Cat keeps scratching open a wound

[xkappax]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone here had ever experienced something like this. A friend of mine has a kitty that likes to rub his upper eyelid against things furiously to the point where it's rubbed bloody/raw. It's like a stress/nervous thing. In the past, the vet gave him a steroid shot and it would heal, but now, the steroid shots don't do much and the cat is ripping it open every day.

My friend has tried many things, including kitty prozac to try to keep the cat more calm. He has also tried putting cream that the vet gave him to help promote healing and keep it from getting infected. If he blocks the stuff that the cat is scratching his face on, he finds something else to rub his face on. He also tried an Elizabethan collar and the cat still found ways to bust his eye wound open with that on. The problem that he is facing is that as soon as the wound starts to heal, it becomes horribly itchy and the cat just immediately picks it open. He is pretty much at the end of his rope and the vets have just been shrugging and saying "I dunno"... so I thought someone here might have experienced something like this and might have SOME info on what can be done.

Thank you in advance for any insight that you are able to provide. It is greatly appreciated.

 

[Kris107]

I have had to get a longer cone in the past with one cat. It's challenging and I definitely had to elevate the food/water bowls, but the important part was the "issue" had to heal. My cat lived with a cone on for MONTHS. I don't think a sock or wrap would help - sounds like he'd just rub it off.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I am not so sure I would just blow this off to stress. If it were totally stress, I would expect the cat to cause other wounds on his body, not just one place. There is something that started this cat to rub/scratch that particular area, and while it may have turned into a heal/itch/scratch/re-wound cycle, that doesn't mean something else isn't going on with that eye and the surrounding area.

There are a number of things that could cause such a reaction and it might be worth it for your friend to have the cat checked out by a vet who specializes in opthalmology. If something is found, it could be corrected and resolve this issue permanently - or at least rule out any other health issues going on with that eye.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

There are a number of things that could cause such a reaction and it might be worth it for your friend to have the cat checked out by a vet who specializes in opthalmology. If something is found, it could be corrected and resolve this issue permanently - or at least rule out any other health issues going on with that eye.

Yes I agree with this advice. Your post brought to mind a cat years ago who had a chronic problem with basically eyelashes growing inwards instead of out. I don’t know many details but they did some kind of surgery that helped.

 

[maggie101]

Like K Kris107 suggested,wearing a cone would help. Anytime I have an injury that's healing it gets itchy. Is he still giving his cat cream to help with healing?

 

[xkappax]

Thanks for your replies, for some reason, i didn't get an email notifying me that there were replies, so forgive my lateness.

I was unaware that they made larger cones, but I will mention it to him. I think he is still putting the cream on, but the cat still rips it bloody every single day. I don't know what the cream is, but I think it has some sort of bacitracin in it. I can check, though.

And yeah, he and I aren't blowing it off to just stress, that's why I'm here and asking about it for him... the vets around here have been little or not help in figuring out WHY this is happening. The cat does have obsessive compulsive tendencies. It seems like if the cat is not getting constant attention, it's when he does it the most. He's been to two vets already and the first vet gave him steroids, which helped a little bit, the second vet just shrugged and then they tried mood meds and a cream.

He and I live in an area that doesn't have the most advanced vet care, so I don't know that an ophthamologist is an option around here. The vets here can do xrays and bloodwork and prescribe meds, but that's about as advanced as it gets. :/

 

[FeebysOwner]

Maybe you can at least find an internal med vet in your area, since you don't think there is one specifically specializing in ophthalmology? Ask the vets about both. If the vets you've seen don't seem to think they have any ideas on what could be going on, maybe they would be willing to consult with an internal med vet or even a vet university.

One of the conditions mentioned by another poster (about the eyelashes/eyelid curving inward) is called Entropion. Perhaps, if you pose this to the vets, they would at least be willing to discuss potential eye issues further with you. I am not saying it is Entropion, but it could be used by you to get a conversation started.
Cat Eye Problems: Most Common Eye Issues in Cats | PetMD

 

[xkappax]

I really appreciate all the replies to this. This is all very useful information.

I'll have him do that the next time he takes the cat to the vet. I think he is due for his shots pretty soon, so I think he's going anyway. We have one animal hospital around here, but I'm unsure what kind of specialists they have there. I have a friend who fosters and she takes the cats there, though, so I could see if she knows.

This wound that he's experiencing, it's where an eyebrow would be if a cat had eyebrows. My friend said the cat just obsessively rubs against things as hard as he can. So either it's itchy or it's a compulsion, but whatever's causing it, it's all scarred now from how much he's doing it, so something else is definitely going to have to be done.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I wonder if what this cat is doing could be considered a form of 'head pressing'? Since it is not technically his eye or the immediate area around it, perhaps an internal med vet would be a better place to start.
How to Handle Head Pressing in Cats | Why Do Cats Press Their Head | PetMD

 

[stephanietx]

I had a cat who did this. Turns out it was allergies! We started her on a daily dose of Claritin and it stopped.

 

[xkappax]

I will pass that along to him, along with everything else. Thank you so much!