Cat licking his fur.

Dr. Marie replied:

Oh the poor guy! It sounds like a frustrating case especially considering you have been to the vet so many times!

I won't be able to give you a diagnosis but I can give you a few of my thoughts.

It's not uncommon to have a cat overgroom the legs and belly because of "stress". I say stress in quotes because often these cats live a life that to us looks perfectly stress free. Sometimes putting these cats on some type of anti-anxiety medication such as Amitriptylline or Reconcile can make a big difference. Often the medication is only short term and once the skin is back to normal we can wean the cat off of medicine.

Another thing to ask your vet about is the possibility of a parasite called Demodex. I used to think that Demodex in cats was quite rare, or something that was only seen in the southern US. However, it can be seen in many parts of the world and often goes misdiagnosed. Demodex is diagnosed by having your vet do a skin scraping.

Does Levy have lesions (like raw red spots or areas of skin?). If so this may be some sort of an eosinophilic plaque. These usually do respond to steroids but I have had some cats that need to have several steroid shots two weeks apart in order to be treated completely.

The next step as I see it would be to ask your vet to do a biopsy of the affected areas of skin. This almost always gives us a reason for what is going on and then we should know exactly how to treat it.

I hope things improve soon!

Dr. Marie.

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