Ally cut herself again?

I was just spending some time with Ally and noticed that there are two small cut-like areas near her neck that were under her collar. The blood is dried up, but not scabbed over so I assume it happened last night or this morning.

I've looked through my room and I can't find where she could have cut herself. I'm stumped. It definitely wasn't from her collar, because her collar is very soft with no metal with the exception of her name and license tags.

Do cats manage to find mysterious ways to cut or scrape themselves? Should I expect this to continue?

Lastly, should I put some neosporin on the area? I don't know if that's safe for cats.

ETA: It's not a major cut... just a teeny one, but it's still a cut.

I was told a little neosporin (not the pain relief formula) is fine by my vet. Dharma has scratched her own temple a few times over the years - of course I called the vet's office the first time frantic about the bit of blood!

How are Ally's nails? She might just be grooming herself under the collar, and digging in a little too deep.

I'll go get some neosporin for her and clip her nails.

That's the only thing it could possibly be. It's right where she scratches too.

I find little cuts like that on my cats all the time. Of course, in my case it could well be the other cats scratching them. But I don't think so. It's just a mystery, I guess.

darlili - looks like you were right. When I went to clip her nails, I found one nail with bloody fur still attached to it.

I clipped her nails 2 weeks ago. The problem is that I can never clip hardly more than a sliver off because it seems the blood vessel in her nail is growing, not contracting. If I try to cut right at the edge of the blood vessel, she bleeds about a drop of blood. While it's not much blood, I've been told many many times that bleeding from the nail can be dangerous, so I try to get as close as possible without her bleeding, but that usually results in just a sliver being trimmed off.

There is an alternate possibility, that she cut herself on something else and then scratched at it.... but I can't possibly imagine what.

Is the collar annoying her?

I never use a topical medication, intended for humans, on my cats, without consulting with my vet or the vet's technician.
A simple phone call to check for safety could save a lot of potential complications.
Remember, it must be safe to lick...
that is not topical.

Originally Posted by LawGuy

darlili - looks like you were right. When I went to clip her nails, I found one nail with bloody fur still attached to it.

I clipped her nails 2 weeks ago. The problem is that I can never clip hardly more than a sliver off because it seems the blood vessel in her nail is growing, not contracting. If I try to cut right at the edge of the blood vessel, she bleeds about a drop of blood. While it's not much blood, I've been told many many times that bleeding from the nail can be dangerous, so I try to get as close as possible without her bleeding, but that usually results in just a sliver being trimmed off.

There is an alternate possibility, that she cut herself on something else and then scratched at it.... but I can't possibly imagine what.

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You should never trim anything lower then the very tip, clear of the quick. Kittens claws will grow back quicker so you might need to trim more often, but if you trim into the quick, you will cause pain and possible infection! Another option is Soft Paws, it's a vinyl claw cap......

Originally Posted by Momofmany

Is the collar annoying her?

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that's what I thought too, since she was scratching under the collar.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

Is the collar annoying her?

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Originally Posted by missymotus

that's what I thought too, since she was scratching under the collar.

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I was also wondering that. We have to keep Lola's collar a little snugger than the other 2 cats' collars. I adhere to the 2 fingers rule very strictly with her. I also had to buy her a special kitten collar, which she still hasn't fully outgrown. The regular ones annoyed her even when adjusted right.

Edit: Lola also hates dangling tags. She will try to chew them and chase them. I only use Collar Tags from Boomerang tags on my cats now. Our city is so ridiculous with license info errors that my tag has better info than the city tag anyway.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

Is the collar annoying her?

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I don't think so. She's had it on for months and hasn't shown any indication that it bothers her until perhaps now (if that is the case here).

Originally Posted by cheylink

You should never trim anything lower then the very tip, clear of the quick. Kittens claws will grow back quicker so you might need to trim more often, but if you trim into the quick, you will cause pain and possible infection! Another option is Soft Paws, it's a vinyl claw cap......

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I have also been told that if you trim into the quick, that the animal could potentially bleed to death. I don't know if that's true. I definitely try to avoid it.

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What about fleas as a possibility? My brother has claimed that he feels fleas in his room, and my father has claimed that he feels them in the entertainment room.

Now, you have to keep in mind that both have reported fleas when there weren't any 2 times in the past. My thought is that they were having an allergic reaction to something else and because of experiences with fleas years and years ago, they jump to the conclusion that there are fleas.

This time however, while I've not felt anything - there is at least some possible merit to their claim in that there are two families that have moved into the neighborhood. One is not the house next to me, but the next house over, and the other is the one just next to that one. Also, the house nextdoor has had 2 large dogs for years.

The house next door treats their yard for fleas. The other two, however, allegedly don't (I have no idea how my brother obtained that piece of information).

It is possible that my dog tracked fleas into the house while going outside to do his business. Again, I haven't felt or seen anything though and Ally is on Revolution as is Ollie.

Does that sound like a legit possibility, or is the collar more likely the culprit? I'm afraid to take off her collar until she has a microchip just in case. There is a lock on the door and all, but I still want to make sure she doesn't accidentally end up a stray through some stroke of really bad luck and coincidences.

It could be flea's. You live in florida and in the south the fleas get hearty! I have a Bengal who is allergic to flea bites and gets scabs around her neck. I just had to get her a steroid shot for flea allergies. I thought I had got rid of the problem with revolution and frontline. If there are fleas in your house you also have to take care of that too.

Thats how I found out my cats had fleas from Zoey's allergic reaction. This is my first experience with these pesky things and it has been expensive.

It could be a reaction to flea bites. Even one bite can set off an allergic reaction.

Have you checked to make sure her collar isn't too tight? As fast as she's growing at this stage her collar will need to be adjusted periodically.

Best wishes for you and Ally.

When Shareena was tiny her claws grew so fast I had to clip them about every 5 days. I could let her sister go 7-8 days. It seemed like I was trimming somebody's nails about every other day. :

Have you considered getting sofpaws for Ally?

Would a flea bite create a lump? I ask because she developed a lump. In any case, I treated the room for fleas today with Boric acid flea powder. I sprinkled it on the carpet everywhere, brushed it in, then vacuumed off the excess on the top so that the carpet is safe for Ally.

I've heard the opposite- that neosporin is terrible for cats. Be sure you find out what's really the case with that. Call up your vet.

Its very likely if you have a dog you will need to keep kitties on Revolution or Frontline or if you are into the holistic side of things, they sell garlic capsules you put in their water. Dogs will continue to track these peskies in. However, living in MT in the winter you typically won't have to worry about it.
Daisy

Well, Ally and Ollie won't be living with a dog much longer even though Ally really seems to like him. It's unfortunate that my dog is so old because I think if he was younger (maybe a decade younger when he was 7), he would love to play with her. He's very loving and he seems to like Ally, but he doesn't have the energy to play with her ( hence why I got her a friend who now I love just as much as her )

We'll be moving in Minnesota very shortly. I think I'm going to wait until I've got Ally and Ollie both in excellent health, Ollie has all his shots, and Ally has been spayed for us to move. That way she gets all she needs done with a vet we've known for 17 years.

Both Ally and Ollie are on Revolution and will be for as long as it works and is safe to use on them - or until something even better comes out for them.

I treated not just the carpet in the room Ally and I live for fleas - but the entire house. I put Ally and Ollie in separate rooms where they wouldn't breathe in the boric acid powder dust while I did it, but aside from being on a ladder today taking down holiday lights that are still up, my mother and I did the whole house. I did my room with extra special care to be sure Ally isn't exposed to the powder directly in any way. I got it deep into the carpet. So within a few days, if there were any fleas, they'll be dead and the treatment should last for quite a while.

Anyways, the cut seems to be a non-issue now as it's definitely healing and not infected. I think I just need to pay closer attention to her nails to prevent it from happening again.

What I'm more worried about now is this new lump.

Also, the apartment complex we're moving to has dogs in it (it's a pet friendly upscale apartment complex), but I chose the penthouse unit with the wood floors and the fireplace. The wood floor should help prevent against fleas.

Congrats on finding a nice place to live. As for the lump, what brand of shots did you furkids get? Was it Ft Dodge? If it was, I would simply watch it. Is it maybe worth asking your vet if your kitty is having a reaction to thier anti flea treatment and use a different one?
Daisy

Originally Posted by moonandstarkatz

Congrats on finding a nice place to live. As for the lump, what brand of shots did you furkids get? Was it Ft Dodge? If it was, I would simply watch it. Is it maybe worth asking your vet if your kitty is having a reaction to thier anti flea treatment and use a different one?
Daisy

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Wow. I actually have no idea. I didn't realize they were branded like that. I just figured the drugs they use for vaccinations have gone generic and aren't brand specific anymore.

I will call and ask Monday.

It will be different for Ally and Ollie since Ollie got some shots at the Humane Society and will be getting the rest at a VCA animal hospital (because they have his file), whereas Ally got her shots at the vet that I've known for 17 years. As soon as Ollie is done with his shots, they will both get a new vet up in Minnesota (which I'm working on) and will have the same vet from then on.

Anyways, I'll call the vet I've known (the one who gave Ally her shots) and ask what brand they use on Monday.