Dealing With an Itchy Kitty

If you don't like cats, stop reading this post.

If you don't like reading about my cats, stop reading this post.

Our poor little girl, Bridget (bridgety-bobbity-boo) has terrible allergies. The homeopathic vet put her on a regular dose of fish oil (or as he said marine lipids) which has helped a great deal.

Except for one thing: We came home early last week to discover a Boo with a sore, red belly. She'd scratched, bit and licked her lower belly red-raw. It was pretty awful. Awful enough that I pinned her down to rub cortisone cream on her belly.

You can imagine how well that went over.

And, frustratingly, it was only marginally successful. That's why I found myself googling things like:

Cats with itchy bellies

Cat over-licks nipples

Cats raw red belly

Cat won't stop licking belly

I sorted through all sorts of recommended medications, behavior modification and natural remedies. I didn't want to take her to the vet - that's always an expensive and traumatic experience. I also didn't want to give her the most-frequently recommended treatment - a small dose of children's liquid Benadryl. We gave a former cat that treatment and I've still not recovered from the Exorcist-like projectile vomiting that followed.

One treatment that intrigued me was "ACV Spot Therapy."

ACV = Apple Cider Vinegar. I'm not kidding. Apparently apple cider vinegar is a pretty common natural treatment for itchy skin, for humans and pets alike.

So I mixed three parts water to one part apple cider vinegar, soaked a cotton ball with the mixture, trapped Bridget and dabbed it over the itchy spots.

After she finished crying and glaring at me reproachfully (that part lasted over an hour), she promptly ignored her belly. She didn't act like it smelled awful (though it did smell a little vinegary), nor did she act like it hurt. But she didn't lick - and that's what mattered.

Even better, the next morning most of the week-long redness and swelling was gone. I repeated the treatment, endured Bridget's repeated reproachful glares and noticed she was even better that evening.

We'll keep up the ACV Spot Therapy until her business down under looks like it's back to normal business. Definitely cheaper and easier than heading to the vet!