Fleas?

I recently noticed a bald spot on my cat and he licking a lot more than usual. I looked closer and I can see some pink marks, or scabs, I took some hair and wet it and some of the specs did turn red. I did it again yesterday and I didn't see anything.

My cat never goes out and we are high up and never around animals. I don't see how this can be? She doesn't go on the furniture thankfully, bu my husband is allergic and will freak out if he knows this. I am wondering what I can buy as far as medication, etc...I looked at Front line but not sure which one is best for her?

She mostly sleeps on the floor, and sometimes in the coat closet, will mopping with hot water help the spread of this?

she has one spot on the side of her belly and it is not scaly or red or irritated and does not look at all like a lesion. I saw one pink scab in that area, and the hair is growing back now, there is also a small bald spot under her arm now.

we do not have rugs and she doesn't go anywhere near furniture.

I have been around a dog the past few weeks on and off, I don't see that he has fleas. does that it mean it is on my clothes?

Welcome to TCS... As NO ONE on here is YOUR vet or a vet for that matter we cant diagnoisis your kitty... I would suggest a vet visit as the vet can put his/her hands on the cat and see up close what it may be

I agree with Sharky. All we can do is give you ideas on what it MIGHT be, so that you can talk to a vet about it.

The scabs that turned red do sound like flea "dirt", however those bald patches could be anything. They could be caused by many different things, like allergies, mange, fungal infections, etc. I would start by giving her a cat flea medication appropriate for her weight (the packages should be clearly marked) until you can get her to a vet. The flea medication would at least give her relief from the fleas. Frontline is a decent medication, but you must be sure to use a Cat formula, not for dogs, and make sure it is the right dosage. If you don't know how much she weighs, weigh yourself on a scale, then pick her up and weigh yourself with her. Subtract your weight alone from the combined weight and you'll know how much she weighs. I advise against using a store-brand flea medication, as many of them are poisonous to the pet you're putting them on, and are less effective than Advantage or other kinds you may get from a vet.

that your kitty gets better soon. Welcome to TCS and I hope you give us an update soon!

thank you!

I feel so bad for her, problem is, she is horrible to take out, it is really not a fun experience at all. let's see what happens after the flea meds.

The fur growing back in already is a good sign but I do want to give a word of warning:

If this was a fungal infection or a mite-caused mange, other animals AND PEOPLE in your house could be infected. Watch for balding spots on other pets--you said something about a dog-- and for reddish lesions on your skin, particularly the red scaley ring that is evidence of ringworm.

If you can, I would at least take a scraping of these sites to the vet for analysis. Just gently scrape the bald areas --with a fingernail, or the edge of a unused nail file, making sure you get some skin cells from the infected area--over a piece of plain paper. Fold the paper with the scrapings up and put the whole thing inside a plastic resealable bag. That might allow the vet to test without you having to stress the cat. I hope this helps as well.

ALso, if you happen to have a black light, take kitty into a dark room and shine the black light over the bald areas. Ringworm infections will glow under a black light, so if you see glowing places, I would certainly make sure to take her in, fussy-britches or not.

Originally Posted by SamhainBorn

Ringworm infections will glow under a black light.

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Not always.

Really, at this point all you know is that your cat has an itchy bald spot. It could be anything, even a food allergy or another type of dermatitis. A vet can look for infectious causes, including bacterial infections. If nothing can be found, come back and ask again - maybe people will have some more options for you to discuss with your vet.

Originally Posted by Serenagirl

thank you!

I feel so bad for her, problem is, she is horrible to take out, it is really not a fun experience at all. let's see what happens after the flea meds.

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I could be wrong but I don't think that fleas cause a cat to have "bald spots." I would really encourage you to get kitty to the Vet for a proper assessment as opposed to merely "guessing" that it could be fleas and treating as such. What if it's ringworm? (which is contagious to humans). Doesn't make much sense to me to give a cat medication (for fleas) when you don't even know for sure that that's what it is, seems kind of ?wrong to potentially be giving your cat unnecessary treatment when it could be something totally different. Your kitty is counting on you to do the right thing here, and that would mean a trip to the Vet, IMO.

Originally Posted by the_food_lady

I could be wrong but I don't think that fleas cause a cat to have "bald spots."

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If there's a flea bite allergy cats will over groom the area. Siri went so far as to pull clumps of fur and skin out leaving open sores on her chest.
Think of it a bit of how kids with chicken pox/people with itchy hives will scratch until the skin is very damaged - except cats don't understand the consequences of over grooming.

But the problem is lots of things can make a cat over groom an area - food allergy, pain from another condition, stress, skin infection, etc.