Cat question
#150315 - 02/15/05 10:45 AM
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michele
Reged: 06/02/03
Posts: 6886
Loc: southeastern michigan
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I have a pursian cat. He is about 3.5 years old. He has VERY long hair. I brush him most everyday. A few weeks back, we noticed he kept bitting at his back, down by his tail. I noticed his skin was kinda flakey looking so we gave him a bath with some special shampoo thats supposed to nourish the coat. We have used this shampoo on him before.
I went to the pet store and asked them about it. They said to buy him this special (and of course, more expansive food) thats supposed to help with the skin and coat. So, I swiyched his food about a week ago, she said it may take a month before it gets better. In the meantime, I also bought some spray on conditioner stuff for cats and have been spraying him every few days. He is still digging and bitting himself! He has a few scabs and I just feel awful for him!
I thought I remember hearing once about giving animals raw eggs on there food??? Anyone know anything about this or have any other suggestions. I'm hoping the new food will help in the long run but I'd like to make him more comfortable right now! Any ideas?
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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I don't know about the raw eggs, but I know you can purchase fish oil (or just omega 3 oils) from most vets that you can add to their food to help with coats and skin. My vet recommended that for my cat too 
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Re: Cat question
#150321 - 02/15/05 10:50 AM
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Kimm
Reged: 03/10/04
Posts: 1171
Loc: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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It sounds more like a skin problem than a coat problem to me. There is obviously something irritating him or else he wouldn't be scratching and biting at that area.
I'd make a vet visit. That way you don't have to guess and then you can take care of it properly. Poor kitty!!
Hope he feels better soon!!
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Hi Michelle,
I've grown up with cats (and dogs too), but we did have one develop problems like you are describing. I don't know if it's exactly the same, since I can't see the sore spots, but when this happened to one cat, it turned out to be a parasite. Bad news on that is that it requires a trip to the vet, a test and some medicine, all of which costs a bit of money. Good news is that once we got the medicine everything cleared up swimmingly. So, I would try the things that you can get from the pet store and watch for improvement, but if kitty continues to get worse, you may want to go into the vet and ask about it. I don't remember the name of the parasite, but it seemed to be a somewhat common thing. Good luck and hope kitty gets better soon. Caffrey and Stoli - my two kitties - send hugs!
Min
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If your house is pretty dry feeling, that could worsen his dry skin. You could try using a humidifier. I have not heard of the egg thing before... so can't answer you on that. One more thing you could do Michele, is try adding a little canola oil (just a tiny amount) to his food. good luck! I know how helpless it feels when your precious pets have problems that cause them misery. 
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~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
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My house isn't too bad for Michigan in the winter! We run a humidifier 24/7 starting in like Novemeber! It goes through almost 2 gallons in about a day and half!
Would I mix the canola oil right on the dry food? Like maybe a spoon to a bowl of food?
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Fish oil, would that be aliquid type oil that I can get at a health food store?? Do you think that would be any better than the canola oil the Rachel recommended?
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So the coat conditioning shampoo will do nothing for it...you need one for excema...or take it to the vets!
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I was wondering about some sort of bug/parasite thing. Although we do have another cat and she is fine. They were both into the vets office a few months ago for the routine maintance stuff, shots and whatever. I've looked him over very closely and don't see anything moving and I've also checked the cat box, ick!
His skin just looks a little white and flakey, just like ours get. He has a few little scabs were he has itched it too much though. I'm keeping a very close eye on them, the bad spots are very small and I don't see any sign of infection or anything. He seems happy enough, he runs around and plays and everything. Just once in a while, he'll stop dead in his tracks and bit at his back/butt area!
I'll try the canola oil and give it a couple more weeks to see if the new food works but if it doesn't clear up or gets worse, I'll definetely call the vet!
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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...try a medicinal shampoo for just that. It's pretty common with pets. Also, try and stop him scratching...hard I know! 
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It wouldn't hurt just to phone the vet and ask them for suggestions. They might be able to offer up something. Also, I didn't think of the fish oil... that's a good idea. Just dab a little on the dry food, but keep it away from your other kitty... I'm sure it will be quite tempting, and you want to make sure it goes in the correct bod!
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~ Rachel (IBS-C)
If life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!
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Is he.....
#150428 - 02/15/05 01:43 PM
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Kimm
Reged: 03/10/04
Posts: 1171
Loc: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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biting or scratching? A trick we used to do with my old cat (who would chew herself up for reasons nobody could figure out) is put a bit of toothpaste around the area he's biting at and trust me....they usually don't like the taste at all!!
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Silly Kitty!! I would take him in to the vet to. YEAH I know more money!!! BLLAAAAA !!LOL
I hope he feels better soon!!!! Poor GUY!!!!
I know My Step mom's dog did that to his paws when ever he would stress out over something!!!
God Luck honey!!!!
HUGS
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Heather7476
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I don't know if it would be better, it might be a little easier for the digestion, but I'm not sure. I do know that fish oil (specifically Omega 3) has a lot of other health benefits other than just helping with the skin/coat. I know the vet I was at sold some liquid type, but he also said we could just buy the capsules that human's take and open them up over the food. Something like these: http://www.jamiesonvitamins.com/product_item.asp?id=167
Hope that helps!
Kelly
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Could he have allergies? My parents dog scratches himself to death on his left paw from time to time and needs to take a dog antihistamine.
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Wow, thanks! I did add just a little bit of oil to there food this monring but I'm going to stop at Whole foods and see if they have the fish oil. They have a big selection of vitamins and its on my way home!!
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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Hi Michele, I was wondering if you cat pulls out hair at the base of the tail or in that area? Our Cat Charlie started to do that a couple years ago. I took hhim in to the vet and they told me that there is a gland at the base of the tail and if it gets plugged up they will scratch and bit at the area in an attempt to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling there. They told me to feed Charlie about a tsp or 2 of canned pumpkin a day. I mixed it in with his food a little at a time. I used canned food for this. I slowly built it up to 2tsp a day. It worked really well. Every once in a while I still have to do that. The first time we had to do it for about 3 weeks. The pumpkin has fiber in it and that will help to get the gland unclogged. Hope this helps. Gail
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I've had cats for over 50 years, and I say YES to egg yolk. I've given all mine egg yolk. It's fantastic in nutrients they don't get elsewhere. Some of mine would drink it just slightly beaten with a little water or milk (if you give your cat any, which you really shouldn't) or if they won't drink it, cook it and mix it into the food they like. The egg yolk and and pumpkin, and the fish oils are full of Vit A........great for skin and coat.
Lidacaine to keep the cat from scratching the bad spot.
Lots of brushing, and even more so just with your hands, to give him your own natural oils from your hands...and don't bath the poor thing to much...you are removing all the natural oils they need for a healthy coat and skin.
Just my 2 cent's worth.
Kandee
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