I have a one and a half year mixed breed cat–she is a tortoise shell domestic mixed with…

Sorry to hear your cat is having a hard time. It's great that your cat improved with treatment but I have some concerns about your cat getting regular steroid injections. First, it sounds like she has a hard time at the vet and I'd like to try to minimize her stress if possible.

Second, we haven't tried to really figure out what the underlying cause is. Could this be an allergy to something your cat comes into contact with or something else like fleas or food? Were there any changes in the house when this started?

Steroids, like your cat was given, can be very helpful but I usually try to see if other treatments like a diet change or alternate topical medication may help. Injectable steroids also tend to have more side effects than other steroids and there is less control over levels in her body. I would consider using perhaps an oral steroid rather than injectable if other treatments will not work.