My cat has a red, hairless spot that's getting worse. What is it?

It is difficult to tell from the pictures, but it looks like the red area is raised which makes me worry that it is a mass. I would recommend having your veterinarian evaluate it. They will likely take a small sample of cells with a needle and evaluate it under the microscope to determine what it is and what to do about it. I would not recommend any topical treatment until we know what it is. Good luck to you and Mittens. I hope it is nothing to worry about! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach! What you have taken a picture of on Ms. Kitty appears to be an area that is infected. What it is infected with I am unable to determine based on the pictures. However, that being said, I would recommend treating this by first shaving the hair away from the area and cleansing it with a mixture of betadine and water mixed to give a 50:50 dilution or until you get a light brown solution. You can use this to keep the area clean. I would recommend starting a spray such as Malacetic conditioning spray and spray to the affected area 2-3 times per day until resolved. If there is no improvement or it worsens, I would recommend having this examined by a veterinarian as Ms. Kitty may need a course of an antibiotic and additional topical medications. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Hello. That looks like a moist and sticky bacterial infection, but a proper diagnosis would come from a hands on examination with your veterinarian. It would be best to have him looked at ASAP, but in the meantime....the main goal is to clean the area and try to keep it dry. You can use some dish soap and water to gently clean the area, then wipe excess soap away and dry it . Do not rub or scrub the tissue very hard as it is probably uncomfortable. Your veterinarian will need to prescribe the appropriate antibiotic to eliminate the infection. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

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.

I would recommend having your vet examine Mochi to see what is going on. It looks like there is a little hair loss as well. If your other cat scratched her and some of the bacteria from the claw punctured the skin, you may not see any blood, but she may have an abscess under the skin that needs to be treated. An abscess can be red and painful, so that may be why she does not want it touched or inspected. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Ouch poor Ki! This looks like it could have started out as a small wound, bite, or scratch but eventually turned into an abscess which is why it is so much bigger now. Since it is getting worse and she is bothered by it, I️ would take her to your vet. She is likely going to need some medical care to clean it up and make sure she doesn’t need stitches. Also your vet will be able to provide her with some systemic antibiotics as I don’t believe that ointment is strong enough. I hope this helps!

That hairless area could be related to a bacterial infection, a fungal infection (which could be contagious to humans) or a healing wound. I can’t tell if it is raised or not. If the area is raised, then I think you should get it checked out as certain skin cancers can look like this. If the area is nice and smooth, then I think you could monitor it and see what happens over the next two weeks. If it doesn’t go away or if it gets worse, then take him in to be seen. Of course you can always have him examined as you will likely get answers faster that way. At home make sure the area is protected from scratching or licking. Otherwise you can leave it alone but look at it daily. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.