My cat made a cut on her head, close to her eye (on her "eyebrow"), while scratching herself. She does this once in a while, but the cut's a bit deeper this time - it looks like she's reopening it as it heals because it itches. Is there anything I can apply on the cut to help it heal faster? My main concern is getting ointment or cleansing solution into her eyes, because she gets aggressive and squirmy when you try to apply anything on her.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
How to treat cut on cat's head and prevent scab from being rubbed off
- Thread starter babygiz
- Start Date
As long as it is not infected - which would mean she should be seen by a vet, you can try chamomile tea as a home remedy. Buy chamomile tea bags - you can find them in most any grocery store and generally speaking those are Germain - you don't want English or any flavorings or additives. Brew a bag in water, cool the liquid to room temp and then dab some on that place with cotton balls or a soft cloth - 2-3 times a day. It doesn't have to be dripping wet, so that will help in ensuring it doesn't run down into her eye. Chamomile tea, which is a soothing and healing agent, also has anti-bacterial/anti-fungal properties. It is safe for her to ingest should she do so.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
My cat somehow scratched a small chunk of skin off her head a few days ago, but had the wound set into a scab within a day. It's been healing up nicely, but out of nowhere I noticed she'd reopened the cut and it was bleeding again. I think she keeps reopening the wound when she rubs her head against things around the house, which she does constantly to get my attention.
She's able to get out of cones very easily, so coning her is not the best option. As far as rubbing her head on things, she will do this to anything around the house - furniture, the stove, electrical outlets, chair handles, bedposts, basically everything.
What can I do? I'm afraid she'll keep doing this and get the wound infected, since it's basically raw skin that's bleeding underneath, instead of a normal scratch.
She's able to get out of cones very easily, so coning her is not the best option. As far as rubbing her head on things, she will do this to anything around the house - furniture, the stove, electrical outlets, chair handles, bedposts, basically everything.
What can I do? I'm afraid she'll keep doing this and get the wound infected, since it's basically raw skin that's bleeding underneath, instead of a normal scratch.
Have you tried e-collars vs. a standard cone? Also, if she can get to places that enable to her rub on things to the point of causing re-injury, then I can't imagine you have any other choice but to confine her in a location that disables her ability to get to so many places that she can rub that area on. She is very likely scratching at that location, maybe even more so than rubbing up against things, so that is where some sort of e-cone comes into play.
That spot is obviously itchy, so you may need something to help soothe the itch. Plain Neosporin might help, but you have to be able to keep her from ingesting any of it - meaning not letting her scratch at it and then lick her paws. And, at this point, she may already need antibiotics - not sure since you didn't mention vet involvement yet.
There are some antiseptic sprays/solutions that others might be able to offer insight about using, but again, they are only going to work if you can keep her from scratching off the scab. Hopefully, some of the members who have used these products will come along soon and recommend some other ideas to you.
That spot is obviously itchy, so you may need something to help soothe the itch. Plain Neosporin might help, but you have to be able to keep her from ingesting any of it - meaning not letting her scratch at it and then lick her paws. And, at this point, she may already need antibiotics - not sure since you didn't mention vet involvement yet.
There are some antiseptic sprays/solutions that others might be able to offer insight about using, but again, they are only going to work if you can keep her from scratching off the scab. Hopefully, some of the members who have used these products will come along soon and recommend some other ideas to you.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #6
By e-collar did you mean Elizabethan collar? I found one on Amazon and just placed an overnight order, along with Silverquine which is apparently a wound healing and itch gel. I'm hoping she'd unable to get the collar off, because she can be very persistent when she's feeling uncooperative. The wound doesn't look infected though, fortunately. I think you left another comment on a previous post I made about chamomile tea - I'm going to do as you suggested and disinfect with that first, and then try the Silverquine gel to prevent infection. I appreciate the advice and will report back on how she does with the cone.
The Elizabethan collar is the 'old' traditional plastic one. When I mentioned e-collar I really was referring to the more current versions, such as the ones shown on this Amazon site (which also shows some Elizabethan ones as well).
Amazon.com : e-collar for cats
Amazon.com : e-collar for cats
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
Would you have any advice on how to get the collar on my cat by myself? I'm having such a hard time even getting the e-collar around her neck - she acts very aggressive/feral when she's handled in a way she doesn't like, and she's been fighting me off whenever I try to secure the Velcro on the back. I've tried getting it around her neck when she's distracted with treats, but she reacts immediately, ducks her head, squirms away and hides. I was able to grab and hold her for a few seconds but she got really agitated and squirmed away again. She ripped the scab off her head for the third time earlier today so I really think she needs the collar, but she is fighting me so hard.
You have no one at all to help you with this? The only thing that I could suggest, if you absolutely have to do it by yourself, is to 'burrito wrap' her so that she cannot move her arms and legs. That might require some sort of constraint to hold the wrap in place - perhaps bungee cords, or rope. Looking for other options...
Yea, agree with the replies of the above posters. Maybe you can get the vet to help put the collar on for the cat and at the same time treat the wound as deep cuts are harder to heal if your cat keeps scratching the wound.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2022
- Messages
- 5,222
- Purraise
- 16,284
If you do take her to the vet, ask if they could trim her nails and help you get the collar on. Just make sure the carrier you have is big enough to fit her when she's wearing it.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #12
I asked my partner to come by and help me, so hopefully we have better luck - she's even more aggressive with him though, so I'm not getting my hopes up. I can't believe how good she is at evading us when we're trying to do stuff like this. I'm going to see if we can collar her and if we can't, I agree that the vet is really the only other option. She get so aggressive with them that they sedate her every time, but at least this way they can trim her nails and get the collar on. I swear, I see videos of domesticated feral cats that are more cooperative than her...
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #14
Sorry about the lack of updates, she's doing great! We managed to get the collar on her, but she popped within an hour of having it on. I think we just got really lucky in that she stopped scratching herself long enough to allow the cut to heal on its own a lot - it's almost totally healed up now.
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2022
- Messages
- 5,222
- Purraise
- 16,284
I'm very glad to hear this!!!
