Ianto, our 8 year old rescue cat has developed scabby patches on his back, which appear to be itchy. He is spending lots of time licking, which I think is exacerbating the issue.

He went to the vet a couple of weeks ago who thought he might be allergic to flea bites or have an allergy of some sort. He gave him a steroid shot (I think, or maybe some antibiotic, I'm not sure).

Ianto's skin got better, but he got diarrhea for a week or so. Now, about two weeks later diarrhea has gone, but skin feels really scabby again and skin is sensitive. When he went to the vet his ears (outer) were a bit scabby too.

Ianto and kitten have been treated with flea stuff (from vet, so presume its good) - they are due their next treatment mid-December, but could they / we still have fleas ? Our house is not terribly hot (don't have heating on very often) and we have wooden floors downstairs. Ianto is occasionally allowed into the back yard (paved) for a roll around - next door have a cat who also strolls around the yard, but otherwise lives indoors. A long haired cat lived in our house maybe 4 years ago and was always flea infested, so I'm guessing eggs could still be in the bedroom / stairs carpets, which we are hoping to replace soon.

Any tips for spotting fleas / dealing with them, I'm getting worried for Ianto as he looks miserable and he is such a sweet cat. Would bathing him help ? How long should I wait before taking him back to the vet ?

Here he is is obviously traumatised...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3030/3047034710_8aa21355e7_o.jpg

or wanting his tummy tickled, hard to tell! :D

My cat of 18 month came out in what sounds like the same as your cat.

I took her to the vets and she was given steroid injections, but everytime the steroids wore off the itchy patches came back. I were told she could be allergic to foods and i had to try her on some special diet food from the vets, and also on a tablet a week.

That worked and now my cat is back on normal food and has to take half a tablet a week to keep the rash away. I was to told to gradually ween her down to a minimum with the tablets because they can cause her to get overweight. The tablet is like a contraceptive pill for cats.

Hope this helps.

thank Shefflas, looks like we need another trip back to the vet