My cat's face is swollen, itchy, and peeling. Allergies or parasites?

Facial swelling can be caused by an allergic reaction to something such as an insect sting or spider bite, an abscess from an injury, or even an abscessed tooth (unlikely in such a young cat). I would encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian as soon as possible. Depending on what the diagnosis is will determine what medications are recommended. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

She is a cutie! This could be from an insect/spider bite that has cause a local infection/abscess which is why is has started to swell. This could potentially be a cancerous mass that has caused an inflammatory reaction as well. Since it has recently become swollen, I would strongly recommend for your vet to take a look at it. Your vet will be able to aspirate the mass or swelling if needed. They can even take X-rays if needed if they are concerned about sinus or honey involvement. They will also be able to start her on some antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory if needed. I hope this helps!

This does not look like an allergic reaction which could come from a systemic medication. This lump/growth should be ideally examined by your veterinarian to have a definitive diagnosis. Your vet will examine it and possibly perform with an FNA (fine needle aspiration) or a biopsy. Differentials would include skin cyst, an insect bite, the result of a trauma, infections or benign or malignant type of tumors (very unlikely given the age). Hope this answer was helpful, but 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. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

I am sorry to hear that! I do think going to the vet would be a good idea. Cats can get many types of lumps at their mouths. From your description one thing I would want to rule out is eosinophilic plaques. These can be caused by allergies so getting on a low allergen food (I would recommend prescription due to cross-contamination at the manufacturing level) and medications can be vital! Of course it is hard to tell without looking at her so your vet may want to rule tests or take a biopsy first! I hope this helps!

I am sorry to hear about your kitten! I would recommend bringing her in for an exam at your vet. If the swelling is progressing tonight or she develops any difficulty breathing I would get her to the emergency vet. We could have swelling do to an allergic reaction from an insect bite or exposure to any other substance/plant (most of the time we don't see a mark/know the cause) but I would also want to check for things like an abscess or infected tooth causing swelling. It sounds like he may also have a mild upper respiratory infection (like us having a cold) that he has passed to the other cats. You can read more about this at https://www.petcoach.co/article/sneezing-and-feline-upper-respiratory-disease/

Sylvestor's skin lesion looks quite inflamed and could be due to a skin infection from underlying allergies, ringworm or mange. I recommend taking him to the vet to rule out ringworm and mange, as these can be transmitted to people or other animals. If these issues are ruled out, Sylvestor may need topical or oral antibiotics to manage a skin infection, likely caused by allergies. Allergies in animals often occur to fleas (even one flea bite can cause issues in sensitive animals!), food or the surrounding environment, which then cause an animal to itch and develop a skin infection from itching. The vet will be able to prescribe appropriate medication to clear up this issue before it worsens. I hope that all goes well!

Poor guy. If this is a food allergy, then make sure to first off switch him back to his original food. Then you can try shaving the hair around the wound and cleaning it with Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water. If the wound resembles a "hot spot" then you can try some over the counter hot spot spray from your local pet store. However if this wound is more like a puncture, then its best to get your local vet to treat this area appropriately.