Help! My Cat Scratched Himself Badly!!!

[liukimmy]

As you can see he’s fine 8 hours ago. This morning, after his usual meal (same cat food), he suddenly scratched himself violently! And the result is in the pictures! Could anyone please tell me what’s going on with him?! Thanks!
All the vet is currently closed, the earliest I can take him to the vet is Monday morning... but any insight into this problem will be appriciated! Do you think this is an emergency? Thanks!

 

[lavishsqualor]

He definitely needs to be seen but I think you can wait until Monday to see your regular vet. Just to clarify, your cat inflicted this injury upon himself? There's no chance he rubbed up against something that scratched him?

 

[Willowy]

That's a hot spot. Usually caused by allergies. Very itchy. So basically, he didn't cause that injury by scratching himself; he was scratching the allergic reaction because it was itchy.

Make up some good strong black tea (unsweetened of course) and dab that on. Tea has antibacterial properties and the tannins will help the pus dry up. There isn't much a vet can do for an active hot spot, but if it gets infected he'll need antibiotics, and you do need to try to figure out what caused the allergic reaction.

 

[liukimmy]

I don’t think so. I was literally seeing him scratched himself violently, I mean I could even hear how hard he scratched. Then I saw the blood just came out. I put a piece of bandaid with some ointment for skin infection on his wound to stop bleeding and make sure he doesn’t get infected. But I have no clue why he did that to himself.

 

[LTS3]

Ouch! A trip to the vet is definitely needed. Call the vet as soon as the office opens tomorrow (Monday). I wouldn't try to treat the wound with anything. Any kind of ointment might hinder the healing. Leave the wound dry and clean until the vet can treat it.

 

[Willowy]

I don’t think so. I was literally seeing him scratched himself violently, I mean I could even hear how hard he scratched. Then I saw the blood just came out. I put a piece of bandaid with some ointment for skin infection on his wound to stop bleeding and make sure he doesn’t get infected. But I have no clue why he did that to himself.

Yes, the scratching is what causes the bleeding. But it was itchy before he did that. You need to figure out what made him itchy.

My first dog got hot spots all the time. Very annoying.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I think W Willowy is right. That could very well be a hot spot. If it is, your vet will know right away. He or she will most likely sedate your cat and shave the area, then clean it up with chlorhexidine or something similar. A cortisone injection will help too, as will antibiotics. I'd be wary if your vet suggests Convenia. It's long lasting but there have been problems with it. Your cat is going to try to scratch at this area again. He's most likely going to have to wear an Elizabethan collar for a while. Putting him in a onesie won't stop him from scratching it. Good luck and let us know what your vet says.

 

[liukimmy]

Thank you so much for the help. I will definitely take him to the vet to check up. For now, I will need to put a collar around his neck to make sure he doesn’t scratch the wound again. I also got some oinmant from pet store to help alleviate the itch and disinfect the wound.

 

[amethyst]

Just to throw my thoughts into the mix, based on the location. It could be a hot spot, but that is also a common spot for cats to scratch if they have an ear infection or even ear mites or something else in his ear. The ear canal goes deep, so if the issue is deep in the ear that would explain the itchy spot there, basically he is trying to dig it out. Obviously he needs to see a vet, but as others have said it can wait until tomorrow.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Which ointment did you put on him? Medications for humans can be very dangerous for cats!