anyone have a cat with a reaction to neosporin?

I wonder if there is any experience with seeming allergic reaction to neosporin with pain relief. My cat's ears have been warm and red (http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/red-ears.146222/) across a large part of the back of the ears - I am reluctant to poke. The only thing I can guess is that he had a reaction to the neosporin with pain relief I always used. I am using a cool washcloth to try to cool and calm his ears. I was wondering if putting a small amount of OTC steroid cream or benedryl cream on the back of his ears would help.

 

YES!!! I took my cat to the vet two weeks ago. Here in Canada, it's Polysporin and Billy is indeed allergic. He was sneezing and wheezing though. I think he licked it off his ears. I don't have any alternatives... I was using it to help heal and ward off infection and now I use a bit of Chlorhexadine once a day (not an ointment)

 

Wouldn't use this unless you rule out a yeast infection first.

 

It is not affecting the inside of his ear - I don't see any earwax - only the outside I've attached a few pics although you can't really see the redness very well

 

Any possibility this could be a food allergy?

 

You know you don't have to use any cream on their ears. I used vaseline to make the blood bead up, but nothing else. Just put a little pressure on the spot after the test to stop it from bleeding and keep it from bruising.

 

Thanks Debby - that's definitely what I am going to do from now on

 

Yes! I only used Neosporin w/pain relief occasionally because my kitties would groom each other and I was told it's not good for cat's to ingest on a regular basis, but anyway Alex had that same reaction... red ears. They looked sore, tender, and sometimes had little bumps on them.

Most of the time I didn't use anything and I tested a lot. However, I did find a better product to use on cats than Neosporin. It's called Cloud Line Herbal Healing Salve made by Halo Purely for Pets:

Helps support healing for cuts, wounds, abrasions, and scabby areas within days. Also helps soothe hot spots.

Ingredients: Vegetable Oils (Soy Oil, Almond Oil, Castor Oil, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil), Beeswax, Squalene, Carnuba (Palm) Wax, Vitamin A (Beta-carotene)-5,000 iu, Vitamin D - 600 iu, Vitamin E (D-Alpha Tocopherol) - 5,000 iu, Calendula (Marigold), Aloe, Comfrey, Tea Tree Oil, Myrrh Gum Oil, Lavender Oil.

I love this salve! I've used it for many, many years. It's a little pricey, but the tiniest bit goes a looooooong way.
It's great for humans, too!

 

thanks so much - found it at amazon and already ordered it

 

You're welcome. Glad you found it. If anyone else is looking I've also been able to find it at Whole Foods, Kroger, several different specialty/boutique type shops as well as online directly from the manufacturer: Halo Purely for Pets.

 

Based on those pics and the lack of ear wax, I would say prob not a yeast infection. However, if he loses his fuzzies on the back of his ear, I would take him in to the vet. I think you have a good plan though now. Hoping it gets less red asap! Sending healing vines!

 

Thanks

 

@Marje and Gracie had an issue with neosporin too.

 

@Jill & Alex (GA) Great tip, Jill - I just happen to be going to Whole Foods today - this salve will be a great addition to my medicine chest! Thanks! @Carol C - Wow, that sure looks like an allergic reaction to me! Keep us posted on how that salve works out for Murph.

 

Yes..Gracie had the same reaction as Jill’s Alex....red ears and bumps all over them. We’ve been using Polysporin with Lidocaine that Wendy/Neko sends us from Canada but when I’m done with these, I’m going to check out the Cloud Nine.

 

That's what the backs of Squallie's ears look like, too, but it seems to come and go. I never really thought about him being allergic to the 3x antibiotic ointment. Also, I use the one without the numbing agent in it. I would think the allergy would more likely be to that?
ETA: I know I am allergic to various "...caine" drugs, i.e., novocaine, lidocaine, etc, so I guess a cat can be, too!

 

yes!! My cat is allergic to it and vet had me putting it in her eyes.she had to be switched to erythromycin.vet told me some cats can be sensitive to one of the antibiotics in the triple antibiotic.

 

I thought the lidocaine was the most suspect as well, but could also be the antibiotic. Whatever, it's vasoline until the new salve arrives - I wasn't sure at first what was wrong, but good to know that at least a few other cats seemed to have had the same issue

 

Miss kitty had reaction to an antifungal medicine I put on her ears as well.her ears turned neon red and hot.she has a super bad flea allergy.cats have a lot of same problems as we do.

 

Murphy's ears have now recovered. Not sure if the antibiotics or lidocaine in neosporin, but no more of that for him

 

That's great news.

 

thanks - the only good part of the whole episode was that I didn't have to warm up the ears to do the poke (they were already warm)!

 

I saw some stuff at walmart that had pain relief in it and grabbed it up hoping I could use it on miss kitty so It wouldn't hurt to poke her ears but at closer look saw it was triple antibiotic with pain relief and had to put it back.all they had was triple kind.do I have to order it online to get a kind that isn't triple antibiotic?

 

I use triple antibiotic on Squallie. Occasionally his ears will get red and warm but it always goes away in a day or so and never seems to bother him.

 

Miss kitty is allergic to something in triple antibiotic so need something different.when I put triple antibiotic in her eyes her eyes would blow up and get pussy etc.making the entropion worse at the time.got switched to erythromycin and she did ok with that.miss kitty seems like she is one big walking allergy lol.

 

Poor Miss Kitty! That's like adding insult to injury, lol. So awful for her to have to endure the entropion, the surgery, and then an allergy, to boot! She must have been miserable, poor baby. You, too, having to see her go through all that and worrying about her!

 

I'm just using vasoline on his ears now - no more antibiotics. @Sharon14 said she tried the neosporin with pain relief on herself and it didn't seem to help the pain

 

I was searching online for something else and came across a message board with this posted: One point about Neosporin: My dermatologist told me that she has seen Neosporin cause a neuromuscular condition in some patients called Myasthenia Gravis. Neosporin contains a third antibiotic, neomycin, which acts as a neuromuscular block. The symptoms can include limb, neck, trunk and respiratory weakness, droopy eyelids and difficulty swallowing. This is temporary, lasting a few hours to a few days. So she always tells me to use polysporin instead. Whether it can have the same effect in cats I do not know.

Not sure if it is true or not as I have not researched it myself...but sounds like something to consider as it goes along with the rest of the posts here as well...hope it clears up soon!