Question:
I have two cats. Both have developed problems with itching, with their entire bodies affected. Fleas are not the answer. I find small, round, scablike bumps close to the skin in the neck area. Their feet and legs are also bothered. I have had cats for many years, but I have never experienced this condition before.
I use Scoop Away litter, which has a perfume odor. Could this be the source of their discomfort? I feed them Friskies canned food for indoor cats, as well as Fancy Feast. The dry food is the Goodlife Recipe for indoor cats by Mars Inc.
A.F., Riverdale Park, Md Feb 13, 2011
Answer:
I receive many letters from cat owners whose poor felines are suffering like yours, and a few from people who have wised up and removed the scented cat litter (and all scented products in their homes), eliminating their cats' skin problems.
Others have written of the health benefits of changing diets from the big-brand types -- like the ones you are feeding your cats -- to the kind of homemade diet, per my website, or the brands I list: Evo, PetGuard, Wellness and Evanger's that contain whole foods rather than highly processed human-food-industry byproducts, which are high in cereals and low in quality protein.
A daily teaspoon of fish oil in your cats' food (beginning with a drop or two) will also benefit them. But some cats are allergic to fish and show the same symptoms as your cats, so good detective work and progress through elimination of suspect allergens is the way to go rather than having the cats being treated with drugs.
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