more specific consultation, or have additional questions, I highly recommend scheduling a consult with one of our vets as they will be able to assist you in a more chat-like setting and can provide you with more detailed answers and information.