Bald Patch With Black Dots: 14 yr Male

alvaki16

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Hello! My 14 year old male short hair cat suddenly got a bald patch on the back of his lower neck about 3 weeks ago. he cannot scratch this area and has not in front of me.

I understand he's old and that these things happen to cats as they age but I want to figure out what's up. He gets constipated
from time to time so I started giving him a dash of miralax in his food (less than a pinch) every other day to keep his bowels regular (this was at the recommendation of an [expensive] vet. He's been getting that regimen for about 6 weeks now. We also switched his good to weruva grain free with the occasional classic grain-free fancy feast as a treat. He has a lot of energy (too much) and meows an awful lot at night when he wants food at the wee hours of the morning. He also loves knocking over knick knacks before settling into bed.

As I said, the bald patch appeared 3 weeks ago. It started as a small light pink bald dot that looked like a scab maybe the size of a tic tac. Since then the skin on the patch has turned white--it no longer looks like a scab and has small black dots in the lower region of the patch which has now grown to the size of dime. I've attached some pictures of the patch.

Does anyone know what this could be? He has not increased scratching himself at all and he is not an outdoors cat. We have no other pets in our household but our apartment could use a cleaning...sigh.

Any help or advice would be great. Thank you!!
 

stephenq

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Any help or advice would be great. Thank you!!
It's possible its some sort of dirty black head sebaceous (oily secretion) related thing, pure guess on my part, but its not normal given the hair loss.  It might respond to cleaning (like stridex pads)  but consulting a vet would be the best idea.

You didn't apply any spot on flea medication to that area prior to the bald spot developing, correct?
 
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alvaki16

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Hi, thanks for your response. No, I did not apply any spot-flea treatment. Also, his coat isn't oily really, in fact, he's pretty fluffy. Any other ideas? 

Do you think it could be fleas or mites? I also read another post that cited cancer as a potential cause of these bald spots. I am praying that is not the case because I love this kitty so much! I am staying positive though...any other insight is welcomed. 
 

mrsgreenjeens

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My first thought was fleas, and those spots might be flea "poop", but if he's not itching, then I would rule that out.  Have you tried washing the spots off?  If they DO wash off, and are the least bit red when you wipe them off with a damp cloth, then that would be indicative of fleas. 

Otherwise, other than the hardened skin oils coming to the surface (similar to blackheads on humans), I don't know what it might be in that particular area.  Some cats get chin acne, but it doesn't look quite the same...maybe because it's not on his chin
  If it doesn't wipe off, then you might TRY the Stridex for a couple of days, and then if it doesn't get any better, off to the Vet.   
 

stephenq

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Hi, thanks for your response. No, I did not apply any spot-flea treatment. Also, his coat isn't oily really, in fact, he's pretty fluffy. Any other ideas? 

Do you think it could be fleas or mites? I also read another post that cited cancer as a potential cause of these bald spots. I am praying that is not the case because I love this kitty so much! I am staying positive though...any other insight is welcomed. 
Cancer is highly  unlikely.
 

racheljc

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Did you find out what it was???? My cat has the same issue but it's the size of a quarter. First it was pink healthy looking bald skin, then today I saw this exact same thing!!! Vet said skin scraping showed no mites and we are waiting for ringworm results.
 

racheljc

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Btw thay scab looking thing is a skin scraping from today. It wasn't there before. And it's wet from the ointment the bet put on.
 

LilianRuiz

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Did you find out what it was???? My cat has the same issue but it's the size of a quarter. First it was pink healthy looking bald skin, then today I saw this exact same thing!!! Vet said skin scraping showed no mites and we are waiting for ringworm results.
Si. What happened with the cats? Mine has the same problem and the vet have no idea about what it is
 

LilianRuiz

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Hi, thanks for your response. No, I did not apply any spot-flea treatment. Also, his coat isn't oily really, in fact, he's pretty fluffy. Any other ideas?

Do you think it could be fleas or mites? I also read another post that cited cancer as a potential cause of these bald spots. I am praying that is not the case because I love this kitty so much! I am staying positive though...any other insight is welcomed.
Sorry, but you can tell me what was the problem with your cat? Mine has the same black points
 
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