QUESTION
My cat caught himself on a bike he had a graze about the size of a 10p. I cleaned it up and it was healing fine but now he is scratching it and making it bigger, what can I do to stop the itching?
Debi
ANSWER
Dear Debi
Cats can develop a problem called eosinophilic granulomas where the skin reacts and can become much worse due to constant re irritation. The use of steroid creams can help dramatically but often systemic treatment is required. The origin of this can often be a physical injury as for your cat but if any of the skin in the centre is dead or infiltrated with eosinophils then it is likely that the cat will continue to self mutilate and the problem continues to deteriorate. I would take him to the vets and get something more substantial to try to prevent the itching which is the underlying cause of him self mutilating. The use of anything to decrease stress or decrease allergic responses also helps tremendously.
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