- e-Vet ALERT: Ticks and Disease
- e-Vet ALERT: Possible Spring Pet Injuries
- We have lost two special animals this past month
- e-Vet ALERT: Valentine dangers to your pet – roses, lilies, raisins, chocolate and more.
- $5 provides a box of Valentine’s cookies for a dog, or a box of heart-shaped treats for a cat
My cat scratches until he bleeds
Hi Dr. Brown,
My cat scratches himself until he bleeds, develops scabs, or even until the scabs turn into abscesses. He does this mostly around his neck. I have tried steroid shots which tend to only work for a couple of months. Is there a reason why he is doing this? Is there any supplement I can give to help his skin?
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
If this is primarily around the head and neck, I would suspect a skin or ear mite as the root cause. An allergy is possible but allergies will generally have more widespread symptoms. I would treat the ears internally with milbemite, treat the skin topically with a lime sulfur dip, and treat topically with Revolution every two weeks. The use of cortisone injections may be necessary to control the itching. If a true allergy a follow up with tablets may be required. Treat as required with antibiotics to control the skin infection. The most common skin supplement we use is hemp oil. A cat is given 1 to 2 ml orally daily.