Cat Bald Patch

smile!

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Hi, i'm new here and this is why i'm here:

My cat has a strange bald patch on his back. It is quite small really, but I am wondering what it is... Any help?
 

snake_lady

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Originally Posted by Smile!

Hi, i'm new here and this is why i'm here:

My cat has a strange bald patch on his back. It is quite small really, but I am wondering what it is... Any help?
Pictures would help, or a more thorough description....It's really hard for anyone to say.... is there any redness, sores, etc? Does he have more than one bald spot?
 

februa

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My cat manytoes has a smaller-than-a-dime sized bald patch on his left flank...it is a scar from when he was a kitten, and has to be "found" as the rest of his fur covers it over.
 

snmcdowell

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This weekend I noticed that my female snow bengal of about 7 years has three large bald spots on her right leg. There is no hair, but it does not appear to be sore, red, bloody, itched, bitten or anything else. There is just white skin - a little sticky to the touch.

A few weeks ago I noticed two dime sized spots on her back that were similar but seemed to have a little bit of a yellow/brown crust.

I have a Vet appointment this afternoon but am curious if I should ask or mention anything in particular? She's been on Vectra for two months - could Vectra cause this? She has always had some kind of allergy that makes the spot in front of her ear irritated - could it be allergies getting worse?
 

snake_lady

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Originally Posted by snmcdowell

This weekend I noticed that my female snow bengal of about 7 years has three large bald spots on her right leg. There is no hair, but it does not appear to be sore, red, bloody, itched, bitten or anything else. There is just white skin - a little sticky to the touch.
Does it look like any of the pics in this post: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=199307

the pic of my cat's tail is ringworm. The other pics are from the cats overgrooming.

A few weeks ago I noticed two dime sized spots on her back that were similar but seemed to have a little bit of a yellow/brown crust.

I have a Vet appointment this afternoon but am curious if I should ask or mention anything in particular? She's been on Vectra for two months - could Vectra cause this? She has always had some kind of allergy that makes the spot in front of her ear irritated - could it be allergies getting worse?
Definately mention the crust.... did those spots go away? (if so, ringworm does NOT go away that fast.....if not, ask the vet about ringworm and have the test done... not the woods lamp test which is a black light, but the fungicide one, they will take a small scraping from the area, and stick it in a bottle of goop. It takes up to 14 days to return a negative on ringworm, sometimes less time to show a positive)

If she's been on Vectra for 2mos, unless the dose has changed, I can't see how it would be related to the med. If it were, I would think it would have showed up within a week or two after starting the meds.

Some possibilities: her allergy getting worse, ringworm, overgrooming.... those are the more common ones for fur loss.

Hope that helped give you some info to take to your vet. Good luck.
 

snmcdowell

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The vet thinks my cat has ringworm but she only did the blacklight test so far. I find it hard to believe since:

1. She is 7 years old
2. She's only around 1 other cat that we've had for 5 years
3. She doesn't go outside
4. She's never had this before
5. The other cat is fine and neither my husband or I have it

However, I think it's possible and will follow through with treatment to rule it out because:

1. The spots are circular in shape
2. She hasn't licked or scratched the spots
3. The spots are multiplying pretty fast
4. The spots did glow in the blacklight

For treatment - we are giving both cats 2 "Program" pills every 2 weeks for a total of three treatments. I'm also applying anti-fungal cream to as many of the spots as I can - she's a tempermental cat.

She said if the spots don't start drying up by Thursday that I need to call and get an additional antibiotic.

Since I just took my other cat in for one pupil larger than the other and found that the pressure in his good eye is 20 and his bad eye is 13 - I can't help but think something else is going on. However, the vet said if this doesn't clear up in 6 weeks, she will take a bippsy or culture to further examine what it is.

$300 later.....I'll let you know what happens in 6 weeks.
 

snmcdowell

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Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

Does it look like any of the pics in this post: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=199307
Yes - it looks like the very first picture (Finn) - only a couple days later the white skin turned red/irritated. The vet thinks that is even more indicitive of ringworm if the skin was pure white to start....she said if it had been overgrooming it would have been pink or irritated and not white. Aye...we'll see, let you know in 6 weeks.
 

snake_lady

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Just fyi....the black light test, also glows with dry skin....

IMO (I am not a vet, just a person with ringworm experience) I would not go for the additional meds untill you have a fungal culture done. It's the only 100% diagnoses.

There are some prescribed meds for ringworm that can be damaging to your kitty, which is why I really recommend the fungal test before you even think of adding more meds. We did the Program for ringworm too, it was the last of the treatment (first treatments were topical). I can write more later, gotta run to the dentist....

I'm not so sure your vet is correct.
 

snmcdowell

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The spots are spreading.... it started with 1 on her front leg - then spread to 3, then she got a 4th on her hind leg.....now she has one under her chin. We gave her the medicine Monday night and I try to put the anti-fungal cream on her but she just licks it off which I think irritates it more. My poor kitty...
 

snmcdowell

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Zoe is doing much better - the spots stopped spreading after Day 2. Her fur is now growing back in those spots and I'm not having to spray her with the medicine anymore. My other cat, my husband, and I remained clear of the ringworm. Next Monday we'll give them their 2nd dose of "Program" and then just one more 2 weeks after that. Hopefully we'll be all clear!

Also - I switched from Vectra to Revolution and noticed better results. The spot that I applied the medication to was not greasy for days and I did not see an increase any vomiting like I had seen with the Vectra.
 

snmcdowell

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Well, as mentioned earlier, Zoe was doing well and all her spots were healing ..... then about 1 week after taking her second dose of Program - she got a new spot. I sprayed it with the medicine from the doctor and continued with the remaining Program treatment. It has started healing.

We go back to the Vet today because she was growling while going #2 in the litter box and started peeing right next to the box instead of inside it. Could be behavioral...but I can't help thinking it's medical.
 

snmcdowell

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Zoe has not received any new spots and almost has all of her fur back. She is doing great!

The growling issue mentioned was a separate problem that I will post about to provide information for others.
 

snmcdowell

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Guess what? I found a new spot of ringworm on Zoe last week and another one appeared shortly after. Zoe has now been through and entire month of Program and I spray her spots which seems to help, but she keeps getting new ones. Is this normal?

Is there anything I can do to completely get rid of her ringworm? Luckily no one else in the house has gotten it, but could that mean it isn't ringworm?

I called the Vet again today - I don't want to take her back in because she's been there at least 3 times in the past 2 months. We'll see what they say...

The spots start of completely bald and white in the shape of a quarter. Then after a few days they turn bright red and get sticky to touch. After I spray the spots they form a thick yellowish green crust that peels off and eventually hair grows back.
 
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