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bald spot and itching

post #1 of 16
1/22/10 at 2:41pm
Thread Starter 
I just saved Luigi from a rescue and noticed a bald spot on his neck. This spot is getting worse from his scratching. Anyone have any idea what this might be. He is also starting to scratch above the eyes now causing the same issue. I will be taking him to the vet eventually, but in the meantime if anyone could help. I also lived with a cat who had the balding above the eyes and heard that the balding is catchy, is this true? I have attached pics, thanks all

http://i752.photobucket.com/albums/x...catneck2-1.jpg

http://i752.photobucket.com/albums/x...e/catface2.jpg
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post #2 of 16
1/22/10 at 3:01pm
My black cat has that sort of balding above the eyes that a lot of kitties have. If Luigi is scratching his skin, though, you should really get him to the vet as soon as you can. It could be mites or fleas. Good for you for rescuing him, but please make sure he is OK! When I adopted my Holland from the shelter, I got a free checkup at a local vet, I hope you got the same kind of thing!!
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post #3 of 16
1/22/10 at 4:02pm
Welcome,

I am not an expert but I do know that this could be caused by one of several things....
stress, ringworm, food allergy, flea sensitivity. Unfortunately there is no way to tell from a photo.

Because it is getting larger, and your boy is itching more, probably the best thing would be to have a vet take a look at Luigi.
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post #4 of 16
1/22/10 at 4:25pm
My cats both had that before on their head and it was ear mites. I don't think it would be that on the neck though.
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post #5 of 16
1/22/10 at 9:50pm
My cat is also dealing with a small hairless spot on his neck as well. I took him in and we think that he is irritated by his collar, the plastic snap part as he also had a mild case of feline acne due to plastic dishes when we first got him. The acne is clearing up since we changed to stainless steel and ceramic dishes. I took the collar off and am going to wait a few days then purchase a collar with a metal clasp to see if that will work.
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post #6 of 16
1/24/10 at 4:11pm
My first thoughts as a cat lover and foster mom is that coming out of a shelter environment he could have ringworm. I wouldn't mess around. They can check to see if that what it is and if so... it is contagious to other animals and PEOPLE!!

It could also be stress or allergy related. They use stainless steel dishes in shelters to keep contamination/contagion to a minimum - easy to put into a dishwasher so I doubt it is from that unless you are using plastic at home. Then it is usually where the cat rests his chin on the dish.

If he is scratching at it that much, I wouldn't wait to take him to a vet. For one thing - he is probably not a happy boy to have a continiously itchy spot - thing mega-mosquito bite! He can also scratch it raw and cause a skin infection. And if it is a skin disease or fungus - it can spread.
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post #7 of 16
1/24/10 at 4:14pm
Please have a VET look at it ...
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post #8 of 16
1/24/10 at 4:45pm
My first thought about the bald neck spot would be ringworm. The patch between the eye and ear may or may not be normal, many cats look "bald" there when viewed at a certain angle.

Definitely get him to a vet, they can help you diagnose and treat the cause of the baldness, whatever that may be!!
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post #9 of 16
1/24/10 at 6:23pm
Hurray for you for rescuing this pretty kitty, but he needs to see the vet, now. don't put it off, and if he is already integrated with your other cats, you need to know right away if he is contageous.

Please do let us know what you find out about Luigi.
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post #10 of 16
2/2/10 at 8:16pm
Thread Starter 
I took little man to the vets and he has lost a pound since I have had him The vet gave him kaopectoin 1cc 2x daily for his smelly diarrhea which has not helped except for the smelliness, Gentaspray (which I noticed on the bottle says for dogs?!) for his itchy spots and Clavamox for his runny nose, sneezing, gunky eyes and nose ( i am assuming). So far he no longer sneezes but has all the other cold symptoms. The itchy spots he has are flaky like scabby dandruff anyone have a clue...he is just finishing a round of revolution that his foster mom gave him January 1st, before I got him on the 3rd.

So am waiting to finish all his meds before I take a stool sample into the vet anyone else have encountered these issues?

Btw I paid 71 bucks total for all 3 meds plus a physical I think thats good what do you all pay?
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post #11 of 16
2/2/10 at 10:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommysugar View Post
I took little man to the vets and he has lost a pound since I have had him The vet gave him kaopectoin 1cc 2x daily for his smelly diarrhea which has not helped except for the smelliness, Gentaspray (which I noticed on the bottle says for dogs?!) for his itchy spots and Clavamox for his runny nose, sneezing, gunky eyes and nose ( i am assuming). So far he no longer sneezes but has all the other cold symptoms. The itchy spots he has are flaky like scabby dandruff anyone have a clue...he is just finishing a round of revolution that his foster mom gave him January 1st, before I got him on the 3rd.

So am waiting to finish all his meds before I take a stool sample into the vet anyone else have encountered these issues?

Btw I paid 71 bucks total for all 3 meds plus a physical I think thats good what do you all pay?

first off, runny noses and sneezing can be easily fixed. I let it run its course and it is usually gone in a week or two. Second, I'm dealing with ringworm right now, so I'm paronoid and everytime I hear or see of bald spots I automatically think ringworm. ugh!
and third of all....OMG $71 is awesome! Just a visit at our vet runs about 30 bucks. Where are you from?
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post #12 of 16
2/2/10 at 10:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommysugar View Post
Btw I paid 71 bucks total for all 3 meds plus a physical I think thats good what do you all pay?
That is not bad at all. I paid close to $150 recently for Holland's annual checkup plus an antibiotic injection and some painkiller for her dental problems. I don't even want to go into what I paid to have her teeth extracted... Thank goodness for Care Credit!

From one black kitty mom to another, I hope Luigi is feeling better soon!!
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post #13 of 16
2/3/10 at 7:43am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Goldentails87 View Post
first off, runny noses and sneezing can be easily fixed. I let it run its course and it is usually gone in a week or two. Second, I'm dealing with ringworm right now, so I'm paronoid and everytime I hear or see of bald spots I automatically think ringworm. ugh!
and third of all....OMG $71 is awesome! Just a visit at our vet runs about 30 bucks. Where are you from?
Yeah, I wanted to let his cold run his course, but...it freaked me out and he had it for about a month so I kept contemplating how long am I suppose to let his symptoms go along with the diarrhea, and hair loss I wasn't sure. The physical was 41$ and I am in Wisconsin.

Ringworm oh that's got to be rough for you guys! I was afraid it was ringworm too, but his patchiness is kinda square and quite large so...ringworm hair loss is circular and the size of a dime right? Do you have any pictures...
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post #14 of 16
2/3/10 at 7:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mystik Spiral View Post
My black cat has that sort of balding above the eyes that a lot of kitties have. If Luigi is scratching his skin, though, you should really get him to the vet as soon as you can. It could be mites or fleas. Good for you for rescuing him, but please make sure he is OK! When I adopted my Holland from the shelter, I got a free checkup at a local vet, I hope you got the same kind of thing!!
Thanks, sorry to hear about your baby. I saw in another post that one of them had somatisis and dental problems what is that and what food was your baby fed, if you don't mind me asking.
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post #15 of 16
2/3/10 at 9:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommysugar View Post
The itchy spots he has are flaky like scabby dandruff anyone have a clue...he is just finishing a round of revolution that his foster mom gave him January 1st, before I got him on the 3rd.
Is the bald spot where Revolution was put on?

Sometimes Frontline Plus causes Luci to get a bald spot where I applied it on the back on his neck.

On the Revoultuion website it says "Approximately 1% of cats experienced temporary hair loss at the application site."
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post #16 of 16
2/3/10 at 11:44am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luci_Sushi View Post
Is the bald spot where Revolution was put on?

Sometimes Frontline Plus causes Luci to get a bald spot where I applied it on the back on his neck.

On the Revoultuion website it says "Approximately 1% of cats experienced temporary hair loss at the application site."
you are right, it does cause hair loss at the application site, however, they put the revolution on the back between the shoulder blades. His hair loss shows his skin which is horribly flaky with like piles of dandruff you or I would have and then this dandruff has like these little black dots all over it, its weird. The rest of his skin doesn't have this itchy flaking, but whatever it is it spread because he spread it to behind his eyes. The gentaspray that the vet gave me seems to somewhat be working because the flaking behind his eyes is going away now and the hair seems to be growing back. Or it could be the antibiotic that the vet gave thats healing the cat's bald spot, I am unsure.
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