Question by Ang: My cat is licking herself bald?
My cat Belle is about 8 years old, and I’ve had her since she was a kitten. About 2 months ago, I noticed that she was spending a lot of time grooming herself, and on her belly and between her hind legs she was starting to loose some hair. Since then, she has licked herself completely bald in that area. Not anywhere near the genitals, more along the belly area.

I think maybe it started out that she was itchy like from an allergy and was almost chewing on her own skin to make it stop. But not she just licks herself obsessively and so the hair is not coming back like it should. I did not change food or anything in the time since this started.

I know I could take her to the vet and get her on steroids or something, but I’d like to know if there is something less drastic I could try first. Like, can I rub hydrocortizone (sp?) cream on the affected area to stop the itching? Or what about something that tastes foul that she would not want to lick? Maybe something they use for hot spots in dogs since the condition is kinda like that anyway?

Any suggestions? Anybody had this problem before?
I think I will try the orange peel idea. Can’t hurt, right? But I don’t think I’d try to give a cat a bath. I like my skin intact…

I do agree that an allergy is the likely culprit. But I have not changed anything. Interestingly, when this cat was a kitten she sometimes used to throw up immediately after eating and my vet suspected a food allergy. We tried all the expensive Iams and Science Diet, tried all natural food with no preservatives, even tried cooking people food for her, with no luck. So I just went back to feeding Purina Cat Chow and eventually the problem stopped on its own. Well, sometime she still throws up, but not that often and it’s just something I’ve learned to live with. The vet also tried pills and shots (I can’t remember what it was long ago) with no luck, so we just decided to live with it. I think mostly she threw up from eating too fast because the problem got better when I started feeding her in a different room than my other cat so she didn’t feel rushed.

Best answer:

Answer by vetliu
Your cat is getting older so it’s fur might become more loose. Try to give it a bath and rub the outside of an orange peel against wherever. Most cat’s do not like the smell of that. If your cat just still loses a ton of fur you should take it to the vet. They don’t always give them steriods either so you don’t have to worry about that.

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Question by Justin B: How can I keep my dog from licking and scratching her skin raw?
My dog, a gordon setter mix, is constantly scratching and licking. Recently she’s been doing it so bad that her back over her hind legs is completely raw and bald. It seems that I’ve tried everything. The vet has given her steroid pills and steroid shots, the shots seemed to work well, but they would eventually ware off, and the vet said constantly giving her the shots would cause organ failure. We’ve tried lamb and rice food, even bought some of that expensive food they sell in the vet’s office, but it didn’t seem to work. I can’t afford getting her an allergy test, and I don’t know what else to do. Anyone have any suggestions?

Best answer:

Answer by Natalie
You need to get an allergy test for your dog as it is obviously itchy/in pain.

Try working out a payment plan with your vet or go to a local shelter/rescue centre and see if they can help you.

I am not sure where you are but in the UK, they have places that will give medical assistance to dogs belonging to people who can’t afford to pay.

In the mean time, buy her a plastic cone to put on so that she can’t get to her back legs to scratch/lick them.

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Question by Kris: My dog is constantly licking his butt. Why has he suddenly started doing this?
My dachshund has started licking his butt constantly. He used to do it occasionally…like most dogs, but it has become evident that something is up. Problem is…we took him to the vet and had his anal glands expressed and the vet didn’t believe that anything looked unusual back there. He already has special food for allergies, takes fish oil everyday, and is bathed in special oatmeal bath. Also, he has all of his shots and takes deworming and flee meds once a month. Any advice? I’m lost at this point and he seems uncomfortable, it actually wakes him up.

Best answer:

Answer by RC
my dog used to do this, we took him to the vet and they said he had some kind of infection…try taking him to the vet or something if you can. or try wiping the dog instead with moist wipes to soothe the pain i guess…

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Question by leahsxul: my FIV cat wont stop licking and grooming himself!?
my cat has FIV, he’s 11 in may and is doing great. BUT i took him to the vet a month ago because he was starting to hack a little bit, and we gave him some antibiotics and something else and it got a little better, doc said it was probably because of fleas, i have no carpet and treated the fleas for 2 months i think they’re gone but now the last three days he’s been hacking up SO MUCH worse i took him to the vet today and they gave him a steroid shot because the doc says he has allergies or the mold in our house has compromised his lung and we had to give him the steroid even tho he has fiv and the steroid could make is worse but at this point its better to give it to him then not. have never seen him lick and groom himself like this before, it wakes me up at night and i can’t sleep. we just got my son a bunny and now it wont stop licking itself. could there be some parasite bothering them that the doc didnt know to take notice to?
we have one other cat, i dont know whether she licks to much shes my husbands cat so i dont pay much attention to her lol but i think shes very healthy.

what possible parasites could i be dealing with? my cat, i just noticed after the doc (DAMN IT unfortunately) ,has two red (blood) spots on one of his ears, i dont know if that has anything to do with it but they were never there before.hes never been like this before.

we just moved to TN from FL could it be the spring up north? i wouldn’t know. but if so why is the bunny scratching and licking non-stop now too when it didnt when it first came here? could it be mange from a dog i brought in the house a month ago or so that i meticulously cleaned after it left?

OR if it is just my cat reacting to mold, there something else i can give him to help his immune system? the doc said no and he’s a good one but i dont believe it.

thanks in advance to anyone who answers i knows it a long detailed question, and i’m a proud natural born worry-wort lol

Best answer:

Answer by Clarice
Your cat could possibly be allergic to the rabbit itself.
Try looking up rabbits and the parasites they can get, and if cats can get them too.
Also, tell your veterinarian about the rabbit.
Sometimes cats obsessively lick due to some kind of behavioral issue.
Good luck.

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Question by SweetLikePoison: My Boxer keeps scratching and licking. Why, and what to do?
My 3yr old Male Boxer keeps scratching his neck, head, back, and ears. He rubs his chin on his back also. He has a ear infection which has been treated with a flush and another ear med. for the last week. We went to the vet initially because of a bunch of sores that he made under his chin/neck in a 2 day period. That’s when we found out about the 1 ear. He seems super sensitive and keeps scratching. He is continuously licking his paws also. The poor guy has sores now on his neck and top of his head. Nothing has changed about our routine except that Im 6 weeks pregnant. Is he having anxiety? Or has he maybe come down with a new allergy or something? I had made a homemade E-Collar out of a beach towel to try to keep him from scratching his neck and ears. The vet thought he scratched his neck because of his ear, like he just missed it. That cant be right since his body/back is sensitive to the touch, and scratching all over. I don’t want to bathe him due to his ear infection. He is a house dog, so its not like he is dirty or anything. He does NOT have fleas. The poor guy hasn’t ever done this before. (My other two dogs are not doing anything out of the norm either.)
He doesnt have any fleas. Ive gone over his entire body with a flea comb. No fleas or flea poop on him, hes a fawn too… didnt visually see anything either. We use Purina. He has been on it for two years now. Its the same that Ive been feeding my dogs for the last 10 years. Its always worked well with them all. I havent ever heard of the 2 you were talking about. Ive seen Science Diet at the vet. Had to use a stone disolving canned food for my Great Dane once. (He didnt have them) We are going to call the vet today about him. Its strange for “O”. he licks on a norm, he likes the white on his paws to stay white. But he has been excessive with it. Ive been keeping a eye out for hot spots also. Nothing so far. Thats why I made that E-Collar. Thank you all for your suggestions. My family has shown and bred Labs as long as I can remember. So alot of it Ive already thought of, or tried. I do know that I dont know it all. So I had to ask. Thank You for your answers.
I also tried antihystimine the other day. He had that in the AM, then we went to the vet in the afternoon. He had to be sedated for the vet to clean out and look in his ear. He wouldnt quit wiggling. Later that night he had a seizure. Im thinking it was from the Sedative. A adverse reaction. Im not sure. He only had one, we monitored him the rest of the night and since then he hasnt had anymore then one. Poor guy has had some issues go on and it all started with me seeing scratches on his neck.

Best answer:

Answer by Darla
It sounds like he may have allergies. You can give him 2 OTC Benadryl and see if that helps his itching-I know that Benadryl is safe for dogs because my Veterinarian gave it to our Boxer/Pit Bull Mix.
Have you treated him for fleas?
Our dog was allergic to flea bites.

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