Do cats get scuffs from play chase or fighting?

[Babypinkweeb]

It's been a month since my 2nd cat has moved in and it's been going super well. They play multiple times a day, but recently I've started noticing things on both of them.

The younger cat Nugget had an ear infection when he came home which was cured after giving medicine for 2 weeks, but now in that ear the little knob flesh part at the entrance shows redness. He doesn't seem bothered by it but tonight after some intense play he started scratching that ear a lot and shaking his head.

My older cat Boogie also recently got what the Vet thinks is acne on his right jaw area. He is getting wipes for it but now I just noticed he has a small red spot at the outer corner of one eye. It doesn't look like acne, more like a small red scab/scuff. He has not showed any irritation nor attention to the eye spot.

Neither cats have shown a decrease in their energy levels, affection nor appetite. Neither likes being held so it's hard to get a photo of it but I will try later.

I've gone to the vet twice this month already for the previous mentioned ear and acne issues, so I feel like it will stress them out to lug them both to the vet again for these things. I've never had 2 cats before who play so much so I'm not sure if play scuffs are a thing? Or is it better to just make an appointment and lug them in again? Normally I'd do it no questions but due to so many recent vet visits, just stocked up on lots of cat food, and some financial issues this past month I'm not sure about bringing them in again and inciting a few hundred dollars more this month.

 

[Jcatbird]

We can never advise with the knowledge a vet can provide to you but I can tell you of some things I have seen in kitties here. Play marks do happen. Acne is also an issue. Are the kitties eating from plastic dishes? Plastic tends to hold some bacteria so switch to glass or stainless. It helps.

The redness in the ear , is that what it looked like during the ear infection? Scratching the ear and shaking his head does indicate something there. It might be itching from something but could be infection too. That might be something you could just call the vet about since kitty has been seen for that recently. It may just require another round of meds and may not mean another visit. I would certainly call and ask. Sometimes we can send photos via email or text too. Vets are usually good about helping out if you explain that coming in so often is a bit difficult. If it is something they don’t have to see to figure out, they may be able to advise. Please do update us.

Hopefully it’s just two rambunctious kitties playing hard.

 

[Babypinkweeb]

We can never advise with the knowledge a vet can provide to you but I can tell you of some things I have seen in kitties here. Play marks do happen. Acne is also an issue. Are the kitties eating from plastic dishes? Plastic tends to hold some bacteria so switch to glass or stainless. It helps.

The redness in the ear , is that what it looked like during the ear infection? Scratching the ear and shaking his head does indicate something there. It might be itching from something but could be infection too. That might be something you could just call the vet about since kitty has been seen for that recently. It may just require another round of meds and may not mean another visit. I would certainly call and ask. Sometimes we can send photos via email or text too. Vets are usually good about helping out if you explain that coming in so often is a bit difficult. If it is something they don’t have to see to figure out, they may be able to advise. Please do update us.

Hopefully it’s just two rambunctious kitties playing hard.

The acne was diagnosed by the vet during my last visit 4 days ago, so I had already received antibacterial wipes and have been using them. They didn't have plastic bowls but I swapped both for stainless steel either way. I also stopped feeding a recent new food in case it was causing a reaction as well, as advised by the vet. The vet also saw Nugget about the ear infection in late April and confirmed it's cleared in early May. Those visits plus the recent food restock brought the bills to over $400 just in May hence why I was hesitating a bit about inviting another few hundred. I always find these problems late at night! But I will definitely give them a call tomorrow.

The ear scratching and head shaking did stop. It happened for about 3 mins after a play session and ended when I gave them a snack. He has not scratched since then so far but the redness in that spot of his ear definitely looks scary. I noticed the redness 2 days ago but he hasn't really done anything to his ears until that short session earlier.

The red spot on Boogie's eye corner is in his fur, not the eye itself, and it's like pin sized and there is no loss of fur so I hope it was just a nick by Nugget or from rough play. They don't wrestle but like to smack eachother (esp in the face!) and chase mutually. It's basically near impossible to notice since it's completely covered with fur but I noticed that spot seemed a bit reddish which is how I found out.

I feel bad everytime something pops up I rush to this forum, since I'm the type to get overly worried. Thank you for taking the time to reply!!

 

[Jcatbird]

It’s a sign that you are the best kind of cat guardian if you rush to check something out. I worry about all of the kitties here too. I just answered another post put up by someone who knows a lot but just needed a little support too. Don’t we all? That’s what TCS is all about. Never hesitate to come here and ask. We all care and are willing to share whatever we know. If we don’t know the answers we can try to help find info and give support. We also understand about vet bills! Ouch! This could well be a food sensitivity or just a good kitty swat to the face! Kitties do swat! Please do let us know what you find out. Maybe kitty just needs something as simple as some ear cleaner. Bravo to you for being a very caring cat guardian!