Emergency vet for this? Anything they can do?

[Sera1989]

My cat has been on oral and cream steroids for a weepy wound for 10 days. Vet said it’s allergic eczema. Had to put a cone on her but all healing well until this morning. She’s pulled the scab off, keeps pulling her cone off, crying and wailing when scratching, licking non stop, hissing at nothing, panting ☹️. Clearly very agitated and in pain but is there anything the vet could do as it needs to be left alone to scab (but I can’t get her to leave it alone)

Photos of how it was on Thursday and then just now (sorry not great photos as she won’t keep still)

Can you ring the out of hours vets and have a chat? They might be able to give her something to stop it hurting, which would hopefully stop her messing with it. Poor girl.

Panting is sometimes a red flag in itself. I think the cat needs the emergency vet for pain relief if nothing else.

Poor kitty, that looks sore. It's really important you keep the cone on. That one doesn't look great as it doesn't have loops to tie it on. You get different styles of collars and cats usually need them tied on pretty tight to stop them getting it off. You can also get soft collars and I've seen them used for wounds like this but put on backwards which they seem to tolerate well. I'll attach a photo so you can see what I mean.
It's not an emergency as such but does sound like she could do with some pain relief. Unfortunately there is no human painkillers safe for cats, they would need to be prescribed by a vet.

If your cat is very distressed you do need to ring the vet.

You could also trim her nails if she'll let you so she does less damage when scratching.

Clearly very agitated and in pain
I would say that qualifies for the need to see a vet sharpish. Pain relief and maybe something to calm her

It looks like in the process of scratching it she's extended the damage further up her neck. Is the cone touching the sore area at all? Is that why she's suddenly so keen to get the cone off? Or perhaps she's just worked out that she can get it off and now will keep trying?

I think she needs some pain relief and preferably something that will calm her down a little too. Can you get a small baby grow/ t shirt on to her to protect the wound if she won't tolerate a cone?

You can buy recovery suits specifically for cats but to modify a baby gro....
www.facebook.com/groups/dullwomenscluboriginal/posts/1523343798791446/

Definitely get her to the vet. Could you try a surgical vest rather than cone?or alongside a cone?

Definitely needs to see the vet that looks sore

Thanks all, I think the wound itself looks sore but not awful, but she seems to be in a lot more pain than how the wound looks (if that makes sense). I agree the cone isn’t the best and not much good if she can pull it off. I did also think about something to cover it and put a sanitary pad in a sock that I cut leg holes in but she wouldn’t let me get it on.

Anyway I called the vet and the nurse said it does sound like she’s in pain and to bring her in. Thank you all for validating my worries ❤️ hopefully they’ll be able to give her something anti inflammatory or sedating

Did they give your cat an antibiotic shot when they initially saw her? I think she needs one. Let us know how the poor fur baby gets on.

No antibiotic shot but the steroid cream has antibiotics in and they’ve given me a wash for it now but tbf it doesn’t look infected. They’ve given stronger steroids and liquid gabapentin to calm her down for a few days, hopefully will kick in today. They also gave me a fabric cone to put on backwards at the same time as plastic cone, but it gets stuck on her feet and makes her more angry so I will have a look online for a bodysuit/tshirt/cat crop top. Thankfully she’s not too vocal or panting at the moment, just sad and can’t find a comfy place to sleep

How's your cat now @Sera1989
Is she better?

Thank you for asking 🙂. She is doing much better than when I took her in, she’s off gabapentin now and a few more days of steroid left, wound scabbed over and is revealing normal skin underneath. I got her a little top and she looks both cute and ridiculous with that and her cone, she’s very mopey and subdued.

I’m just worried as soon as I take the cone off she’s going to lick/scratch the patch and open it up again so I think I might wait for a week after the scab is all off to make sure it’s fully healed. It feels a bit cruel as I know she’s probably desperate to go outside. I just hope she doesn’t come back into contact with whatever she’s allergic to