We have a feral female kitten approximately 8 months old that has hair loss under her chin. We got her spayed & neutered at around 6 months old & did not see this condition then. I thought this injury if that is what it is could have been from another cat pinning her and getting a hold of the skin of her throat. I am starting to wonder if this could be something else going on now. As with many feral cats she is not here all the time & we can not always get a hold of her to examine. Money is also a consideration because we have already TNR 5 ferals this year alone & had a rather high vet bill on one of the feral due to an injury. I need advice but I already know about you nee to take her to the vet & we would if it was a house cat but it's not. This cat has been wormed, ear mite treated, rabies shot, & flea treatment and the rest of the cats coat is absolutely gorgeous.. The area in question is about 1 x 1 1/2 inches right under the chin on the throat. Any ideas as to cause & possible home treatment meds? Thank you!
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Feral Hair Loss Under Chin
- Thread starter keeneland
- Start Date
Since this is not a critical situation, and money is an issue, you could try applying coconut oil (it has antiviral and antibiotic properties) and see if it helps. Your veterinarian might also sell you an antibiotic ointment to try before traumatizing the cat with a trip to the vet's.
My personal success (and use) with coconut oil was with a semi-feral cat who was suffering from raccoon bites. Her wounds refused to heal despite oral and topical antibiotics and my vet was perplexed. Coincidentally, I was trying coconut oil to help repair my leaky gut, and the cat smelled the coconut oil and begged for some. I gave her some to lick off the floor and quickly put some on her wounds - by the next morning, her wounds had sealed over and began growing hair!!! I confirmed with my vet that it was okay to give her the coconut oil because some things that are safe for us to eat are very dangerous for kitties.
You can also try taking some pictures and showing them to your vet, to see if s/he feels it is a situation that requires immediate professional intervention.
Bless you for caring for transient kitties
My personal success (and use) with coconut oil was with a semi-feral cat who was suffering from raccoon bites. Her wounds refused to heal despite oral and topical antibiotics and my vet was perplexed. Coincidentally, I was trying coconut oil to help repair my leaky gut, and the cat smelled the coconut oil and begged for some. I gave her some to lick off the floor and quickly put some on her wounds - by the next morning, her wounds had sealed over and began growing hair!!! I confirmed with my vet that it was okay to give her the coconut oil because some things that are safe for us to eat are very dangerous for kitties.
You can also try taking some pictures and showing them to your vet, to see if s/he feels it is a situation that requires immediate professional intervention.
Bless you for caring for transient kitties
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- #3
Thank you for the advice & I do plan on trying the coconut oil. Got a feeling before it's all said and done I am going to have to take kitten to the vet where I can afford it or not. I have found out that those ferals that you start out with that {Aren't my cats} we get attached to them & worry about them. This little girl is turning special quickly & I hope this area under the throat is not turning into a skin cancer type of thing. Where they are just wild enough you can't always handle or examine it makes it very, very, hard to do the right thing even when we want too!
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- #4
Update on kitten. I got a hold of the kitten and the area under her throat has several bites and they appear to have been reoccurring like she has had the scabs reopened by being bitten multiple times. I have treated with an antiseptic salve which will hopefully taste bad to whatever has been biting her. I have no idea if it's another cat or animal of another sort. Will let everyone know how this turns out. Glad to know she has had rabies shot. Thank You!
@Keeneland this is just a thought and may be way off, but if this is just under her chin, have you ruled out feline acne? It can look really ghastly.
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- #6
I had never heard of the feline acne but the link you provided it looks similar to this only it is down more on the throat. I will be first to admit I know little about cats but what is the treatment, how do they get it, can it spread to the other cats? We have 3 more that show no issues like this. The salve I put on it did not seem to help & I see a little fresh blood.It just looks awful. Thank you for any information.
It doesn't spread to other cats but it can come about by using plastic water bowls. Using stainless steel or glass (but of course it can break) is the best way to go for water and food for cats. Here's an article: [article="29983"]Feline Acne[/article]
I'm hoping it's what it is, as it's not too difficult to treat.
I'm hoping it's what it is, as it's not too difficult to treat.
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- #8
We made a vet appointment for Monday for Stripes; our kitten with the problem. She is just too good a kitty not to get her treated this Christmas. I was in over my head on this issue not knowing what & what not to do. Thanks everyone! Will post here later how the treatment goes & what the problem turns out to be.
Excellent @Keeneland. Please do let us know how it goes.
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- #10
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- #12
We have just got Stripes back from the Vet and he said she appears to have been bitten by another cat on her neck about 10+ times. Looked very bad after he shaved it off but he said it looked worse than it was. He cleaned the wounds and treated with a topical antibiotic, gave her an antibiotic shot + a shot of Depo=Medrol 20mg/ml. We are going to keep her up several days till she heals up. There is a tom cat in the neighborhood that I figure may have done this. About the only other possibility is the mother of Stripes. I have a question do the mother cats ever turn on her kittens to drive them off? All of these cats have been through TNR and they have plenty of food so that's not an issue. Thanks for the help & advice!
Obviously far worse than acne! I'm so glad she's being so very well cared for.
As for your question, not that I know of but others know a lot more about such things. Hopefully they can help you.
As for your question, not that I know of but others know a lot more about such things. Hopefully they can help you.
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- #14
Our little girl is healing nicely! Throat has cleared up completely and it's just a matter of waiting for the hair to grow back where the vet had to shave it. Thank everyone for their help & suggestions!
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