Cat struggling with itchy face/obsessive scratching
* Species: Feline
* Age: 12 y
* Sex/Neuter status: FS
* Breed: DSH
* Body weight: 10 lb
* History: Osteoarthritis which she gets a monthly Solensia injection for since April 2025. No other health concerns noted by regular vet. About 1.5 years ago noticed she was obsessively rubbing the right side of her face on any sharp corner she could find. Didn't seem to cause her any problems in the beginning, but over several months her face began to scab up from the irritation. She also began grooming excessively and was pulling chunks of fur out all over her body. We took her to our normal vet. Over the last 6 months we have tried: OTC antihistamines (no response) Animax ointment, triamcinolone injection, cyclosporine, and gentamicin spray. The cyclosporine helped immensely with the obsessive grooming. She started on 1/day and vet reduced it to every other day which she is still taking. She wore an e-collar for a few weeks after the visit in April to stop the fur pulling. In that time her face did heal up and she seemed to stop for a couple of months. Then she started the face scratching again to the point it was scabbing up, so she's back in a collar for now. As soon as we take the collar off, she begins pawing obsessively at her mouth. Her right paw that she paws at her face with also has discoloration and dark buildup at the base of the nail that I have not been able to clean off. We have another appointment coming up, so looking for any guidance I can bring up to the vet as they didn't have many more suggestions left after the last appointment. Another hurdle is that because it's right around her mouth, I can't tell how effective any topical treatments are. She often licks them off as soon as I apply them. Is there a better way to make them more effective? Currently I've been cleaning her face 2x/day with a warm cloth and attempting to apply some hydrocortisone. Her face looks better in the attached images since she's had the cone on for about a week.
* Clinical signs: Signs of irritation and scabbing on right side of mouth under nose and along mouth after excessive rubbing/scratching. Discoloration on right paw and dark buildup on inner claw.
* Duration: About 1.5 years since we noticed the obsessive face scratching. Severity has been on and off since.
* Your general location: UT, US
* Links to any test results, X-rays, vet reports etc. that you have: CBC and Chem from April were all WNL.
Posted Oct 30, 2025, 4:00 PM UTC