Cat fur issue

the_devil_made_me_do_it

My old neighbour feeds stray cats. She has 1 that is pretty much totally reliant on her. In the past, she has tried to encourage it to come into the house, but it's quite nervous & has never ventured in doors.

Recently I noticed that the cat had bald patches on it's back & i asked the neighbour if she knew what the problem was. She said she had no idea, but it had been like that a while. I suggested she try to take the cat to the vets, but she said it was very difficult to catch the cat.

I'm wondering if there is any possible home treatment that I can give her, to hopefully encourage her to at least try and treat the cat herself?

themull1

Why don;t you try and catch it and take it to the vets??

spike7451

Call the local CPL/RSPCA or rescue shelter & see if they will loan you a trap.Better still,ask on Purrs as the may be someone in your area.

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk

the_devil_made_me_do_it

themull1 wrote: »

Why don;t you try and catch it and take it to the vets??

Good question. This cat is very nervous and has been since it started visiting quite a few years ago. It is very wary of strangers & even of the old lady. I suspect it would be very difficult to single the cat out & catch it, especially since other strays & cats with owners visit her home.

Also it means going on the neighbours' property to place a trap. I have kind of suggested this before & she didn't seem interested.

becky4131

Youcould try flea treating it monthly with a vet bought product (advantage/frontline). Flea allergic dermatitis (common in stray cats) can cause fur loss so getting rid of the fleas will obviously help.
It could be many things and if it is fleas it will take a while for the fur to grow back.

tracey12_2

One of my cats had this problem, we used to treat him with Frontline every 5 weeks but he had dermatitis and had to take him to the vet at regular intervals for an injection which was like a cat antihistimine which stopped him scratching and then his fur would grow back.

As soon as we noticed him scratching we would take him to the vets for another jab before his fur would come out.

princess_loki

it could also be ringworm - my cat got this and we had to bath him every couple of days for a month. the vet prescribed something normally used for horse's and dogs so we had to adjust the strength used.

babyshoes

It really could be anything, from fleas to something more serious, so really does need to be sorted out by a professional. I second the idea of calling the RSPCA who might have some idea how to deal with both the cat and the neighbour.