My cat has marks on his neck from scratching. Should I see a vet?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Skin lesions like you are describing can have a variety of causes, including skin parasites (fleas or mites), an infection (bacterial or fungal), allergies, or another underlying medical issue. I would recommend he be evaluated by his regular veterinarian to determine the underlying cause for his skin lesions, so he could start any treatment (antibiotics, anti-itch medications, parasiticide) that he may need. In the meantime, I would clean the area will diluted betadine if possible and then keep it dry, and trim his nails back as much as possible to keep him from scratching at it. Good luck!

You will need to take your cat to a veterinarian for a skin exam. Your cat could be suffering from an allergy, mites, fleas, a bacterial or fungal infection. each of these requires a different treatment, so it is important to find out what is causing the itch. Your vet will do a thorough exam and maybe a a skin scrape. He will then discuss the options with you and then prescribe medications, possibly give an injection to stop the itching.

I recommend to have Ellie examined by her vet. That wound looks extremely irritated and may be infected. She can receive medications that will help her to feel better and to heal that lesion. The vet can also treat her for the mites or allergies. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

The fleas don’t cause visible damage like this, so it’s probably from scratching. Fleas could certainly cause enough irritation to cause self-trauma from itching, ear infections are another cause. I would recommend staying a good-quality monthly flea preventative and you may need to have Tigger checked out by a vet to check for infections.

There could be a couple of things causing these scabs such as mites, allergies, ringworm, or fleas. I think Miran should see a vet before Friday. The vet can diagnose what is causing this skin problem, and can treat him. Best of luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is possible that this is a scratch. I think this most likely represents some form of a traumatic event such as a scratch like you pointed out though something like ringworm cannot be ruled out (less likely if he is very itchy as ringworm does not tend to cause itchiness). Usually, if based on further history and physical examination findings, there is concern for possible ringworm, your veterinarian would submit a culture. At the same time, your veterinarian will possibly treat for a possible bacterial infection. Either way, this would likely be inexpensive. The exact amount of money will vary greatly depending on the vet clinic. You can always check if your local humane society sees patients as they tend to be less expensive. In the meantime, just in case this is in fact due to ringworm, try to avoid direct contact with it as that is contagious to humans. It seems like you are already doing a great job by using gloves. Good luck and have a good night!

Hello! Mittens' skin lesion could be a result of ringworm, mange, or allergies. Since the lesion has noticeably grown in just 2 days, I would take her to the vet for an exam. Your vet will be able to perform a skin scrape to look for mites, Wood's lamp evaluation and ringworm culture. From there, an appropriate treatment can be started for Mittens.