Hello can somebody give me some advice?

We adopted an adult cat from the RSPCA about two months ago. He had a rash like little red spots on his head from the eyes up to his ears on both sides and he'd rubbed the hair off. They weren't sure what was wrong with him but thought it was an allergy to a flea bite.

He responded fairly well to the prednisone they gave him but it didn't go away completely. The rash started to come back two week ago, I took him to the vets who gave him a steroid shot which improved it for a few days but then it has come back again.

We can rule out fleas and ear mites as he's been treated for these and shows no sign of them. We thought that maybe he has a food allergy. We started him on a complete hypoallergenic diet on Friday and have put an Elizabethan collar on him along with some medicated cat "itch-stick" so he can't scratch and make it worse.

Although he's not scratching himself raw anymore (good) he's now got a build up of browny red crusty scabs on his head and around his ears. We've persevering with the itch stick and i tried to soften some of the scabs with a warm soft cloth earlier.

I hate seeing him so morose with the surgical collar on but I'm not sure what to do next. I am erring towards sticking with the hypoallergenic diet and the collar until the weekend to see if it improves.

Does anybody have experience of ruling out allergies in a cat?

Thanks for reading this. Other details- he's about 2 or 3 (RSPCA weren't sure) and he goes outside (but not since he's been wearing the collar).

If it's on his head, could he be rubbing up against something which is causing the reaction? After all, they to rub their heads against surfaces to mark scent. Maybe, it is something you are using in your house to clean with which he is getting on his face and causing the reaction.

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Allergies are notoriously difficult to pin down, particularly when the symptoms manifest themselves in skin problems rather than gastro-intestinal problems.

Did the vet advise you to try that hypoallergenic food? What are you feeding him? Have they talked to you about allergy tests, elimination diet, eliminating external triggers?

There is evening primrose oil, which contains particular fatty acids that help to control the itch associated with allergies in a natural way. Just a couple of drops in with the food a day (if he eats it with them on it).