PLEASE HELP!!!!...

ItsViper

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So tonight i got home and cleaned my cats litter box out. I went into my bedroom to play on the computer and my white, domestic short hair cat, bubba, whom is 6-7 years old comes up to me very vocal and happy, rubbing against my leg. When i leaned down to pet him i noticed a patch of blue fur on his neck. this patch is out of his reach to lick. I went to investigate and there's no blue skin under it, just the fur. Of course, being a very worried momma, i googled it (i know, i know, never self diagnose), and it said something like cyanosis?? He's a completely healthy happy boy, no problems, everything else is normal. He runs around, plays with the laser pointer and string, eats normally, drinks his water, and doesn't have any issues aside a polyp in his ear. This blue spot is under the seresto collar he has on, which has never given me any issues ever before, but if it's the cause of the blue fur i will remove it instantly. Please help, i'm very concerned for my baby.
 

verna davies

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Can you post a photo. Is there something blue that he could have rubbed against, cats as you know will rub up against things and sometimes get a staining on their fur.
 

Flybynight

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Hi,
I am not sure but is he an inside/ outside cat? If he goes outside he may have gotten staining from something you do not know. I am not sure if flea collars can cause staining but If under the collar the collar may be leaking?
 
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ItsViper

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Yes! Here's a picture. i don't know what he could've rubbed against that is blue, The only blue thing is an electric water foot massager, and thats up high and put away.
IMG_0439.jpg
 
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ItsViper

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Hi,
I am not sure but is he an inside/ outside cat? If he goes outside he may have gotten staining from something you do not know. I am not sure if flea collars can cause staining but If under the collar the collar may be leaking?
Hes indoor only, and has never gotten out. When i first adopted him four months ago, they told me he was a stray and was fixed and ever since then he's never gotten outside. i live alone, so i know he hasn't gotten out.
 

verna davies

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It does look like it's come off one of the collars, I suspect the grey one as there is blue in that colour. Take it off and look at the back of the collar to see if there is any staining on it.
 
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ItsViper

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I took the collar off and inspected it, and it looks like the color is rubbing off but i am unsure; With him being indoors, is it safe and ok to take off the seresto collar since he never gets out?
 

Flybynight

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I think it is safe to take the collar off. Are there lots of fleas or ticks in your area? If so I might just give him a spot on treatment in warmer months, as sometimes fleas etc can be accidentally brought in by humans.
Was he treated for fleas before you adopted him?
If all good he should be fine indoors. My two are indoors and don't get flea treatment unless sometimes as a precaution, a spot on treatment after going to the vet or before a cattery.
We do a routine wormer once a year.
 

Caspers Human

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Hair is essentially dead material.

Hair is produced inside the hair follicle, just beneath the surface of the skin. Once the hair has grown out of the skin, it is essentially inert matter. Therefore, hair can not change color by itself. The only way for hair that has already grown to change color is for some external substance to get onto the hair.

If your cat suddenly had some of his fur change color, it would have to be from something getting onto the fur.

I agree that your cat's collar is the likely culprit. Some of the dye from the collar must have rubbed off and turned the fur blue.

I also agree that color rubbing off a gray collar could produce a blue stain on your cat's fur. Very few colors of dye or pigment are purely a single color. The color green is made by mixing yellow and blue. Right? It is quite possible that the color of gray dye used to make your cat's collar is a mixture of blue and some other colors.

The blue color will eventually fade or grow out over time. I have no reason to believe that there is anything harmful.

Since your cat is 100% indoor, he doesn't need to wear a collar unless you want him to. We tried to have our cat, Casper, wear a collar when we first got him but he didn't like it so we decided against it. Same thing goes for the flea collar. If he's always indoors, he doesn't need it unless you have fleas inside the house. If you keep the carpets and upholstery clean, there is little chance of that happening. If your cat does get fleas, you can decide what to do, later.

Do you remember the episode from the old TV show, "The Brady Bunch" where Bobby gives Greg some hair tonic that turns his hair orange? Then, later, some of the tonic gets spilled on sister Cindy's pet rabbits, turning them orange too?


Your little incident reminds me of that episode! :D
 
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ItsViper

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Alright, so i'm going to remove the collar and then clean off (or attempt to) the blue dye on his fur. Thank you so much for all your help :heartshape:
 

Caspers Human

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Cool! :cool:

If all the dye doesn't come off, don't worry. It won't hurt him.
It'll be unsightly for a while but it will eventually go away once his hair grows out.

Besides, now you'll have a story to tell if anybody asks you why your cat is blue. ;) ;) ;)
 
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