11 month old male has dry/bald spot behind his head

Hello,

I just recently adopted a 11 month old domestic short hair and I've noticed that he has a dry spot where there is no hair behind his head. Its a bit flaky like a scab but it doesn't appear to be ringworm. My best guess is that its an allergic reaction to something or it is being caused by stress. I have attached a photo so any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you for adopting this kitty and welcome to TCS!!!!

Really, to me, that very well could be ringworm. The head is a common place for lesions. If you run your fingers through your cats coat, do you see any other areas? Since you recently adopted this kitty from the shelter, I would call them and tell them about the spot. Did you get a coupon for a free vet check? If so, I would see about getting this area tested for fungus and do a culture. It can take up to 7 days for the results though so in the meantime, I would treat as if it were ringworm. I have Colloidal Silver on hand for many reasons and it can be used to successfully treat ringworm. I use this one full strength on any skin lesions four times per day. You can also get OTC Miconazole/Monostat cream and apply to the lesion and going over the edges as well.

First and foremost, I would contact the shelter and let them know because IF this becomes ringworm fungus then they need to do something there as well. Check all kitties.

The following article will help guide you as well. Let us know how things go and keep us updated.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/ringworm-in-cats

projectpat93 said:

 
Hello,

I just recently adopted a 11 month old domestic short hair and I've noticed that he has a dry spot where there is no hair behind his head. Its a bit flaky like a scab but it doesn't appear to be ringworm. My best guess is that its an allergic reaction to something or it is being caused by stress. I have attached a photo so any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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I agree with @Feralvr that it easily could be ringworm, more so since you say you just recently adopted and ringworm in shelters isn't uncommon.  Regardless you can't diagnose this yourself, you need a vet to test it.  Until you get a vet's opinion I would be washing your hands after handling the cat and I would avoid touching the sore.  You might also check with your shelter on post-adoption medical support.

Here is an article about common ailments in shelter cats: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/identif...dopted-from-animal-shelters-and-rescue-groups

Thank you for the replies! We are headed for his first vet visit tomorrow, but I was anxious so that is why I started this thread. So far 2 votes for ringworm is an ominous sign but hopefully I can find out for sure tomorrow. He has no other scabs/leisions on his body, only this one spot behind his head which is about the size of a quarter. Has anyone had experience with ringworm in the past? From what I read treatment seems manageable. My only concern is him licking off any topical ointment that I might be putting on him.

Just to be clear, just because we're suspicious that it may be ringworm doesn't make it so.  But note that many cases of ringworm do NOT glow under wood's lamp (a quick test) and so a neg woods lamp test means that you have to follow up with a skin culture that can take 2 weeks to get a final result on.  Vet's who are suspicious will usually begin treatment before the results are back.  Topical creams like Lotrimin can be used, and the active ingredient in lotrimin can also be proscribed orally.   And then there are one a week dips that can be done but when i've had minor cases of ringworm in a cat I've just gone the topical cream route.

RW isn't dangerous in cats or people with normal immune systems although if there are children in the home they need to keep away from the cat if they are attending school, and very young children should also be protected.

It is mildly contagious to people, personally i think people freak out too much about it.  And again it may be something else

 it does look like ringworm my cats had ringworm and didn't glow with the light.  the vet treated it with oral itraconazole for eight weeks, one week on the med one week off and spot treated the bald flaky patches with miconazole lotion and weekly baths with antifungal shampoo. the hardest part of treatment was the constant vacuuming and washing bedding to prevent the spores from spreading throughout the house and  causing reinfection .

I'm not sure the vacuum does anything except spread it even farther given that the exhaust is spewing out spores unless you have a hepa filter that can catch them.  I've had ringworm in my home on several occasions and I've never vacuumed for it and it was fine.

Loads of vibes for your vet visit!!! I have had ringworm in the past as well. Shelters are a very common place for the fungus to thrive. The spores are what spread the fungus in the environment and they are attached to the surrounding hair that will fall off of the cat. I have always shaved down any cats that have a definitive diagnosis of ringworm. This gets rids of all the flyaway hair AND you can visibly and easily see any and all lesions to spot treat them past their margins. Shaving also allows the cat to dry quickly and easily after dips if they are needed. At the very least, I would recommend shaving large margins surrounding the lesion(s) as this makes application of topical medication more effective. As Stephen said above, not all Ringworm fluoresce under the black light/woods lamp so make sure you ask the vet to send out a culture even IF the lesion does not glow.

Keep us posted!!!!

Just got back from the vet visit. She suspects ringworm as well and multiple cultures were taken. While we await the results I have quarantined my little buddy which is quite a drag . We are likely to start oral treatments and lime sulfur dips on Monday. I have begun the decontamination process but I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed. The vet indicated that diluted bleach was the only real way that you can remove the spores from surfaces, but as you might imagine, you can't just throw bleach on everything in the house. In that case, any tips that might have worked for others in the past are welcome. I'll be doing a lot of reading tonight....

projectpat93 said:

 
Just got back from the vet visit. She suspects ringworm as well and multiple cultures were taken. While we await the results I have quarantined my little buddy which is quite a drag . We are likely to start oral treatments and lime sulfur dips on Monday. I have begun the decontamination process but I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed. The vet indicated that diluted bleach was the only real way that you can remove the spores from surfaces, but as you might imagine, you can't just throw bleach on everything in the house. In that case, any tips that might have worked for others in the past are welcome. I'll be doing a lot of reading tonight....

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I have a tip that is different from some people's, and its based on my personal experiences with ringworm with cats and in people (including me).  My suggestion, don't do anything except treat the cat and then forget about it.  I wouldn't isolate him unless their are kids in the home.  I wouldn't disinfect the house.  Ringworm is not a big deal.  its like athlete's foot.  Yes there can be bad cases and that could warrant more effort, but ringworm? Even if you catch it? So what? I've caught a couple of mild cases.  No big deal.  But that's my perspective from having been around it for years.  Yes it's hardy, but it isn't super easy to catch either.  Others will disagree, but that's my perspective.

I'm not worried about catching it myself. I'm more concerned with eradicating it from the environment so when I do take care of it on my cat, he doesn't get it again. The vet stressed that the hardest part isn't treating ringworm itself, its "breaking the cycle" so they won't get it again from spores that are around.

projectpat93 said:

 
I'm not worried about catching it myself. I'm more concerned with eradicating it from the environment so when I do take care of it on my cat, he doesn't get it again. The vet stressed that the hardest part isn't treating ringworm itself, its "breaking the cycle" so they won't get it again from spores that are around.

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Fair enough, at least in my home there were no recurrences despite my lack of effort

I tend to agree with Stephen on this and did not bleach or disinfect my home. I did keep the foster kittens in a safe room only because I was fostering them anyway. I did, however, shave them down so I could spot treat all lesions as they had multiple. Plus it made them dry fast after dip treatments.

I know some people do use this product with success. The spray only for the environment. I have not used this product so cannot speak of its effectiveness but if you feel the need and would feel better about using something, then I would try to find the spray only.

Most cats will recover from ringworm even if no treatment is done IF they have a healthy immune system. The reason it is so rampant in shelters is due to cats being under great stress in the first place which makes their immunity weaker being exposed to so many other possible illnesses. Still, I agree, that treating the ringworm aggressively is the way to go via oral and topical medications. If your cat only has that one lesion, then he should probably get over it quite quickly as the lesion itself doesn't look very red/scaly or new. It almost looks like it may be on the mend. I would recommend shaving around the lesion margins to get rid of the flyaway hair near the lesion. Of course, always follow your vets suggestion before any on-line tips are taken, or at the very least, run them past your vet.

Also - you said you only recently adopted this cat? So he has not been in the home too long. I wouldn't over-worry about this. Now, you have a plan and you resolve this fungus easily now. Ringworm is not as difficult to get rid of as some think.