Balding spots at the base of tail, not itchy, but all back is sensitive to touch

My cat, adult neuhered male ragdoll, has strange balding spots at the base of the tail, left down and right up from it. None of them is particularly itchy, but last two days cat has sensitive skin on the back, do not allowing touching it much, licking and scratching it. Vet checked him two days ago, found nothing identifiable, took some hair for ring worm test, but pattern is unusual for ring worm.

The spots exist for a month already, vet saw them month ago too, but then we had more immediate problem with salivation. Since then they are increasing in size, again, in different way.

Left one started as a quarter-sized spot there the anal gland usually is, some slight redness at the top, all surface of this spot is covered by lying tightly flat relatively short hair (maybe 1 cm - 1/2"), curved in something like Yin and Yang pattern, not standing up. Veterinatian shaved it to see what does under it, nothing special. Now, one month (and two unrelated stressful surgeries, mouth) later, it increased in size and no longer oval, but long, expanded down on the back of the leg, not yet reached the knee. Same hair pattern grow. The cat is long hair, hair on the balding spot (if this is correct term, it is dense, not rare hair, just very short and different) grows in the same pattern as before. Can't make a picture, sorry, cat moves all the time, hiding private areas.

Spot on the right side from the tail is above anal gland position, right next to the tail base. It was maybe 5 cents sized, practically bald, with large skin flakes like dandruff, only larger, maybe 2.5 mm (3/32") in size.

Now (see the photo, reddish hint though, and ignore white reflection) it around 4 cm (<2"), oval, hair is sparce, standing up, some lery little grayish crust, and there were black pieces of something like feces, but not a poo, no smell and soft, I washed them off before going to a vet and had shown them to her.





Cat is stressed, had 2 oral surgeries, one after another, dental and ranula draining, and during last visit to a vet clinic reacted like he was expecting to be killed in a slow and torturous way and lost all hope. So we can't go to a vet anytime soon because of this.

He was also given antibiotic Clavamox, post-surgical for a mouth problem, but it should work as well for some bacterial skin problems, if they were sensitive to this antibiotic.

What else I have done since then: because a suspected autoimmine stomatitis and skin that started itching (not localized itching), anti-fleas, anti-mites Advantage Multi was applied yesterday (now cat feels better and slightly calmer), and I tried to offer him hypoallergenic and limited ingredients canned food, which he flatly refused.

Any thoughts what it could be and what can be done about it?

Poor kitty and must be worrying for you as well. My first thought was fleas but you say the vet has checked the cat over a few times. Stress can definitely be aggravating this condition as well as allergies - food or environmental. Has the vet checked and expressed the anal glands since you mention one spot was over the gland. If they are impacted - an infection could be brewing in there but this would not be causing all of the hair loss around the back end. The hair loss, though, could be from your cat licking the area. It sounds like your vet is trying to get to the bottom of this issue and I hope the antibiotic helps. Good that you gave the flea product, just in case. IF you see small black specks on your cat, put some of the flecks on a white paper towel. Add a few drops of water directly on top of the black flecks. IF the flecks turn brownish red, then that is flea dirt (poop :slant. Could be the underlying issue and would be the easiest to solve. Keep us posted and hopefully others will come along soon with some suggestions.

Thank you! I tried black specks on wet tissue, these not flea excrements, and many of them that I already removed are much larger than flea dirt, not only betweel the hair, but on the hair too, covering several hairs.

With anal glands I don't know what they did in procedures room, but the area was shaved and has no smell. When glands are clogged, strong smell after squeezing them should be present.

As for getting to the bottom of the thing, I have to insist on doing something about this. I have feeling that vet tends to let it heal by itself or develop more to become identifiable. So far it doesn't fit any pattern.

She offered biopsy or prednizone, but after what this cat was through and terrorized look in his eyes we chose non-invasive option, fungal skin culture. I wonder why she didn't offer to take skin scrapes under microscope, as for demodectic mange, it's easily doable, maybe because it doesn't description of classic case of this disease. But then I didn't know about this and didn't ask, and now cat must have rest and recovery after trips to a vet clinic and all he was through.

After anti-parasitic treatment (Advantage Multi) cat is slightly calmer, and after the last few days the spot without photo, with flat laying hair, started to having short normal, standing up hair, maybe it heals by itself.

Just in case, I'm now stocked with DVM formulated herbal remedies for general itching, hot spots ointment, immune support, feline probiotics, amino-acids and vitamins. Waiting for a one week more for a mouth to heal after surgeries, and then will start adding support one thing at the time, as needed.

After all of this I got a feeling that there are not much of common diseases with known treatment as each time each cat gets own combinations of problems and symptoms, wrecking havoc in straightforward procedure symptoms-disease-treatment. When even vet is puzzled, we have to do what we can with support and care.

You seem to have an excellent attitude and good knowledge on how to proceed from here to try to make your cat comfortable. Seems there are many, many options which is very good. Skin issues can be very difficult and tricky to treat, especially of the demodex/mange/mites/ringworm are ruled out. Possibly leaves allergies which can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what may be the underlying culprit causing these issues. There is also going the Holistic vet route if western vets are not able to help. I would also agree, now that fleas are definitely not the problem, that a skin scraping may be the next step. Stressful for you kitty, though, yes. How old is your cat? Senior? Any thing different in the way of food/treats? Environmental - cleaning product or other? Just some thoughts but assume you have hit on them already. Vibes, Vibes for your kitty and for you too.

Thank you!

The cat is 4 yrs old, but I have previous experience with itchy baldning, compulsive licking and flea allergy with our previous senior cat, it's very different.

Environment:

The house was undergone practically full cleaning from chemical household agents several years ago, before this cat, only dishwashing liquid Dawn and Duck toilet bowl cleaner were left, everything else was replaced by natural, fragrance free, eco-friendly products for sensitive skin. No car, no antifreeze, no pesticides. Harmful food and all human meds are in closed restricted areas. Recently checked againg and removed from garden every plant that can be potentially harmful for cats, even if outdoor cats in neighbourhood are exposed to similar plants without problems, cats are very selective with what they are eating, and cat grass and usual organically grown lawn grass (from seeds) are always available for cat. Still have a couple of toxic for cat houseplants in inaccessible area (top of bookcase), leaves do not fall, should be not a problem, but likely I remove them as well.

Changes:

We adopted a small 1 yr old energetic brown tabby from the same shelter (March), we have a lot of high end canned food opened and ignored by this cat, thought that another cat can use it, keep company to a resident cat, and that not purebred will have less problems. Not so. We did the full program of introduction, including safe room, baby gates in a doorway, feeding near it, Felliway diffusers on every level, it didn't help. The young cat constantly stalked and tried to attack this cat, not his fault, different life experience, different expectations and our cat didn't fit it. Otherwise a very sweet cat. More than a month big cat was sleeping next to human most of the day, sitting on the highest spot, back to the wall, not accessible when small cat was roaming house under supervision. Had to return this second cat back with donation to help for the first time. He is the best looking cat in the shelter, should get adopted soon.

Back to the topic: this new cat was tested on FIV, FLV, everything that new cat should be tested for before they can share environment, had conjunctivitis that responded to antiviral treatment, but eye infection test didn't show presence of herpes, mycoplasms ot chlamydia (? sorry, don't remember). No skin problems. Once he was able to attack resident cat for a couple of seconds, when he walked away and defenseless behind was exposed. Same place where skin balding was noticed. I pulled them away, and pulled off fur was flying everywhere. No blood spilled, I thought that it was the place of bite (a lot of fur there, not easy to bite through).

In month and a half the side of spot increased, another spot appeared on opposite side. We went to a vet. More than a month later, again, with the same problem, increasing. Not that it bothers cat muh, but this is not normal and expands.

Purina Party Mix treats were given in February, and cat gained weight, then normalized after stopping them.

Half of month later, introduction of Dr. Lisa Pierson's semi-raw diet started, half-baked, added in maybe half of ml amount to canned food with FortiFlora sprinkled on top to make it more palatable. Stopped end of March, was too busy.

Research:

Found today, may be helpful to somebody alse, The Merk Veterinary Manual http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/integumentary_system.html , Dermatologic Problems and Diagnosis of Skin Diseases in particular. Another version for pet owners is here http://www.merckmanuals.com/pethealth /cat_disorders_and_diseases.html , again, skin disorders.

Results:

After cat recovers, maybe in a month or so, I'll get second opinion from a different vet clinic, maybe change a clinic. I'm unhappy, apart that nothing resultative was done to solve a problem, that most invasive, completely unwarranted skin biopsy was offered, instead of step-by-step non-invasive tests, starting with basic skin scraping, skin culture, cytology and so forth before biopsy. The last thing I would do now is to make another hole in may cat, another trauma and opportunity for infection.

The bad thing is that only one another vet clinic is nearby, others are far and cat is stressed by travel, he is scared, cries and panting, it should be the same even if we'll take a taxi, not a public transit. The first two clinics are at walking distance, not far.

Very thorough and helpful explanation of the history. You really went to work on getting your home more "green and natural" due to your other cat having skin issues. Lots of work and I can tell you love your cats. The thing that stuck out after reading, was the fact that the cat you returned to the shelter was able to "bite" your cat in the rear area during one of the stalks. Confusing, though, because you say no blood. I was thinking possible abscess but by now that would have been determined. Definitely a stressful tine for your cat. Moving ahead, I agree that a second opinion may be warranted and hopefully the vet won't be too far of a distance from your home.

I hope that this skin issue can be easily resolved and not turn into something more permanent and ongoing such as a disease. Thanks for those links, very helpful for someone having the same issues. Excellent move on your part looking in to Dr. Pierson's diet - and yes, it can be time consuming in the beginning to get used to. I would think that if this is a food allergy that going back to that diet once again can only help. :cross:

Keep us posted and updated on your cat. You are doing a great, great job at trying to research and get to the bottom of this issue. Lucky kitty who is loved greatly. :rub:

My apologies for not being clear about bite, maybe other term should be used. The young tabby was 1/3 of the size of older ragdoll (including fur). The mouth of tabby was small, he went for the rear end of older cat as a bulldog, but it's likely that his mouth was full of ragdoll's fur, it's long on britches (on the back of the legs). I checked for a damage right after moving small tabby in a safe room. No visible scratches (fur is long), no blood, I was relieved that there were no consequences.

Thank you, appreciate your help.

42cattier said:

My apologies for not being clear about bite, maybe other term should be used. The young tabby was 1/3 of the size of older ragdoll (including fur). The mouth of tabby was small, he went for the rear end of older cat as a bulldog, but it's likely that his mouth was full of ragdoll's fur, it's long on britches (on the back of the legs). I checked for a damage right after moving small tabby in a safe room. No visible scratches (fur is long), no blood, I was relieved that there were no consequences.

Thank you, appreciate your help.

Click to expand...

Well, there we go. Rules that one out. Thanks for explaining and thinking of your kitty today. :cross:

Update:

Developing of spots continues, we had to visit a vet with post-op mouth problem, at the same time I asked a vet to do all first steps in skin diagnostics, skin scraping and cytology (fungal was already done), reserving biopsy for later, if necessary, when cat completely recovers from surgery and related stress.

I was given an explanation why biopsy instead of standard first steps: it's invasive but definitive, unlike the others, that frequently show nothing.

So, to get this done sooner I had to know what should be done and ask for it, explaining why I'm insisting: I have to do something about it.

No mites found (skin scraping test, deep and surface), it's frequently comes negative if cat licked skin clean and he did 2 days ago. While waiting for other test results, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal diluted solution will be applied to his freshly shaved rosy behind. He is spooked by having his sensitive parts exposed, difference in temperature with all other body, I guess.

OH - poor baby BUT I think your kitty is grateful for all you are doing to get a resolution of this irritating skin condition. I hope that the intensive skin tests come back with some sort of answer and for now, at least, you have a good plan of attack. :cross: that the prepped solutions will be helpful in aiding that skin to heal and those spots to cease spreading. for those test results.

p.s. What is your cat's name???