My Cat -Bad Skin?

Question
Hi, You have probably already answered this in the other questions that I have read, but i just want to make sure. I have a cat who is going on a year now, and he was taken away from his mother at too young of an age. He was a barn cat and the people who had the cats didn't know how to take care of them. So my family took him in, but lately we have noticed that he is scratching and licking himself constantly and he's losing some of his hair. He has also developed scabs on his head, and his stomach is very red and dry. He is really skinny but he eats all the time. We have another cat who is the same age and he is significantly bigger. He has licked himself so much that his skin has a distinct odor. We have already gone to the vet to get him tested for feline leukemia, and the vet said to get a cortisone shot every month. My cat tends to stay in the kitchen all the time, and when he does go outside he just stays on the porch. We bathe him and do everything the vet told us to do, and it works for about a week. Do you have any advice?

Answer
Shayna,

Wow!  Skin problems are so hard to diagnose!!!!!  So, a couple of questions:  (1)  Are the cats neutered/spayed?  (2)  Have they been treated for fleas?

If cats go outside, they will encounter fleas.  Cats can be allergic to fleas, and this could cause some of the skin problems.  IF they go outside, you probably want to Frontline your cats.

Another possibility is that the cats have developed a hypersensitivity to body mites.  Treatment with Ivermectin should take care of that.  Ivermectin is dosed by weight and you will need your vet to figure up the dosage.  The cast would get one dose per week, given the same day, for 4 weeks.  Ivermectin is very safe, BUT, vets often get the dosage too high by a factor of 10, which can cause some problems.

Please let me know what you find out.  

Best regards... Norm.