Hey everyone, sorry for my first post to be asking for advice instead of talking to people, but I think this is the best place to go.
My cat has a sore on his side, it had a scab on it a while ago but it's been licked off. I think it's just from our younger cat licking him or from a play fight but I'm not so sure. The sore will heal on it's own, it doesn't look too serious, but I can't get him or the kitten to stop licking it. Is there anything I can do to keep them from licking it so it can heal?
Oh my, that is a problem. I'm not the best person to answer you either, but I wanted to commiserate!
I think this is the kind of thing they use the so-called "cone of shame" for - you know that plastic cone they put around pets' necks that keeps them from licking themselves? You might want to consider getting one. The cats will hate it. However, they can get used to it, it won't hurt them, and it will keep them from licking! I don't believe you have to go through a vet for this but you might. You could look for something like this first, though, at a local pet supply store, or online.
There might be something you could put on the fur that would be repellant to them but I can't imagine what that would be and it might hurt them, and anyway, no doubt they'd lick or rub it off right away anyhow.
You can use a cone to prevent the cat from licking, you can also put a bitter spray on the area t give the cat a bad taste whenever they try and lick.
When my cat got fixed we got a bitter spray to help protect the area, but my cat was so determined he licked right through the spray, regardless of the taste. We found that sprinkling some cayanne pepper onto the wound actually worked a lot better as the spice was just too hot for the cat to lick through and the taste was too much for him.
If you are looking for something simple, and cheap, try the cayanne pepper, just be very careful not to get it into the open wound. The vet told me, at last with the bitter spray, tocover the open wound with your finger and apply the spray around your finger, leaving the open wound without anything on it.
Thanks a lot both of you! I'm hoping to not have to get a cone for the cats because they get into enough trouble knocking things over without it, I can't imagine the mayhem they'd cause with all that plastic they can't account for. But if it comes to that it may be the only choice haha.
Thanks for the suggestion scotty. I never would have thought of cayenne pepper, that's a good idea. It would definitely keep both cats from licking the wound, or at least keep them at bay long enough for it to start healing. I'm going to go check the cupboards for the pepper and try it out if we have some. Thanks again!
The problem too with the cone is it is such a big thing for the cat to deal with, my silly guy cat, Bandit has the worst balance, and when I put the cone on him he refused to walk or move, and would only roll on the floor! He was just pathetic!
I think anything with a bitter taste would do, but I know first hand that Cayanne is safe, something like garlic for example would be unsafe as it is poisonous to cats, so always just do a quick search online and see if there are any risks involved before you try anything.
