Kitty likes to scratch his face bloody

runekeeper

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My older male cat has had issues in the past with itching big bleeding holes in his face. He just did this earlier this year and had to wear a cone for over a month (I waited until the fur began to grow back) and he was alright. Then in November, he itched a hole in his face in a different spot, so the collar went back on. I took it off after about 3 weeks this time since the fur was coming back in, but he decided to scratch at it. Not horribly, but he did itch hard enough to bleed a little. I didn't want to give him the chance to undo several weeks' worth of healing, so the cone went back on.The cone does not prevent him from eating, drinking, sleeping or moving...but I know he hates it. Is there any way I can speed up the process of healing or is there an alternative to the cone (like putting a sock on his one leg)? The spot looked healed - just missing some fur, and I couldn't exactly tell if it was still itchy because it's near his chin and he reacts the same when I scratch that spot regardless of skin irritation. I just don't want him to spend months in this cone because he doesn't know better than to not itch his face until it gushes. He was just at the vet's (without the cone) and she wasn't concerned that it was anything but a little skin irritation that got out of control and that I was doing everything right. Is there anything more I can do for him? I don't suppose I could put gauze and tape on the offending foot without causing him annoyance or stress, could I?
 

ritz

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Oh, sorry the problem has reoccurred.

Thinking outside the box, could you spray something like Bitter Apple on the offending spot?  Course if he likes the Bitter Apple or licks it all off, that may only be a short term solution. 

I don't think wrapping the offending foot would help--he'd just tear it off.

 Something may be irritating his paws/foot and transfers to his face when he grooms himself.  Change in litter?  If he goes outside, chemicals on lawn?

And I'll ask the routine question :):  any change in diet?  litter?  household?  You indicated "earlier this year":  anything happening in November that happened then? 
 
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runekeeper

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Would bitter apple irritate the itchy spot at all? There's only a little fur growing back on it and I don't want to give him any reason to scratch it more.

In his case, I think what happens is he scratches his face to relieve a plain old itch, he scratches too hard (I might need to start trimming his back claws more often) and ends up nicking himself. A scab forms and it gets itchy, so he scratches the same spot and makes it bleed. Lather, rinse, repeat until he has a huge chunk taken out of his face. I imagine it hurts, so I don't know why he continues to itch it.

No changes in anything and he's an indoor cat, so he doesn't come in contact with the lawn. Nothing was going on either time he did this that was out of the ordinary. My cat just seems to like to self-mutilate and I don't want to just let him walk around with a big hole in his face because I worry he'll be prone to infection.

I wonder if I could get those plastic claw covers for his back foot. If I can do absolutely anything to keep him from scratching his face bloody again without needing the lamp shade collar, I'd give it a try.
 

ritz

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Sometimes lamp shade collars are effective in breaking the cycle.

I don't think the bitter apple will irriate his skin (though other more experienced posters please chime in), I think it's more likely he'll lick it off and continue to scratch.

What is the overall condition of his fur--dry?  Maybe the dry air (heat) is bothering him.  Might add some Omega 3/6 to his diet.

I'd contact the vet and inform her of the latest episode and she what she suggests. 
 
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runekeeper

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I took his collar off for a few minutes last night to fix it, and he immediately ran to the basement and scratched his face open again, thus undoing a few weeks of healing. Honestly, I said to heck with the collar, trimmed all his claws and put medical tape on the offending foot. While he slips a little on linoleum floors and flaps his foot around, I think it's doing better than the cone, honestly. He doesn't try to pull it off or chew it and aside from the occasional kicking, he seems to be doing just fine. Is there anything I can put on the injured spot to help it heal? It's not an open wound right now - it's a little scabby, but I've seen it worse. Or anything I can put on it to reduce itchiness? As far as his fur, I don't think it's dry, but his skin might be. He occasionally gets dandruff - as in if I itch his back, sometimes it just ruffles his fur and sometimes it produces flakes. Should I wash him with dandruff shampoo, I wonder?
 

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I wouldn't give him a bath with anything not made for kitties. I would suggest talking to your vet to see if you should bring him back in just to make sure it is nothing medically. With him being so itchy what food do you feed him. He could have developed an allergy to something in his food. I know as my dog has gotten older she has developed allergies she never had before. I would switch him to a grain free, as basic of ingredients food that you can. While he heals and you figure out what is wrong you could try claw caps on his back feet so his claws will not be sharp and causing cuts. Adding fish, salmon, or krill oil could help with the condition of his skin as well.
 

Willowy

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I haven't had this problem with a cat yet, but my first dog would do this kind of thing; she was allergic to everything. Its probably an allergy,although finding out what he's allergic to can be a big problem. What does he eat? What kind of laundry detergent, cleaning products, air fresheners, etc. do you use?
 

just mike

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There are a lot of reasons this could be happening. I think that working with your vet to find the cause will be the first step. You've seen the vet but don't recall if you got a diagnosis other than a skin irritation. If I missed something in your post, please correct me. Here is a list of possible causes. I'm sure there are others but these seem to be the most common http://pets.webmd.com/cats/itchy-skin-diseases-cats Diet is also a possibility. This seems to be an ongoing problem for the poor baby. I'd get cracking on the vet to find a root issue to help correct this. Just my :2cts:
 
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