Ok, thought i would drop this in chat (don't come in this section very often).

My middle cat Lucie seems to have an issue. Please note I plan to take her back to the vets tomorrow but looking for some insight and possibly alternative remedies to help.

SO some background - Lucie is a long haired black moggie. I have had her since she was 6 weeks old (yes I know it was young) and she has just turned 11. She came from a farm where they were raised in an open fronted barn. She had never been in a house until I took her home and she was very sick (the runt had already died). We took her to the vets the next day as she had cat flu, a bacterial infection (bleeding when she pooed) and she also had a twisted spine and broken tail. She was back and forth to the vets every 4 months for the first 3 years of her life as she was just always getting sick.

About 3-4 years ago she started overgrooming. We used feliway and zylkene and this would calm it down for 6 months or so and then she would start up. The vet thinks its obsessive grooming. Every year around march time she also gets bumps on her skin and gets itchy. She has a jab that usually sorts it. We think it could be a seasonal allergy. However this year, the jab hasn't worked and she has had 3 of them. I have tried washing her (once), i have been using frontline and diatemaceous earth (so i dont think its fleas and i cant find any on her) but she is scratching a lot and is very scabby on her head and neck. I have just noticed her head and neck are covered in blood as she's just scratching and scratching.

Does anybody have any experience of this? or any ideas of something else i can try? She used to be so beautiful and now she is half bald and scabby. I just wish i knew what was causing it.

She is still as cuddly as ever - more so since i got pregnant.

youre right to take her to vets!
no idea - i know some types of frontline has become less effective.
there is another stress diffuser called pet remedy, its natural and there is a link to a supplier on the cat classifieds bit

let us know how she gets on at vets.

Aw bless her!! The only thing i can think of is a flea allergy! years ago i had a cat with scabs and itchy and i too never saw a flea on her! I took her to the vet and thats what they said it was?? She used to have tablets for it this was before the back of the neck flea treatments. I didnt believe she had fleas cos like you i never saw one but im guessing she must have had em looking back! I know you said she has been frontlined but this has had a lot of reports of not working anymore, i used to use stronghold from the vets but have just changed to advocate because the vet didnt have any stronghold this time when i went! Hope she gets sorted tomorrow! let us know how you get on

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wrt the frontline, that's why we have also used diatemaceous earth. its completely natural and the fleas cant build up an allergy. we have been using it on all cats, plus the dog and the house in general.

Whatever it is, its def ot worse over the last 4 years and this year has come out with a vengence

Ah bless her it definitely sounds as though she may be suffering with an allergy / allergies. There are other possible causes though which hopefully the vet will be able to rule out.

Unfortunately allergies are notoriously difficult to get to the bottom of but I would start with the simpler things. The first thing I would consider is trying a different, effective flea treatment such as Advocate or Stronghold. Next I would consider a food elimination trial, the apparent seasonal nature would suggest it may not be food allergies but these are not uncommon and easier to rule out than environmental allergies.

I would also ask the vet about whether it's worth trying anti histamines, these aren't effective in most cases but are generally considered to be far safer than immune suppressants and can be very effective in some cases.

See what the vet has to say but in addition to whatever course of action they consider best it would probably be worthwhile adding Evening Primrose Oil to her feed which has the effect of calming the skin and soothing irritation.

Thanks this is the sort of stuff i was looking for. She has been on Natures Menu for about 3 years so will look at alternative foods. I have been told by the vet its unlikely we will find the exact cause, but gotta try! My poor baby looks such a mess!

For the past year my 18 year old cat will scratch and scratch her neck in one specific area until it is red raw and bleeding...
Took her to the vet and they say she has got a skin condition... she normally mutilates her neck, when she is stressed out.

It will heal beautifully, then a few months later she will do the same thing again... then it will heal again and the same cycle will continues.
She gets a pain killer injection and fuciderm gel from the vet regularly...

I also cut up old sock and she wears a snood when she is at her worse, she is an indoor cat and it seems to help. I also cut her back nails a lot too…

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Like people it's perfectly possible for cats to react to more than one allergen, in fact being allergic to one increases the risk of developing others so quite often this is the case. Was she receiving a steroid injection for the seasonal occurence? Flea related allergy usually responds well to this as well.

Given the current location of the itching-combined with poor response to steroids if this was the case - and having completely ruled out fleas ( quite often owing to overzealous grooming it's virtually impossible to find them ) I would strongly suspect food allergy. Incidentally cats develop allergies to foods or food ingredients they've been fed a long time as opposed to a new one, so I'd look to current diet as a very possible culprit. This is usually 'confirmed' by feeding a novel protein source ie one the cat has never had before like venison, or lamb. I would speak to vet about this.

Yep she was having a steroid injection which just used to sort it and then she would be fine for the year. This time it hasn't worked and she has had 3 this year.

We were told by the vet if the hair is course where she has been grooming, it has broken off and this is likely for fleas. If its very smooth (it is) its overgrooming due to habit. They likened it to someone being addicted to biting their nails.

Ok, so the earliest appointment I could get was for today.

They checked her over and said they would do skin scrapings and skin pulls to check for mites. They have phoned me back and said no mites, no flea dirt and no evidence of adult fleas.

They have suggested i change her food for six weeks to something bland like a salmon and potato mix, so going to look up how i can do this myself and make sure she has the right levels of vitamins. We will also book her in in the new year for allergy testing and then go from there.

Poor Lucie cat