Stray kitty, wounds & hair loss?

[unfoldedroses]

Hello, I am new to the site, so my apologies if I am posting in the wrong spot! I wanted to ask for help/advice regarding a stray cat that I feed/look after.

The cat is an older male, fixed, up to date on shots (thanks to a community program!), and is a friendly stray. The problem is that for the past year he seems to have some issues going on. It began with an open wound by his ear, which made me think ear mites. After a couple calls, I got some antibiotics and he cleared up within a week. Every several weeks he would emerge with a new wound, but otherwise he is okay and acts normal. Most recently, he seems to be having issues with hair loss, but only on his two hind legs. They are smaller patches of hair loss, maybe with a 1inch radius.

Again, he's well-fed and I see no signs for change in behavior. There are other cats in the colony, but I have personally never seen them fight. They tend to just ignore one another.

Any ideas on what may be causing the wounds and hair loss?

 

[japentz]

Does he seem to be over grooming himself?   I had a pet cat who was over grooming because he was very sick and I did not know it.

 

[Norachan]

Hi Unfoldedroses.

I experienced something very similar with the colony of stray cats I care for a few years ago. A few of them started to lose fur, in just small patches at first, and had open wounds and scabs. It turned out to be scabies.

This was treated by our vet with a series of injections, one a week for about a month. Is it possible to take this cat to the vet? The test for scabies is a very simple skin scrapping.

It is very contagious and can be transmitted to other animals and humans too, so be careful if you pet him

 

[unfoldedroses]

Norachan - I hadn't even thought of scabies, but I suppose it wouldn't be out of then norm. Problem is that I'm not financially able to take him to a vet (poor grad student life. Bleh!). He came around last night and I put gloves on to look at his skin. He seems to have fleas pretty badly and his neck is all bumpy, I'm assuming from a flea allergy(?). Do you think it's possible he's just scratching so badly that he's losing fur?

 

[Norachan]

Yes, that could be possible.　Even if there is something else affecting him, getting rid of his fleas would make him feel a lot more comfortable. Flea treatments are easy to apply, just a liquid to squirt on the back of his head.

You need to be really careful with over-the-counter flea treatments, some of them have caused  nasty allergic reactions. Google some of the brands that are available in your area before deciding which one to use.

The mites that cause scabies are too small to see without a microscope, but start by treating his fleas and see if that makes a difference.