Moisturiser for Cats?

[oxcat1]

My female cat, aged nearly 5, has terrible eczema on her head. The vet has said that it's really worth doing allergy tests, but certainly it seems to get worse in the summer when she's wandering through the grasses etc. She scratches and scratches until it bleeds, and then she's left with large bald patches with dry, thickened skin until that area heals.

When it really flares up, the vet gives her a steroid injection. For moderate flare-ups, we apply a steroid cream. However, I'm a bit worried about how often she needs the steroid cream (and that's only to put off the need for an injection) and I was wondering if it was possible to buy a moisturiser we could apply to stop her skin getting so dry and thickened?

Have I gone completely off my rocker?!

[TheOriginalFAB]

Not at all. When my cat got acne on her face I was told to put shampoo on it to clear it up. It worked.

[AtYourCervix]

i moisturise the dogs ears when they are dry (clinique).

[oxcat1]

The thing that worries me is that she will consume quite a lot of it: the moment you put any cream on she instantly starts licking it off. Are there are moisturisers that are safe for cats to eat?!

[Selks]

I'd think something very natural such as cocoa butter or aloe vera, but you'd still need to make sure that they were no risk for her to lick.

[girlywhirly]

I am not a vet, but what about an organic preparation like aloe vera gel or lotion which you can get from health shops? Aloe is very soothing as well as moisturising, and if it doesn't work for your cat you could use it yourself. It is unperfumed and doesn't smell of anything really. I have used Aloepura body lotion as an after sun on myself and it is fantastic, under £5 for a 200ml tube, which I got from an independent health shop.

The other thing worth trying if your cat will allow, is soaking some porridge oats in warm water until the water goes cloudy, damp some cotton wool or kitchen towel in this and squeeze out excess moisture, then gently bathe the sore patches. It should help calm the itching and hopefully your cat won't need to scratch so much. It might be worth doing this before you apply any ointments or creams, to soothe and wipe off irritating pollen grains and dirt.

[oxcat1]

Many thanks indeed for those suggestions - I'll work through them.

She's getting better at having creams etc applied, but I think a full on porridge bath might be a bit much! Good idea to wipe the areas though - thanks.