Cat Scratching Face Raw (pics)

On Fri, 19 Jan 2007 05:57:15 GMT, Rhonda
wrote:

Sometimes food allergies can cause itching and swelling -- our cat that
down his cheek. He was put on IVD limited ingredients food.

Don't let them give him a steroid shot for allergies. Our cat became
diabetic 3 weeks after one shot.

Rhonda


As we discussed a while back, there is a link between steroids and
diabetes but for a steroid shot to cause diabetes seems very rare.
It's more likely that the shot can push a marginally diabetic cat over
the line.

Many, many cats get steroids for all kinds of things and don't get
diabetes. Rhonda, do you recall which steroid it was? Maybe there is a
difference between the short acting and long acting ones?

dgk wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jan 2007 05:57:15 GMT, Rhonda
wrote:

Sometimes food allergies can cause itching and swelling -- our cat that
down his cheek. He was put on IVD limited ingredients food.

Don't let them give him a steroid shot for allergies. Our cat became
diabetic 3 weeks after one shot.

Rhonda

As we discussed a while back, there is a link between steroids and
diabetes but for a steroid shot to cause diabetes seems very rare.
It's more likely that the shot can push a marginally diabetic cat over
the line.

Many, many cats get steroids for all kinds of things and don't get
diabetes. Rhonda, do you recall which steroid it was? Maybe there is a
difference between the short acting and long acting ones?

No, I never knew what type -- I wasn't the one who took the cat in that
time. It was our internist vet that pointed out the link. She even said
it happened to a cat that she personally had given a steroid shot.

Also, a surgeon who we consulted for another cat said there are
different types of steroids, but when we told him it was an allergy shot
-- he said you have to be very careful with those shots. He said there
have been those kinds of problems.

I believe last time you questioned it I posted the results from the
feline diabetes group. I think 6-7 people answered within a few hours
that their cats were diabetic from a steroid treatment.

When one of your cats becomes diabetic after one shot and after you
spend $4,000 in six months and still watch him go through hell, then
come back to me with your feelings about it.

Rhonda

on Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:30:32 GMT, dgk wrote:

As we discussed a while back, there is a link between steroids and
diabetes but for a steroid shot to cause diabetes seems very rare.
It's more likely that the shot can push a marginally diabetic cat over
the line.

Many, many cats get steroids for all kinds of things and don't get
diabetes. Rhonda, do you recall which steroid it was? Maybe there is a
difference between the short acting and long acting ones?


before resorting to treating the symptoms with steriods, I think the OP
would be wiser to avoid the cause. Innova Evo cat food, both wet and dry,
has NO grains. I'd try that.

--
Lynne

Ok, we're back from the vet. They swabbed the ears which looked very
clean right away and the vet and I conversed about possible allergens.
The scratches were infected so he suggested an antibiotic. He
specifically said he didn't want to issue a steroid (even before I
asked) so the whole issue became moot. When I asked him about the
steroids leading to diabetes he confirmed that it's possible but that
he wouldn't issue a steroid that caused diabetes. (It would be very
mild) He did say that steroid inducing diabetes create one of the most
difficult forms to manage... but like I said, steroids were off the
table from the beginning. Since steroids suppress the immune system,
they weren't appropriate for a cat who already had an infection.

We sent the ear swabs off to test and discussed a trial and error plan
for determining what he might be allergic to but just then the results
came back. Even though the ears "appeared" clean, they BOTH had
bacterial infections. Awww. I never did find out why... I guess
sometimes you just get sick. So, it's antibiotics for Dave through an
oral syringe. I thought my Vet was crazy when they handed me those
little syringes but it wasn't nearly as difficult to administer as it
appeared. I walked away unharmed... and so did he.

So, that's news. Poor little Dave. He's so uncomfortable.


IDzine01 wrote:
I'm having problems with Dave, my cat. The history is, last March I
brought him to the vet because he was scratching the outside of his
ears raw. His ringworm test came back negative and the vet gave me
drops for his ears. They are intended for the inside, but have a mild
steroid so they reduce swelling when applied on the outside. Basically
he wasn't diagnosed with anything and the drops didn't help. It went
away on it's own after several months.

A few days ago I noticed Dave scratching his face. Then last night I
felt a scab and on further inspection I found he had been scratching
his face bloody above his eyes (and below his ears). He had many scabs
and hair loss that were rather disturbing. Tonight I called vet when I
got home and found he has scratched himself to the point where he has
open wounds. I tried to wash the scabs but I couldn't hold him still.
His vet appointment is tomorrow night.

Here are photos... They are blurry and dark. My camera's flash stopped
working just today... figures.

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2406/01180017ao2.jpg

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/4898/01180014an0.jpg

Last year ee thought it could have been alergies because last March
when it happened it had been warm and the windows were open. Now it's
January and although it has been VERY warm until yesterday, the windows
have been closed. Has anyone ever had this happen to their cat?

Thanks
Christie (and Dave)

I hope your kitty is feeling better soon.

Was it the infections that were making him scratch, or are you still looking
to see if he's allergic to something?


"IDzine01" wrote in message
oups.com...
Ok, we're back from the vet. They swabbed the ears which looked very
clean right away and the vet and I conversed about possible allergens.
The scratches were infected so he suggested an antibiotic. He
specifically said he didn't want to issue a steroid (even before I
asked) so the whole issue became moot. When I asked him about the
steroids leading to diabetes he confirmed that it's possible but that
he wouldn't issue a steroid that caused diabetes. (It would be very
mild) He did say that steroid inducing diabetes create one of the most
difficult forms to manage... but like I said, steroids were off the
table from the beginning. Since steroids suppress the immune system,
they weren't appropriate for a cat who already had an infection.

We sent the ear swabs off to test and discussed a trial and error plan
for determining what he might be allergic to but just then the results
came back. Even though the ears "appeared" clean, they BOTH had
bacterial infections. Awww. I never did find out why... I guess
sometimes you just get sick. So, it's antibiotics for Dave through an
oral syringe. I thought my Vet was crazy when they handed me those
little syringes but it wasn't nearly as difficult to administer as it
appeared. I walked away unharmed... and so did he.

So, that's news. Poor little Dave. He's so uncomfortable.


IDzine01 wrote:
I'm having problems with Dave, my cat. The history is, last March I
brought him to the vet because he was scratching the outside of his
ears raw. His ringworm test came back negative and the vet gave me
drops for his ears. They are intended for the inside, but have a mild
steroid so they reduce swelling when applied on the outside. Basically
he wasn't diagnosed with anything and the drops didn't help. It went
away on it's own after several months.

A few days ago I noticed Dave scratching his face. Then last night I
felt a scab and on further inspection I found he had been scratching
his face bloody above his eyes (and below his ears). He had many scabs
and hair loss that were rather disturbing. Tonight I called vet when I
got home and found he has scratched himself to the point where he has
open wounds. I tried to wash the scabs but I couldn't hold him still.
His vet appointment is tomorrow night.

Here are photos... They are blurry and dark. My camera's flash stopped
working just today... figures.

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2406/01180017ao2.jpg

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/4898/01180014an0.jpg

Last year ee thought it could have been alergies because last March
when it happened it had been warm and the windows were open. Now it's
January and although it has been VERY warm until yesterday, the windows
have been closed. Has anyone ever had this happen to their cat?

Thanks
Christie (and Dave)

I wondered that too. Were the infections severe enough to cause that
much itching?

I hope this does the trick for him. I'm glad you can get the antibiotics
in him. We recently had a vet call in a prescription and the pharmacist
filled it as LEMON flavored liquid. OMG, we had a cat fight on our
hands, and we lost!

Hope he's better soon,

Rhonda

Moongal wrote:
I hope your kitty is feeling better soon.

Was it the infections that were making him scratch, or are you still looking
to see if he's allergic to something?


"IDzine01" wrote in message
oups.com...

Ok, we're back from the vet. They swabbed the ears which looked very
clean right away and the vet and I conversed about possible allergens.
The scratches were infected so he suggested an antibiotic. He
specifically said he didn't want to issue a steroid (even before I
asked) so the whole issue became moot. When I asked him about the
steroids leading to diabetes he confirmed that it's possible but that
he wouldn't issue a steroid that caused diabetes. (It would be very
mild) He did say that steroid inducing diabetes create one of the most
difficult forms to manage... but like I said, steroids were off the
table from the beginning. Since steroids suppress the immune system,
they weren't appropriate for a cat who already had an infection.

We sent the ear swabs off to test and discussed a trial and error plan
for determining what he might be allergic to but just then the results
came back. Even though the ears "appeared" clean, they BOTH had
bacterial infections. Awww. I never did find out why... I guess
sometimes you just get sick. So, it's antibiotics for Dave through an
oral syringe. I thought my Vet was crazy when they handed me those
little syringes but it wasn't nearly as difficult to administer as it
appeared. I walked away unharmed... and so did he.

So, that's news. Poor little Dave. He's so uncomfortable.


IDzine01 wrote:

I'm having problems with Dave, my cat. The history is, last March I
brought him to the vet because he was scratching the outside of his
ears raw. His ringworm test came back negative and the vet gave me
drops for his ears. They are intended for the inside, but have a mild
steroid so they reduce swelling when applied on the outside. Basically
he wasn't diagnosed with anything and the drops didn't help. It went
away on it's own after several months.

A few days ago I noticed Dave scratching his face. Then last night I
felt a scab and on further inspection I found he had been scratching
his face bloody above his eyes (and below his ears). He had many scabs
and hair loss that were rather disturbing. Tonight I called vet when I
got home and found he has scratched himself to the point where he has
open wounds. I tried to wash the scabs but I couldn't hold him still.
His vet appointment is tomorrow night.

Here are photos... They are blurry and dark. My camera's flash stopped
working just today... figures.

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/2406/01180017ao2.jpg

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/4898/01180014an0.jpg

Last year ee thought it could have been alergies because last March
when it happened it had been warm and the windows were open. Now it's
January and although it has been VERY warm until yesterday, the windows
have been closed. Has anyone ever had this happen to their cat?

Thanks
Christie (and Dave)

"Rhonda" wrote in message
...
We recently had a vet call in a prescription and the pharmacist filled it
as LEMON flavored liquid. OMG, we had a cat fight on our hands, and we
lost!

Or how about bubblegum flavored?! I wish they'd make a tuna flavored
antibiotic--it would certainly make life a lot easier!

Bonnie

22brix wrote:
"Rhonda" wrote in message
...

We recently had a vet call in a prescription and the pharmacist filled it
as LEMON flavored liquid. OMG, we had a cat fight on our hands, and we
lost!

Or how about bubblegum flavored?! I wish they'd make a tuna flavored
antibiotic--it would certainly make life a lot easier!

Bubblegum? Ooohh.

After I got home and realized it was heavily flavored with lemon, I
called the pharmacy back. They offered to flavor it anything else, and
said they had every flavor you could think of. Of course I said "Meat?"
He said no, everything else. Everything else was all fruits, chocolate,
or bubblegum. I'm sure that didn't work for your cat either.

There is a compounding pharmacy here that does meat flavors for vets,
but it was too late on a Friday night for that.

Rhonda

Oh my, that's hilarious! Dave did get meat flavored antibiotics. It's a
major veterinary hospital in this area so they fill the perscriptions
right there. His is chicken flavored. He doesn't seem to mind the
flavor but he doesn't like being held down.


Rhonda wrote:
22brix wrote:
"Rhonda" wrote in message
...

We recently had a vet call in a prescription and the pharmacist filled it
as LEMON flavored liquid. OMG, we had a cat fight on our hands, and we
lost!

Or how about bubblegum flavored?! I wish they'd make a tuna flavored
antibiotic--it would certainly make life a lot easier!

Bubblegum? Ooohh.

After I got home and realized it was heavily flavored with lemon, I
called the pharmacy back. They offered to flavor it anything else, and
said they had every flavor you could think of. Of course I said "Meat?"
He said no, everything else. Everything else was all fruits, chocolate,
or bubblegum. I'm sure that didn't work for your cat either.

There is a compounding pharmacy here that does meat flavors for vets,
but it was too late on a Friday night for that.

Rhonda

The pharmacy that compounds for vets here made us chicken gravy-flavored
once. I got cans of chicken-gravy cat food, poured off some of the gravy
into a cat bowl, put the flavored medicine in that, and our most finicky
(and smart) cat ate it right down! I think I screamed for joy on that one.

It would be cool if all pharmacies would carry a carnivore flavor.

Rhonda

IDzine01 wrote:
Oh my, that's hilarious! Dave did get meat flavored antibiotics. It's a
major veterinary hospital in this area so they fill the perscriptions
right there. His is chicken flavored. He doesn't seem to mind the
flavor but he doesn't like being held down.


Rhonda wrote:

22brix wrote:

"Rhonda" wrote in message
...


We recently had a vet call in a prescription and the pharmacist filled it
as LEMON flavored liquid. OMG, we had a cat fight on our hands, and we
lost!

Or how about bubblegum flavored?! I wish they'd make a tuna flavored
antibiotic--it would certainly make life a lot easier!

Bubblegum? Ooohh.

After I got home and realized it was heavily flavored with lemon, I
called the pharmacy back. They offered to flavor it anything else, and
said they had every flavor you could think of. Of course I said "Meat?"
He said no, everything else. Everything else was all fruits, chocolate,
or bubblegum. I'm sure that didn't work for your cat either.

There is a compounding pharmacy here that does meat flavors for vets,
but it was too late on a Friday night for that.

Rhonda