Any Vets here?

[Tacori E-ring]

Our cat''s face got swollen and now has "holes" of fur (where he has been scratching?!?) Looks very raw. We took him to the vet and she thought he is allergic to something. Nothing is new but their food (and she said it wasn''t that). She gave him a shot, checked for ear infection (none) and that''s it. It has been several days. What should I do?

 

[kelpie]

That''s very mysterious, I''m sorry to hear about your kitteh. My cat had a similar incident when he developed an allergy to his flea collar all the sudden. He got oozing raw blisters underneath. He had worn one for years, so allergies really can develop at any time. I also had a dog who had terrible sores for years and switching him the raw meat and dog food with no animal biproducts reinvented him (nutromax). There can be very nasty stuff in pet food, as tragically evidenced by the events of this past year. I would look for environmental factors and ask your vet if they would recommend antibiotics for the sores. Good luck. Oh- and pets and hugs help too!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Thanks kelpie! He has developed UTIs so we switched to a food formulated for bladder health. Not sure how the vet knows this isn''t the cause. Mean while I have not changed cleaning products or detergent brands. It just looks so painful. I feel bad for him.

 

[Heidi137]

My dog developed a bad case of "hot spots" last summer due to a flea allergy. It was awful...we had to get a topical spray for the raw sores and the vet gave her a shot-cortisone I think, plus antibiotics. We also had to use the Advantage flea prevention every three weeks instead of once a month since she is so allergic to flea bites. It does sound like your cat might be allergic to something. I wonder why the vet says it''s not the diet if you have just switched foods?

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

One of our cats had a similiar problem. Her belly was swollen and she was missing a large patch of fur because she scratched it off. The vet said it was allergies and gave her a steriod shot and she was a little twitchy the first day but she is better now. That was about a month ago and the swelling has gone down and the fur is growing back so it seems to have worked.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/26/2008 8:08:35 PM
Author:Tacori E-ring
Our cat's face got swollen and now has 'holes' of fur (where he has been scratching?!?) Looks very raw. We took him to the vet and she thought he is allergic to something. Nothing is new but their food (and she said it wasn't that). She gave him a shot, checked for ear infection (none) and that's it. It has been several days. What should I do?

Tacori, keep an eye in case you notice any signs of infection. I am not saying it is the case, but this can be a common area for cats to get abscesses, various things can cause it such as a bite, scratch from another cat, bad tooth, all kinds of things. Grayson is an indoor cat right? Hopefully it will settle down very quickly, just keep a close eye on the area as I know you would anyway!

I would probably say to leave the area alone, but if you think it would be of benefit, you could occasionally bathe it in saline solution or a little dilute chlorhexidine/ Hibitane if you have it.

I will see if Bee is around, as a vet student she may have some advice!

 

[laine]

Hmm...if this reaction happened when you switched food, it seems quite likely that it could be the food (not sure why the vet says not). Is there another food you can try to see if it clears up? (I''m not a vet, but its what I would try)

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Thanks ladies! Yes, Grayson is an indoor cat. He did escape once but that was almost a year ago. The only other animal he comes in contact with is our other indoor cat (who is fine). Maybe I will just switch foods temp. to see if it clears. He must be scratching b/c it was scabby (gross) and then looked "open" again and their was blood on his paws. It is right on his cheek and then another by his eyebrow (do cats have eyebrows...haha). He is acting normal. I just feel bad for the guy. He''s been through a lot lately. The only other thing I can think of was I had some flowers and he ate some of the leaves (My MIL didn''t realize to put them up high enough when we were OOT).

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Lorelei, what signs should I look out for (besides discharge)?

 

[Lorelei]

To the best of my knowledge, if it is an abscess or infection brewing you may notice some signs such as lethargy, high temperature, off food, generally unwell and or the swelling may come up again possibly, although this can depend. However some cats may deal with it better than others and may or may not be noticeably unwell or off their food, it can vary apparently. It may be prudent to keep an eye out for any of those signs, not that I am an expert, but this is what I have learned over time and if you do have cause for concern, contact your vet as of course you would! Sometimes it doesn't even take much to cause an abscess or infection, so it is worth watching closely for.

 

[sumbride]

If he''s scratching that much, you should ask for an e-collar to protect his face and ensure that he doesn''t make it worse with abscesses and such. Did your vet not offer anything to halt the allergy like cortisone?

Bee is a vet student I believe. Hopefully she''ll see this! Good luck to you and kitty!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/27/2008 10:59:59 AM
Author: sumbride
If he''s scratching that much, you should ask for an e-collar to protect his face and ensure that he doesn''t make it worse with abscesses and such. Did your vet not offer anything to halt the allergy like cortisone?

Bee is a vet student I believe. Hopefully she''ll see this! Good luck to you and kitty!

She should do, I gave her a shout out to this thread in the WWT

 

[bee*]

Hi girls, sorry I was at work all day so just saw this now. From the sounds of it, it does sound like allergies and if food is the only thing that has differed in the last while, it could definitely be that, although it usually isn''t very common. Other things for hair loss are usually parasites, like fleas etc, but as Grayson is indoors, that isn''t very likely. Stress is another thing that can cause them to scratch a lot. As Lorelei said, abscesses occur in cats quite a lot (we had to do three abscess drains between yesterday and today in work). If it''s an abscess you will feel kind of fluidy pus just underneath the skin, they usually aren''t very hard. If the whole face is swollen though, it more than likely isn''t an abscess as they tend to occur in one or two spots, and the most common cause is a bite from another cat. I''d give him some bland food for a couple of days like chicken to see does that reduce the swelling. Was it prednisolone that she injected him with? Has the swelling gone down at all?

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks Bee!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Thanks Bee. I only see two marks (one on his cheek, on above his eye). I really cannot imagine my female cat biting him. I guess anything is possible. I will have to ask DH what she gave him (but I DOUBT he''ll remember) He is certain it is not the food but I wonder....could it be the flowers? They were tulip leaves. He was recovering from a UTI and we were gone for a few days (my MIL was taking care of them). Could that be stressful? He is 4 and has never had this happen before. And there have been plenty of life changes...new house, new baby, etc. I wish he could talk and tell us what is wrong!

 

[bee*]

No prob Lorelei!

Hi Tacori-are the marks like little cuts or scabs? Flowers can also cause that reaction but usually when it''s something like flowers it wouldn''t just be a couple of little marks, it normally causes quite a lot of swelling.Normally when we have a cat in with allergies, they get a shot of pred usually and if it is allergies, it works so quickly.

 

[Lorelei]

I suppose it may well not be the case with the 2 marks...but I am wondering if something stung or bit him? I know he is an indoor cat, but I am just wondering if a biting insect got in the house possibly...

 

[bee*]

Date: 4/27/2008 1:44:30 PM
Author: Lorelei
I suppose it may well not be the case with the 2 marks...but I am wondering if something stung or bit him? I know he is an indoor cat, but I am just wondering if a biting insect got in the house possibly...

yeah I was thinking that-or something could have come in with the flowers and bitten him.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Tacori - I also wouldn''t rule out the possibility of an injury from another cat completely. Our three get along beautifully 99% of the time, but my little calico came out of an argumant with her sister a couple of weeks ago with a couple of nasty-looking scratches on her face. We''ve had them for 3.5 years, and this is the first time anything remotely like that has happened.

We dabbed a little neosporin on it twice a day for a few days and it healed up just fine.

But just to say that I think sometimes their instincts might get away with them unexpectedly, even though they are mostly completely mellow and get along really well.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/27/2008 1:58:11 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
Tacori - I also wouldn't rule out the possibility of an injury from another cat completely. Our three get along beautifully 99% of the time, but my little calico came out of an argumant with her sister a couple of weeks ago with a couple of nasty-looking scratches on her face. We've had them for 3.5 years, and this is the first time anything remotely like that has happened.

We dabbed a little neosporin on it twice a day for a few days and it healed up just fine.

But just to say that I think sometimes their instincts might get away with them unexpectedly, even though they are mostly completely mellow and get along really well.

No indeed. A cat's teeth are a haven for bacteria, a small nip can literally inject it under the victim's skin and cause an abscess or infection fairly easily. Maybe this happened while you were away. The same thing can happen with a claw, so I would keep a close eye out for signs of infection just in case. The more I think about this, he could have even picked up a tiny foreign body which has caused it. But I am sure whatever the cause, Grayson will be absolutely fine!

Bee, that is a great point, something could have been lurking in the flowers and bitten him.

 

[bee*]

Date: 4/27/2008 2:01:36 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 4/27/2008 1:58:11 PM

Author: AmberGretchen

Tacori - I also wouldn''t rule out the possibility of an injury from another cat completely. Our three get along beautifully 99% of the time, but my little calico came out of an argumant with her sister a couple of weeks ago with a couple of nasty-looking scratches on her face. We''ve had them for 3.5 years, and this is the first time anything remotely like that has happened.


We dabbed a little neosporin on it twice a day for a few days and it healed up just fine.


But just to say that I think sometimes their instincts might get away with them unexpectedly, even though they are mostly completely mellow and get along really well.

No indeed. A cat''s teeth are a haven for bacteria, a small nip can literally inject it under the victim''s skin and cause an abscess or infection fairly easily. Maybe this happened while you were away. The same thing can happen with a claw, so I would keep a close eye out for signs of infection just in case. The more I think about this, he could have even picked up a tiny foreign body which has caused it. But I am sure whatever the cause, Grayson will be absolutely fine!


Bee, that is a great point, something could have been lurking in the flowers and bitten him.

Totally agree. The abscesses that cats get from bites from another cat are awful. They have a huge amount of bacteria in their mouths. Nonetheless, if it is an abscess they can be drained pretty quickly and the wound will heal up fine. Maybe use a parasite treatment also just as a preventative treatment also. Not sure what you guys have over in the US, but frontline is amazing with most parasites.

 

[~*kalypso*~]

I''m no vet and don''t know much about cats, but you say he had a UTI beforehand? Did your vet put him on antibiotics? It could be a number of things I think that could cause swelling of the face but, if he/she was treated with antibiotics beforehand for the UTI I would put drug allergies as a possible cause as well.

Maybe get one of those plastic cone collars for his/her head, I forget the real names of them, to prevent him from scratching the wounds and try to keep the wounds clean for the mean time I would think.

If the wounds don''t heal all too well, I''d probably bring the cat back to the vet, he might have a staph infection.

Good luck!! I hope your cats not hurting too much!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

He was on an antibiotic and took almost the full course and he was still peeing everywhere and throwing up so we switched antibiotics for a full cycle. He took his last pill at least a week before I noticed his face looked bruised. Then the bare spots appeared (over the bruises) I haven''t seen him scratch but assuming he does b/c it scabbed over and then was raw again. Now it is scabbed. How much time should I give it before I take him back to the vet?

 

[bee*]

If the swelling hasn''t gone down after the last injection I''d bring him in a day or two so that they can try different medication or so the vet can have a look at the wound and determine if she still thinks its allergies.