Itchy cat

  My cat has been scratching in front of her ears and shaking her head for quite some time now, she scratches to the point of drawing blood it subsided significantly once her vet had me put her on a chicken free diet and a daily dose of 5mg of off-brand Zyrtec. Her ears were checked and are clean + ear mite free. While she still is continuing to scratch her face in front of her ears drawing blood just a lot less frequently. She has another vet appointment next month, to do a wellness check and to see if this could be mites or a yeast infection. What do you think?

Hello!  I think that itching animals are one of the biggest causes of frustration, because they are rarely solved in a single consultation.  The ones that are tend to be are usually flea or mite related.  Allergies are much more difficult to pinpoint and are often diagnosed by exclusion, for example you seem to be excluding chicken.  This and / or the meds appear to be improving things.  Yeast infections are often caused by scratching, damaging the skin and thereby allowing yeast (yeast lives outside the skin normally) to invade the tissues, hence the importance of reducing scratching.  This is often achieved by eliminating the cause (such as excluding chicken / fleas / whatever the trigger happens to be) and / or treating with anti-itch meds.    It's important to see skin allergy as a life-long condition, just as diabetes is a life-long condition;  it can flare and subside (often at different times of year) but repeat visits to the vet can often be expected.   Ears are simply skin, down a hole, with the added complication of producing wax when it is irritated.  Always ask a vet before putting anything down an ear.   I hope that some of this helps.

Hello!  Sorry- I got sidetracked issuing a lecture on skin disease there.  You wanted to know whether mites are a possibility and of course, they could be, as could unseen fleas (a cat doesn't actually have to go very close to a flea to get an allergy from one).  I'm sure your vets will take the required steps to rule out parasites as necessary.  They will also spot any signs of yeast infection and may well check the eats again.  They are likely to offer treatment if this appears to be the case.