Why is my cat losing hair in a growing spot with a scratch?

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be 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, 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). 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!

Poor Almond! I'm glad to hear that she is acting normally despite her skin lesion. Common causes of areas of hair loss include allergies (to fleas, food or the environment), ringworm or mange. While this is not an emergent condition, a vet should examine Almond and may need to perform skin scrapes or cytologies to determine the cause of her skin lesion so that it can be managed appropriately.

This could be a skin infection caused by a fungus (ringworm), or bacteria or an old injury. Since ringworm is contagious to people and other pets in the house, I suggest you have this examined by your veterinarian to rule out a fungal infection. In the meantime do wash your hands after handling your kitty. Your vet will want to take a brush sample from the spot and culture it and until the culture has grown, will probably give you some medication to treat it.

Hair loss is that area could be a few things. If you are using a topical flea medication and applying it there, that could be the cause. Cats can also get skin mites, allergies or ringworm (which humans can get), or an injury. Could the dried blood be from her scratching with her hind paw? From the photos, I don't appreciate any hair loss around the ears. Minor wounds can often heal on their own. Monitor the lesion closely, if it doesn't begin healing within a week or if it starts looking worse, have her examined by the veterinarian. Also make sure she is not scratching at the area. Best of luck.

Poor cat! If the wound is growing in size, it's time to go to your vet. Problems such as allergies to parasite bites, fungal infections such as ringworm, infections of the skin, abscesses/sores etc can all be potential causes which is why a vet visit is needed to determine the cause, provide treatment such as pain meds and antibiotics, etc. Until you can get to your vet, keeping the area clean and dry may help as well as preventing your cat from licking, but if he is acting ill and hiding away he is likely already painful or worsening so needs care.

That spot on Lewis could be several things including allergies, skin mites, bacterial infection or ringworm (which humans can get). There are a couple things you can do at home and they can help but they may not address the underlying cause. You can try adding in an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for pets, this can help improve the skin health. You may also try changing his diet to something like Royal Canin or Nutro as they are aimed at skin health. Here is a link about ringworm: https://www.petcoach.co/article/ringworm-in-cats/ If the lesion does not start improving within a week or if it is getting worse, have him examined by the veterinarian. Testing for ringworm is easy and you may opt to do that whenever you like. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

A lesion like that could be a bacterial infection or ringworm (which humans can get). Your best option is to have Mocha examined and tested for ringworm. Make sure to protect the area from rubbing and scratching and she should wear an elizabethan collar at all times. Here is a link about ringworm just in case: https://www.petcoach.co/article/ringworm-in-cats/ I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.