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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / January 2007Cat Scratching Face Raw (pics)
I'm having problems with Dave, my cat. The history is, last March I brought him to the vet because he was scratching the outside of his ears raw. His ringworm test came back negative and the vet gave me drops for his ears. They are intended for the inside, but have a mild steroid so they reduce swelling when applied on the outside. Basically he wasn't diagnosed with anything and the drops didn't help. It went away on it's own after several months. A few days ago I noticed Dave scratching his face. Then last night I felt a scab and on further inspection I found he had been scratching his face bloody above his eyes (and below his ears). He had many scabs and hair loss that were rather disturbing. Tonight I called vet when I got home and found he has scratched himself to the point where he has open wounds. I tried to wash the scabs but I couldn't hold him still. His vet appointment is tomorrow night. Here are photos... They are blurry and dark. My camera's flash stopped working just today... figures. http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2406/01180017ao2.jpg http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/4898/01180014an0.jpg Last year ee thought it could have been alergies because last March when it happened it had been warm and the windows were open. Now it's January and although it has been VERY warm until yesterday, the windows have been closed. Has anyone ever had this happen to their cat? Thanks Christie (and Dave) Those pictures are very painful to look at. i would really suggest that you go to another vet. This isn't something to just let go. There is something wrong and it may be allergies, but it shouldn't have to get to this point year after year. > I'm having problems with Dave, my cat. The history is, last March I > brought him to the vet because he was scratching the outside of his [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > Thanks > Christie (and Dave) I will actually be seeing another vet tomorrow. It's the same clinic but another doctor. I hope they will be able to make a diagnosis. > Those pictures are very painful to look at. i would really suggest > that you go to another vet. This isn't something to just let go. > There is something wrong and it may be allergies, but it shouldn't have > to get to this point year after year. Sometimes food allergies can cause itching and swelling -- our cat that down his cheek. He was put on IVD limited ingredients food. Don't let them give him a steroid shot for allergies. Our cat became diabetic 3 weeks after one shot. Rhonda > I will actually be seeing another vet tomorrow. It's the same clinic > but another doctor. I hope they will be able to make a diagnosis. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >>There is something wrong and it may be allergies, but it shouldn't have >>to get to this point year after year. I did switch his food to Science Diet this week. I will definitely bring that up at the Vet tonight. Damn... I wish I hadn't given it to him this morning. (Just in case) > Sometimes food allergies can cause itching and swelling -- our cat that > down his cheek. He was put on IVD limited ingredients food. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >>There is something wrong and it may be allergies, but it shouldn't have > >>to get to this point year after year. >Sometimes food allergies can cause itching and swelling -- our cat that >down his cheek. He was put on IVD limited ingredients food. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >Rhonda As we discussed a while back, there is a link between steroids and diabetes but for a steroid shot to cause diabetes seems very rare. It's more likely that the shot can push a marginally diabetic cat over the line. Many, many cats get steroids for all kinds of things and don't get diabetes. Rhonda, do you recall which steroid it was? Maybe there is a difference between the short acting and long acting ones? >>Sometimes food allergies can cause itching and swelling -- our cat that >>down his cheek. He was put on IVD limited ingredients food. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > diabetes. Rhonda, do you recall which steroid it was? Maybe there is a > difference between the short acting and long acting ones? No, I never knew what type -- I wasn't the one who took the cat in that time. It was our internist vet that pointed out the link. She even said it happened to a cat that she personally had given a steroid shot. Also, a surgeon who we consulted for another cat said there are different types of steroids, but when we told him it was an allergy shot -- he said you have to be very careful with those shots. He said there have been those kinds of problems. I believe last time you questioned it I posted the results from the feline diabetes group. I think 6-7 people answered within a few hours that their cats were diabetic from a steroid treatment. When one of your cats becomes diabetic after one shot and after you spend $4,000 in six months and still watch him go through hell, then come back to me with your feelings about it. Rhonda >>>Sometimes food allergies can cause itching and swelling -- our cat that >>>down his cheek. He was put on IVD limited ingredients food. [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > >Rhonda True. It's often a case of risk analysis. I wonder what percentage of allergy shots cause diabetes? It can't be too high or they wouldn't do it. As Lynne writes, it's best to try to eliminate the cause of the allergy if you can. > As we discussed a while back, there is a link between steroids and > diabetes but for a steroid shot to cause diabetes seems very rare. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > diabetes. Rhonda, do you recall which steroid it was? Maybe there is a > difference between the short acting and long acting ones? before resorting to treating the symptoms with steriods, I think the OP would be wiser to avoid the cause. Innova Evo cat food, both wet and dry, has NO grains. I'd try that.  SignatureLynne Those pictures are very painful to look at. i would really suggest that you go to another vet. This isn't something to just let go. There is something wrong and it may be allergies, but it shouldn't have to get to this point year after year. > I'm having problems with Dave, my cat. The history is, last March I > brought him to the vet because he was scratching the outside of his [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > Thanks > Christie (and Dave) My Rumble looked at lot worse than that he has epilepsy the itches he got caused him to do this he got a depo shot and after a few treatments it would go away when he started again he got another one. > I'm having problems with Dave, my cat. The history is, last March I > brought him to the vet because he was scratching the outside of his [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > Thanks > Christie (and Dave) I had a much lesser problem with "Mommacat", my 10-year old shelter adoptee. At the beginning of this winter she was scratching just forward of her ears - not as bad as your cat, but she left a few sore areas. I treated it myself with some (small amount) of anti-itch body lotion - rubbed it in gently. It was easy to do since she loves having me scratch her chin and her face. It worked - after a few days, the soreness healed. Seemed to be an allergy or just the onset of the colder weather. Yours looks much more severe - but it may be some type of allergic reaction. I wish you and Dave good luck. Jim > I'm having problems with Dave, my cat. The history is, last March I > brought him to the vet because he was scratching the outside of his [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > Thanks > Christie (and Dave) A form of Mange? > I'm having problems with Dave, my cat. The history is, last March I > brought him to the vet because he was scratching the outside of his [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > Thanks > Christie (and Dave) > I'm having problems with Dave, my cat. The history is, last March I > brought him to the vet because he was scratching the outside of his [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > Thanks > Christie (and Dave) I just had a foster who would rake open her face and neck. It was a food allergy and we had to take her off foods that contained grains or at least a lot of grains. She did clear up on Eucanuba chicken and rice dry and wet. You have to get to ingredient 4 or 5 before encountering the rice. With a lot of other dry foods the corn or wheat start showing up as the second ingredient. W Ok, we're back from the vet. They swabbed the ears which looked very clean right away and the vet and I conversed about possible allergens. The scratches were infected so he suggested an antibiotic. He specifically said he didn't want to issue a steroid (even before I asked) so the whole issue became moot. When I asked him about the steroids leading to diabetes he confirmed that it's possible but that he wouldn't issue a steroid that caused diabetes. (It would be very mild) He did say that steroid inducing diabetes create one of the most difficult forms to manage... but like I said, steroids were off the table from the beginning. Since steroids suppress the immune system, they weren't appropriate for a cat who already had an infection. We sent the ear swabs off to test and discussed a trial and error plan for determining what he might be allergic to but just then the results came back. Even though the ears "appeared" clean, they BOTH had bacterial infections. Awww. I never did find out why... I guess sometimes you just get sick. So, it's antibiotics for Dave through an oral syringe. I thought my Vet was crazy when they handed me those little syringes but it wasn't nearly as difficult to administer as it appeared. I walked away unharmed... and so did he. So, that's news. Poor little Dave. He's so uncomfortable. > I'm having problems with Dave, my cat. The history is, last March I > brought him to the vet because he was scratching the outside of his [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > Thanks > Christie (and Dave) I hope your kitty is feeling better soon. Was it the infections that were making him scratch, or are you still looking to see if he's allergic to something? > Ok, we're back from the vet. They swabbed the ears which looked very > clean right away and the vet and I conversed about possible allergens. [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] >> Thanks >> Christie (and Dave) I wondered that too. Were the infections severe enough to cause that much itching? I hope this does the trick for him. I'm glad you can get the antibiotics in him. We recently had a vet call in a prescription and the pharmacist filled it as LEMON flavored liquid. OMG, we had a cat fight on our hands, and we lost! Hope he's better soon, Rhonda > I hope your kitty is feeling better soon. > [quoted text clipped - 54 lines] >>>Thanks >>>Christie (and Dave) >We recently had a vet call in a prescription and the pharmacist filled it >as LEMON flavored liquid. OMG, we had a cat fight on our hands, and we >lost! Or how about bubblegum flavored?! I wish they'd make a tuna flavored antibiotic--it would certainly make life a lot easier! Bonnie >>We recently had a vet call in a prescription and the pharmacist filled it >>as LEMON flavored liquid. OMG, we had a cat fight on our hands, and we >>lost! > > Or how about bubblegum flavored?! I wish they'd make a tuna flavored > antibiotic--it would certainly make life a lot easier! Bubblegum? Ooohh. After I got home and realized it was heavily flavored with lemon, I called the pharmacy back. They offered to flavor it anything else, and said they had every flavor you could think of. Of course I said "Meat?" He said no, everything else. Everything else was all fruits, chocolate, or bubblegum. I'm sure that didn't work for your cat either. There is a compounding pharmacy here that does meat flavors for vets, but it was too late on a Friday night for that. Rhonda Oh my, that's hilarious! Dave did get meat flavored antibiotics. It's a major veterinary hospital in this area so they fill the perscriptions right there. His is chicken flavored. He doesn't seem to mind the flavor but he doesn't like being held down. > >>We recently had a vet call in a prescription and the pharmacist filled it > >>as LEMON flavored liquid. OMG, we had a cat fight on our hands, and we [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Rhonda The pharmacy that compounds for vets here made us chicken gravy-flavored once. I got cans of chicken-gravy cat food, poured off some of the gravy into a cat bowl, put the flavored medicine in that, and our most finicky (and smart) cat ate it right down! I think I screamed for joy on that one. It would be cool if all pharmacies would carry a carnivore flavor. Rhonda > Oh my, that's hilarious! Dave did get meat flavored antibiotics. It's a > major veterinary hospital in this area so they fill the perscriptions [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >> >>Rhonda > It would be cool if all pharmacies would carry a carnivore flavor. I'm lucky. Levi likes the regular kids formulation, bubble gum (?) flavored amoxicillan. I just have to hold the oral syringe up and start squeezing and he sucks it all down. Rudy doesn't do well with liquid meds, and never has from the time he was a kitten. He gets very upset and foams at the mouth, so I just pill him (which, surprisingly, is not a problem). Thankfully, Rudy never gets sick anymore, but I know that won't last forever. Rudy also has terrible allergic reactions to his vaccines and has to have a Benadryl injection first. The first time he had his shots, he reacted within 5 minutes and it was really scary. He hates the vet, needless to say. SignatureLynne > Rudy also has terrible allergic reactions to his vaccines and has to have > a > Benadryl injection first. The first time he had his shots, he reacted > within 5 minutes and it was really scary. He hates the vet, needless to > say. Been there, done that. I still remember one memorable night on Valentines, in stormy, rainy weather trying to find my way to the emergency vet (of course emergencies only happen when my own vet is not on call!) with a cat who was having difficulty breathing after her vaccines. After that, we gave her Benadryl first but she started reacting even then. We eventually had to stop giving her any vaccines (except rabies--she was okay with rabies vac.) It is very scary!! Bonnie on Sun, 21 Jan 2007 17:51:55 GMT, "22brix" <spamdavidk@pacific.net> wrote: > After that, we gave > her Benadryl first but she started reacting even then. We eventually > had to stop giving her any vaccines (except rabies--she was okay with > rabies vac.) It is very scary!! Yeah, Rudy had a slight reaction with his vaccines this time, even with the Benadryl. He may not get anything other than rabies from now on, either. That doesn't worry me. I may have him titered to check his immunity. I suspect it lasts a hell of a lot longer than 1 year, perhaps even a lifetime (after the 2nd year booster, that is). SignatureLynne > on Sun, 21 Jan 2007 17:51:55 GMT, "22brix" <spamdavidk@pacific.net> > wrote: [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > suspect it lasts a hell of a lot longer than 1 year, perhaps even a > lifetime (after the 2nd year booster, that is). My vet is no longer recommending that I vaccinate my previously vaccinated cats (strictly indoor) for anything but rabies which makes me happy! Bonnie Bonnie I'm jealous! There is a compounding pharmacy in town but I have a feeling it's mainly geared toward the human taste buds. It does seem like there's enough of a vet market that it would be profitable to make at least the most common antibiotics meat or fish flavored! Bonnie > The pharmacy that compounds for vets here made us chicken gravy-flavored > once. I got cans of chicken-gravy cat food, poured off some of the gravy [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] >>> >>>Rhonda > make at least the most > common antibiotics meat or fish flavored! Can you imagine accidentally getting one of these flavors for your kid? I find that possibility hilarious for some reason. I'd love to see the look on my daughter's face! SignatureLynne >> make at least the most >> common antibiotics meat or fish flavored! > > Can you imagine accidentally getting one of these flavors for your kid? I > find that possibility hilarious for some reason. I'd love to see the look > on my daughter's face! Hey, she might like it! Although if you're expecting fruit flavor. . . a bit like drinking a mouthful of buttermilk when you're expecting milk! Bonnie I would definitiely take him to a different vet's office. Just to be certain of the problem. Signaturehttp://i7.tinypic.com/24g0snn.jpg my baby. |
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