I've got a lot of tattoos so from a human point of view I can tell you they feel like a bad scrape for the first couple of days, then start to scab over and itch.
I was told by my tattoo artist that the best way to help them heal was to keep them kind of moist so as they don't dry out and lose the scabs too quickly. Losing a scab will potentially cause a bit of bleeding, which will lead to more scabbing and itchiness.
Vaseline helped, but I think your cat will just lick that off again. Maybe just try a warm, damp cloth on the tattoo to see if softening the scab gives him any relief?
The reason people don't want their tattoos to lose their scabs and bleed is because a fresh tattoo will lose some of the ink that way, resulting in a faded spot in the design. That's not really of any concern in a cat's case. However, I have heard of people having an allergic reaction to tattoo ink so I guess it's possible with cats too.
I was told by my tattoo artist that the best way to help them heal was to keep them kind of moist so as they don't dry out and lose the scabs too quickly. Losing a scab will potentially cause a bit of bleeding, which will lead to more scabbing and itchiness.
Vaseline helped, but I think your cat will just lick that off again. Maybe just try a warm, damp cloth on the tattoo to see if softening the scab gives him any relief?
The reason people don't want their tattoos to lose their scabs and bleed is because a fresh tattoo will lose some of the ink that way, resulting in a faded spot in the design. That's not really of any concern in a cat's case. However, I have heard of people having an allergic reaction to tattoo ink so I guess it's possible with cats too.