What do you think this is?

OK, I have been feeding this stray cat that has been hanging around my back porch for about 5 weeks or so. I noticed this spot on his back and thought it was a cigarette burn. last week I noticed it was getting red, so I put some neosporin on a q-tip and dabed him (I call him Dallas) a couple of times. it only got more red. It's looking better (this photo was snapped last night with my phone, so the megapixels aren't that high) but still - what the heck is it? Is this ringworm?



I haven't noticed any other spots on him, hence the thought that he was burned with a cig. It's perfectly round, smaller than a dime. No, I have not touched it with anything other than the q-tip that went into the trash can when I was done. What are your thoughts?

 

Has it gotten any bigger since you first noticed it? Its hard to tell from the picture but does it have any type of crusties around it, or bumps? I would think if i was ringworm it would be getting bigger and spreading, but then again thankfully my experience with ringworm is somewhat limited.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang

 

No, it has not gotten bigger, I know that for certain. It has never seemed more than a little dirty when i noticed it getting red last week. I'll try to take a better photo with my camera tonight - it's a 12 megapixel.
in the 5 weeks or so that he's been hanging around, it has looked the same size and no hari has grown back in that spot, but I have to say his fur coat is no where near as nice as Cedric's.

I gave him some Werva today instead of his usual Friskies pate...

 

In 5 weeks I would have thought if it was ringworm it would have done some spreading, so don't have a clue what it is. Maybe someone else will.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang

 

Perhaps it's an abscess that has broken open, drained and then begins to heal. From a fight with
another cat ?

An abscess that is not properly treated can heal around the 'edges' , leaving an exposed raw
area underneath.

Time to catch this kitty and get him to a vet for neutering and a check-up !

 

Perhaps it is an open wound healing from the edges inward and becoming infected. Something could have pulled out a chunk of fur.

(Loss of a chunk of fur happened once to an indoor/outdoor family cat that was underneath the hood of the car when it was started. We were freaked, but the cat was OK except for bruising and loss of the fur, which was debrided and left open to heal, with daily antibiotic spray applied)

 

No idea but my Janeway had a round thing that looked cigarette sized when I adopted her Sept 15th and it didnt change in appearance til the end of October.. november 1st vet said RINGWORM...!!!! Being outside tho, it could be many other things tho.

 

Jesse, thought you might enjoy this poem....written by sugar cats...about ringworm......


(This is awr furst poem. Cat Astrophy (GA) taut us bout rymin' an we onner him for it. Its bout wat awr Very Stupid Bean went an did.)

ahem...

Once thayre wuz a alien
With a little bare paw
But the hares gru bak
An we thot that wuz all

But 3 little aliens
The Vary nex day
Got bare spots on thayr eers an feets
An still thay played away

The bean faun some medisin
What she forced down thayr throats
An all the little hares gru back
For splendud little coats.

The aliens went bak
To the shelter place all tame
Judy Bean wuz happy til
She saw the mirror frame

YIKES!! She skreemed
Nearly bustin awt awr brayns
Thayre patches on my face
An my han looks mity strange!

The bean used sum medusin
What heeled up her fayce
She thot her han wuz sompin else
An diddnt treet the case.

Her hand got worse!
Like WE knu it wud’uv
So she had to cee a dokter bean
To see wat she shud’uv

The dokter skraped her skin
(Then washed his hans wif sope)
An Fungus stayred rite back at him
Rite thru the mikro skope

The morul to the storee is
We make it be a law!
DON’T IGNOR A ALIEN
WIF A BARE SPOT ON ITS PAW!

 

Ok when are you coming? tried to resuce him myself 7/29 and all I got for it was a bloody hand (still trying to get the blood spots out of my brand new carpet). I have emailed all the rescue groups around here, some haven't responded (emails sent 8/7), a couple have told me they are full and can't help. My next day off is Labor day - I work 7 days a week....so.....

The neosporin seemed to make it worse, so I stopped. Now the spot looks better. Well, better than it did late last week.
If he does have ringworm, there is no way he's coming near Cedric (or me for that matter). I hear that is contagious, and I think that is what Lori is trying to tell me in her poem...
I have no problem being his sponsor to get him fixed, tested, etc. But if he has that, he'll need to be kept somewhere for a period of time, right? After him fighting for his life to get the heck out of my garage ( you should see the weather striping around my garage door...again, brand new house/mnew construction), I can't see him staying locked in my guest room....again at a loss..

 

Could very well be ringworm (and yes, it is transferable to humans). Try some anti-fungal cream containing clotrimazole.

 

taken with my regular camera, but not much better...

 

It doesn't look like a wound. I'll bet it's ringworm. I had my friend look at the picture (who also worked at the sanctuary with me and has seen as much ringworm as I have) and she also thinks it's ringworm.

It would be worth it to try the anti-fungal cream. And it won't hurt him if it's not ringworm.

 

Thanks, Carolyn. I will stop at CVS on the way home and get some stuff, start putting it on him tonight. I think we have a box of latex gloves here at the office that we don't use so I will bring of few of those home too. I have never seen his belly and I havne't noticed any spots anywhere else, but who knows....sigh.