My Cat is allergic to something!

Code Face

I recently got the garden done, and since then my cat is constantly licking himself - so much so that he is going bald from too much licking on his legs and underbelly. I brought him to the vet, who gave him a steroid injection, and the vet said it looked like he was allergic to something.

Now...my questions is: I reckon it could either be the Bark that has been laid out on the flower beds, or the Cedar Oil that I used to stain the decking - he spends a lot of time sleeping & sitting on both the flower beds & decking. So, which could it be, and why?

Thanks!

Hal1

Keep an eye on his / her weight. If the cat continues on like this bring the cat to the vet. This is what happened to my cat earlier this year, he had been in serveral fights with neighbourhood cats, he contracted felv and it wasnt nice.

Code Face

?
I did bring him to the vet, and the vet said it was an allergic reaction to something most likely in my garden. I asked if it could be the Bark or decking Oil - did you reply to a different thread by mistake?

Hal1

The second part of your post wasnt there when I posted that :eek:. Good luck with kitty, maybe keep it inside for a while.

Rancid

Code Face wrote:

I recently got the garden done, and since then my cat is constantly licking himself - so much so that he is going bald from too much licking on his legs and underbelly. I brought him to the vet, who gave him a steroid injection, and the vet said it looked like he was allergic to something.

Now...my questions is: I reckon it could either be the Bark that has been laid out on the flower beds, or the Cedar Oil that I used to stain the decking - he spends a lot of time sleeping & sitting on both the flower beds & decking. So, which could it be, and why?

Thanks!

Could the excessive grooming be some kind of behavioural response to the CHANGES in your cat's territory? They're very sensitive to change and even moving furniture around inside the house can get them edgy for a while.
Make sure he has a choice of things to lie on outside... cushions, mats, anything at all, to reduce contact with the decking and the bark, just in case.
Unless you can see signs of irritation on his skin, I'd worry more about him inhaling fumes from the oil or the bark, tbh.

Either way, do what you can to reduce stress for him.

stcatherine

I take it your vet addressed the most obvious cause ...fleas ?

Only I gather some vets are not as on the ball with these things as others. One of my cats in the past started going bald all over and we couldn't work out what it was, eventually the vet found a few well hidden flea bites.
The fleas weren't staying on her so it wasn't obvious, that they were biting her everytime she went out into the garden. and the poor thing was allergic.

In the end he gave her some kind of injection and it cleared up after a few weeks.

mazza

Our female cat has had exactly the same problem for the past three years - excessive grooming, leading to bloody patches on paws / neck etc, loss of hair from the stomach and elsewhere.

She had fleas on and off and had been treated for them, but the vet said she reckons that the cat is allergic to harvest mites. These are presumably some kind of insect which live in the grass during the Summer.

So, for each of the past three years, she has had exactly the same symptoms which always start appearing in early/mid July. Interestingly, this year she didn't start scratching and overgrooming till slightly later and I reckon it may have been because of the bad weather, rain etc which may have kept the cat in-doors and reduced the number of harvest mites. (The vet agreed this was likely).

Anyway, the vet prescribes Ovarid steriod tablets at the same time each year, which seem to reduce the scratchiness somewhat and also grooming etc. (Once the rash was so bad, she needed a steriod injection also). By about mid September, I think the harvest mites die and the cat's rash, over-grooming etc disappears.

None of our previous cats - who had the same garden as territory - ever suffered this problem.

Sounds similar to what your cat has and may be worth suggesting to the vet as a possibility?

Sphynx.ie

Code Face wrote:

I recently got the garden done, and since then my cat is constantly licking himself - so much so that he is going bald from too much licking on his legs and underbelly. I brought him to the vet, who gave him a steroid injection, and the vet said it looked like he was allergic to something.

Now...my questions is: I reckon it could either be the Bark that has been laid out on the flower beds, or the Cedar Oil that I used to stain the decking - he spends a lot of time sleeping & sitting on both the flower beds & decking. So, which could it be, and why?

Thanks!

hi,

here you could find many poisonous plants for cats. http://www.sphynx.ie/care/care/plants-poisonous/
maybe that will help you...

LB6

Hi,

Just my 2c worth, but my male (neutered) cat of 5 yrs started that in March. So much so that it became irritating not only for him but for the people in the house to be listening to it all the time. Eventually, like your cat he started going bald on the insides of his hind legs and on this lower belly. Well a visit to the vet, a steroid injection and a title of "CAT LICKERS BELLY" is what I was told. Nothing can be done about it. It's not an allergy to anything. Just excessive grooming. Well six months later, you'd never think there was anything wrong with him. All the hair that was licked away has grown back. Just give your cat time. Make sure he/she gets the steroid injection from the vet and try to discourage the licking.

good luck.