Skin Issue With Significant Hair Loss

[AtJack23]

Hi there,

My cat is 11 years old. Has IBD but is treated successfully with prednisolone. No other issues before this. I noticed about a week and a half ago he had a small lesion on his neck that looked like this:

I took him to the vet. He was given a shot of an antibiotic to help the infection. No other tests were done except for a sample of skin cells were taken to determine the infection. A day or two later it turned into this:

I started using chlorhexidine on it regularly and some Vaseline to help with dry skin. I haven’t seen him scratch it but lately I’ve been waking up and finding little tufts of hair on the floor. It doesn’t seem to bother him. Today, about a week later, it looks like this:

The wound is healed but more hair loss is happening. I have a strong suspicion of ringworm. What are your thoughts before I drag him to the vet again? Thanks in advance!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! I'm not a vet, but ringworm was my first thought....all the best of luck to you!!

 

[stephanietx]

It appears to be healing somewhat. At least there's not a red lesion any longer. I think I would ask the vet to do a skin scrape to see if it shows any kind of bacterial or fungal infection.

 

[Furballsmom]

Is there any way, before taking the cat in again, that you could send these photos in to them and see what they think?

 

[AtJack23]

Is there any way, before taking the cat in again, that you could send these photos in to them and see what they think?

I’m pretty sure the vet will say something like “wow this looks bad I think it could be A, B, or C but he should come in for a sedation and skin biopsy”. This is what she said after I sent her the second picture. I thought sedation and a biopsy was overkill and I also suspect this place does things to generate revenue for themselves. This is why I’m trying to heal at home as much as I can and get a better idea about what’s going on before I subject him to anything like that.

 

[Furballsmom]

Ringworm That Won't Die

If it is ringworm you'd need to be cleaning the house et al, and ringworm or otherwise, your efforts won't heal the issue. The continued hair loss is very concerning.
Can you ask your vet if they can see anything from a skin scrape?
Or, can you talk with another vet?

 

[AtJack23]

Ringworm That Won't Die

If it is ringworm you'd need to be cleaning the house et al, and ringworm or otherwise, your efforts won't heal the issue. The continued hair loss is very concerning.
Can you ask your vet if they can see anything from a skin scrape?
Or, can you talk with another vet?

We will be heading to the vet shortly! Will update when we know something. Looking strangely darker today.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hang in there!!!

 

[Echy]

The first thing I thought of when I saw those images was, "Ringworm." Ringworm is quite serious, there is a chance he doesn't have ringworm, but just to be safe, ask the vet for a skin scrape.

I hope he gets better! Keep us informed, please.
Best of luck,
~Echy

 

[alancas569]

The first couple of pictures looked a lot like my cat. He has ringworm (the vet diagnosed it by the looks and he used some kind of ultraviolet light that showed it was ringworm. He has been through 2 treatments of a pill that I had to grind up and put into his food. He is going back to the vet tomorrow because it still is not cleared up. He has about 5 of them on his stomach area and a few in other places. Some have healed up and the hair is starting to grow back but the ones that he can get to to lick and scratch are getting worse. I hope that your kitty gets good care and advice from your vet without it costing you an arm and a leg!

 

[AtJack23]

Vet isn't fully convinced it's ringworm. We ruled out ear mites at least. Took a hair sample for ringworm PCR. Will know the results in a couple of days. She recommended skin laser treatment to help rejuvenate the skin cells and I was like... seriously? That just SOUNDS expensive. I asked for something topical instead and was given a gentamycin spray to try. $370 in so far. Hopefully answers soon... will keep you posted!

 

[AtJack23]

Vet isn't fully convinced it's ringworm. We ruled out ear mites at least. Took a hair sample for ringworm PCR. Will know the results in a couple of days. She recommended skin laser treatment to help rejuvenate the skin cells and I was like... seriously? That just SOUNDS expensive. I asked for something topical instead and was given a gentamycin spray to try. $370 in so far. Hopefully answers soon... will keep you posted!

The first couple of pictures looked a lot like my cat. He has ringworm (the vet diagnosed it by the looks and he used some kind of ultraviolet light that showed it was ringworm. He has been through 2 treatments of a pill that I had to grind up and put into his food. He is going back to the vet tomorrow because it still is not cleared up. He has about 5 of them on his stomach area and a few in other places. Some have healed up and the hair is starting to grow back but the ones that he can get to to lick and scratch are getting worse. I hope that your kitty gets good care and advice from your vet without it costing you an arm and a leg!

Vet did the UV light thing and we didn't see anything glowing. It may still be ringworm but just not the strain that glows under UV. :/

 

[stephanietx]

Poor guy! I know you're doing all you can. The only other thing I would suggest is a second opinion from a different vet.

 

[AtJack23]

Looking very dry and scaly today. I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing. Sprayed the GenOne gentamicin spray on it this morning.

 

[AtJack23]

Not much is changing. Still waiting for ringworm results.

 

[Furballsmom]

...thinking about you - hang in there!!

 

[AtJack23]

Ringworm PCR was negative. Good news but surprising given how it looked and progressed. Continuing to use GenOne spray. Seeing what looks like hair starting to grow back. Maybe I’ll never know what this was!? Hoping for swift healing

 

[Furballsmom]

Thanks so much for the update! Hoping for that quick healing with you, as well!

 

[AtJack23]

2 month Update: Hair is growing back well. Can’t really tell anything happened in the spot now. I don’t think I did anything that helped healing. It seemed to just take care of itself over time. This lesion will forever remain a mystery but I’m glad he’s back to normal!

 

[Furballsmom]

I’m glad he’s back to normal!

This is wonderful news!!! Thanks so much for letting us know