Sores on his ankles

[nekochan]

I discovered this on my cat's ankles (feet) yesterday (see photos).

I have no idea how he got them! They look most like scrapes but I cannot figure out how he could scrape both his ankles like this!
I am worried he might irritate them by grooming (or maybe that's how he got them.)

 

[otto]

That looks like the bottom of the feet to me? What are a cat's ankles? Those look like serious wounds!

He doesn't go out, right?

 

[otto]

They almost look....burned. Like he stepped on a hot bar. Do you have an electric coil burner stove?

 

[mrblanche]

That was exactly my impression! I would call that this "heel," and it sure does look burned. Hot stove?

 

[nekochan]

No he doesn't go outside. I call it the ankles but technically it is the feet (below the ankles.) I can't figure out how he got them! I think they are scrapes but not completely sure...they look more scraped than like a burn or anything else. My brother said maybe he skidded/fell on the stairs but I would expect if he did there would be other injuries?
We have a gas stove and the cats don't climb up there.

 

[claydust]

Our "tuxwdo" cat, Morgan wears the fur off her heels somewhat like that only the patches are smaller.

Once she wore through the skin and I took her to the vet, they checked her and said she was OK, there was no infection and to bring her back in if there were any adverse changes. The skin healed up and she was fine.

I don't have any idea how she wears the fur off of her heels.

She is an indoor cat, doesn't get near anything that would burn her; our other two cats never wear the fur off their heals.

Morgan is fairly active, this 10 year old "old lady" often gallops through the house like a kitten, perhaps it is the high speed manouvers and stops that do it.

It might be worth having that checked out in case it is something different than what Morgan gets.

 

[the_food_lady]

Originally Posted by Nekochan

I discovered these sores on my cat's ankles yesterday (photos attached). I have no idea how he got them! They look most like scrapes but I cannot figure out how he could scrape both his ankles like this! I can't figure out how he did it so I am not sure how to keep it from happening again-- we have a show next month...
I am worried he might irritate them by grooming, any suggestions?

No offense but I'd be more concerned with seeing a Vet and determining the cause of this then a cat show. Your kitty's at risk for an infection, particularly due to contact with a litterbox..... and this could be painful. Poor cat.

 

[nekochan]

Originally Posted by the_food_lady

No offense but I'd be more concerned with seeing a Vet and determining the cause of this then a cat show. Your kitty's at risk for an infection, particularly due to contact with a litterbox..... and this could be painful. Poor cat.

It's not painful and it is already scabbed over.

ETA: He doesn't have contact with litter very often, he uses a Breeze litterbox most of the time.

 

[Willowy]

Those are the anatomical equivalent to heels....

My boy Scotty has worn the fur off his heels, but he's fat. And his don't look nearly that bad, just a bit bare. I wonder what happened to your kitty? Odd.

 

[otto]

Still look like burns to me, see how they are both at the same angle across the foot? I'd have a vet take a look at them, frankly.

 

[sharky]

I third a vet check...

 

[taryn]

I'd be more worried about seeing a vet than a cat show. It doesn't matter if they are scabbed over and if he doesn't appear to be in pain. You don't know if it's hurting him, cats are great at hiding pain. They also look like burns to me.

I 4th a vet check.

Taryn

 

[nekochan]

Well obviously I am worried about his health-- I take very good care of my cats and their health is the #1 priority!!
My vet said to keep an eye on it and just make sure it continues to heal (which it has been quite quickly since I first noticed it.)

 

[krazy kat2]

Fred would wear the fur off his heels running and jumping on rough carpet. It took us months to figure it out. At first the vet thought it was contact dermatitis from cleaning products or standing in the litter box.
It did not seem to hurt, and it always healed ok, but we took him to the vet for it to be checked several times. Apparently his little feet were sensitive.
I hope your kitty heals as well as Fred did.

 

[okie89]

Is he itchy? It is possible that he is over grooming. He is on flea prevention, correct? If no, that is the first step I'd consider. Next, sarcoptic mange, a.k.a. scabies, usually rears it's ugly head on the hocks (ankles) and/or ears/face. A skin scrape can easily diagnose this. Have you or anyone in contact with your kitty been itchy at all?
I've had a patient at work before who was barbering herself to the point of creating sores. She had no fleas, ticks, or any other external parasite... the doctors and myself were baffled. She ended up with a diagnosis of obsessive compulsive disorder (Seriously). She was bored, and just licked and licked and licked until she made sores on herself. Once she was on antianxiety medications she was good to go! Keep an open mind that it could be OCD, too.

Just a few suggestions....

Hope all goes well!

Okie

 

[kluchetta]

My Tigger had OCD when she was in the shelter right before we adopted her. That's exactly where it was too. It was shocking looking when i first saw it, but she eventually became more relaxed in a non-shelter environment and stopped over grooming.

 

[okie89]

Originally Posted by kluchetta

My Tigger had OCD when she was in the shelter right before we adopted her. That's exactly where it was too. It was shocking looking when i first saw it, but she eventually became more relaxed in a non-shelter environment and stopped over grooming.

This was the situation with the kitty I spoke of. I'm a veterinary technician at the medical center of my local SPCA. The kitty was OCD and on anti-anxiety meds until she was adopted... they eventually weaned her off the meds....

 

[nekochan]

My vet said to check the other cats for similar patches just in case, but they are all clear. She said to keep and eye on him and make sure it continues to heal which is is doing so far.
I though scabies was contagious though; if that was the cause I don't know how he would have gotten it or why none of the other animals would be affected? They are not in contact with any other cats/animals outside of my pets and are not allowed outside.
He doesn't seem to be itchy or over-grooming that area any. He is behaving completely normally.
We had a previous cat (when I was a kid) who over groomed herself just on her abdomen, it started after she was spayed so that she looked like she had been shaved for surgery for a very long time after the fur should have grown back... Since her skin was not affected (she never bothered the spay incision, just the fur) the vet said to leave it alone.

 

[taryn]

Sorry I didn't notice or maybe you didn't say that you talked to your vet. If I knew that then it would have been different. We didn't know you had consulted your vet, we thought you were asking us about it without talking to a professional and getting our opinion on it instead of taking him or consulting your vet.

Standard thing, keep an eye on them and make sure once they heal that they don't reoccur. If they do then obviously he'll need them checked out by the vet.

They do look similar to burns, is it possible he might have ended up with a rug burn or something like that.

Like your vet said keep an eye on him and obviously you will need to take him in if it reoccurs or they don't heal.

Also scabies is contagious and will affect both humans and animals and if you had scabies trust me you would KNOW it and chances are you or at least one of your other animals would be showing signs by now.

Taryn

 

[nekochan]

No I was just hoping someone else might have an idea of what it could be or have seen something similar.