My male cat is suddenly scratching alot, and he is getting open sores from scratching in certain places, mostly all around his head and chin. We cant afford to bring him to the vet now but at least would like to know what he has ahead of time. The sores are pinkish after he scratches them, and sometimes because of the constant scratching get a little puss, then get really scabby and the scab falls off, but he then starts scratching it again. He has 6 or 7 of these all near his head. What do you think it is, they appear on and off for over a year now. Any household items I can put on the sores to make them better or less itchy?
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Cat scratching alot.
- Thread starter keith p
- Start Date
he might have cat acne...ecspecially around the chin area....
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Its not on his chin, mostly on the back of his head and cheek. The sores have no black on them. They do leak some pus though, you might be right but he had none when we adopted him at 1 1/2? Only got them this past year.
At the very least I woud call your Vet and explain the situation - maybe he/she can suggest something!!!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #6
There closed right now any other ideas what it might be?
Firstly, if you cannot afford a random trip to the vet. Don't have a cat, in fact, don't have any animal. If YOU were scratching yourself until puss came out, you'd take yourself to the doctor. The cheapest part in owning an animal is purchasing it. In buying any animal, big or small, there are bound to be problems. Your cat sounds like he's really uncomfortable.
And it could be acne, it could be allergies, or it could be domodex. Nothing can really be determined unless you take him to the vet and they do a scraping, or run blood work or compare it to something in a book.
And it could be acne, it could be allergies, or it could be domodex. Nothing can really be determined unless you take him to the vet and they do a scraping, or run blood work or compare it to something in a book.
We can't really tell you what is wrong with your kittie without seeing him and even if we could see him we are not qualified vets.
See if your vet will allow partial payment and a payment plan. Your kitty really does need to see a vet. It may be something simple or it could be more serious and the sooner it is taken care of the cheaper it will be in the long run.
Please try to get him some help.
See if your vet will allow partial payment and a payment plan. Your kitty really does need to see a vet. It may be something simple or it could be more serious and the sooner it is taken care of the cheaper it will be in the long run.
Please try to get him some help.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #9
We will get him in but you dont have to jump down my back, its my parents who have the money not me, if they dont have it to spare what can I do about it you know. Anyway, last time he had these he was in rhe vet, but at that time he also had fleas, but that was last year and now that the fleas are gone and he still has them, its obviously not fleas. Is there anything I can put on the sores to disenfect them for now.
Chill guy chill........
We all want whats best for your cat.....when you give us no reason to think hes going to the vet, that gets all of us nervous.......this is a cat site after all...we don't mean to get upset....but these is a cat welfare site...try to understand that.....
the problem with this situation is that we can't see your kit......what might help acne isn't going to help domodex...do you get me....so its hard for us to make a leap of faith and tell you stuff to apply to your kits face.....out of fear that we could make the situation worse.......
I understand its your parents money, but you have to insist they bring this poor kit to a vet, whatever he has it doesnt sound good...........When you became a gaurdian to this kit you accepted the responsibilities that comes along with that......understand......
again we dont mean to be sharp with you.....but your kits health is our top priority above anything else...I hope you understand
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #11
Yeah if it was me he would have been in a long time ago. Well they are starting to worry now so I think the vet visit will be very soon. Thanks for your help and when I get the results i'll post it here.
cool.....updates are good....I will be thinking of your sweet kit...I hope he gets better soon
If it is cat acne. Which only vet can diagnose. Sometimes the cause is cats eating from plastic bowls. You could try feeding your cat from a glass or stainless steel bowl. I would think any kind of topical antibiotic ointment would help somewhat untill you can get the kitty to the vets.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #15
No he is not being treated for fleas, he had them last year, and was treated for them last year. He eats science diet light adult dry cat food (he is 2 pounds overweight) and he eats a can of friskies cannned food a day, and drinks water.
His ears are pretty clean. All the bowls are plastic, so switching might be a good idea.
His ears are pretty clean. All the bowls are plastic, so switching might be a good idea.
Hi Keith. You've had some pretty good advice so far (and sorry for jumping on you but we are all such kitty freaks here -
).
Even though you treated for fleas last year it is still possible he could have fleas this year. We've had a hot, humid summer - just the weather fleas love so it's not out of the realm of possibility that your cat could have fleas again. Easy to check out yourself.
The switch from plastic bowls is also a great suggestion.
But in the long run, I hope you'll have a vet give your cat an examination just to rule out anything serious.
Sounds like your parents are ready to take him to the vet. Let us know the results.
Even though you treated for fleas last year it is still possible he could have fleas this year. We've had a hot, humid summer - just the weather fleas love so it's not out of the realm of possibility that your cat could have fleas again. Easy to check out yourself.
The switch from plastic bowls is also a great suggestion.
But in the long run, I hope you'll have a vet give your cat an examination just to rule out anything serious.
Sounds like your parents are ready to take him to the vet. Let us know the results.
It's likely your cat has fleas again, did the itching go away when you were treating him for fleas? You can't stop giving flea treatment[well you can, but it's not a great idea]. They need it once a month, every month. Otherwise, when you get fleas, you have to start all over again and it takes at least three months for everything to cycle through. If your folks won't take him to the vet I'd at least get some flea treatment to rule out fleas.
Since his ears don't seem to be affected, I might rule out a food allergy. However acne and fleas are still a big possibility.
Since his ears don't seem to be affected, I might rule out a food allergy. However acne and fleas are still a big possibility.
We stop giving ours the flea treatment in the winter months (our vet's recommendation) because it is cold here and fleas don't hang around for our winters.
BEFORE you go out and buy any over-the-counter flea treatment and treat your cat MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE he does indeed have fleas. I would never recommend treating any animal for something that we aren't certain of. It could cause more harm than good. Also OTC medications can be harmful if you don't know what you are doing.
The very best thing you can do is have him seen by a vet which shouldn't cost too much and have the vet give you a professional diagnosis.
The problem in stopping flea medication is that if you don't get right on it again, you're back at square one with fleas, having to consecutively treat them for 3 months to get rid of them. It's just as safe to treat your animal if they don't have fleas because it prevents your animal from getting fleas. And if you use revolution it's a preventative and killer of earmites and heartworm.
I only sugggested it because it doesn't sound like they are that apt to even taking the cat in. And if it is indeed fleas they'll have only spent money on flea control and not on a vet visit as well.
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Just get kitty to the vet as soon as you can to find out the reason... you have gotten very good advice...
