Licking "Hot Spot" - any advice?

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Maria & Suzie

Maria & Suzie

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Hi all,

My Houdini, 5 years old, neutered tom, seems to have a pinched nerve or something. If you touch him on his back, he starts to furiously lick his right front paw. He'll even trigger this response inadvertedly by himself when he leans against something for support during grooming...

I've been very busy with my 15 year old cat Suzie who has diabetes, and wrote Houdini's issue down to him being a bit overweight, so a pinched nerve maybe, but not too serious.

Now I notice on his front paw a so-called "hot spot" forming, a bare patch of skin from repeated licking, obviously not a good sign.

I realize the obvious answer may be "if he's overweight, put him on a diet", but he is not obese, just has a bit of a paunch + in a multi-cat household, it's really hard to put one cat on a weight-reducing diet...

Just wondered if anyone had any thoughts or experience with this sort of thing...

thanks!

Maria & Houdini
 
Em did that for a while, licked her paw when I touched her back. One vet had no idea why, the other knew immediately that it was a sympathetic response to itchiness.

I would imagine that a deterrent would help. A bitter tasting ointment on the paw might keep the kitty from licking it raw. If not, then you might want to look into a soft e collar.

If a diet isn't on the menu, how about exercise?

Connie
 
connie

ha! that is what twinkie does/did did/does. I tried everything and I mean everthing. had to end up giving reduced dose of depo and it stopped. what did you do connie cause twinkie did the pet and and he would lick or start biting you
 
Exercise - my husband could do with some too, so maybe having them both jog around the garden a bit would help ! :twisted:

What's "depo"?

Thanks for the tips!

Maria & Houdini
 
Re: connie

dian and wheezer said:
what did you do connie cause twinkie did the pet and and he would lick or start biting you
Click to expand...

Well since the vet didn't understand it, I didn't do much of anything. I noticed she had a lot of dandruff, and I got her a spray for that and that eased, and as a result so did the reaction. It was also around the time she was first being treated for FD, and she ended up losing weight too, which might also have helped her.

When I finally ended up at the vet who knew what it was, it was years later.

c
 
Sounds like Houdini has earned himself a full flea-check tonight !

Come to think of it, I've noticed a bit of dandruff on him. Since I've got all the equipment to test Suzie's blood, I might as well test his, he is a little plump and skin problems can be a sign of diabetes of course. Well, rule it out at least.

He does exercise when he chases me around the living room for catnip.... :lol:
 
There is a syndrome called "Hyperesthesia Syndrome" that is more common than one would think.

My Ketchie has this disorder, and she licks at areas on her body where she has caused loss of fur.

The first thing that vets will usually say to you is that it may be that the cat has fleas. That certainly is something you want to be sure is not causing any itchiness, but once that is ruled out, and you notice the cat still having obsessive licking habits, or some of the other problems mentioned in the links below, then you have something more concrete to work with to help alleviate some of these symptoms that cause the cat discomfort or pain.

Check out these links:

http://www.petplace.com/cats/feline-hyp ... page1.aspx

http://www.cathealth.com/hyperesthesia.htm

http://cats.about.com/od/healthfaqs/f/ripplingskin.htm
 
Folks,

Thanks for all the tips ! I've been so busy dealing with Suzie with diabetes that poor Houdini got a bit "forgotten".

Thanks to your advices, I checked him out closely, and I discovered the oddest thing. He is white with big grey patches. In the white bits of fur, not a single sign of fleas, mites, dandruff, nothing. In a grey patch up on his back, on top of his spine = dandruff, signs of flea poo and something crawling that didn't quite look like a regular flea to me, but there you go, it's all I needed to know for now.

I've never seen a cat before with only signs of fleas/parasites in one very specific area of his body, so that's why I missed it earlier when I did a rushed check some weeks ago.

I have flea-treated him, now I'll give it a few days to see how things settle down. Fingers crossed that that is all it is.

Thanks everyone !

Maria & Houdini
 
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