Helping Nose Sores Heal

[Azalea]

Hi! So I have this question about my cat...

Every time I put her in her carrier (it's a soft carrier with a mesh door) she tries to get out by headbutting it really hard, to the point where she rubs her nose raw. It becomes red, then over a few days scabs over, turns brown, then heals over a few weeks. Like a skinned knee.

I've been trying to habituate her to the carrier, and it worked - I leave it out, hide surprise treats in it, feed her in it... I even close her in and every 5 minutes she stays calm I'll give her a treat. She loves it and often naps in it. But if I close the door on it more than 10/15 minutes, she'll start trying to get out by essentially trying to push her face through the thing.

Inevitably, I have occasions where she goes in the carrier more than 10 minutes. This happened yesterday, and now her nose is red again. Is there anything I can put on it to help it heal? I have human skin repair cream but given how thoroughly she grooms I'm worried about her swallowing anything bad in it. Is there anything else I could do? Would, say, coconut oil on it help?

Also, if anyone else has any experience with this - would this also happen in a hard carrier? It seems like something I should try but I feel like she could do the same and hurt herself with it trying to get out. But I don't know, so... has this happened to anyone else?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! Sorry no one has responded to your post yet!! I will try to, and then also by me responding your post will get 'bumped up' on the list so that other members may see it sooner!

First, does the carrier have other mesh areas for ventilation? If so, you could try to cover the front with a soft cloth material so that if she does rub against it, it shouldn't irritate her nose as the mesh is apparently doing. Either sew it in place, or use safety pins so you can more easily remove it to be washed.

You can try to use chamomile tea bags (from a grocery store, most all are German - because you don't want English - and with NO additives), brew one in water, cool the liquid, and dab it on with a cotton ball multiple times a day. It has both soothing and healing properties, and is safe for cats to ingest.

Hope others come along soon with other ideas!

 

[KarenKat]

This happened with our kitty Trin - we initially had those airplane soft carriers with the mesh and he rubbed his nose off in it. It’s so distressing, for sure and we would feel super bad! We switched to a large hard dog carrier, with the metal bars but he still hurt himself that way. Any type of carrier we would look at there is some corner or scratchy surface that he would hurt himself for.

He had IBD that transitioned to lymphoma, so we had many vet visits. In the end it was better for us to let him out in the car - my boyfriend sat in the back making sure he didn’t get under the pedals or bother me while I drove. He seemed calmer and his nose returned in tact.

We also we looking into those kitty bag carriers I saw advertised online. I wasn’t sure if there was any risk associated in it, but if he was still with us I might have looked into that. https://www.cat-in-the-bag.com/

As for how to help it heal, we tended to let it heal unaided on its own. He always seemed ok after that.