u/Forward_Seaweed3804

Hi there, I’ll try to keep this succinct, but I apologize in advance for the length.

So - my mom’s cat, Willow, has had a nasty open sore on her face since January. My mom came home from work one day and there was a nasty gash on Willow’s brow. She took her to the vet and they gave her antibiotics and a cone to wear. A possibly relevant factor: my mom decided to get a new kitten right after the wound appeared, and Willow absolutely HATES it. She still does.

Initially my mom wasn’t really being strict with the cone wearing (“because she just gets so miserable when it’s on” - and before you all ream her out for being irresponsible, trust me, I already did that). Naturally, this led to Willow scratching at it and making it much bigger. After this my mom tried keeping the cone on her for a month straight, while giving her antibiotics and cortisone cream from the vet. Apparently, it didn’t get even remotely better for that entire time, and after hearing about her behavioural changes, the vet recommended that we not bother with the cone since it clearly wasn’t helping the wound and seemed to be making her depressed.

Now, I’ve been away at university for most of the time that Willow’s had this injury, but I just graduated a week ago and came home to find that it’s evolved into a full-blown festering sore that’s taking up most of her temple/cheek. I asked my mom what the hell happened and she explained that it’s been months of vet visits that haven’t really gotten her anywhere.

They found out she’s allergic to chicken, so we switched her food. The vet theorized that an autoimmune disorder might be the reason it won’t heal, but every medication they’ve tried hasn’t really made a difference. According to my mom, the only time it seemed to start healing was when she switched the food, but she claims she can’t even remember what combination of meds she was giving Willow during that brief period (again, please don’t berate my mom in the replies because I assure you I am already quite frustrated with her) and insists that none of the treatments have shown any effect.

Now Willow’s had the cone on for the past couple weeks and it’s still getting worse (or at least not getting better). My mom refuses to go to the vet again because she’s already made so many very expensive trips there in the past five months, with nothing to show for it. I’d take the cat myself but as I said, I just graduated university and absolutely don’t have the money for a vet trip. I just don’t know what else to do - it sounds like my mom has tried just about everything. Willow used to be such a sweet, friendly, and vocal girl, but now she’s miserable all the time. She hardly ever makes sounds or meows now. She rarely snuggles us or sits on our laps anymore. Recently, she’s figured out that she can use her paw to hold the cone steady in order to mash her injured cheek against the inside of it, so aside from watching her 24/7 (which obviously isn’t possible), I have no idea how to keep her from ripping open the wound while we’re at work.

Again, I’m sorry for the long post. But I just have no idea what to do and it’s breaking my heart having to see my girl so miserable and disfigured. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you so much in advance ❤️