Oh my gosh I feel terrible :(

sarah5 · 16-04-2010, 10:47 PM

I've had Harvey for a couple of weeks, I rehomed him from a local rescue centre. He came to me with 2 bald legs which I talked to the vet about and have now got 2 Feliway diffusers going. They seem to be working well and his leg fur is already growing back which I'm delighted about

BUT I was just having a cuddle with him and noticed that underneath his collar he has a ring exactly where his collar has been where ALL his fur has gone and he is now completely bald - I only bought it last week. And the worst bit is that it has been bleeding all the way round the bald patches and is now all dried crusty bright red blood

Oh gosh I feel absolutely terrible, my poor poor boy

Why on earth has this happened? I have owned cats all my life and have always had them in collars (never too tight I know the rule about having to be able to fit 2 fingers inside). Do you think he has some kind of allergy or skin condition? Should I take him for another vet appointment or does anyone know what this might be?

Gosh sorry for all the questions - but I would really really appreciate some help

lisa01uk87 · 17-04-2010, 09:10 AM

what kinda collar did you put on him, i know some flea collars you need to be careful with as they can burn. im sorry i cant be of more help, id take the collar off, bath the neck in luke warm salty water and take him to the vet to get it checked out. dont blame yourself though you wernt to know its what you do now that matters the most

sarah5 · 17-04-2010, 09:18 AM

Thanks so much for your reply. Hmm well I didn't purposely get a flea collar as I use Frontline, but I've just realised it was a furry lining which I've never bought before.. perhaps it was that then?

Gosh i didn't know about flea collars - how awful!

Well I'll definitely leave him without a collar until it is all healed and will take him back to the vet methinks.

Thanks so much

angieh · 17-04-2010, 01:54 PM

Don't beat yourself up about this sarah5 - it sounds as if Harvey has a bit of a problem anyway before you adopted him - his legs being an indication of that, so perhaps he is just more sensitive to whatever was in the collar. Flea collars I have found tend to be more plasticy and hard than ordinary ones. I hope the irritation clears up soon and I would take him back to the vet just to make sure he hasn't got an infection.

dandysmom · 17-04-2010, 04:34 PM

When I rehomed Patches she had a collar; when I took it off she was almost completely bald there! No scabs or irritation, though. It took quite some time for her fur to grow back. I've never used flea collars. A call to the vet might relieve your mind and avoid the upset of a visit if they don't feel one is necessary. Don't blame yourself, you had no way of knowing it might cause a reaction!

sarah5 · 18-04-2010, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by angieh

Don't beat yourself up about this sarah5 - it sounds as if Harvey has a bit of a problem anyway before you adopted him - his legs being an indication of that, so perhaps he is just more sensitive to whatever was in the collar. Flea collars I have found tend to be more plasticy and hard than ordinary ones. I hope the irritation clears up soon and I would take him back to the vet just to make sure he hasn't got an infection.

Ahhh thanks for that Angie, definitely not a flea collar then as it had a fluffy inner lining. Seems to be clearing up now that I've taken the collar off, the bleeding has stopped and although he now has scabs all round his neck at least it's not bright red fresh blood which was a bit shocking, it's old dried blood.

Thanks again, I really really appreciate all your help

sarah5 · 18-04-2010, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dandysmom

When I rehomed Patches she had a collar; when I took it off she was almost completely bald there! No scabs or irritation, though. It took quite some time for her fur to grow back. I've never used flea collars. A call to the vet might relieve your mind and avoid the upset of a visit if they don't feel one is necessary. Don't blame yourself, you had no way of knowing it might cause a reaction!

Thanks so much for your kind words. That's interesting to hear that Patches had the same sort of thing. It didn't occur to me to actually phone to vet actually, what a good idea. Harvey does get very stressy going to the vet so would definitely be better if I can avoid going. Thanks again

Mags · 18-04-2010, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarah5

Ahhh thanks for that Angie, definitely not a flea collar then as it had a fluffy inner lining. Seems to be clearing up now that I've taken the collar off, the bleeding has stopped and although he now has scabs all round his neck at least it's not bright red fresh blood which was a bit shocking, it's old dried blood.

Thanks again, I really really appreciate all your help

Flea collars made of fabric with the fluffy back are still sold in Pet stores and shops .......... it would have been advertised as a Flea collar on the card it was attached to.

Cassie used to wear a normal collar with an ID tag on a few years ago but I had to discontinue it as she also started losing the fur around her neck. She didn't have sore spots though so maybe Harvey's was a flea collar that he was allergic to.

I hope it clears up soon.

jan · 18-04-2010, 05:05 PM

I am glad Harvey s skin is healing well.I remember taking cats collars off in the past and they had a bald spot where their hair had rubbed off underneath though luckily it had nt bled. Tess has nt worn a collar for years now but still has a slightly thinner fur round where her old collar used to be. As mine are house cats I dont bother with collars, dont think either Felix or Maisie have ever had one fitted on.

Your doing the right thing, by bathing in diluted salt water and letting the air dry it out. We all feel so guilty don t we when anything happens as a result of our not knowing any different. If our pets could talk!!

Hope Harvey continues to improve. Jan x

Elaine · 18-04-2010, 06:30 PM

What a bad mum you are Sarah

I'm only joking. Bernie seems to have quite sensitive skin and does sometimes scratch around his collar area.
He is not nearly as bad as when he first arrived, when I first put a collar on him, he scratched like mad and had some bald patches, he used to always have this wet look about his chest as he would constantly lick. Although he has always seemed as cool as a cucumber, I think sometimes stress can manifest itself in different ways.
Hope his neck heals very soon xxx

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