My cat has a red spot on his skin. Is it a hot spot? How to treat?

Thank you for your question about Oliver. I doubt it's a hot spot as you mentioned he has had it for some time. Some things like mite infections, on going allergies or even something like a eosinophilic granuloma can all have this type of appearance and history. While you can try an at home treatment, it may not work as certain conditions need medications in order to clear. If you want to try anything at home, you first need to protect the area from trauma (Oliver's tongue is very rough) by making Oliver wear and elizabethan collar at all times. Try to wash the area daily with an antibacterial hand soap (rinse it well) as long as Oliver tolerates it. Cats can strike out when they are stressed so make sure to not get bitten or scratched. Alternatively, you can get some pet cleansing wipes and clean the area daily. You can apply a small amount of coconut oil and rub it well into the skin-make sure Oliver does not lick at it. Coconut oil has some antibacterial proprieties and conditions the skin. This may help the wound to heal a little faster. If this does not help within a week, I recommend to take Oliver in to see his veterinarian. I hope this helps to point you in the right direction. Please feel free to post any further questions!

it is possible but it looks more like a hot spot from constant irritation and scratching. These usually start from a wound or trauma to the skin, they begin to lick and scratch to make it worse. The best thing to do is try to clip (no scissors) the hair to clean the skin with soap and water. From there you can apply cortisone cream and Neosporin until you can get him to the vet. He may need an e collar from a pet store to prevent further licking and grooming of the area.

I’m sorry to hear about Budy! You’re right! This does look like a “hot spot” caused by allergies, pain, a poke/bite, or other. This could also be ringworm or other. They an erupt almost overnight due to licking and scratching. First, put an E-collar on her (and keep it on AT ALL TIMES). Then try a hot spot spray such as Rescue + Remedy Hot Spot Spray. Use as directed on the bottle. Both the cone and the spray can be found at PetCo or online at PetCo.com . If no improvement in 3 days, or if worsening at any time, it’s time to see the vet. Keep in mind that if it’s an underlying problem like fleas/flea bite reaction, or allergies, this may recur until you treat that problem. Best of luck to you and Budy!

I'm not sure that's a hot spot. That looks more like an abscess, a ruptured cyst or perhaps and infected laceration. I recommend to have Stripes examined by the veterinarian. She may need an antibiotic. She should wear an elizabethan collar at all times to prevent any licking which could make the lesion worse. A visit to the veterinarian and getting medication will assure the most complete and fastest healing process. If she cannot get to a veterinarian, please post again with the photo of the wound and a photo of the back of the hot spot spray so one of us can see the ingredients. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

You can try applying some topical antibiotic ointment to the wounds 2-3 times a day (something like neosporin). If this does not fix the issue you will need to bring him in to a veterinarian to get him worked up. Best of luck. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking. 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.

This looks like a small, localized spot of infection, sometimes referred to as a hot spot. If the infection is contained to this one area you can try to treat it at home with some topical antibiotic ointment (like Neosporin). If this does not take care of the problem, or if there are other areas like this on her skin, I would recommend having her checked out by your vet so a systemic antibiotic can be given.