I recently took my cat to the vet because he’s been having a lot of skin/allergy issues. The vet thinks he may have allergies, prescribed Zyrtec, and gave him a shot for antibodies. She also thinks he has an ear infection, which may be why he’s been scratching his ears so much.

His grooming has also gotten pretty excessive. He’s been obsessively grooming the backs of his front legs to the point where they look almost shaved down, and he constantly grooms both of his back feet. He also over-grooms his groin area so much that he actually gives himself open wounds. His ears are another big problem — he scratches them so aggressively that he has given himself quite a few cuts.

I also mentioned to the vet that he throws up hairballs almost daily. When I brush him, I notice what looks like dandruff, but some of the flakes have little pieces of dry skin attached to the end of the hair.

He’s been wearing a donut collar for about 6 days, and I’ve noticed a lot more of these dandruff/scab-looking pieces since then, especially around his armpits. They feel pretty hard/crusty. I brushed his entire body today and they were coming out from pretty much everywhere.

I’m wondering if not being able to groom himself normally because of the donut could be causing some of this buildup, but I’m also concerned there may be something else going on with his skin. I also wonder if all the excessive grooming could be contributing to the amount of hairballs he’s throwing up.

Has anyone experienced something similar with their cat? Could this be allergies, dry skin, mites, a fungal/skin infection, or something else? Is there anything safe I can do to help him in the meantime? Any suggestions at all would really help I just want to make him more comfortable! 

He has another checkup scheduled in about two weeks, and I’ll definitely be showing the vet pictures and bringing up all of these symptoms. I’m mainly looking to hear from anyone who has dealt with something similar and what ended up being the cause.

Cat with excessive grooming, wounds, and hard dandruff/scab-like pieces — allergies or something else?