Feral/timid mom cat with lots of scabs all over

A few weeks ago I told my rescue I would evaluate a mom cat who had a 4 week old litter and was rescued from a really shabby neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. I was out of town the weekend she was rescued but was told she was spayed and given shots along with a shot of convenia as she had some kind of ulcer in her mouth that had to be removed.

 
She tested positive for FIV, and there was some concern about her being feral anyhow, so the rescue took her litter and is raising them separately. I already have 3 FIV foster kitties at my house, so I put her in a roomy cage in their foster room. The first week I pretty much only fed her and let her get comfy as she had been through so much! At the beginning of the second week- last week- I reached in to touch/brush her and she hissed at me but allowed me to touch her while she cringed. Right away I felt bumps under her fur, pretty much all over- on her sides, back, shoulders. From touching her I had the mental picture, if she did not have fur it would have been mostly all brush burns on the trunk of her body along with individual scabs, interspersed. 

I immediately called my group and asked if she had been treated for fleas etc. or wormed and was told NO. AUGH! I was so glad I had not let her out of the cage. In the meantime however, she was not showing any signs of fleas, mites, etc. nor was she scratching. Everyone I spoke to confirmed that she had not been flea-bathed or treated, however, and I was told there was no way that she could or would have been bathed by the lady from whose house/yard she had been rescued. 

I gave her frontline plus and took her to the vet, who examined her and said yes there are scabs all over her but they appear to be healing. He combed her and there did not appear to be any residual flea dirt on her or the comb. He could not figure out if she did this to herself or how it happened. He said just focus on the fact that she appeared to be healing and have her come back if it looked like there were any new sores or anything like that. I also crushed up drontal and put it in her food but she didn't eat all of it, so I am going to have to figure out another way to get it into her. I don't think she has worms but I need to err on the side of caution. 

Back to the scabs- Since then I have brushed her a few times using a drugstore plastic brush that has the black plastic bristles- not too hard and not too soft. She seems to enjoy it, albeit she hisses whenever I come near the cage-  and I am careful not to overdo it as I don't want to remove any large scab before it is ready to come off. I cannot see them but I can feel them with my hand.

Since she is an extremely timid cat I have not examined her all over, but the vet did hold her up and it appeared that her underbelly was ok. I have not touched her limbs as of course even cats who are friendly are not particularly fond of anyone touching their limbs- but it appears she does not have these scabs on her limbs. Mostly her trunk. 

So my question, sorry for the long description- Does anybody have experience with this? Is there anybody out there who has seen this before from an outdoor cat and what the heck can it be? 

My foster boy Curly had bad allergies around his ears and neck for many months-  he scratched his fur off. But this cat has all her fur and the scabs are underneath, plus they are not in the typical allergy spots, base of tail, head, neck, ears etc. Also she is not scratching or itchy in those areas, not like Curly was. 

I am not sure if or how I will get pictures. I don't think the vet was very helpful other than to rule out that it was a current concern. I would like to know if there is a good explanation, so I can treat her better. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide!

An infection by some parasite laying eggs in her?  When the eggs did hatched, them younglings left, and away they went, leaving just the scabs as a rest...  This is  my theory for this moment.

I have vague memory there are such ones.

 I cant imagine a severely flea infested cat would heal completely by itself, without any outside help.

But I can imagine some cats may have some natural immunity to fleas, and thus - dont be infested, or just a minor infest.  After all, ALL ferales / survivors of bad conditions are made of tough wood, otherwise they would perish before they become fully adult.

Still, I suspect someone did helped her, perhaps with a easy done spot on, as she is completely flea free.

Just some thoughts,

Good luck!

Bot flies lay their eggs on cattle, sheep etc. The maggots burrow into the flesh making a large wound with a small opening. I'm talking a finger sized defect into the flesh, like a couple of joints on your little finger, or even larger. They don't really scab over, since the maggot needs a breathing hole. Perhaps after they emerge as adult flies.

If this had occurred with the scabby little cat, numerous maggots all over her body, I think she would have died.

I once found a box turtle with a bot fly maggot on its neck near the shoulder, unable to withdraw and close up its shell. It was tricky to get the maggot out intact (very important that it be removed whole) Cleaned the wound. Turtle was very happy.

I had a exferal with many scabs.  found out later that someone nearby hated cats and was known to throw very hot/boiling? water on them. 
 

Another kitten I took from same place had a few but it was obvious he was involved in a fight of some sort-think it was raccoon as we had many.

Whatever it is may get itchy as it heals-there are some sprays/creams over counter for antiitch/lick that have proven helpful for me.  Biocaine and r7 makes one.

Thank you for posting about this! I have not figured it out yet but I will try and get pictures. I would not rule out hot boiling water either altho her kittens were ok. 

I have not seen her itching anything yet, but I have a lot of anti-itch remedies from when my Curly foster had serious issues (have to make sure they are still potent) and am also using homeopathic allergy pills for all the FIV kitties as one of them has chronic rhinitis too and the pills contain a lot of anti-inflammatories and vitamin C. The FIV support group (the Bud group) said they were ok to use for FIV kitties. 

The vet did give her a shot of convenia when she was first rescued, because she had some kind of something in her mouth that had to be removed, I will have to see what it was that she was treated for. I have researched FIV related conditions and whatever it was did not resonate with me. But am thinking the Convenia would have helped to prevent infection and to help heal whatever it is. 

I cannot really see it and the vet did not really examine it in as much detail as I would have liked. Unfortunately I think he was worried about her being feral and didn't want to get injured by her. I wish I had to do it over again, I should have asked him to give me a better look. Ugh, I hate when the vet is less than thorough. I always take what they say at face value "it's getting better so nothing to worry about" and then later I think "whoooaa, wait a minute, she's in my care every day, tell me more!" LOL.