Cat cones?

maiseycat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 30, 2005
Messages
152
Purraise
1
You know those plastic cones they put on dog's heads to keep them from biting? I think my cat could use one. She's always been nervous and an overactive groomer. She's had issues with vomiting, but I got in under control after I connected it to hairballs. Grooming daily + a sensitive stomach food had whipped that issue, but now she's back to vomiting more often, about 1x a week or more. I think her problem is the way she scratches and bites herself, she's ending up with scabby places which she tears at and ingests the fur, leaving the scabs raw and fur in her belly (leading to vomiting). I treat her raw places with peroxide. She has a few small ones around her neck, nothing major, but I want them to heal. I think she's like me and has dry skin - it's worse this time of year with the air being cold and dry. I don't know what to do for the dryness - I take a tsp. of corn oil a day, but with her sensitive tummy, I'm hesitant to try that on her.

I never knew cats wore cones until I saw a Purina video (one of those fun videos on yahoo's main page) with a cat in a cone who had a big raw spot on his back. I did a search and didn't find much, though saw a few more pics of cats in cones. Wouldn't it be punishing her to do that? I can imagine on a dog, but cats groom so darn much. I found this: http://compare.ebay.com/like/370287582558 Anyone have advice on this matter? I feel like if I could just do it temporarily she'd be ingesting less fur, thus less hairballs. LESS VOMITING. I know the vomiting is due to hair because I've gotten her shaven and it's been smooth sailing. However, it's winter and I'm not shaving her. What about cones, protective collars?
 

bfish29

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Messages
67
Purraise
1
Location
myrtle beach, sc
I think you may want to try to check into what is causing the scratching in the first place. I had to get a humidifier for Ava's dry skin which had her scratching to no end, it works WONDERS! The one I got was from Lowe's, it was around $50, and you are able to set the humidity level that you want it to reach. It automatically turns on/off. Also, I have been battling food allergies with CJ over the past few months, which causes excessive grooming and pulling out fur. His is on his belly, on his fore-arms (about the size of a thumb print) and on top of his head. We had to eliminate corn and tuna from his diet, the vet gave him a cortizone shot, and the scratching stopped immediately. Just a couple of thoughts from my experience... there are people on here that know a lot more than I do (I seem to learn something everyday). I guess I'm just thinking how horrible it would be to have a bad itch that you can't get to if you had a cone on your head!

Bobby
and the Gang
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

maiseycat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 30, 2005
Messages
152
Purraise
1
She's been on this food for a long time so I don't think it's that. I'm not sure how something like that is diagnosed, but I'll tell you right now, I don't have a lot of money tp spend on vet bills. If it doesn't get better, I'll take her to the vet and have her checked out. I think it's a dryness problem as this is always an issue this time of year. It's my parents house so there's not much I can do since they think the house is actually too damp. I run a vaporizer upstairs sometimes - I need to be doing that. I just want something to put on that area so she won't make it worse. I think with an e-collar she could still scratch - she just wouldn't be itching directly on the bad spots. I need to look up antibiotic creams to see if there's anything for cats, or is peroxide good enough?
 

the_food_lady

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
716
Purraise
14
Location
Calgary, Alberta, CANADA
I wouldn't be using hydrogen peroxide to clean wounds, particularly raw areas. Hospitals and medical clinics have long since stopped using this for wound cleansing because it's actually been found to disrupt the healing process. Plus on a raw area, it would really sting.

Whenever I've cleaned cat wounds, I use Chlorhexidine. You can usually get this at a Vet clinic for sure. It's a type of medical-grade antibacterial soap. Just a tiny drop in a little bowl of warm water is enough....then dab the area with it. Just call up your Vet clinic; ask them what they sell that's better for cleansing scabbed areas as opposed to peroxide.

One of my cats had an irritated area on the side of his face, from when he was at the Humane Society (where I adopted him from). He would rub this side of his face on his cage a lot and it got irritated. Once I adopted him, I found it would never heal...he'd keep scratching it and the scabs would open. I did use a SOFT e-collar, cleaned this area twice daily w/ the chlorhexidine mixture above (very diluted), would pat it dry, then apply some Panolog cream (it's antinflammatory and antibiotic, can get it at the Vet). Could also use some Polysporin.

I agree it's important that you figure out what's causing this. Just becuase you've been feeding the same food for a long time, that means nothing. They can change the ingredients without you know. Also, just like with humans, animals can develop allergies to something they were previously fine with.

I agree it would be a good idea to keep kitty from getting at this area so that it can properly heal.
 

bfish29

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Messages
67
Purraise
1
Location
myrtle beach, sc
I really don't know about creams and the like, or about peroxide for that matter. I don't know if maybe peroxide dries the skin (?), maybe someone on the site will have those answers. I do know that allergies can develop from eating the same foods, CJ was on the same thing for over 3 years and developed the allergies to corn and tuna. Food allergies are basically an elimination process. A cortizone shot would give her immediate relief, and it will last about 6 weeks if the problem is solved. At my vet, the shot is about $31. BUT, I tend to agree with you that it is dry skin if it only occurs in cold months. You may want to look at drfostersmith.com, and see if they have any cream or maybe something you can add to her food. If you do find something there, I would recommend then searching it at amazon.com, you may find it much less expensive. Best of luck!|
Bobby
and the Gang
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

maiseycat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 30, 2005
Messages
152
Purraise
1
Do pet stores usually carry these things, too (antibiotic treatments)? I'm thinking they'd have an e-collar or something similar to that, too. ETA: these e-collars or Bite Not collars are really hard to find, at least online, and expensive, geez. I looked into soft cones at drugstore.com, but a reviewer said that it was a little bulky for her cat. I think a collar would be better.
 

the_food_lady

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
716
Purraise
14
Location
Calgary, Alberta, CANADA
Originally Posted by maiseycat

Do pet stores usually carry these things, too (antibiotic treatments)? I'm thinking they'd have an e-collar or something similar to that, too. ETA: these e-collars or Bite Not collars are really hard to find, at least online, and expensive, geez. I looked into soft cones at drugstore.com, but a reviewer said that it was a little bulky for her cat. I think a collar would be better.
Here's a soft e-collar that I got for Hobee when he was going through the scab thing I wrote about; I found that it was better than the usual clear plastic cone you get from the Vet with respect to him still being able to eat/drink:

http://shop.softecollar.com/category...4?categoryId=2

Pet supply stores don't sell antibiotic creams and such. You can get something like plain Polysporin at your local drug store however I'm not endorsing the use of medications without seeing a Vet first.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

maiseycat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 30, 2005
Messages
152
Purraise
1
Wow, food lady, that is some collar! I don't know what my cat would think of that. I like that it's not a cone, and it's not a thick-banded collar, either.

I called the pet store, and they have something called Biocain, a first aid cream. Is Polysporin sold along with Neosporin and first aid creams? I worked at drug store, and have never heard of it is why I'm asking. I may just stop by my vet first. Thanks, guys!!!
 

the_food_lady

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
716
Purraise
14
Location
Calgary, Alberta, CANADA
I'd never heard of Biocaine but did a google search on it; it sounds like a good one. Polysporin is like Neosporin. Just don't ever use any type of cream/ointment on a cat that contains aspirin (salicylic acid is the formal name for aspirin); some human ointments could contain this.
 

stephanietx

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
14,772
Purraise
3,490
Location
Texas
Have you checked for fleas? Have you been to the vet and discussed the situation? If you (& the vet) decide it is dry skin, ask your vet about adding fish oil. You can usually get fish oil in the supplements section of the drug store, health food store, or grocery store. Just nick the end of the capsule and add to wet food. You can get it in small bottles, so if it upsets her stomach, you've not wasted a lot of money.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

maiseycat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 30, 2005
Messages
152
Purraise
1
Just to update, my cat's doing a lot better. I switched her over to a higher quality food, Blue Buffalo. I was hesitant to try another food since Maisey has such sensitive digestion that I wanted to keep her on the food that she' accustomed to - Purina Sensitive Stomach. Like I said, Maisey's really prone to hairballs and I think just has a sensitive stomach regardless. She'd been doing better on the Purina, but still vomited 1x every week or two. I think, as a short hair, she wasn't hairball-prone exactly - she's just so nervous that she ingested too much fur. As a former stray, that was just her disposition, to be jumpy and watchful, or so I thought. Something is making a world of difference because she's soooo much more relaxed. I'm able to feed her more at a time so she's not always hanging onto me for more food.

I bought a small dog scarf that covers up most of her neck area. She scratches overtop the collar so she can still get relief w/o opening up the sore areas, though she's not scratching as much. The sore areas have completely healed, though she does have a small spot on her head. Her ears are totally clear so I'm doubting it's mites and no fleas. I believe it must be an allergy of some sort or just anxiety. There isn't much else I can remedy on the allergy situation except medicate which I hate to do; I'd rather get to the root cause if I can. I still am feeding Purina partially but am gradually moving her over to BB, so we'll see - I'm guessing it is a food issue because of her improvement since introducing the new. She seems so much healthier - her coat doesn't have so much loose fur, it's shinier. It's a mystery to me since if a cat has a food allergy, why wouldn't she be allergic to all pet foods since most have the same ingredients basically? The only real difference with BB is that it doesn't have as much grain, no by-products, and chicken and whitefish as the primary meats, rather than turkey. I've tried her on a very similar food, Felidae, that disagreed with her terribly.

Anyway, I'm also getting Revolution just in case because that would nix an ear mite/flea issue, though I'm almost convinced it's not an issue. It's a good idea for her to have it anyway because though she's indoors, my dad's outdoor cat comes in routinely (Though I tell him this isn't a good idea, he's stubborn about it and there isn't anything I can do until I move out of here!!). Any other suggestions? I would like to get her into the vet just to get their take on it, but my schedule is crazy lately. Before anyone accuses me of being a bad cat mom, my cat is improving so I don't see that the vet is a necessity. Gettinig on a good track with my career life and my own health (I've finally gotten a health condition diagnosed which has caused me emotional and physical turmoil for years) is a necessity if I ever want to leave this house - Maisey and I need to be on our own which will be the best for both of us!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12

maiseycat

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 30, 2005
Messages
152
Purraise
1
Originally Posted by stephanietx

Have you checked for fleas? Have you been to the vet and discussed the situation? If you (& the vet) decide it is dry skin, ask your vet about adding fish oil. You can usually get fish oil in the supplements section of the drug store, health food store, or grocery store. Just nick the end of the capsule and add to wet food. You can get it in small bottles, so if it upsets her stomach, you've not wasted a lot of money.
Oh, there is no way Maisey can tolerate oils. I don't see that happening since wet foods are too rich for her. She likes olive oil but even a taste gets her stomach realing 9 times out of 10. Corn oil is more agreeable, but sometimes she'll drink it, sometimes not. This is just a 1/2 tsp, mind you, and about half of the time, end up vomiting it. Though I haven't tried it lately. Maybe she'll do better with it since she's doing so much better with hairballs/digestion on her new food, though I'm not anxious to test the waters!
 
Top