has my cat got mange or something?

Question

my cat has been de-wormed and de-flead so i know its not that. he has been biting the inside of his back legs and the base of his tail and has pulled out a lot of the hair leaving bald patches. scabs have formed but as he continues to bite them they are not healing. please help as he is my world.

Answer 1

Hi, sounds like he has a flea allergy, my cat Charlie suffers with this. I use Frontline flea treatment this helps him it is the only flea treatment that works on him as it kills the fleas after they have bitten him. I get it from Hyperdrug.com it is a lot cheaper than the vets. Its about £15.98 for 6 pipettes, whereas the vet charges £18.00 for 3. It is such a shame because they really suffer when they have this flea allergy. Good Luck i do hope he will better soon.

Answer 2

I have been through a very similar situation with my cat recently. He started pulling his own hair out and licking constantly - he made sore/raw patches on himself (particularly around the back end/tail) and was very unhappy. He does have an allergy to fleas and I have to treat him every month rather than the 2-3 months the packaging recommends (this is Frontline and my vet said this is fine). This helped but did not clear the problem up completely so after another trip to the vets he has now had a treatment of steroids to stop the itch/scratch cycle, a course of antibiotics to help the sores to heal and been put on a special diet as the vet suspects it may be a food allergy causing the allergic reaction. This was 2 weeks ago and he is already like a different cat -playing and loving again. He's got a follow up appointment tomorrow so hopefully all will go well!
It may that your cat has mange but it is surprisingly uncommon in cats. Ringworm tends to be focused in one area and you will notice a dry, round patch of skin where it is - again probably unlikely though. It sounds as if re-treating him for fleas and taking him back to the vets for a skin scraping (just to check it's not anything nasty) and possible other lines of investigation.
Good luck and I hope your cat gets better - there's nothing worse than knowing they are uncomfortable or unhappy.

Answer 3

I feel horrible for you! I'm positive I know what it is! Ring worm! The reason the flea treatments and everything else isn't working is because it's a fugal infection! Highy CONTAGIOUS even for humans! Check yourself for red rings, have someone check your hair! This does not mean you are dirty! I hope you don't have other pets! I had to put three cat's down because of this! I brought in a stray and she was a silent carrier! If it's not on his face you might be able to cure it! When I got rid of it! It was a lot like getting rid of lice, it can't be ignored! Listen the stuff I got, a kit from PETS' BEST RX www.petsbestrx.com or 1-866-314-8917! You have to wash everything it lives in skin, dust is made from mostly skin! It could be living anywhere in your house THe kit comes with SPRAY for your house a spray for your cat and gel! It's anti-fungal (ring worm), anti-viral, and anti-bacterial! So whatever it is this will cure it! Sorry, I just hope I'm wrong! My experience turned out to be tragic! Good luck! Contact me if you have any questions!

Answer 4

A vet visit would be best since scabs have formed,they can take actual skin scrapings to test for mange or skin infections.

That said,might still be flea allergies or even nerves. Yes,they can still get allergic reactions to flea bite(s) using most flea products (shampoos,dips,powders,flea collars) on the market.

All it takes is for *one* flea to bite *one* time to trigger the reaction in a cat that's allergic. A once-a-month treatment like Frontline or Hartz Guard Plus (What I now use) is about the only thing that can really help protect flea allergic pets.

Also,some cats overgroom or even chew on themselves from nervousness,stress,hormones as well and infection from bacteria or fungus can set in and make them even more miserable.

Since mange is suspected,it really is important to have a vet test him,it is transmittable to humans. In my experience,it probably isn't mange but you'll want to have it confirmed or whatever it is treated.

Good luck to you and your kitty!

Answer 5

This sounds like a problem my cat Little Dave was suffering from for a good couple of years. Trips to the vets failed to pin point the exact problem, just that it was an allergic reaction to something. There are hundreds of things cats can be allergic to, including flea bites, pollen and certain ingredients in their food.

My vet prescribed steroids, which had to be given once a day, this was fine short term but the vet believed they may be needed long term, causing very similar problems to those shown by people using steroids long term, such as liver failure and raised blood pressure. The tablets eased the problem for a short time, but eventually the problem returned. My cat was unhappy, itchy her back, tail and legs were bald and she had open weeping sores over most of her skin. I gave up on the steroids.

I solved the problem by feeding my cats what is known as the B.A.R.F diet or biologically appropriate raw food. My cats are fed on a combination of raw chicken wings, raw minced meat mixed with raw heart, kidney and liver and raw pulped vegetables. The key is to feed the same proportions of these things as would be found in a cats natural diet eg. mice. And the ingredients must be RAW!

Little Dave's skin began to clear up slowly, and her fur grew back for the first time in years. She became very happy.

This is the healthiest diet for cats, and I truly believe that it has solved Little Dave's problem permanently. Further proof that the diet is the key is that my sister moved out recently and took Little with her. I continued to make the food for her, but my sister failed to give it her as she kept on forgetting to get the ready prepared portions out of the freezer.

Little's fur started to fall out again, and she was licking and biting at her skin just like before. This was curbed almost immediately when I ensured she was being fed the correct food.

I would never dream of feeding my cats normal cat food again. They are healthier and happier than they have ever been before.

It might take a little bit more time to feed your pets in this way but it's definitely worth it.

Check out the following websites for more info:

www.ukbarfclub.co.uk

Try reading

The Barf Diet: For Cats and Dogs by Dr. Ian Billinghurst

NATURAL NUTRITION FOR DOGS & CATS
Kymythy R Schultze

Which I found for a very reasonable price on Amazon.co.uk (in the Market Place)

Of course the most important thing for you to do at the moment is get your little cat to the vets, but it's worth looking into this natural way of feeding your little friend as a way of showing him how much you really care.

Answer 6

Sounds like ringworm OR something is upsetting kitty. Have a vet culture for ringworm (it's a fungal infection, not a worm) and if that's negative look around and see what might have your cat upset. Pet behavior books can help you decide what the trouble might be (I recommend "How to Be a Cat Detective" by Vicky Halls).

Answer 7

Hi there, ive been a cat lover all my life. I seen this so many times it is untrue. Its call nervous grooming, its the cats way of reponding to stressful situations by continually licking and chewing in one or more parts of the body,they do it for no apparent reason,But it can lead to skin conditions such as dermatitis, eczema,and even baldness. If you take her to the vets he or she can prescribe the cat with some kind of tranuillizer. this will clam her stresss levels down . hope you get it sorted it not nice to see your cat doing it to himself.

Answer 8

Hi Tom, Your cat has allergy thats why he is bites inside of his leg and they do lose some fur and they scab up. Call your vet and ask him what kind of medicine he needs to help him from biting a whole in hisself. A Friend.

Clowmy

Answer 9

if he is your world then why are you on here asking and not at the vet !!!!!! if your cat has worms he will be dragging its butt across the floor as it will be itching, my cat has the same thing as yours and all it was , was an allergic reaction to a flea bite , take him to the vets for proper treatment.

Answer 10

Hiya, I remeber a few years ago my cat had the same. I took her to the vets and they said it was ecszema (however you spell it). He gave her a steroid injection and all was well.
Hope this helps and that your cat gets better soon.