Itchy cat with sores on head

[Tina V]

Hello all! I'm exhausting all my options here in hopes to find the answer to my sweet Sushi's health issue.
Sushi is only 10 months old. I adopted her from the pound when she was probably only 6 weeks old. When she reached a pound I took them to their vet so she could be spayed. It was only a couple weeks later that I noticed she was scratching her ears and she has black gunk in them. I took her to my vet which confirmed they were mites so we treated her. Went back for the follow up couple weeks later and she was clear. Then approximately 4 weeks later she started scratching again. Took her back, they put an antibiotic in her ear. It was one of those set it and forget it deals. I didn't have to do drops which was great. Everything cleared up beautifully. Fast forward 2 months later. Out of the blue she starts scratching her ears and rubbing her face incessantly. I made a vet appointment but by the time they saw her 48 hours later she had done so much damage. She had sores above her eyes and along the side of her face to her ears. The vet kept her a week for observation. He did every skin test under the sun. After everything she was negative for it all, he said she had pancreatitis and possibly a fungal issue and put her on gastrointestinal food and gave me a topical. Well it did nothing to help. I went back begging him for a depo shot so he did. 4 days went by and it wasn't working! I was desperate! I called a vet that works only with cats. Brought her there. They looked over the records from previous vet, did their own scraping for mites and ringworm test and negative again. They gave me the antibiotic Zeniquin. Within a couple days of taking that she was doing fantastic! That was a 10 day dose. Around a week after finishing it I noticed she was getting a build up in her ear and then she started scratching again. I thought maybe there is something going on deeper in her ear.. maybe a polyp. Vet said to give her Zyrtec until I could get her in there for them to check for polyp. Zyrtec helped minimally. I have had a collar on her the last 2 weeks to keep her from tearing up her face again. Today she had the procedure done and no polyp. Ugh! I was hoping for an answer. So now we're on to the food. This time we are doing single protein source, duck. I asked for the antibiotics again since that was the only thing to date that has worked. Hoping someone has had something similar happen to their cat and have the solution. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[Tina V]

This was what her face looked like the first time in February.

 

[Mr. Meow]

Short of being allergic to a specific ingredient in food, is there anything in your house that she rubs her head on, on a regular basis? Could it be the type of laundry detergent you're using, cleaning agents etc?
Also, you can always try a pure oatmeal bath to help with skin conditions. You can buy a large container of pure oatmeal at the grocery store, add water and work into a paste and apply to the affected area. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then rinse off. Do this once a day and monitor for any signs of improvement.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Poor lovey! And poor you, as well. This could be so many things, including allergies (is this seasonal at all?) to foods, fleas, pollens, anything at all. It does look very much like a contact dermatitis (and a few other things, as well). I have a feral who looks like that all summer long, gets over it once the weather cools, and then it's back when it warms up again. He is untrappable, so there's not much I can do with him...HOWEVER...your baby is inside!

One thing you can do at home that may help is to treat the sore areas with chamomile tea. I would recommend buying the tea bags from the grocery store, plain, unblended chamomile. This ensures that you are using the German variety, which is medicinally active and safe for cats in recommended dosages. The English variety is useless medicinally, and is toxic to cats. Does NOT matter where it was grown, if it is in a tea bag, it is the German variety. Brew the tea, and chill it in the fridge. Use a soft cloth and swab down the areas several times a day. The tea is very soothing to all kinds of "skin ouchies," and is both antibacterial and antifungal. And, because it is safe internally (up to 3 tablespoonfuls a day for anxiety), it is perfectly safe, should he groom some off.

 

[Tina V]

Short of being allergic to a specific ingredient in food, is there anything in your house that she rubs her head on, on a regular basis? Could it be the type of laundry detergent you're using, cleaning agents etc?
Also, you can always try a pure oatmeal bath to help with skin conditions. You can buy a large container of pure oatmeal at the grocery store, add water and work into a paste and apply to the affected area. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then rinse off. Do this once a day and monitor for any signs of improvement.

Thank you. You know I wondered about the detergent and we use several different kinds, usually clean and clear because my daughter's sensitive. I thought to have her go somewhere for a week or so to see if it was an inhalant but then remembered she stayed at the vet for a week back in February and she didn't get any better. Hoping this food trial works but the fact that she is responsive to antibiotics is throwing me off.

 

[Tina V]

Poor lovey! And poor you, as well. This could be so many things, including allergies (is this seasonal at all?) to foods, fleas, pollens, anything at all. It does look very much like a contact dermatitis (and a few other things, as well). I have a feral who looks like that all summer long, gets over it once the weather cools, and then it's back when it warms up again. He is untrappable, so there's not much I can do with him...HOWEVER...your baby is inside!

One thing you can do at home that may help is to treat the sore areas with chamomile tea. I would recommend buying the tea bags from the grocery store, plain, unblended chamomile. This ensures that you are using the German variety, which is medicinally active and safe for cats in recommended dosages. The English variety is useless medicinally, and is toxic to cats. Does NOT matter where it was grown, if it is in a tea bag, it is the German variety. Brew the tea, and chill it in the fridge. Use a soft cloth and swab down the areas several times a day. The tea is very soothing to all kinds of "skin ouchies," and is both antibacterial and antifungal. And, because it is safe internally (up to 3 tablespoonfuls a day for anxiety), it is perfectly safe, should he groom some off.

Thank you. I will definitely try this.

 

[LolasMom5]

My cat is experiencing the exact same thing. Did you find a resolution?

 

[LolasMom5]

Thank you. You know I wondered about the detergent and we use several different kinds, usually clean and clear because my daughter's sensitive. I thought to have her go somewhere for a week or so to see if it was an inhalant but then remembered she stayed at the vet for a week back in February and she didn't get any better. Hoping this food trial works but the fact that she is responsive to antibiotics is throwing me off.

Did you find a resolution for Sushi?