My 3-week-old kitten has a rash on its back legs. What is it?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. These blisters could be cysts or could be due to a thermal burn, such as laying on a hot surface. These could also indicate a bacterial skin infection. I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at Bliz so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The pictures are good but it's still tough to see what is going on. Hair loss with dry/flaky skin is often indicative of ringworm especially in kittens. This is highly contagious to other animals and to people making it a zoonotic disease. I would definitely have a vet evaluate the litter and start treatment for a fungal infection right away to prevent this from getting worse. I would quarantine the litter away from all other pets and humans especially young children and the elderly since they are most likely to get infected. Even the shed hairs can contain fungal spores so direct contact with the animals is not required to get infected. It could be something else but in the pictures it is highly suspect since it looks like the paws and tail are affected. Other possibilities include mites, bacteria, external parasites (fleas, etc), dietary problems, intestinal parasite problems, among other things. Your vet can evaluate them and advise a woods lamp exam, skin scrape, fungal culture, hair analysis, etc to determine what is going on. The ears could be infected with ear mites and they could evaluate those also. Eye problems in young kittens are often due to viruses which infect the eyes and cause upper respiratory infections. These are contagious also along with the ear mites to other cats and dogs. Your vet can evaluate everything that is going on a make a plan to solve the puzzle. They can advise a sound treatment plan in addition to guiding you in preventive health care items including deworming, vaccines, flea/tick products, etc. Good luck and I hope it's not ringworm.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Baby. Oh that looks awful. I'm concerned he could have mange or a severe skin infection. Without seeing him in person, I cannot make a definitive diagnosis. You cannot treat this at home, and you need to take him into a vet today get this treated. Best of luck.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I agree with you, it makes me think mostly about irritation or a rash. I think this is likely due to some form of trauma such as from her scratching at it. I would keep a close eye on it. If it is just that, it should start improving and resolving in the next few days to a week if she is not scratching at it. If it has not improved significantly or resolved in the next week have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further work-up. At the same time, if it worsens in the meantime, have her evaluated sooner. Try to keep the area as clean as possible. Good luck!

Yes, this is similar to a diaper rash - where the skin gets irritated by the filth and sometimes infected. The fact that it's not as red anymore is a good sign that it's healing. The hair loss is not too concerning right now, because this will often happen when the old skin and hair grows out after being damaged and new skin and hair is growing in. I recommend keeping this area clean by just flushing with cool water once a day. Gently wipe away any debris and pat dry after flushing. Avoid scrubbing, or putting any ointments, soaps, or antiseptics on this area, because this can actually irritate the skin and delay healing. I hope that helps and all is well with the kittens.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Pearl. I see what you mean. It could be she injured her cheek, as I see some scabs. It could also be a skin infection. Without seeing her in person, I cannot diagnose exactly what is going on. I'd have her seen by a vet to have this diagnosed and treated. Best of luck.

Hi and thanks for using PetCoach! Sorry to hear about Darby. Definitely looks like an angry lesion that itches a lot. Not 100% sure what this is but it looks like part of the Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex. Here is a link- http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/Health_Information/eosinophilic.cfm Otherwise this could be a bacterial skin infection, a skin mite infection, external parasite problem (fleas, ticks, etc), allergic reaction, among other things. You should take Darby to your vet and let them examine her. Your vet will gather a detailed history and evaluate Darby. They will then propose a diagnostic/treatment plan based on their clinical findings. Possible tests include skin scrape, skin cytology, etc. Treatment could include antibiotics, anti-itch medicines, an Elizabethan collar to prevent licking, etc. The licking has to be stopped or this will never heal. Cats tongues, as you probably know are very rough and will continually irritate the area when she licks it. Good luck