Need Help From Cat Owners Please

[MsBinky]

Hi everyone,

I could really use your expertise... As you all know, Houdina had run away for a week and when she came back she brought a whole bunch of ticks with her. i had these removed at the vet's and gave her a Frontline treatment.

She was itching a heck of a lot and I felt really bad for her... I checked for fleas... nothing. (Used the white sheet trick) Thought of mites but the patches didn't have dandruff or anything. I took her to the vet's and the vet hadn't a clue more than I did. The vet gave a prescription of cortisone thinking it might be food related.

Now, looking back, it makes no sense. I see that the bald spots are in circular shape and are all in places where ticks had been found. She still has tiny bumps where the ticks had been found. There is no redness, irritation, etc. Just a little bump.

Last night however, as I was petting her, Houdina started crying and hissing. I realized that something must be hurting and finally found a spot the size of a quarter that would make her hiss and cry out when touched... even very lightly. I slowly pushed the hair away and found a circular lesion. It's irritated and scaly. It looks like it might be a tad infected... In any case, it really bothers her. I gently cut away the hair so I can clean it and watch it better, applied polysporin and even put her a cold pack on it and she was purring right after I had done that and she fell asleep.

When researching online, I got scared that it might be ringworm but the other patches aren't red at all and the hair in the middle of the lesion hasn't fallen out so I guess it's not that?

We have a scheduled vet appointment for Thursday for her stitches. I'd really rather wait until then becauseit gets really expensive since I have to take a taxi... (Obviously if it doesn't get better or worsens I'll push for earlier)

So my questions are:

a) How long will these tick bite bumps stick around?I looked for info but allI find is how to remove them and the diseases they can cause...

b) Can it be that she overly scratched and ulcerated the skin herself? If so, is it normal for her to react so strongly to the slightest pressure applied? (Maybe it's just her not wanting to be messed with there?)

c) What should I be cleaning with? Is there something better than polysporin I can put? And does the cold pack help? (it's those magic sac things, filled with what feels like rice...)

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

Gosh i dont know what to say i have heard that it is unlikely that a cat wou ld have ticks cause they are always grooming themselves but since she was out for a week and probablly out in tick areas i guess she had no choice. Now having said that i wonder if because they dont usually get ticks if cats are alot more sensitive to tick bites and that is what it is?



The lump in tick bites can actually stay around a week or so, that i have seen in my dogs. But when you were talking about the other spot i thought about ring worm, and ring worm is contagious to anyone who would touch the cat so i suggest that hand was hing be something you do constantly, and if the cat is on any bedding and clothes that they get washed everyday too.



other then that i dont know, how long have you had the cat, meaning if you have had the cat and had it awhile what is the likely hood of an allergic reaction to food, unless of course you just recently changed the food. I wonder if the bald spots are an allergic reaction to flea bites, even though she was treated them being irratated from before. My mom had a dog who would pull all her hair out on her back end, till the po int that it would bleed. Other then that i cant really think of anything else that it could be, and i am sorry if i gave you more questions then answers,lol.



I hope your kitty feels better real soon

 

[MsBinky]

Thanks Luv. I am totally stumped myself. Lol. You and I think alike. However, it still doesn't add up? Grrrr.

She came home on Wednesday, April 30that around midnight? I took her the next day and she got a shot and the ticks removed. There were no fleas. I checked the night she came, the vet checked and I rechecked later as well. She didhave many ticks though:?I have 5 here... And at the vets they took out at least 6 that I knew of... :?I am wondering if maybe the technician who took them out was inexperienced and the heads stayed in in some places? (Mind you it can happen even with experience, and I don't mind... Everyone starts somewhere) It bothers me not knowing the cause...

I gave her the treatment the next day... She was scratching but I figured there might be more or the head stayed in some places, etc. I did find 2-3 more but after that there was none to be found and she kept scratching. I then took her to the vet on Sunday the 11th because she was scratching way much. She got 3 days of cortisone.

I found the lesion yesterday... What bugs me is, yes I know it can be sore... But why is she crying out so much? She's not one who complains much at all so it bugs me that she reacts so strongly to it. I thought of an abscess but I really felt every inch of her body while looking for ticks and never felt a bump.

I thought of ringworm but again, the patches weren't red, and they were found only where there were tick bites.The only one I am not sure about is the lesion... :?When I saw the vet she was stumped because the skin is absolutely fine under it. My initial thought is that she had an allergic reaction? But wouldn't her skin be red?

Whatever got her got me as well. I had 4 bites that were awful itchy for a week :?I didn't find a tick embedded in me so I don't really know if it was a tick. My bites did have a ring and some tiny bubbles? They swelled a lot but I am allergic to everything so I have to keep that in mind.