Itchy spot on neck?

horselo285 · Sep 14, 2015

Hi,

I took in an abandoned cat about a month ago. Two days later I took her to the vet for a check up. They applied a dewormer to her neck. I noticed the next few days that she was itching at the spot a lot. I went away for a week and a friend watched her and my dogs, I do not know if she was scratching during this time.

When I got back, I took her in almost immediately to get spayed so there was not much time for me to see if she was scratching or not… I did not specifically notice it. After the spay, she had complications need it wear a cone, So even if she was scratching at that spot, she would not have been able to reach it. She also had a double ear infection so it's been quite an uncomfortable Time for this poor little kitty.

I took off the cone a few days ago. I did not notice anything unusual. I have not seen her scratch much at the back of her neck… But she must be doing it when I'm not around because it is being scratched raw. Two days ago, I found blood on that spot on her neck… At first I thought that maybe she somehow been nipped or something by one of my other petsbut I did not find a bite mark anywhere. She seemed OK after that. Today however I found blood on that spot again. I cleaned it off and examined it and now there is a clear spot of raw, irritated skin. I put coconut oil on it as I have had great luck with coconut oil and skin irritation and read that it would not harm her if she ingested some. I put it on twice today and I have not seen her scratch it or found any more blood.

That said, I wanted to run it passed everyone and see if there's anything else I should do…I can not afford another Vet visit right now… I already spent so much money on this little kitty in my attempts to help her.

Attached are a couple of pictures of what her neck looks like it's a little hard to see under her fur… But hopefully will give you some idea.

Thanks so much!

image.jpg

horselo285
Sep 14, 2015

Laura

image.jpg

horselo285
Sep 14, 2015

kissthisangel · Sep 15, 2015

bless you for taking this little one in. My vet advised treatments that go on the skin are active for a month or so sometimes more, so this still could be causing iritation, the idea is though that it gets absorbed and treats the whole animal. The fur also looks kind of greasy around the area, clumpy, it might be as the cat hasn't had the opportunity to clean around the area if the collar has been on though that wouldn't really be a concern if it returns to normal in a couple of days. It could also be down to the coconut oil you have applied, again this would wear off in a day or so.

It does look very irritated around that area, are you able to gently comb the fur away to take a closer look, is there any signs of hair loss, any dandruff, any open skin or anything?

can you call your vet for advice, or do you have the name of the applied drug so you could look up side effects? In future I'd try a tablet medication as she might be sensitive to an ingredient of the spot on treatment. If she's ferral/stray she's going to need a follow up worming treatment around a month's time anyway, and that would be the perect time to discuss this with the vet.

horselo285 · Sep 15, 2015

Thank you so much for the reply! I shaved the area around where she's scratching to let it air out and theres a definite sore. I'm pretty sure she's scratched herself and caused a hotspot..

.

A friend suggested I change her food to see if it helps, so I ran out last night and got natural balance limited ingredient food for her. I had her on a similar grain free brand but can't recall which one (I stored it in a different bag).

It is still very irritated today and some scabs appear to have formed in the area. I was working all day but put coconut oil on it before I left and when I got home- i'm not sure if this is what I should be doing, but I figured at least it's something to try?

She was abandoned in a carrying case in front of a friends house and is very friendly so she definitely wasn't a feral cat but I do not know anything about her history.

Any advice on what I could try at home would be so appreciated. I've been trying so hard to do what's right for this little cat but it's hit me hard financially.

Thank you so much!
Laura

kissthisangel · Sep 16, 2015

who could abandon a kitty like that take them to a shelter, find a friend or something jees

Anyway, it's good you've shaved it will mean you can see more of what's going on, I'd stop applying the coconut oil, even though it's gentle it still could be an irritant, you could try gently bathing the area with a clean cloth and some luke warm water. But more importantly make sure the claws aren't really sharp because if it's still itchy she will try to scratch at it. If you do decide to clean it, try not to knock any scabs, they're sealing the wound aagainst infection.

How is it looking is there any signs of infection like swelling or pus?

horselo285 · Sep 16, 2015

Thanks for the reply! It is looking less red and inflamed to me today and is def scanning over- but I just caught her scratching and she scratched a scab off

.

There is no sign of infection but she is on antibiotics right now because she but a stitch out while I had an inflatable collar on her instead of the cone originally. (Sadly did not work for her).

I wonder if the coconut oil may have been helping. I didn't put any on today to see what would happen (was it helping or hurting) and she scratched enough to rip a scab off. I'm so hopeful to avoid a vet visit, but obviously if it doesn't show true signs of healing soon, I will get it looked at. I need to win the lottery.

On another note- I agree. I can't fathom just taking a pet and abandoning it somewhere. Find it a safe home or get it into a safe shelter. Thank god my friend heard her that night or who knows what could have happened!

kissthisangel · Sep 18, 2015

horselo285 said:
Thanks for the reply! It is looking less red and inflamed to me today and is def scanning over- but I just caught her scratching and she scratched a scab off

.

There is no sign of infection but she is on antibiotics right now because she but a stitch out while I had an inflatable collar on her instead of the cone originally. (Sadly did not work for her).

I wonder if the coconut oil may have been helping. I didn't put any on today to see what would happen (was it helping or hurting) and she scratched enough to rip a scab off. I'm so hopeful to avoid a vet visit, but obviously if it doesn't show true signs of healing soon, I will get it looked at. I need to win the lottery.

On another note- I agree. I can't fathom just taking a pet and abandoning it somewhere. Find it a safe home or get it into a safe shelter. Thank god my friend heard her that night or who knows what could have happened!

If you think it was helping then apply it again, it's so high up on her neck I doubt she could lick it, you could probably google the brand to make sure it's safe.

The other signs of infection you could keep an eye out for is heat, around the area and if the cat is running a temperature generally. But it sounds as if you're clear of infection. If shes on antibiotics anyway that would clear anything in the sore hopefully.

Poor baby is probably just itchy as she's healing. keep me posted

horselo285 · Sep 20, 2015

I think I may have to get her to the vet. [emoji]128546[/emoji]. The spot seemed to be healing (after getting worse after first post) but she is super pissed at me for fussing over it and has pretty mych retreated into hiding. The spot looks worse today to me. I bought vetericyn to try cause I read lots of good things about it. Put it on twice yesterday and twice today (after spending quite a bit of time coaxing her out) but it def isn't helping so far and she gets really mad when I put it on and promptly retreats to her hiding place and scratches it off.

I'm wondering if it's possibly a yeast overgrowth due to being on antibiotics? Can that happen in cats? I gave her a spoon of plain greek yogurt (with active cultures) earlier.

While I hate to spend yet more money, I don't want this to get worse, so I plan to take her to the vet tomorrow or Tuesday if no improvement. Is there something else I should try or have I pretty much exhausted safe home options? I'm so sad that she's hiding from me [emoji]128546[/emoji]

ragsmom · Sep 21, 2015

Could it possibly be ringworm? Might ask the vet to at least check with a Woods lamp and see if the fur around that lesion shows anything. Ringworm (a fungus, not a worm) can be itchy or not.

maureen brad · Sep 22, 2015

It does look like it could be ringworm. I took in a cat in August and she has ringworm. The only way you will know is to go to a vet. The cat can spread it to any other animal or person. I hope it isn't It is no fun but, it will go away. Unfortunately you need to treat the cat and the environment if it is ringworm. It is a spore and is airborne so treating the environment is important. Crossing my fingers it isn't ringworm.

I forgot to add that my cat is very itchy with the ringworm. I have read some are not.

horselo285 · Sep 23, 2015

So I took her to the vet yesterday. She didn't do any tests but indicated its a hot spot of sorts. Said that she prob get an irritation or some bacteria on her skin, her body produced some pus which then irritated her skin and as she scratched the irritation grew. She cleaned the area thoroughly, put an ointment on, and gave her a steroid shot. They sent her home with a bottle of the cleanser they used and said to clean the area daily and apply Neosporin to it. If it gets worse or does not get significantly better in 10 to 14 days, come back in. It looks much better today!!!!

On another note, while I was there the office staff also talk me into taking home a four-month-old kitten. He had been adopted earlier this year through them (they take homeless kittens during kitten season and adopt them out to the office) but the person who adopted him decided that he "plays to much" and returned. He's been sitting in a cage for days in the office with nobody interested in taking him home and no siblings or friends to play with. I felt so bad for him… And he kept meowing at me and begging for attention, so I took him home. when I was younger and had cats, I always just put the new cat in with the group and they always got along OK in the end. I put them together as I always did when I was younger… And everything is going pretty good…sassy doesn't want much to do with the baby yet, but is not aggressive to him… Just a hiss here or there when he gets too close. That said, after putting them together yesterday, I looked up how to make cat introductions go more smoothly and read that you should not put them together right away and keep them in separate rooms. Since no one's being aggressive, do I have to be concerned about this? Also, my apartment has two levels to it and all the litter boxes right now are on the bottom level. Both cats know where the litter boxes are… I have one in the laundry room and one in the bathroom. Should I be putting a litter box on the upper level as well? Also, the kitten does not cover his poop… Is there anyway to help him learn to do this? It's not a huge deal… I scooped the litter boxes quite frequently, but his poops are pretty stinky so I'd love him to cover them if possible lol

Also on another note, has anyone had any luck with feline Pine cat litter? I'm using regular old clay litter… But it's really dusty and I don't like it. The cats seem too though… I changed sassy for a while to newspaper litter when she got spayed and she hated it.

kissthisangel · Sep 23, 2015

horselo285 said:
So I took her to the vet yesterday. She didn't do any tests but indicated its a hot spot of sorts. Said that she prob get an irritation or some bacteria on her skin, her body produced some pus which then irritated her skin and as she scratched the irritation grew. She cleaned the area thoroughly, put an ointment on, and gave her a steroid shot. They sent her home with a bottle of the cleanser they used and said to clean the area daily and apply Neosporin to it. If it gets worse or does not get significantly better in 10 to 14 days, come back in. It looks much better today!!!!

On another note, while I was there the office staff also talk me into taking home a four-month-old kitten. He had been adopted earlier this year through them (they take homeless kittens during kitten season and adopt them out to the office) but the person who adopted him decided that he "plays to much" and returned. He's been sitting in a cage for days in the office with nobody interested in taking him home and no siblings or friends to play with. I felt so bad for him… And he kept meowing at me and begging for attention, so I took him home. when I was younger and had cats, I always just put the new cat in with the group and they always got along OK in the end. I put them together as I always did when I was younger… And everything is going pretty good…sassy doesn't want much to do with the baby yet, but is not aggressive to him… Just a hiss here or there when he gets too close. That said, after putting them together yesterday, I looked up how to make cat introductions go more smoothly and read that you should not put them together right away and keep them in separate rooms. Since no one's being aggressive, do I have to be concerned about this? Also, my apartment has two levels to it and all the litter boxes right now are on the bottom level. Both cats know where the litter boxes are… I have one in the laundry room and one in the bathroom. Should I be putting a litter box on the upper level as well? Also, the kitten does not cover his poop… Is there anyway to help him learn to do this? It's not a huge deal… I scooped the litter boxes quite frequently, but his poops are pretty stinky so I'd love him to cover them if possible lol

Also on another note, has anyone had any luck with feline Pine cat litter? I'm using regular old clay litter… But it's really dusty and I don't like it. The cats seem too though… I changed sassy for a while to newspaper litter when she got spayed and she hated it.

I'm glad they gave you some more treatment to put on her, it didn't really look like ringworm to me based on the ringworm infections I've seen , if it was, all your other cats would have it since it's highly contagious and active on soft material and also humans get ringworm. Plus Ringworm can be super irritating, and literally looks like a ring of itchy red spotting skin.

Secondly I'm really annoyed at the staff at your vet's office! unless they are going to give you some sort of discount for taking in their unwanted kittens, then they shouldn't be convincing you to take on more when the bills are costly for you already!! It's fair enough they're trying to do a good thing and re-home animals rather than euthanisia, but I don't want you to have the burden of the cost!

As an answer to your introduction issues, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Since you've alreadyput the new arrival into the mix, If you aren't getting issues between your current fur babies and the new arrival, fine. If you are, then slow introductions would be better, and the general advice on the screen feeding, mutual play is fine, build the tolerance.

horselo285 · Sep 23, 2015

Thanks for the reply!!

I don't actually have any other cats right now, just my dogs. Sassy is the first cat I've afopted since I was a child. the last of my childhood cats passed away at 21 years of age a few months ago. So it wasn't hard for them to talk me into it cause I already thought a kitty friend might be good for her and I felt so very bad for the kitten. He was so miserable! I'm also friendly with two of the women in the office including one I knew before I started going there. Lol. I'm not excited more bills in my life BUT Severus snape (as my children named him last night) has all medical done so he hopefully won't need anything until next year. I can deal with the food and litter bills and have lots of love to give- so hopefully this is a good thing.

. If he hadn't been up to date on all medical (especially if he wasn't neutered) I would not have taken him because I know I can't afford to pay another huge amount of vet bills. I'm still paying off sassy's bills and teeth extractions that my husbands 10-year-old dog needed. Lol

maureen brad · Sep 25, 2015

I am so glad it isn't ringworm. It looked a little like one of the areas my Rosie had.God bless you for taking that kitten. Yes, I do believe that keeping cats separated is a good idea. Their relationship starts off better when they have a chance to get used to the scent of other animals slowly. It is also a good idea for at least 10-14 days because that is an incubation period. I am so glad I had Rosie is in a separate room when I brought her home. If I hadn't my other cats would probably have ringworm now. At any rate things seem to be going well between you kitty's and that is what counts.

horselo285 · Sep 28, 2015

Hey guys! Just a quick update- first off, sassy and the new kitten are getting along great, so yay!

Sassy's neck was doing much better- was nearly completely healed...and then today, 6 days after her vet visit, she scratched nail marks into the original spot. The spot itself is not red but she def has clear scratches on it. I just completed her daily cleaning of the area followed by neospirin (as advised by vet) and trimmed her nails (they were done 6 days ago at vet and the week before by me). I attempted to file them and boy was she not happy! Lol

I'm frustrated cause I really thought she was fully on the mend and I dont want that spot to grow again.

. Any thoughts?

lisamarie12 · Oct 1, 2015

horselo285 said:
Hey guys! Just a quick update- first off, sassy and the new kitten are getting along great, so yay!

Sassy's neck was doing much better- was nearly completely healed...and then today, 6 days after her vet visit, she scratched nail marks into the original spot. The spot itself is not red but she def has clear scratches on it. I just completed her daily cleaning of the area followed by neospirin (as advised by vet) and trimmed her nails (they were done 6 days ago at vet and the week before by me). I attempted to file them and boy was she not happy! Lol

I'm frustrated cause I really thought she was fully on the mend and I dont want that spot to grow again. . Any thoughts?

I'm sorry you are going through this with kitty, I realize it's frustrating, I've dealt with a similar issue now for quite some time.

Once a bald spot forms, that area of the neck has to be protected until the fur grows back. I would never want to keep any kind of cone on a cat. I was able to make a sturdy little bib of sorts, kind of like a bandana but with a thicker cotton fabric, with two snaps in front. Comfortable and will keep the area protected while you nurse it back to health and the fur can grow back.

As long as kitty is able to lick the bald spot (remember that cats tongues are like sandpaper on exposed skin), that creates a viscious cycle). They lick, that then becomes itchy and then they scratch with their claws, which have bacteria.

Did your vet discuss allergies possibly or maybe kitty had a reaction to the dewormer?

I would want to rule out every potential cause, including having a ringworm test. Yes, ringworm is very contagious but other cats in the household (your new kitty) could be asymptomatic, including humans.

In addition to the antibio cream you are using, you could wipe kitty down with diluted ACV (not the exposed area, follow your vet's instructions) but over kitty's body in case the cat has an allergy to dust mites.

Good luck with this, let us know what your vet advises during the follow-up.

Itchy spot on neck?

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member