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My cat keeps scratching his face raw. Is it allergies or anxiety?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 11 lbs

My cat keeps scratching the left side of his face to the point where it bleeds. He has a big scab their and keeps opening it, we tried using a cone but he just scratched his chest and opened there. Is this nervousness or hotspots and is there a way to stop it?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on June 26th, 2019

Cosmo needs to see a vet for this problem. It's concerning he keeps doing it, and he may have allergies. The cause of this itching has to be diagnosed so he can be treated. Please take him into a vet today.

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1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on July 26th, 2017

    This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (a different one from the one you used ideally on prescription), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). 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.

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