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My cat has a red, hairless, weeping sore under her chin. What is it?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed

My white short hair cat has a sore area on her neck underneath her chin. It is approx 5cm round, hairless and has a red margin that is weeping slightly. She does not appear to be licking it. She is an indoor cat but escapes occasionally for short periods. We have another indoor cat too.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on January 11th, 2017

The different options in Alice's case are a superficial moist (bacterial) dermatitis, feline acne or a fungal/viral infection with or without secondary bacterial inflammation.
A check up and some skin testing would confirm one of these clinical suspicion. Appropriate treatment may require antibiotics.
This disease may be infective for you (in case of fungal infection) or the other cat (all but feline acne).

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on March 16th, 2019
This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria or fungal). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics or antifungal meds (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. I cannot rule out a more complex disease at this stage, like an allergic or autoimmune disorder which requires a full physical examination to be detected.
Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any scratching (if any).

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.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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