Scratching old incision

Hello everyone,

I have a question that I hope someone might be able to answer.

We got our cat from the SPCA in early September, and almost a month later, he developed an abcess on his face. We took him to the vet, got antibiotics and a bit of a shaving, and were sent home. Unfortunately, the cat kept scratching at the wound so that it wouldn't heal, so after the antibiotics were over and it was still we got an e-collar.

Finally, after the cat got out of the collar and scratched it a couple of times, the vet recommended surgery. We went through the surgery, kept the e-collar on him through the entire recovery process, and a few days after the stitches were taken out we let him out of the e-collar and... within an hour there were bloody scratches going over the old incision.

It's been about 2 weeks since this last scratching incident, and the poor kitty is still in the e-collar. We let him out with supervision so he can groom and eat/drink properly, but it's really getting tedious for both the cat and us as owners. He's been in the collar for a month and a half already.

What would you guys do? Right now the wound (and scratches) are fully healed and hair is growing in.

Thanks!

Perhaps a topical analgesic (pain-alleviating) or anti-itch spray from your vet or Petco, PetsMart, etc., would help your little guy. I've never heard of a wound/incision site bothering a cat for that long, but it's obvious that it is in his case. Good luck, and keep us posted, please!

Thanks for your help! We decided to try and take the collar off yesterday and see how it went, and so far there has been no scratching in the past 24 hours! Yay! We're all very relieved.

I guess we just had to wait a little longer than usual for everything to heal up and stop being itchy!

Thanks again!