Constant licking (unhappy cat)

[Caidyn]

We have a 12 year old Himalayan who was in a  pattern of needing a cortisone shot every 2 years for the past 6 years (always in December) due to constant licking (maybe itchy?) and little scabs on her neck. But she just had one last December and another one 6 weeks ago and now she is starting again with the constant licking.  I don't think that the cortisone is probably healthy for her (?) but I don't want her to suffer and am wondering if anyone has any insight/suggestions? We have tired a 'non-allergenic' food previously but that didn't seem to have any effect and we have nothing inside our house that has changed and she is an inside only cat. 

[Thystle]

Bump

[vtechmom]

That's a hard one.  Chronic licking in cats can often be a psychological issue, but since it does seem to have gotten better after the injection that wouldn't seem to be the case.  It could be allergies, even with an indoor cat, how long and what food did you try?  It can take up to 12 weeks of the pet eating nothing but the hypoallergenic food for a difference to be seen.  Allergies can also develop/worsen throughout the life of a pet so it could be that nothing around the cat changed and it was just your cat itself.

Has a full blood work up been done?  A 12 year old cat is really at the age where liver, kidney, diabetes, and thyroid issues can start showing.  Thyroid in particular can show symptoms in the skin. 

If all that is normal I'd recommend talking with a board-certified dermatologist.  Cats can be seriously tricky animals to diagnose and treat since they seem to love to hide symptoms.

Good luck and keep us updated!

[starrlamia]

allergies would be my first though, what food is she on? Doing a full senior workup is probably also a great idea.

[2xy]

Yeah..."non-allergenic" doesn't necessarily mean "good" food. Just like Capri Sun labeled their juice pouches "all natural," which was just plain incorrect.

Cats are biologically geared to eat a meat-based diet with very little vegetation and even less grain. Their diet should be more than 90% meat based....not meat by-products; MEAT.

I had a cat years ago who would lick himself like crazy whenever we'd go away for more than a couple of days on vacation, due to stress. He was prescribed some sort of kitty Prozac for that, which worked.

[starrlamia]

actually meat by products are not neccessarily a bad thing, they just include every other part of the animal, which is good for cats (and dogs) they should be getting organs and some bone at least in their diets, fur and the other parts of by products are also often eaten by animals, Think "whole prey". However if the food has just by products then I wouldnt touch it.

[2xy]

Originally Posted by starrlamia 

actually meat by products are not neccessarily a bad thing, they just include every other part of the animal, which is good for cats (and dogs) they should be getting organs and some bone at least in their diets, fur and the other parts of by products are also often eaten by animals, Think "whole prey". However if the food has just by products then I wouldnt touch it.

In commercial pet food, meat by-products are more like beaks, feet, and feathers than organ meats, bone, and other healthful things.

What's Wrong With By-Products?

[starrlamia]

well that depends on the manufacturer, tbh i dont mind feeding my cat beaks, feet and feathers. I would not want the main meat source to be a by product, and i would look for a named meat meal rather then generic, however i do want to point out that about.com is not a good place to source information (that women has courses in anatomy and vet terminology... thats less nutritional training then my vet!) , nor are some of the more popular websites about food analysis (such as dogfoodanalysis.com) it is much more of a comprehensive study then most of the popular resources show. However in saying that, one should strive for getting the best quality food that they can, and stay far away from anything that has only by products as the listed sourced meat.

 

Originally Posted by 2xy 

In commercial pet food, meat by-products are more like beaks, feet, and feathers than organ meats, bone, and other healthful things.

What's Wrong With By-Products?

[2xy]

So I'm glad to see you agree that the main bulk of a cat's diet should be meat and not by-products. A diet that's mostly beaks and feathers is not a good diet for a cat.

Thanks for the advice regarding About.com. Don't worry....I don't run my life via About.com or Wikipedia. I was simply looking for a short snippet that people would actually read. Maybe I shouldn't project my time constraints onto the rest of MDC, but I'm not likely to sit here and read a 3-page long article regarding meat by-products.

[starrlamia]

sorry if i confused you, i didnt say that it should be the whole diet, that is fairly obvious i would think, but i guess i didnt make that clear enough.

TBH Ive always been of the mind that if someone wants to express an opinion then they should be ready to back it up using real sources, but i hear ya on not having the time for that lol.

[2xy]

I wasn't confused at all, thanks. I was just pointing out that you appeared to be contradicting me but we're really in agreement. I really don't understand the need to be contrary just for the sake of being contrary.

I hope you have found personal satisfaction from this thread. Have a nice day.

[Caneel]

OP - we had a licking issue with our female cat.  In the end, after all the tests, the vet determined it was nerves.  We gave her a very small amount of some sort of anti-anxiety stuff (ativan I think) that did the trick.  It was also very inexpensive.

[starrlamia]

i was actually pointing out that meat by products are not  a bad thing as most people freak out over them and say how bad a food is that contains any, unfortunately there is a lot of bad informatin circulating about what is and isnt good in pet foods. Please be a little less arrogant, it would have been a lot easier to have just pointed out my false assumption and stated otherwise.
 

Originally Posted by 2xy 

I wasn't confused at all, thanks. I was just pointing out that you appeared to be contradicting me but we're really in agreement. I really don't understand the need to be contrary just for the sake of being contrary.

Thanks for your opinion of my opinions. I'll sleep better. Have a nice day.