Cat scratching her face bloody

[mimi23]

Hello, i just created this account and im new to this platform but i am a little desperate. my cat randomly got fleas after being flea-free for months. after i blocked off all the areas that were flea infested i started bathing her with dawn dish soap regularly but after i noticed that the problem wasn’t going away, i put her on frontline flea treatment 2 months ago and i stopped bathing her thinking it would help, but i think that worsened the issue. for the past two months she has slowly gotten worse, she was always scratching and biting herself but now she’s mainly scratching her cheeks, top of her head, and ear areas. i kept telling myself to wait for the flea treatment to work and i have one more left for this month but i need to do something now. this week i noticed she won’t really be out during the day but comes out from my room late afternoons/nights. tonight though she keeps scratching the same areas i mentioned over and over again and shes leaving her skin raw and bloody. i want to bath her tomorrow with dawn dish soap but now she has wounds on her face and i don’t want to hurt her, what should i do?

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Do you have an e collar? She needs to wear one if she is going to keep scratching her head and face area until she bleeds...
Do you still have fleas in the house? If so you will have to get rid of all the fleas in the home. Give her a bath use the dish soap on her body if she has fleas they will try to run up towards her head this is where you need to try to pick them off of her with a flea comb and your fingers.. sometimes a soft little piece of a sponge helps as well. I wouldn't use soap on her face while she is all cut up.
What might be better yet is an actual flea shampoo I really like these 2 flea shampoos

 

[mimi23]

I ordered the e collar through amazon and will be getting here soon. i should have mentioned that i’ve been brushing her with a flea comb and checking her skin but i cannot find them like i use to, im not sure if they are few fleas on her or if they are getting better at hiding . since i haven’t been able to find any on her face and that’s where she scratches herself the most i’m scared it might be mites or something much more serious. thank you for the recommendations i will try to buy them tomorrow!

 

[heatherwillard0614]

She could be having allergies to something.. if you aren't seeing any fleas even with brushing her eith a flea comb she probably doesn't have any. If she is only digging at her head and face area I doubt it is mites fleas or anything like that
Are you still washing her with dawn dish soap? If so how often?

 

[AbbysMom]

I think at this point you need to visit a vet if she's getting raw and bloody. She needs immediate relief. It's possibly she is having a reaction to something else like food or something new in the house. Years ago my cat was scratching herself bloody around her ears and we determined it was a food allergy.

 

[neely]

I think at this point you need to visit a vet if she's getting raw and bloody.

I agree!
And until you can see the vet I thought these two Articles would have some helpful information for you:
Cat Fleas - The Silent Threat To Your Cat - TheCatSite
Homemade Flea Remedies For Cats - TheCatSite

 

[mimi23]

I haven’t showered her in two months with dawn dish soap but I plan to soon. I will also be scheduling a vet appointment for my cat since I doubt bathing her will help whatever is going on with her face scratching. Thank you all for your advice!

 

[silent meowlook]

Don’t bath her if you are going to the vet. They won’t be a le to evaluate her if you gave her a bath recently. Plus without knowing what is causing the sores, the washing could make it worse and definitely will hurt.

 

[fastelk]

I saw this and my B&W Tuxedo Tabby, Checkers, (one of two) has the same thing. He suddenly started scratching his neck, face, eye area, and mouth area to the point of bleeding. He has kitty HIV, lost one eye to an Oblation procedure and has a masdive cataractin the remainingeye renderinghim effectively blind. He's a very calm kitty. So this is unusual behavior constantly scratching. He doesn't fight with his brother, another grey Tuxedo Tabby (GG=Grey Guy). So it wasn't a fight injury. They're both kept inside bc of the HIV. I have been at a loss. I've been using Neosporin antibacterial ointment which usually works quickly. Then I tried an anti-itch moisturizer with oatmeal. Nope. I was ready to call the Vet about anti-virus Rx for the HIV. I knew they'd stick him in the Elizabeth collar (aka plastic collar of shame) which freaks Checks the HELL out being blind and all and I'd have to confine him to a carrier for a week to heal and keep him calm.

THEN I read on here yesterday about a "sock collar!" Takibg a mismatched soft fluffy sock, cutting off the toe, and slipping ut over his head onto his neck. I treated his wounds again with antibiotic ointment.

TODAY his wounds are ALREADY HEALING! It's amazing!!! They've stopped bleeding and he hasn't scratched ONCE! WOWZA!!!

I can't BELIEVE such a simple thing worked so well OR that Veterinarians haven't used THIS instead of that terrible plastic collar!!! THANK YOU to the posters who talked about the #SOCKCOLLAR! My kitty, Checkers, is Very VERY happy now and on the mend.