Cat Limping with "Rash?" on inner back leg. Help, please!

Two days ago we noticed our overweight, 7 year-old cat had developed a noticeable limp. Today, when she was grooming, we saw a long, relatively narrow red area on her lower belly, near her inner left thigh. When we cleaned it with water, she didn't show any signs of distress, but when we applied a little soap, she showed a small bit of discomfort. Her limp has appeared to be getting better (less noticeable than two days ago.)We are not sure if the limp is associated with this red mark. We have checked all of her paws and legs, and have not noticed any wounds or anything suggesting a bone break. Would anyone be able to suggest what the red gash might be/ why she might be limping?

There is no blood, and it looks like the mark is on or under the skin, with a few smaller red dots surrounding it. She is also missing a few patches of fur on her legs, with light pink dots here and there, and one or two scabs. Could this be allergies?

Here is a picture of the red mark on her stomach area:

Gosh, there are a lot of things that could be causing that - allergies, fleas, overgrooming, injury, etc. Between that, the limping and being overweight, I would really recommend a vet visit to make sure there's not something more serious going on.

I have seen that a half dozen times in my life. Several explanations from the vets, none seem to ring true. Antibiotics help a lot, topical flea drugs do too, always (in my experience)  fatal without those two things.

Is it a bruise?

Just wanted to point out this is an old thread and the original poster may no longer be around.  [emoji]128064[/emoji]

Margd said:

 
Just wanted to point out this is an old thread and the original poster may no longer be around.  [emoji]128064[/emoji]

Click to expand...

I didn't even notice that. Oops.