Plastic Allergy - Help!

Sooo, my boyfriend's cat seems to have a plastic allergy... we replaced the plastic food/water dishes with ceramic ones, but, the problem is, she scratches the sores on her chin so badly that they open and bleed... so we put her in a cone, but, since it's plastic, they aren't getting better. We've seen the fabric and nylon cones, but, we just feel like she'll scratch right through those. Any tips on protecting her chin from the plastic cone AND from her vicious back claws?

You said "seems to have". Did the vet actually verify that this is a plastic allergy? The cat has been to the vet, right?

I ask because many of us on here have cats that are perfectly fine with plastic, but can't have plastic dishes due to them harboring bacteria that causes acne on our cats chins.
It may be that you're not seeing much change even with an e-collar because the chin is too infected/inflammed and the cat may need a different medication to treat it then she's on if it's not working. It may even be partially caused by her food (fat from dry or juice/gravy from wet clinging to her chin after eating).

There are soft fabric collars, that no, a cat can't scratch through.

he's taken her to the vet a few times, but not since we started dating a few months ago... He took her for the ear problems, which still haven't been resolved (different vets and different meds). She used to have more sores on her head from all the scratching, but those have gone away and the only ones that remain are on the chin where it's always on the plastic. We may give the fabric one a whirl if you guys would think it would stand up to her claws... this plastic one is certainly going through hell haha

Trim her claws, back ones, too. It will help some.

Please get her in to see a vet for this and have them culture the wax from her ears. If it's not an infection you may be dealing with a food allergy. And if it's a food allergy then chances are that's what you're seeing on her chin, too, and what caused those past sores.
At the very least antibiotics can help her chin if the wound is large enough.

I want you to look a couple of things up: "rodent ulcer cats" (exactly that, in google) and "feline eosinophilic granuloma complex" compare the past sores she's had and the current one to pictures. (I'm not saying it is, this is just a worst case scenario to show you it can be something serious needing vet care.)
If it looks like it at all, please don't hesitate to get her in to the vet. If the current vet doesn't seem capable to handle this sort of thing, find another.

I hope you will take this cat to the vet. As someone else mentioned, if the cat has a food allergy, the problem is not going to correct itself.

I've never heard of this or come across this in any other posts here. Hope the vet can identify what this might be. Best wishes for good news...

Keith

i have had my vet say the same thing that my cat has a contact allergy to plastic thing is he has stainless steel bowls so they told me to get rid of his plastic toys.  My cats swelling on the mouth went down while he was at the vets but has continued to get worse since he's been home (neutering operation) now i have him on reactine as per the vet and if that doesn't work (which it isn't) they are saying a cortozone shot.  Please take your cat to a vet and one that you trust and feel comfortable with and make them your usual vet.  I will be changing vets very soon I have spent more time online looking up solutions for my cat than my vet has spent communicating with me about this issue.