My cat has clumpy, itchy, tender fur on her back. What's wrong?

This may due to an extremely severe allergy, a burn injury (so the skin which has fallen off died) but it could also be infection (bacterial or viral) or mites. An immediate check up is absolutely needed as antibiotic treatment and pain relief medications will be needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

That does look very uncomfortable for Yuki! And I agree that there is probably some infection present. A common cause for itching this area in pets is flea allergies. Some pets are allergic to flea saliva and it only take the bite of one flea for them to be itchy all over. Other potential causes are bacterial infections or immune issues. I recommend that Yuki see your vet so that she can get the appropriate treatment. Until your appointment you can apply a thin layer of Neosporin to the areas, just try to keep her from licking it off!

She is beautiful! I don't have any strong opinions on what breed I think she is, though she may be part siberian. As for her skin, that is quite odd. Ideally, I would recommend that you consider taking her a to a veterinary dermatologist. Now that the itching seems better, is the skin itself starting to improve? If you can't take her to a dermatologist, take her back to your vet for a recheck exam. It may be that a skin biopsy is needed to get a diagnosis, and its impossible to know the proper treatment without first having a diagnosis. I am sorry I can't provide more help for you on this! Best of luck with her. She really is a beautiful cat.

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

The most common problem causing Milly's symptoms is a severe flea allergic dermatitis. Regardless I recommend brushing her to remove the old fur and skin, giving a bath with a hypoallergenic shampoo and using Advantage flea prevention on her. You can purchase it at PetCo. She may need antibiotics to heal the skin and your veterinarian will do an exam to determine the cause of her problems. They may run a blood panel in addition to determine if she is anemic or has a metabolic problem. Once they have a diagnosis they will give her the appropriate treatment and hopefully she will recover quickly. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Milly.

If you were able to post a picture of this skin abnormality it would be very helpful. But based on what you are describing it sounds like either a large scab or eschar that has formed covering up a wound of some sort. Watch your cat closely to see if she is licking the area excessively. You may need to find someone to help hold her so you could more closely examine the skin. You may also want to try putting some Neosporin on it to see if that helps it heal. Without knowing what exactly it looks like it is hard to say what exactly it could be. My best guess is that she has some type of infection that is making her skin abnormal and is making her painful and uncomfortable. If you are unable to look at it yourself I would recommend taking her into a veterinarian where she can be fully examined. If the infection is severe she may need a systemic antibiotics to help clear it up. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria but fungal infections are possible as well). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any scratching (if any). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!