Bald Path Under Neck?

Hi ya, 

This is my first post on here as have not owned my own cat before (although parents always had cats).

On Thursday just gone, I have started to long term foster a young man by the name of Charley from a shelter, he is black and white with long hair. 

The day the rescue came and dropped him off to me, they mentioned he had a few knots under his chin. I started to pet him and gently groom him over the past three days he's lived with us, but could not get the knots out myself. I wanted to be gentle knowing he'd be nervous in a new home. 

Anyway I have just given his coat another going over and managed to get a close look under his neck this time. It was so matted it looked like giant cotton wool balls. Then I noticed a large bald spot! It did not look sore in anyway and he has been very playful and relaxed this evening, but I just wanted any advice on how to help him. Shall I call the shelter for advice? I tried to bath under there in luke-warm water but he would not let me. I've managed to get a big part of the matting out, but there is still a very matted area near his bald spot that worries me. He seems to be trying to groom it himself but I don't want him to irritate the bald spot in the process. 

Also any tips on settling a new cat in a family environment? 

Thanks in advance. 

Hi and welcome to TCS! Thanks for being a foster parent. Is the bald spot red or inflamed or scabby in any way? Any sign of a wound? If not, since there are mats there, I wonder if it's just a bald patch from the entire mat being pulled out at some time? With long haired cats, sometimes it's easier to carefully cut the mat out than try to brush or comb out which may be very painful for the cat. Do you have any pictures of Charley to share? We love pictures around here.

Oh, and it sounds like he's settling in pretty well. Some cats who are very scared or timid do best in one room for a while until they're more comfortable, but Charley sounds very well socialized already if he's relaxed and playful.

Hi ya, 

So sorry lost the info for this site and just went through history and found it! 

Thanks for the reply, you have put my mind at ease as I thought similar. I wanted to update on this one that the patch has now started growing back! It's growing fairly fast so hopefully in a few weeks he'll be back to having a lovely beard again!