# Scratching Himself Raw - Advice Wanted



## Minuet Melody (May 31, 2013)

Hello everyone  this is going to be a long read, I'm terrible at summing things up - sorry in advance. I'm looking for some advice. I have a 3 year old brown tabby named Oliver. He's been scratching himself excessively in the same spot for several months now. I've been to the vet and have had little to no success in finding a solution.

The spot he favors is on his neck and once it scabs over he scratches until the scab falls off. The area beneath the scab is then scratched bloody and raw until a new scab forms and the process repeats. I have no idea why this cat is so itchy, I wish I could be more helpful for his sake. 

It all started when he was on his nightly roam around the house. Oliver and I share the attic (think two open and spacious rooms connected by a short hallway) he rarely leaves the attic during the day because the dogs stress him out so at night it's his "me time". Anyway, I let him out to the rest of our home and he came back several hours later with a small scratch wound on his neck. I still have no clue why he did that to himself and it remains a mystery. I temporarily took away his freedom to roam at night since I didn't want him to get hurt again.

It healed up and we had a good amount of downtime between the next scratch wound he gave himself, this time on his eyebrow/close to his ear. Before that healed up he had started scratching his neck again, so he was just a hot mess at this point. I knew something was up and he needed to go to the vet for an exam.

*Things I've tried:*
Dog's turtleneck + bandaged neck (he scratched around it)
Taking him to the vet on May 17th - received a shot of Convenia80mg/ml/3.6mg
Ace bandages (scratched around it)
Trimming his back nails (got scratched)
Making sure his ears were clean (they are)

*Things I want to try:*
Taking suggestions on how to make successful cat boots!
Change his dry food in the odd case it's food allergies
Buy an inflatable Kong collar even though it will cover his wound

*Cat Specs:*
Started in March 
Oliver is an indoor cat (I understand they can still get fleas)
He has been eating the same cat food for years
He grew up with an elderly cat who passed last November
Introduced a kitten around May 7th 
He had the wound on his neck before the kitten came into our home
Kitten had tons of ear gunk that looked like ear mites and is on revolution
Oliver has been eating normally and behaving as his usual self - nothing out of the ordinary

Oliver is very high-strung so the vet visit was horrible - he hid underneath my bed for almost 15 hours when we got home. I stuffed bowls of water and food and even his favorite blanket under the bed to make it nicer for him - even considered finding a way to fit the litter box under the bed when he finally came out to use it.

Basically at the vet they told me to keep it clean with a washrag and cool water and it should clear up with the shot. I had hoped for some magical solution and was admittedly disappointed.

I would love to hear your experiences or advice! Will scrunchies and socks on his back feet work? Should I buy the Kong inflatable collar? I am feeling a bit hopeless at this point.

The attached photos with the turtleneck are from March 27th and the third one (kitten was using that box to play in) is from May 17th after he had the area shaved. The fourth and fifth are from today..


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## Minuet Melody (May 31, 2013)

I actually just read that feeding the same cat food year after year is a good way to create food intolerance and allergies - I will do more research on cat food.

When I add canned cat food to the mix (I've been using Sheba) I give Oliver half a can at a time and typically once a week around dinner. He has been regurgitating the wet food into the same dish he ate out of barely a minute after finishing. He has no issues eating his dry food, however it's difficult to go from an open bowl policy to making sure the kitten eats kitten food and Oliver eats Oliver's food.


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## cat face (Apr 4, 2013)

Ok, have you ever heard of a product called "Soft Paws"? little plastic claw covers you glue on their trimmed claws. They last about 2-4 weeks and fall off naturally like when a cat sheathes.
You could put them on his back feet and would take away the sharpness of his scratch. 

I don't know about the cat bo0ts or socks. I would think socks would make it very hard for him to walk, slipping all over the place, And he would probably just shake them off anyway.

Is there anyway you could bandage it before you put on the kong collar? At least to let it start healing, then move to the dog turtle neck with bandage, finally remove bandage use turtleneck, then remove turtleneck.

You may have to use the softpaws for a while 6 mo's or more to get him to the point where he just doesn't do it again.

Have you thought of maybe another vet also, just as a second opinion? Couldn't hurt. They also may have ideas to help.

I hope his wound heals soon!!


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Our Billy had terrible food allergies and did the same thing. Try a grain free dry and wet food. I don't think Sheba is grain free. The kitten does not need kitten specific food. The poor guy must be absolutely miserable. I would get a second vet's opinion.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

I wonder if there's something in there. I'd ask the vet to x ray the area.

Yes, food allergies can start at any time. If the canned food is being regurgitated, give smaller portions at first. When transitioning a dry fed cat to canned (I'm glad you are doing that, for both his and the kitten's sake) start with very small amounts at first. Just a teaspoon at a time even.


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## cat face (Apr 4, 2013)

Just to add, that my oldest cat had a similar problem around her neck but she never got to the point where it was a big raw wound (was close) but I managed to get her to the vet before that by a stoke of luck. 

She would scratch and scratch, nothing seemed to ease it. When we went to the vet we were told that she had biting mites (non specific). 
So, she was given a course of antibiotics (for the small spots that were getting raw), 
a small course of steroids, (to calm down the itching, it was intense, she'd scratch for long periods of time) 
And she was also put on Advocate (for the mites, I think it's called Revolution in the US)

She really looked bad. The medicine kicked in and for the next three or four days she was sleeping a lot and hardly eating. Then it seemed like a switch was flipped and she started eating (appetite from the steroids) and she just seemed perkier. 
She gave up the scratching (thank God) and then slowly the skin turned a normal color, little scabs eventually fell off and her hair returned.

That's why I suggested another vet for a second opinion. 
It's might be food alergies as suggested by the other posters, 
it might be mites as I suggest 
OR it could be something completely different <shrugs> just don't know

And I'm only going by what you said about the kitten having mites in his ears. Provided it's mites, they are easily picked up from one cat to the other.


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

> He has been regurgitating the wet food into the same dish he ate out of barely a minute after finishing.


this has happened to me before and it's never a good sign. i just take it to mean that whichever cat does it can't eat that kind of food so i never serve it again.

try something grain-free if you can. if you can't, just try a different kind of canned food.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Actually cinderflower vomiting RIGHT after eating usually means the opposite. They loved it so much the scarfed it down too fast. Jitzu does that with beef heart *sigh* silly monkey.

The best 'solve' is to try and get them to slow down, so you mix it with water (which can backfire into a bigger mess with some cats), smear it onto a bigger plate (so they have to lick it off), or feed them more smaller meals. This last is the route that's worked for Jitzu. No throw ups in the past 3 weeks, YAY!

OP, I'd look into a few things:

1) Grain free! Grain allergies commonly show up as skin irritation.
2) Do you use a flea/tick med that calls for a between the shoulder blade application? (If you do STOP! That could be your cause)
3)There are different 'cone's you can use. For this sort of a problem I'd prefer this one which would cover, but hopefully not irritate, the wound and prevent further scratching. (I think you could make one out of the cone of shame...and the help of someone who sews to make a cover for it.)


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## Mar (Jun 22, 2013)

my cat scratched himself so bad his face is permanently disfigured... I feel your pain and there was little we could do at the time. we tried the cone collar, foot pads, bandaging his feet, but nothing worked. 

He was scratching because his wounds were healing and it was itchy, but still... i know how you feel and good luck!


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## Minuet Melody (May 31, 2013)

Hey everyone, thanks for all the wonderful advice you have given to me! I'd like to take a moment to update my post a little bit. I'm awaiting a few things to be mailed to me and with the 4th of July coming up I'm hoping it won't take too long to arrive.

I've decided to buy a 15lb bag of Blue Buffalo (since I bought online I'll have to wait until next week to do a food switch). I have purchased some nail caps and the Kong inflatable collar. I wish I had read the thread sooner to see that BiteNot collar!

@ cat face
I like your step-by-step process, thank you~ it will be my plan of action for a while!

I completely forgot about nail caps. I was going to purchase them a while back when this guy was younger and clawed me on occasion but I wasn't sure which size to pick. I went with Large, I don't think he'd need the bigger size (at least I'm hoping) I went with a Medium size Kong collar (Oliver has always been the butt of jokes because of his fat neck/head) I'm sure some extra padding underneath the collar will be manageable, might even help keep it in place. Haven't decided if I'll be able to loop his collar through it without it touching the wound. I'll post pictures of his dashing new accessories when I get him situated 

I have been calling some nearby vets to discuss getting some tests done such as a skin scrape test and the fungal one (forgot what it's called) more or less just shopping around.

@ librarychick
I also think he eats too fast sometimes! I'll try spreading it around a large plate the next time I serve wet food (or very very small amount as someone else suggested) - I usually like to pile it neatly into a cute dish to make it easier on him to eat.. haha (I have stocked up on Sheba which is grain free as far as I know. My boys don't like the pate as much as cuts) I haven't used a topical medication on him, good suggestion though! May I ask what wet food you serve your cats?

@ Mar
Thanks! I'm sorry to hear about your kitties face, I'm sure he's still handsome though  I'm hoping once Oliver's wound heals up after some tough love to stop him from itching, he'll be done for good.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

Blue Buffalo? Hmm...seems to me there is a lot of bad opinions of this food. And really, a wet diet would be better......at least some wet food?

I still think you should have an x ray to see if there is something under there.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Minute Melody, I feed raw to my four. They get canned maybe twice s month as a treat and I buy blue buffalos grain free, in the dog food cans  the ingredients are identical, and to only feed it occasionally ithe different percentages don't matter. When I do feed it I split one can between my four...and they usually dont finish that since they prefer raw anyways.


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