Large scab on cat's neck
Species: Cat
Breed: Celico/Persian
Age: 2-5 years
Dear Dr. Marie,
My cat has a scab on its back, it's L shaped and is uniformly about .5cm thick throughout, the base of the "L" is 2cm wide and the vertical part of the "L" is 4cm in length, and it has hair growing out of it, she doesn't really act different or have any other problems but is obviously irritated by it. The scab is on her back right in between her shoulders so i do not think it was self inflicted. I hope you can help me out with what it is and what I can do about it?. Thank you so much for your time.
Dr. Marie replied:
Sorry to hear that Mykal is having a problem.
This is a tough question to answer without being able to examine your cat.
There are a few things that could cause a large scab like that.
Does she go outside? It may be that this is the result of a fight wound or abscess. If so, she may need antibiotics in order to get better.
Has she had any topical flea medication put on recently? Although it is not common, some cats can have a reaction to topical medicines. If so, it may get better on its own, but if it's not improving after a week or so then a vet visit is a good idea.
Another possibility is something called an eosinophilic plaque. We don't really know what causes these but it is believed to be due to an allergy of some sort. Most of the time an eosinophilic plaque needs a steroid injection in order to be cleared up.
If it is not getting better by now it's probably a good idea to have your vet check her out. I hope everything is ok!
Dr. Marie.
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