Hot spots on cats? Possibly a bizarre question.

Help, cat (and possibly dog) people!

My cat has developed an ugly hot spot on his side, right behind one of his front legs. It's about the size of a quarter. He generally overgrooms himself whenever I don't feed him his favorite food (I guess I should just know better by now).

It will be a couple days before he can get a vet appointment, so I am doing the best I can to treat it at home. I cleaned it and trimmed the fur around it to prevent matting. I also tried using PetRelief anti-itch spray, but if anything it made him lick it more.

So, before resorting to putting on one of those lampshade collars, I sewed him a teeny shirt out of a soft thin old t-shirts that would cover the spot and keep him from getting at it. He's wearing the shirt now, and doesn't exactly love it, but isn't complaining either. He isn't licking anymore, but I am wondering if this is a good idea. Will it be able to heal under the shirt? Am I driving him crazy? Any other ideas for keeping him from hurting himself?

i had a doberman mix that used to get bad hot spots and she would chew on them because she had a lot of nervous energy. i never sewed her a tiny shirt (awwww) but i do remember it got a lot worse when it was hot and humid. moving inland helped her with that. i think as long as it helps the spots stays cool and dry it should be an improvement.

i didnt know cats got them too.

I've only experienced this with my dog, and he had to wear the cone of shame, it healed in about week. When we took it off him he would attempt to lick it (it was on his belly), and we would tell him "stop it", and he would stop. He now knows 'stop it' means to stop touching himself. I found it rather amusing. ;3

They have bitter apple that can be sprayed on hotspots. I have a bottle that I used to stop my dog from picking at a wart on his paw. I'd have used it for his hotspots if I knew about it at the time. It worked very well, he stopped touching it within the day (you have to reapply every so often because it dries) and I rarely had to spray it much after that (him knowing 'stop it' helped too).

His hotspots were caused by an allergic reaction to a giant flea attack we were undergoing at the time.

Have you changed your kitties food recently? Is she outdoors? Fleas?

Watergirl - I didn't know cats got hot spots either - I've had quite a few cats, and lived with quite a few more, and this is the only one that has ever gotten them.

Cptbunny - Ha! I love the phrase "cone of shame." The cat is pretty dumb and definitely does not understand "stop it." When we tell him "no," he just gets up, moves over about 3 feet, and starts licking again. I may have to try bitter apple - I tried using it when he was a kitten to protect my plants, but he ate them anyway. Maybe now that he is older and a picky eater he will stay clear though!

It is most likely due to the food - he gets neurotic whenever I either switch his food or put him on a diet (he is pretty rotund), and starts licking his fur off. He's back on his old food, so at least that issue should resolve soon.

In tiny kitty t-shirt news, he seems to have adjusted to it just fine, and the hot spot looks drier already. The cat, unfortunately, still looks ridiculous. I'll have to post a picture later!

I do not like the cone of shame -- Dug

For future reference, there's a product called Sulfodene HC for doggies and kitties with skin irritations. I've used this stuff forever and it works really well on hot spots...the trick is keeping the pet from licking it until it's dry. 

Plus, wash your hands with rubbing alcohol, then soap, to remove it if you get any on you...it tastes horrible.  Personal experience. 

Original Post by dnrothx:

I do not like the cone of shame -- Dug

 EEEE for Pixar reference ♥

Original Post by dnrothx:

I do not like the cone of shame -- Dug

That's exactly where I got the name from. :D

The bitter apple I use is called "Grannick's Bitter Apple". It says it discourages fur biting, hair chewing and hot spots. It's in a 8 fl oz bottle. It worked amazingly well on my dog (he's a beagle that eats his own... cookies). I didn't think it was going to work because this dog eats everything and anything. But he did not like this stuff! It made him drool when he licked it (funny cause when we first put it on him, he kept trying to lick it even though it made him wanna barf.... ahhh beagles). He learned quickly.

My mother tried bitter apple on her spider plant, and her cat still ate it too... I think the urge to eat plants overpowers the nastiness of it's taste. But when we put it on his paw, he licked it immediately, he sneezed and held his mouth open. So I don't know if it works well on plants as it does on skin/furniture (maybe the plants absorb it?).

Good luck though. Tiny t-shirts sound cute. :3

I'll have to try the Sulfodene HC - it looks like the active ingredient is hydrocortisone - much more badass than the benzyl alcohol and benzalkonium chloride in PetRelief.

cptbunny, I'll try bitter apple again. I wouldn't be surprised if the cats' urge to eat spider plants overpowered the nasty flavor - I just hope his itchy urge isn't that strong!

Thanks for all your input, folks. Now, for your daily cute fix, I posted a pic in my gallery of my neurotic, itchy cat modeling his stylish tiny t-shirt of shame.

The other cat apparently thinks it is cute too - he woke us up several times during the night meowing and trying to hump t-shirt cat. Blegh. Pets are gross.

ETA: I just realized that I made his shirt out of the shirt I'm wearing in my 180 lb "before" photo. It looks much cuter on him.

Oh that's so cute!! :D Blue is such a nice color on the bright orange fur. Not only is he cute, he's stylish.