bare patches on hind legs???

Today I noticed that Lucy has some 'worn' places on the back of her hind legs. The skin is showing. It looks red & possibly irritated. Recently, I moved to Arizona. The terrain is more rocky and she does go outside during the day.

Is it possible that she would show 'wear' on her back legs?

I am going to put some triple antibiotic ointment on her legs and leave her inside for the next few days to see if they heal. We spend sooo much money at the vet.

-safron

It could be the heat that she is responding to. Since cats do not sweat like humans do, they often use their tongues to cool their skin down. She also could be just stressed out from the move. I would keep her inside where it is cool for awhile and either put bag balm on it, or aloe vera.

When my older cat got two bare patches on her front and hind legs, eventually I had to take her to the vet. The patches first looked kind of "worn", then they became completely bare, looked very red and sore and aloe vera gel didn't help any. The cat also hissed whenever I touched the spots, they were very sore. The vet said that most likely they were due to stress (my younger cat had just had her first heat), that she was licking herself too much. I hadn't really seen her groom these spots more than normal, but it seemed likely from the way the skin looked, since cats' tongues are so rough. The vet gave her an injection of cortisone, which I don't really like, but felt that the spots were so sore that it was worth it. She also got some antibiotics, and luckily her skin in those spots started to look less inflamed and the hair started growing back very quickly. The vet also said that skin problems like these are fairly common in cats, they can be due to stress or some allergy, and that we should really start figuring out what the cause is for my cat if it ever came back. My younger cat was also spayed during this time, so if the older one was stressed because of the younger one's heat, that problem was solved.

Today I took Lucy to the vet b/c her hair started to become thin around her lower back also. Just to be on the safe side.

The vet said it was from the heat and she should be fine.

Thanks hissy & eeva for the knowledgeable replies. Lucy thanks you too .

-safron

Maybe you might consider getting her a lion shave? She would be a lot cooler that way?

Lucy had the lion cut about 5 weeks ago. She is cooler, but I'm keeping her inside for a while. Definantly until her back legs are back to normal.

-safron