On Tuesday night, I was writing a paper late into the night, and my 3-yr-old cat Stan likes to sit on the table with me as I write. Well, he was grooming himself as usual, and then focussed in on licking at a particular part of his arm (The inside of his front leg, near his armpit). I didn't really think anything of it, until he had been doing it constantly for about 15-20 minutes.
Finally, I was quite worried. I looked at where he was licking, and didn't see anything wrong, but I put his e-collar on just to stop him from bothering that place. I thought maybe his licking had irritated it, and he'd forget about it after a nice snooze.
The next morning, I took off the collar, and he immediately went back to the spot with the licking. I had a look at it, and the hair was gone in a spot about the size of a dime, and the skin looked just like a popped blister. Back into the e-collar he went. We shaved off the hair around it, and wiped it with antiseptic wipes. It doesn't look infected, but we are keeping an eye on it and if it gets any worse he's going off to the vet.
What do you think this could be? He doesn't have any fleas, and I'm suspecting possible food allergies. We've only had him for a few months (we got him from the SPCA), and have been experimenting with different brands of wet food to see which one he likes best. He's had the same dry food throughout - "Nutro Natural Choice Indoor Adult". I thought the worst that could happen from the changing of foods would be tummy problems (which he hasn't had), but maybe I'm wrong?
It's so frustrating, since we just got him out of his e-collar literally last week for an abcess on his face that appeared early in October that required surgery. We thought that was likely from a previous injury, but now that he's got this blister thing, the paranoid part of me is connecting the two in my mind...
Thanks for any help you guys can provide!
Finally, I was quite worried. I looked at where he was licking, and didn't see anything wrong, but I put his e-collar on just to stop him from bothering that place. I thought maybe his licking had irritated it, and he'd forget about it after a nice snooze.
The next morning, I took off the collar, and he immediately went back to the spot with the licking. I had a look at it, and the hair was gone in a spot about the size of a dime, and the skin looked just like a popped blister. Back into the e-collar he went. We shaved off the hair around it, and wiped it with antiseptic wipes. It doesn't look infected, but we are keeping an eye on it and if it gets any worse he's going off to the vet.
What do you think this could be? He doesn't have any fleas, and I'm suspecting possible food allergies. We've only had him for a few months (we got him from the SPCA), and have been experimenting with different brands of wet food to see which one he likes best. He's had the same dry food throughout - "Nutro Natural Choice Indoor Adult". I thought the worst that could happen from the changing of foods would be tummy problems (which he hasn't had), but maybe I'm wrong?
It's so frustrating, since we just got him out of his e-collar literally last week for an abcess on his face that appeared early in October that required surgery. We thought that was likely from a previous injury, but now that he's got this blister thing, the paranoid part of me is connecting the two in my mind...
Thanks for any help you guys can provide!
