Itchy Cat

Question
Dear FAB
We recently adopted two 10-year old rescue cats. One of them was biting himself so badly when grooming that he was causing sores to appear. Our vet gave a steroid injection and suggested Feliway Plug-ins which we have running all the time. That was fine for a couple of months but then the behaviour started again. Is there anything we can do?

Answer
Thank you for your query. It is really difficult to advise on your cat without seeing him; however, the signs and response to steroids is suggestive of an allergic reaction. This is very common in cats and often they are reacting to fleas. There do not have to be large numbers of fleas around and you may not even see one on your cat because he is grooming so vigiouriously and removing them quickly. However, one flea bite can set off a severe itch/scratch cycle in the cat which can lead to the kind of skin problems you suggest. Other allergens include house dust mites and even some food products. Visit your vet again and ask for more information. He or she may advise a referral to be a veterinary dermatologist. In some cases the allergen can be avoided entirely (for example, if it is a food product) and in other cases you can do your best to avoid them. However you do need to try and find what is causing the problem first so you know what to avoid. Steroids have side effects and should not be used if not required and if you can do other things to avoid the 'itch'. In some cases they are needed when symptons are severe. If possible, tablets are better than long acting injections.