Few months back Magneto, our cat had what looked like a bad rash on the back of his hind legs and was picking at it constantly. To the point he had no hair and it was raw. I took him to the vet who said he must be allergic to something. Magneto's constant picking led to an infection. The vet gave him some shots of anitbodies and meds for $200 bucks! I talked to my good friend and fellow cat owner, Debra, (Ginger's mom) who suggested if I was giving him dry food to stop! And sure enuff, his hair grew back and it seemed the infection went away. Here we r in May, only wet food from LickurChops and Merrick and seems it is coming back! Any ideas what may be causing this skin irritation?

Melissa

I checked with Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins, the Official Vet of Cat Chat. who tells me that once skin allergies are triggered by dry foods, that they can be hard to banish entirely. For the moment, the first thing to do is feed a hypoallergenic diet of raw chicken (see the Feline's Pride nutritional link on Cat Chat) or rabbit. For a short while, the cat may need an antibiotic like cyclosporine and steroids by mouth, not injectable.

Good luck,

Tracie Hotchner