Heat & Rash

by Jessica
(chester, s.c., chester)

QUESTION What is going on with my cat and how do you cure heat & rash?



Dear Jessica,

Thank you so much for sending the picture along with your question. If I did not see the picture, I would not know how serious this is. Many cats get hair loss and irritated, inflammed skin at times, usually from allergies. However, your photo shows a very extreme situation.

I don't want to alarm you unnecessarily and understand that I am looking at a picture and not your cat. However, what I see looks very severe and alarms me because it is surrounding and involving nipples. Mammary cancer can look just like this. If I could feel it, I would have a better idea.

It can, of course, be something less serious. Most often, as I said earlier, allergy causes cats to lick their hair off and irritate their skin.

In any event, your kitty needs to be seen by a vet right away. You need to find out if it could be tumors. Hopefully it's not, but even if it's not tumors, your kitty is suffering and needs treatment. Please make an appointment with your vet right away.

Feel free to write back if you have further questions or additional information to give me. I would be interested in knowing if your cat was spayed and if so, at what age? Also, is the area "lumpy"? It looks like it is and if so, are the lumpy areas hard, not soft like normal skin?

Good luck. Dr. Neely