Hi Shayna-
A better treatment than vaseline would be Neosporin ointment. The spot on her neck that was scabbed almost sounds like ringworm. Go through her coat carefully (especially on her belly if she'll let you) and see if you see any fleas on her. That could also be what is causing her to scratch herself until she is creating wounds. Ask the vet Monday if he can put soft paws on her back feet to help keep her from injuring herself with her scratching until a determination can be made as to what is causing this problem. Your vet can do a little skin scraping and put it under a microscope to check for ringworm. He may also be able to check for it with a black light, although not all types of ringworm will glow under the blacklight. He can culture the scraping for a couple of weeks to see if fugus grows if the blacklight diagnosis is negative. The wounds are going to have to heal before you'll be able to do any sprays or bathe her with anything medicated. I am somewhat concerned about an immunodeficiency of some sort since she is having problems with healing. Diabetes is also a problem that will keep a cat from healing properly. My initial guess is that she has ringworm, body mites or fleas. An alternative would be a spider bite in the area of the wound that is not healing properly, but that would not account for the other skin problems you are seeing. Last but not least, she may have developed a food allergy. If nothing else seems to come from routine bloodwork and/or skin scrapings, you can try putting her on a corn-free diet, such as Wellness, California Natural or Felidae. You can find just about all commercial catfood products at www.petfooddirect.com and can read the ingredients for each until you find one that is suitable without corn. Please let me know what you find out about your kitty. I think you might see about taking her in a little earlier in the week than Friday if you see any more spots - or at least call on Monday to see if they want to see her sooner. It is safe to wait until then to take her in unless she developes other symptoms like not eating, drinking or using the litterbox, or goes into 'hiding' and doesn't want to come out. If those things happen, she needs to be seen as soon as you can make arrangements.
Edited by kydoll on June 17 2006 at 6:00pm
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Lori McLaughlin
Your veterinarian should ALWAYS be consulted first and foremost when your pet's welfare is at stake.
