I have my very own itchy and scratchy show here every day. Oscar has the itch: a big itch. It’s mainly behind his right shoulder blade and he goes at it as if something just bit him there. He also has a spot in front of his right arm (on his belly area) where it seems to get to him. When it bothers him, he scratches it with dogged determination. He’s taken out tufts of beautiful soft blond fur and made a long,thinned stripe there.
At first I thought ‘oh no – bugs!’. Let me be honest – I have the blissful naivety of someone who has never had a cat have fleas or ticks. I wasn’t even sure what to watch for… but I watched very carefully for any ‘movement’. I was told that if there are no noticeable fleas after 2 weeks, it’s not that. There wasn’t. This shouldn’t surprise me since he was treated with Revolution on day 2.
Then I thought ‘dry skin’. I increased the humidity in his ‘suite’. I gave him a little of my omega 3 oils as well. There didn’t seem to be a difference. Someone warned me about grain allergies, so I immediately stopped the omega 3’s. I gave him a little Vit E oil every second night. I’m not sure if this helped, but around about this time the problem seemed to subside a little.
We’re back to the itchy and scratchy show.
About 4 days ago, I changed him over to grain-free foods from the foods my other kitties eat. He didn’t like the first food at all. I got a second one and he seems to like it. He’d had all our other foods for 2+ years without incident, so I’m hoping that food is not the problem. It would be tough to dictate food to his future family.
A curious non-itchy moment
It’s been about 6-7 weeks since it started, so we’re going to take him to the vet. Poor guy – he must be frustrated: even though it’s not constant, when the itch comes it seems like a very strong need to scratch. I have heard repeatedly that this can be solved with a shot of cortisone. I’m no expert here, but my rescue-contact told me that the shot is not a good choice. She suggested pills – but that would depend on if I can cajole Oscar into taking pills. It’s also an expense at a time when I really don’t need it, but I feel like we’ve adjusted for the other possible solutions.
Just taking Oscar to the vet will be an interesting venture!
The Kitten Kaboodle 