- Joined
- Jan 8, 2018
- Messages
- 30
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Hi guys,
Wasn't sure if this should go in the Cat Behavior Forum or this one but I'll give it a shot.
I have two 1 year-old Devon Rex siblings, a boy and a girl. We have been noticing that the girl will occasionally excessively grooms the insides of his ears, where she chews on the skin around it when they are socially grooming each other. We stop her when we see it, but we can't be there 24/7. The boy has started to have little red sores, kind of like hot spots, around where she gnaws on him in the skin between his eyes and inner ear. Seeing as Devon Rex cats generally don't have much hair around the ear opening to protect the skin, it's easy for her to irritate the area and chew off his scabs daily, which makes it very difficult for him to heal the sores.
I have attached a photo of one that is particularly bad this time around and it seems like it's only growing larger instead of healing itself. I'm looking for some advice on how to stop this behavior. I'm not sure why he doesn't bat her away when she is doing this, as it must hurt, but he just sits there and lets her. I'm at a total loss! They are treated for fleas/ear mites every month. I spoke with the vet and they didn't have any ideas other than to bring him in for an exam which we will do if we have to, but money is pretty tight and I wanted to check here first. Thanks for any tips or ideas!
Wasn't sure if this should go in the Cat Behavior Forum or this one but I'll give it a shot.
I have two 1 year-old Devon Rex siblings, a boy and a girl. We have been noticing that the girl will occasionally excessively grooms the insides of his ears, where she chews on the skin around it when they are socially grooming each other. We stop her when we see it, but we can't be there 24/7. The boy has started to have little red sores, kind of like hot spots, around where she gnaws on him in the skin between his eyes and inner ear. Seeing as Devon Rex cats generally don't have much hair around the ear opening to protect the skin, it's easy for her to irritate the area and chew off his scabs daily, which makes it very difficult for him to heal the sores.
I have attached a photo of one that is particularly bad this time around and it seems like it's only growing larger instead of healing itself. I'm looking for some advice on how to stop this behavior. I'm not sure why he doesn't bat her away when she is doing this, as it must hurt, but he just sits there and lets her. I'm at a total loss! They are treated for fleas/ear mites every month. I spoke with the vet and they didn't have any ideas other than to bring him in for an exam which we will do if we have to, but money is pretty tight and I wanted to check here first. Thanks for any tips or ideas!
