i have a cat who keeps scratching her neck raw till it red and bloody. after a while it will heal and then she scratch's it again. now the side of her cheek on one side is the same. she is the mommy cat AKA first cat we got. could it be itching. she was doing this long before we moved. no sign of fleas. i had a rabbit that did this with it's eye when i was little. she's fine otherwise acts normally. she looks like a cross between a Persian and a tabby.

 

Your cat's feet share a litter box with multiple cat's. Whatever originally caused her face to bother her so badly is beside the point. Once she began to scratch it, it turned into a condition with complications. Time for another vet appointment. She's earned it.

 

Flirty,

I have to agree. The vet visit is in order. There are a number of things such as ear mites, that may be causing the cat to scratch herself til it's so bad. Best thing is have her checked out by the vet, and get some help figuring out why she's doing this.

Keep us posted as to what the vet says and how she's doing.

 

I do not have money for a vet let alone tests. I have been treating it with peroxide. It will start to heal but then she opens it again. I was wondering until i can save money for a vet can i use one of those cone things they put around the neck so she can't scratch it and allow it to heal.

 

Flirty,

What I would suggest is to check inside her ears for dark debris. It sounds like it is probably due to ear mites that she is scratching at herself. If you find dark debris in her ears, you can use mineral oil in the ear to kill the ear mites.

http://www.vetinfo.com/feline-ear-mite-treatment.html

I understand the financial issues, believe me we just had to have a mass removed from one of our kittys, and it is not cheap for surgery.

As for cleaning the scratched up area on her neck, be sure to rinse off the peroxide once you have cleaned it. Use a topical antibiotic on the sores to help them heal. I don't think putting an Elizabethan Collar on her would be a good move as often it stresses the cat more than necessary.

Do keep us posted on how kitty is doing.

 

Ok this is what I got on the kittys neck right now

Elizabethan & Recovery Collars: Comfy Cone at Drs. Foster and Smith

Untill i can come up with some money for the vet who won't be happy but im doing the best i can.

 

Flirty,

Well the vet shouldn't be too upset, if you are trying to do the best you can. Do clean out her ears with mineral oil as well. It is safe as long as it is normal mineral oil and not anything with added anything. Once the mites are dead, the itching should stop, and she will be able to heal the sores better on her neck.

 

There are no mites that I can see. her whole neck all around is scratched raw.If a settlement is settled this august I will take her to a vet. right now with the cone around her neck she is more P/O then ever. She is one C-R-A-B-B-Y cat. take it off for 2 seconds she tries to scrach try to stop her she gets mad.

 

Flirty,

If there is no dark wax or stuff in her ears, then I can't begin to guess why she is scratching herself raw. Usually the reason for that is ear mites, which you can only tell by the dark wax, they are not visible to the naked eye, as they are pretty much microscopic.

Keep the collar on and try to let the neck heal as much as possible then. Also, do try to keep putting a triple antibiotic ointment on it so it doesn't get infected.

Keep us posted as to how kitty is doing, hopefully you'll be able to get her to the vet soon.

 

It all started when they had fleas and I used that revolution stuff from the vet(you remember that thread from 2009). all my cats had some kind of reaction to it but it got rid of the fleas in one treatment. What I think it is now is nerves and also has it heals it itches so She scratches. I've been putting her in the bathtub and giving her a bath with a spray bottle(she's the only one I can do this with) And using bar soap and just scrubbing the neck(you can see the dead skin and dried blood come off) I then put some anti bacterial ointment on the neck then use this anti-itch stuff that comes in a deodorant type container.

 

Flirty,

I have always used Advantage, it is safe for even kittens. I am sorry they all had reactions to the Revolution, I won't use anything but the Advantage because too many products cause issues.

As for kitty, just be sure you are using products for cats, as if they are not labeled for cats (like if they say for dogs) you may run into more trouble.

 

UPDATE her neck has healed and there is fur on it. We had fleas(after she was scratching as it started at the other house) and i think that distracted her as she bit the bottom of her tail raw but that has also healed. Now she just refuses to leave the one bedroom. I have to pick her up now and then and take her to the litter box or she will pee in the room like on the bed. When she is done on the potty she will run back into the room(she can't get back in there fast enough). she comes out for food and to nibble on dry food now and then(she lays ontop of my 8-track player).

 

Are you sure that you don't have a low level flea population? I remember taking our cat to the vet, positive that we didn't have fleas, and the vet combed one out right in front of me. I was professionally embarassed and humbled.

A low-level population would live only on the pets (for now). One of our cats tolerated fleas quite well, no reaction or adverse behavior at all. The other cat would be tortured by them. I figured that we didn't have fleas, or else both cats would be reacting, but I was wrong. Us humans react (or don't react) to allergens, irritants differently, so why not animals?

Advantage is a terrific product; safe and very effective.

p.s.: Pumpkin (newly diabetic cat) is recovering well; had to up his dosage, but he looks more like a pumpkin again. Thanks again for everyones comments.

 

Glad to hear that Pumpkin is doing well!

Flirty, it sounds like she has flea bite dermatitis, or basically an allergy to flea bites. I am glad she is doing better, but suggest putting a litter box in the room she stays in, until she gets more comfortable about moving around the house.

 

yeah im going to pick up some flea stuff this weekend. I still have a little bit of carpet stuff from the last invasion at the old house. at least for right now she appears to look normal again.

 

I can't find the original post which mentioned that his cat was "allergic" to his litter, but I'd like to thank that poster.

One of our 6 cats kept scratching her neck until it was bloody, raw, and infected. At first, we thought one of the others had kicked her with back paws (declawed front paws), while the vet thought it was food allergy. But it cleared up without our changing the food. Then it happened again.

Vet said food allergy, though no treatment would work. Then I read a post on this forum about a man whose cat was allergic to the new litter: he went back to old, and cat cleared up. Sure enough, my BF had bought same kind of new litter -- Tidy Cat, which has blue perfume beads -- both times her neck scratching occurred.

When we took her back to Vet, we asked about that possibility, and, having stopped the ineffective treatment and once again wrapped a bandana around her neck 2 days before appointment, which was causing wounds to dry up and heal, Vet said OK to try that.

Vet said food allergy most common and litter "contact dermatitis" rare, so it would have been her last choice, but we tried for a week (changed litter back to old one as soon as we got home: BF had originally bought "new" litter simply because the store was out of our usual brand, which we've used for years). 1 week later, and even Vet admitted significant improvement (cat did have antibiotic shot, just for safety, especially if it was from litter because of possibility of infection).

Vet said keep doing what we were doing, covering with bandana wrapped around her neck, no wet warm or cool compresses, no animal/human topical antibiotics, or antihistamine anti-itch creams -- all of which seemed to make condition worse. Vet said, in addition, we might try rubbing the area with our fingers, not our nails, several times a day, because the scabbing was causing itching and it would help prevent her scratching. Vet also clipped cat's back claws.

Pleased to report that one week later (changed litter back to old one as soon as we returned home), her neck is almost completely healed, and that is without any change of food, so as to clearly identify the problem.

So cat is not allergic to her food, has no fleas/mites, was not scratched by another cat in home, does not roam/is an indoor cat. She has contact dermatitis, not allergy, to the perfume beads in Tidy Cat litter. None of our other cats do, but she does. Vet and we are all delighted that she is healing so well, and BF happy to make sure we always get the same kind of litter (Arm & Hammer Multi-Cat) so she does not have reaction again.

So, thank you to the poster who mentioned that his vet told him to check the cat's litter, which he had changed, and that his cat healed after he went back to the original brand.

Ours did, too, and your post prevented us from having to do the food allergy testing in a 6-cat household.

Blessings on your path, Sir.

And to everyone else dealing with this issue, consider the litter as a possibility of causing the Scratching till it bleeds because of contact dermatitis, which is not an allergy so much as an irritation from contact with ingredients in the litter (usually perfume or other odor-masking elements). Going back to your original litter or to a simple newspaper-shred litter (our vet's other suggestion) should help tremendously if that's the problem.

Alexandria