help!

ok, so it's not dog-related, but animal related. I'm not sure if I will find any answers here, but I figured it's worth a shot!

My cat is scratching herslef raw! She's about 14 years old now, still in good health, active, jumping, running around, eating very well....
I first noticed it around her eyes, but now she has a large stop on her neck!
What can I do for her? My vet won't let me bring her in unless my mom is with me, because she is registered in her name. Last time they did this to us, I took my other cat to a different vet (was a big emergancy and they were not helping....)

Can you take the cat to a different vet then?

I would. I'd want a vet to look at that spot and possibly do a scraping (if the spot isn't too raw).
If there's no bacteria, no mange mites, and no fungus, I'd start looking towards allergies.

Good luck and I hope you get some answers!

Do you have any "hot spot" shampoo? That could relieve the itching for a bit. The next thing...is the cat inside only? Has her food been changed recently?

Have your mom schedule an appointment. Is that cat on any type of flea preventative?

There could be a number of reasons your cat is doing this. It could be flea dematitis, it could be an allergy, food or fleas or otherwise, and a number of other things. It is treatable but I doubt that you can fix it without the help of a vet and the proper meds. It might help to get a product for "hot spots" to at least relieve the scratching, but it will not fix the problem. I really think it's important to vet your cat, especially since it can be fixed and you want to avoid potential infections or absesses from all the digging. Absesses can be a nightmare, expensive, and deadly besides.

she's on advantage, has been her whole life. She is strictly indoors, doesn't even go on the porch by the pool with the rest of the cats...
Her food hasn't been changes in probably the past 2-3 years... So I wouldn't think it's an allergy.
I'll try to get some pictures when I get home and I will have my mom make an appointment, if they can't get her in, she will be going to the vet that I take my dog to (I like them better anyways, only they won't have all of her records and such, she has some issues with her kidneys about 5 years ago)

I'm glad you are going to vet her. It's just really hard to tell what is causing her problem without doing that.

Her vet is closed on Wednesdays... but they have all her records - blood work, unrine, etc. on file.... I am hesitant to take her to Casey's vet because I don't know what is in her records...as I said earlier, she had some major problems about 5 years ago and we almost lost her. And as inconvienent as this vet is, they do know her history....
is there anything I can do for her now? I will try to get some pictures... I have panalog ointment that I can put on it, but I've been reading that if it is a hot spot it's best to keep it dry... I was thinking it could be her collar that is irritating her, but that wouldn't explain why she is scratching at her eyes...
this is her before the scratching... I'm waiting for my camera to charge so I can get new ones of her sores

Isn't she cute!

here are some pictures... she HATES having her picture taken, hence the horrible look she is giving me in the first one...

Oh boy that doesn't look good at all. Something is really bothering her. You are definitely going to need some antibiotic cream for those eye lids, for starters. And usually if a vet can't get a handle on what's causing it, some prednisolone to stop the scratching. This is definitely Vet time.

The way the fur is missing, almost looks like a granuloma. I had a cat who had that problem. Would flare up and then go away, but he needed meds to help. Here's a link about it.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_eosinophilic_granuloma.html

Please move along with a vet visit ASAP, if you can. I know you are not the Decider, but you will make it happen.

I will talk to my mom as soon as she gets home. Hopfully, if she can't get her to the vet she can at least get her records so I can take her to mine...
I feel so bad for her, I wish there was something I could do for her now! I took her collar off, hopfully that will help a little bit (she hates that thing, but I insist ALL my animals wear one after we lost her brother....)

Well for now, they won't need her records. Vets are used to seeing these things and most of them can pretty well figure out what's going on. She's probably not in any danger, but she is uncomfortable that's for sure, and it's best to deal with it before it gets worse or an infection happens. The eyes are a concern, but I'm sure you already know that. I have faith you will make a vet visit happen. I know it's hard when you aren't the one with the power, but I'm sure your mom will recognize there's a potential for bigger problems here.

She will be going tomorrow, whether it's with her vet or Casey's, I don't know yet. But she is going. She doesn't want me to touch her anymore...which is not like her at all, she is normally obnoxiously affectionate =[

Yeah well her skin hurts is all. Tomorrow will be fine I am sure. I will keep watching this thread for your update. Hang in there.

thanks, I just put a call into Casey's vet, but he only works half days. So she can't go there today either...

OUCH. The only time that h appened to my cat, we had her on advantage. Switched to frontline plus, and the problem was gone. It was the fleas that got her, and i couldn't even see them.

she's going to the vet first thing tomorrow morning. My mom is going to sign her over into my name so we don't have this problem with her or any of our other animals again...
I checked at the base of her tail, where the fleas would normally attack, and I didn't see anything... her ears need a good cleaning out, but that wouldn't effect her neck.

so according to this, she could have developed an allergy to the food she has been eating for the past couple of years?