Cat Skin Lesion

by Masha
(Bristol,UK)

Reader Question: How To Treat Cat Lesions?

My cat is 10 months old. He started having sporadic skin lesions on his face which I thought at the time was the result of him fighting other cats. But they keep coming back and now spreading to neck and near ears. The appearance is a round hairless lesion with red and bloody center. Scabs form after a day or two but he keeps scratching them and they look quite sore and raw. I am going to take him to vet now but I'd like to know your opinion please. I attached a photo of one of the lesions by his ear.

Veterinarian Gives Advice To Reader On How To Treat A Cat With Lesions

Hi,

A number of things could be causing the lesions that you describe. Tops on my rule out list for your cat would be an ear and/or skin infection, allergies (either to things in the environment or to ingredients in his food), parasites, and ringworm. In cases like these, I generally start with a thorough physical exam looking for obvious things like fleas, ear mites, or ear infections. If the cause was still unclear, next I perform skin scrapings to look for mites, cytology to rule out infection, and pluck hairs for a fungal culture for ringworm.

The ringworm test can take up to three weeks to complete. In the meantime, I treat for anything that I’ve found (e.g., a skin infection) and often prescribe a dose of Revolution to deal with parasites that can be hard to find on diagnostic tests (as well as fleas) and a medicated shampoo if the cat is not too difficult to bathe. If all the diagnostic tests come back negative and our initial treatment plan was ineffective, more diagnostic tests (e.g., allergy testing or skin biopsies) might be necessary to reach a definitive diagnosis.

Good Luck,

Jennifer Coates, DVM