Why are my cat's neck and face sores not healing after vet visits?

Those are some very nasty looking sores. I can only imagine how uncomfortable they are for Gypsy. I also notice in the picture that she is not wearing any sort of cone around her head to prevent her from trying to lick the affected area. Even if it in a place where you would think they can't reach, they usually find a way. I would also consider placing little booties on her feet to prevent scratching of the area. In terms of the actual problem, if your veterinarian has already tried multiple treatment without success, it may be time to start trying some diagnostics instead. These tend to be a little more expensive and time consuming, but ultimately will get you the answer that you have been looking for all along. Some of these tests may include scrapings, cultures, skin biopsies, and allergy testing. Alternatively, you could seek out the help of veterinary dermatologist who specializes in these types of issues.

From the picture I can only say this may be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria or fungal). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics or antifungal meds (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. More investigations like sampling and bacterial swabs would be needed to determine the underlying cause more specifically. In my experience I have seen large wounds like this one from Poxvirus infection (but usually other wounds are present as well). I would suggest to handle this wound always with gloves (you are doing it anyway as I can see from the pic). Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

None healing ulcerated wounds can indicate something like cancer or an autoimmune disease. I recommend to discuss having one of the lesions biopsied. Also make sure to protect the lesions from scratching by having Pixie wearing an elizabethan collar at all times. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

I think it will be fine to try and treat this at home for now (even though we don't know the cause), but would recommend a visit to the vet if it doesn't get better in 2 weeks. Here are my recommendations: 1) Clip the hair around the area and expose all of the sore skin. 2) Wash/spray the area with just cool, clean water (no soap or other antiseptics) for at least 5 minutes at a time. Do this at least twice a day. 3) Bandage the wound with gauze and apply an over-the-counter antibacterial cream (i.e Neosporin) to the wound. Keeping it covered and keeping Snoball from licking it will be the most difficult part of the treatment. You can help keep the bandage on by placing a good (really sticky) tape above and below the bandage. You can find sprays in the pet store, like bitter apple, that are meant to deter licking. This can be sprayed on the bandage (not the wound) to help keep Snoball from chewing it off. NOTE: Be careful not to bandage too tight or it can cut-off the circulation. If you notice that the toes/foot starts to swell, then remove the bandage and leave it off until the swelling goes down. You can also help keep the bandage on by taping a clean sock over the bandage. These types of lesions tend to take a long time to heal, so don't be surprised if its not completely healed until a month later. Once the skin looks normal and Snoball stops trying to lick, you can stop the cleaning/bandaging. I hope that helps and Snoball gets better soon.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm sorry to hear Rory has been having such skin issues. Nonresolving skin lesions can be due to a variety of causes, including severe trauma and necrosis of the skin, a resistant bacterial infection, or an immune disorder, among others. If it is non-resolving, it may need surgical removal in order for the rest of the skin to heal, and a culture for a resistant infection and a biopsy can be done in order to determine further what may be going on. Good luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Judging from the picture, this could be a ruptured abscess or secondary to self trauma from him scratching at the area. I would recommend having him examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate treatment recommendations can be made. He will need the hair clipped from around the wound and the wound cleaned. I would also recommend an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

She could have a foreign body or infecion in that area that won't properly heal. I would have your vet look at it to ensure she doesn't need some antibiotics or even a culture of the area to ensure it isn't a resistant infection. Finally, if it won't heal, she may need that area surgically removed as I have had a similar case where we surgically removed it and sent the tissue to the lab and there a piece of grass was embedded in that tissue. I hope this helps.