anyone who knows something about cats, I need some help

[Norwood]

My moms cat sake has taken to biting and scratching herself to the point where fur is being ripped out and shes even bleeding a bit. They took her to the vet and they took a culture, but never responded with the results. Any idea what this could be or how to make it stop? I might be able to get a picture if need be. Thanks in advance

[skooooo]

1. Take it to another vet asap...

...and raise hell with the vet that never got back to you. They ought to refund any money you spent there. That cat needs help, and maybe a cortisone shot or something.

[Critters2]

2. I agree with skooooo, see another vet. I had a parishioner in Iowa

whose cat did this, and the vet put him on an anti-anxiety drug. I can't remember which one. The woman was really uncomfortable giving her cat a psychotropic drug, but it solved the problem.

[Inchworm]

3. Get results or goto a different vet

could be something as simple as a pill for 2-3 days. Good vets will know.

:hi:

[lildreamer316]

4. I agree with the responses; also:

there is a cortisone spray you can get at either a pet store or a really good supermarket (not more than $5-$7) to possibly help a little bit; also get an oatmeal shampoo (they make it for pets; kinda like Aveeno) and gently bath her.
Poor baby..please let us know how it goes.

[Lil Missy]

5. I think she is nervous or upset about something.

How's the home situation? Cats don't just tear their own fur out to the point of bleeding for no reason.

Something is wrong there. That seems almost hysterical.

You asked.

[MajorChode]

6. I'd put the satellite dish on her until you get it sorted out

[skygazer]

7. Could be flea allergic dermatitis

Common in cats and easily treatable. But definitely get another vet - there's no excuse for not responding to an issue like that.

[Arugula Latte]

12. A friend's cat got very scabby from flea allergic dermatitis.

Some Advantage might help.

[DeepBlueC]

8. my cat has a similar problem

My vet calls it neurodermatitis. What helps him(and very quickly) is an injection of a long-acting steroid. I have founds small breakthroughs since that I treat topically with Betaderm. If the cat is prone to this sort of thing it can be a long term problem. But I had one cat before who had this who did recover completely.

[grasswire]

9. natural foods stores carry something called Rescue Remedy or...

...something like that: it is highly recommended for nervous kittehs.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. I use to it keep the one dog from getting car sick

It works.

[Lil Missy]

10. So what did you decide, Norwood?

[SoxFan]

13. Could be psychological

Seriously.

The late, great Tiger had a spell of anxiety when my parents added another cat to the household. Tiges started gnawing her fur bare. Eventually, she came to terms with the situation, and returned to her normal self.

[Catshrink]

14. Might be allergies.

My Sammy had this problem a while back. We tinkered with the food but that didn't help. It ended up being the kitty litter we were using.

[Norwood]

15. well shes def being taken to the vet which goes without saying

Im not sure if its fleas or a parasite since they have a second cat and she has no problems at all. Im thinking it could be psychological, stress or something. Ive heard of this destressing thing, u plug it in and its supposed to help them relax, they'll buy it if thats the problem, How do u make teh kitty more comfortable and less stressed. its a mellow environment as it is. oh btw Im typing this from a cell phone so sorry if the formatting sucks

[distantearlywarning]

17. The plug-in thing is called Feliway

Some people swear by it. I never seemed to have much luck with it myself, but then again the cat we had who needed it was very very crazy, so it might be just that the Feliway wasn't quite strong enough to counteract her particular psychological issues.

[Bossy Monkey]

18. The plug-in thing is a Feliway diffuser

We tried it when the older cat died and we brought in a new kitten to a house where the surviving cat was already very high-strung. I guess it worked. Surviving cat doubled in size; I think she suffers from megacolon but that was the first time that happened. I don't think it had anything to do with the Feliway, but can't be absolutely sure.

To de-stress a kitty household, make sure the kitty always has lots to do, that there is at least one more litter box than there are kitties and that they're always clean and (here's the one I didn't realize) that they always have fresh, clean water, where "fresh" means change it twice a day.

[distantearlywarning]

16. Fleas, allergies, stress

We had a cat that did this. It turned out one of the things he was allergic to was carpet. He improved after we moved to a place with hardwood floors. We were never able to get him to stop doing it completely, though, and he couldn't take steroids because he had a chronic disease that would flare up when the steroids suppressed his immune system. And we couldn't ever completely track down all the stuff he was allergic to.

We finally solved his issues by putting Soft Paws on his hind claws. He was still itchy, but he could scratch without putting giant holes in his face (which tended to make the problem 100X worse). Even though he still had allergies, not being able to scratch the living hell out of himself improved his quality of life tremendously.

Some kitties have food allergies, so you might try changing foods.

[applegrove]

19. Only a vet can help I think. Call your old vet and ask what is up. Or take him to a new vet.

Could be a worm or some such infestation. I don't think you want that in your house let alone on your cat.

[Norwood]

20. Update:

Well I went with my mom to take Sake to the vet and the vet seemed to think its allergies. Allergens have been pretty bad in our area it seems and its messing with both people and animals alike. Sake got a shot of steroid to lessen the itching and was put on a antihistamine. We mentioned the Feliway and she thought it was more a medical thing than psychological but said it couldn't hurt so we snagged that up as well.

So now its gonna be a wait and see type of thing. Other than than her itching Sake is a perfectly healthy cat.

[alarimer]

21. Allergies? or fleas.

My cat did that when we had a bad flea infestation. He would get these scabs all over. So I put him on a flea treatment and eventually it all went away.

[MichiganVote]

22. Did you change food of late? Sounds like allergies.

[mwdem]

23. My cat has been doing this for 5 years now.

I ended up at an animal dermatologist, they did a skin test, and she's allergic to fleas, most grasses and dust. She took the shots for a couple of years, then they stopped helping, so now she's on steroids, bathing, and once in awhile the "satellite dish" when it's really bad. She's used to it all now. Good luck with the kitteh!