Cat itching skin raw.

So 1 year ago I applied bravecto flea treatment to my cat and he had a horrendous reaction, he scratched so severely he made the skin at the back of his neck raw (shown in the 1st picture). I took him to the vet and they prescribed a steroid cream and anti-itch tablets. This worked up until his skin scabbed over and he kept scratching the scab off, and taking him back to square 1. I tried having him wear a cone, donut, vet vest, none of these prevented him from scratching until I bought a harness and it prevented him from scratching his neck. From that point on he hasn't had any flea treatment (he's an indoor cat so less likely to get fleas/parasites so I took the risk). A matter of days ago, I figured I'd apply advocate to his neck as it's getting warmer and I take him outside for controlled enrichment (I live on a main road), and he's now scratched his neck and between his collar blades raw. I can take him to the vet to get the same treatment but I'm literally going through a cycle with him. I don't know what to do. I even changed him to Royal Canin Hair and Skin Care food to help. Is he allergic to both advocate and bravecto? Does he just not like the sensation, I mean this cat will keep scratching until there is bone if I let him. I have to constantly keep an eye on him. Is it a behavioural thing? Even when his skin was fully healed he would go back into scratching himself raw. Fortunately I have insurance for my boy but I need to know what's going on because I care too much about him.

To add context to the picture, he did that in 1 night. He was immediately taken to the vet the day I took that photo.

Hello!   This is an unusual case.  Advocate and Bravecto have different main ingredient drugs, but I wonder if they have any 'lesser' ingredients in common? Your vet may help you in reporting a possible drugs reaction to the manufacturers. Their may assist you in comparing the two ingredients lists and should also tell you whether this is a known (previously reported) reaction to either or both meds, or whether it is peculiar to your cat, for instance a unusual neurological reaction to the physical sensation. A skin specialist may be of help here if your vets cannot answer. If the drugs do have ingredients in common, the ultimate test would be to apply a spot-on that doesn't contain this ingredient; however, given what is at stake if this is simply a reaction to a cold chemical on the back of the neck, you may not want to experiment with spot-ons again and may prefer to ask for an alternative sort of flea treatment next time!   Best of luck - and I would love to now if you find anything out.

sp - *know* with apologies  

Regarding the current state of affairs, cats have a lot of bacteria under their nails and even self-scratch wounds can get nasty quite quickly, so we would advise a vet visit as soon as possible.  This is also helpful in that your vet will log their findings in their clinical notes, which is useful 'formal' evidence for drugs companies, should they be interested in finding out more.

Furthermore, the sooner the discomfort is stopped, the smaller the damage is liekly to be.  Your vet may be prepared to see you ask an emergency.

Hello! Thank you for your reply Liz. I've ensured his wounds are clean and used a probiotic cat safe shampoo to help, he's booked in for the vets today and hopefully I get a better answer for what's going on. I appreciate your input and I'll keep you updated. Thank you!

Hi Liz, So after many trips to the vet, they came to the conclusion that he has a skin infection as it also spread to his rear right paw. However, he's still struggling to heal as he keeps scratching his neck, we've tried everything to stop him from itching. Steroid cream, steroid injection, cones, donuts, which is seriously slowing down progress, in terms of healing. Do you have any advice on what we could do to stop him from scratching his neck?

This was the worst it had got too, even after treatment. Treatment is still going on but it's reaching a point where stopping him for scratching is nearing impossible. The harness helped to stop him from getting too his neck but as you can see, it failed. Plus the vet said his neck needs to air out so we have to leave it uncovered.

Hello, I am facing a similar issue with my cat and after trawling the web for advice/products, thought I’d post here to see if there’a anything you’d recommend based on your experience? My cat had a reaction to hibiscrub and we’re now desperately trying to get him better before our twins arrive next week. He’s finished his course of antibiotics and we’ve stopped his steroid cream/tablets because we heard that can delay healing. He’s currently on Gabapentin to relieve anxiety and we’ve also bought Anicura ointment (2 days in and seems to be helping). We also clean twice a day with water. In the day we keep him in a harness in the garden so air can get to it. And at night we wrap his neck in a soft snood with a small amount of vet wrap to keep it in place. We did have him in a donut but he found a way to get to it which is a shame as the donut meant air could reach it. It’s making progress but I’d love to know what else we can do to speed up the healing. I’m also nervous that he’s developed anxiety/a natural response to scratching this area. Photo attached from yesterday. Scabbing well which is good to see but I think it’s making it more itchy. 

Morning Nina, So with Charlie, (my cat in the photos earlier on in the thread) I purchased a pair of leggings and used that to wrap around his neck, almost like a snood. As it's stretchy enough and doesn't rub on his skin too much. I stopped applying any creams, I've basically just let his neck heal on its own. He is a nervous cat by nature and I think there is an element of anxiety within him too. The vet prescribed me everything for him, the best thing was the steroid injection as he didn't touch his neck at all for 48 hours and then once that had wore off, he was at it again. I have noticed in the last couple of months that whenever he goes to scratch his neck, I yell "NO!" to which he immediately stops, but now he's clocked on that he gets my attention everytime I do that so I've had to start ignoring him when he scratches. It's basically become a behavioural issue that, at present, I'm working on. He has his "snood" so he can't break skin, I just have to make sure he doesn't take it off, which he hasn't so far.

Seems like the tights/snood thing is a good idea. Have you stopped with a cone or donut? I have noticed he’s reacting to good boy/no (as crazy as it makes me sound talking to him like that) so will keep that up. He’s an outdoor cat and such a cheeky little chap usually so just breaks my heart we’re in this situation and he can’t enjoy being outdoors like he used to. We’re currently sitting outside with him from about 6am - 8pm although he settles indoors in the day for a long nap in between. Like you say, it’s just so tough knowing what the right thing to do is and hard to see them take a good few steps forward for them to itch the scab off whenever they get a chance. I’m hoping the scab will heal and fall off but we still have a while to go until that happens. Thanks again for the reply. Really appreciate it.

Yes, I haven't bothered with a cone or donut since this first happened. I could tell that he really wasn't comfortable and could easily slide them both off. The legging snood is the best thing, just cut the end of the leggings off and put it over the neck. It's not to tight to suffocate, and it's lose enough that air gets too it. However, it does affect hair growth so my boy has a really skinny neck due to his fur not fully growing back.

Thanks again. Really appreciated. Might give the legging a go if the snood stops working for any reason. Wish you all the luck with Charlie.

My cat is scratching herself raw too. She used to get small spots on her head and she’d let them heal but a few months ago her chin acne got bad and she scratched her chin and front of her neck raw. Of course, vet visit, antiseptic wipes, antibiotics, recovery suit, etc. The only reason it started to heal is because she focusing her attention to the back of her neck. The past two nights I cleaned it and applied Vaseline. This morning I checked her and the back spots are not freshly scratched but she has started back on the front again. At this rate she is going to have a raw (slightly bloody) ring all the way around her neck. PLEASE PROVIDE PICTURES OF YOUR SOLUTIONS. I REALLY NEED HELP. Thanks for any additional suggestions that can be tossed out.