Inflamed bald patch on cat’s neck

sech

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Hi all,
This morning my partner and I noticed a red scab/bald patch on our cat’s neck. We have an appointment with the vet this coming Tuesday but I wanted to learn if anyone went through a similar problem with their own cat and if so, I’d like to learn what the cause of this problem is. Also, would there be anyway to prevent her from scratching the area with her leg? I’ve temporarily tied a clean long sock around her neck but it doesn’t seem to be doing a very good job of covering the actual bald patch, although it does seem to be hindering her from grooming the area at least. I am thinking of ordering a proper cotton bandana online to tie around her neck (I went to a couple of stores in my area earlier today and sadly found none).
To give a little background: Our cat has been behaving normally, no signs that she is sick or having any serious problems. I have noticed that maybe for the past month or so she seems to be itching and scratching under her neck and chin but I like to pet her under her chin and rub her neck every now and then and have never felt or seen this patch until now. Today she was scratching her neck and I noticed actual balls of fur falling off while doing this. Could she have developed this patch overnight or has it been around for longer? It kills me to think I didn’t notice it sooner as I normally spend most of my time at home with her.
I’ve looked online to see what other people are saying and some say their cats have gotten these patches from allergies/fungal infections/ringworms/mites/fleas.
Here are pictures of our cat (all taken today): p.s. very difficult to get good pictures since the offending area is really only visible from a certain angle (if she isn’t craning her neck in the right direction it just looks like a gray patch of hair and is fairly easy to miss).
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Caspers Human

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Does your cat go outside?

It looks like an injury from a cat fight, to me. I've seen cats that have been in fights with injuries just like that.

It could also be just from the cat scratching herself in one place, too much. Still...a different source but the same type of injury.

It's a good thing you have a vet appointment scheduled. Injuries like that are relatively minor but they can easily become infected. One of the cats I knew that got injured like that ended up with an abscess and it took a long time to heal. The fur did eventually grow back but you could still tell where the injury was because of the scar tissue.

Assuming that it is a "battle scar" or just a scratch mark, the vet will probably just put some medicine on it and patch her up. You might get a prescription for an antibiotic and, maybe, a tube of medicine to put on the sore.
 
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sech

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Does your cat go outside?

It looks like an injury from a cat fight, to me. I've seen cats that have been in fights with injuries just like that.

It's a good thing you have a vet appointment scheduled. Injuries like that are relatively minor but they can easily become infected. One of the cats I knew that got injured like that ended up with an abscess and it took a long time to heal. The fur did eventually grow back but you could still tell where the injury was because of the scar tissue.

Assuming that it is a "battle scar," the vet will probably just put some medicine on it and patch her up. You might get a prescription for an antibiotic and, maybe, a tube of medicine to put on the sore.
Hey, thanks for weighing in. No, she is an indoor only cat. She has only ever gone outside on a leash, in my presence and we keep all the doors in our home locked so she doesn’t have access unless I personally take her out.
I forgot to mention, she normally wears a soft leather breakaway collar around her neck. She has worn this collar for months without any problems. The other night I had put a new nylon breakaway collar on her (I ordered this extra collar for her to wear for travel purposes). She seemed to tolerate it very well last night when I put it on her. This morning, before noticing the bald patch I removed it. Thinking back now, I wonder if the new collar somehow irritated her neck while she was sleeping and/or grooming? Could she have developed this injury overnight from the new collar? The plastic pieces holding the collar together are smooth to the touch however…
Logically it seems improbable the collar was the problem, but not impossible. I wish I had access to a vet sooner so I could find out what the problem is.
 

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Cat food allergy? That can also be a possibility.
 
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sech

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Cat food allergy? That can also be a possibility.
Thanks for the reply. I guess it’s possible. But wouldn’t she be showing some other symptoms as well if it were a food allergy? I.e. diarrhea, vomiting or lethargy? She’s been going about her day perfectly fine. She did have some freshly mashed avocado yesterday, about 1/2 a teaspoon (she really loves avocado for some reason and hasn’t reacted to it before). I’ll bring it up with the vet to see what he thinks as well.
 
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sech

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They new collar may feel different to her. It might also irritate. She may have used a claw a couple times to remove it and injured herself.
If this is the case, I’m glad I removed the collar before I even spotted the bald patch. It would have probably gotten even worse if I had left it on for another couple of days or even a few hours more. I suspect that like you said, she may at some point during the night tried to scratch the area under the collar and scratched herself raw from the constant force/pressure. It may be that the collar + her repeatedly scratching irritated the area and maybe that could explain the red inflamed skin there. Her fur is much finer and softer around her neck so it probably didn’t take too much scratching for the problem to escalate.
Just checked on the spot a little earlier and it looks much less red than in the morning.
I hope the vet can give us some medication to help heal the area. And I really hope her hair eventually grows out :(
 

Caspers Human

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They new collar may feel different to her. It might also irritate. She may have used a claw a couple times to remove it and injured herself.
I agree. :)

For whatever reason, she doesn't like the collar and has been scratching at it. Taking the collar off and talking to a vet are the things to do.

Casper got a sore on his back similar to your cat. We don't know, exactly, where he got it but we are pretty sure that he bumped himself when he was crawling under the bed or the sofa. There are metal braces underneath that he could have gotten caught on.

We didn't discover it as soon as you did. It was smaller than yours. We did talk to a vet but, by the time we noticed and we got around to calling the vet, the sore had already begun to heal. We just kept it clean and monitored for any sign of infection or other problems.

Yes, it took some time for all of Casper's hair to grow back. He had a bald patch, about as big as your pinkie nail for quite a while but it eventually did grow back.

As long as there is no infection or the wound isn't bad enough to develop scar tissue, the cat's hair will regrow.

That's why you need to, at least, talk to your vet when your cat gets hurt like this.
 
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sech

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I agree. :)

For whatever reason, she doesn't like the collar and has been scratching at it. Taking the collar off and talking to a vet are the things to do.

Casper got a sore on his back similar to your cat. We don't know, exactly, where he got it but we are pretty sure that he bumped himself when he was crawling under the bed or the sofa. There are metal braces underneath that he could have gotten caught on.

We didn't discover it as soon as you did. It was smaller than yours. We did talk to a vet but, by the time we noticed and we got around to calling the vet, the sore had already begun to heal. We just kept it clean and monitored for any sign of infection or other problems.

Yes, it took some time for all of Casper's hair to grow back. He had a bald patch, about as big as your pinkie nail for quite a while but it eventually did grow back.

As long as there is no infection or the wound isn't bad enough to develop scar tissue, the cat's hair will regrow.

That's why you need to, at least, talk to your vet when your cat gets hurt like this.
Thanks so much for sharing! I’m glad your sweet baby Casper recovered and that the injury healed well. It gives me hope. For me, this is a definite warning to be more careful with these collars— I won’t be chancing putting a new one on her again!
And your story is a great reminder to always safe proof any new environment we bring our baby in.

On another note; you mentioned you monitored Casper’s wound for signs of infection. Would you mind sharing how you kept the injury site clean? I’m scared to use something that might make the problem worse. For now I’ve just been keeping an eye on Pepper to make sure she doesn’t scratch the area with her legs (she hasn’t really, thankfully).
 

Caspers Human

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Signs of infection are, pretty much, the same for cats as for people: redness, swelling, pain or tenderness and drainage of fluid.

Keeping the wound clean just means using a wet cloth and gently wiping. Don’t use peroxide or alcohol. If antiseptic is needed, your vet will tell you what to use. The same goes for ointments and things. Ask your vet.

Mainly, just watch things to make sure there are no problems, keep things clean and call the vet if you have questions.

Give it some time and things should heal. :)
 

fionasmom

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I had a huge issue years ago with a cat of mine and a nylon collar. The red spot that you have posted actually had expanded itself to halfway around his neck. It could have been irritation from the collar or scratching under the collar as was mentioned.

Having said that, watch this and keep an open mind for anything else that might be at play.
 
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