Why is my cat scratching and sneezing? Is it allergies or ringworm?

This doesn't look like a classic ringworm lesion to me, but ringworm can have many different appearances. A bacterial infection or allergy would also be possible. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Noody to determine what the lesion might be.

The hairloss area beneath the eye could certainly be a dermatophyte (ringworm) lesion, but it is also possible that it could be due to excessive tearing/discharge from the eyes that is resulting in irritation in the area. This could also be contributing to the nasal crusting. Upper respiratory infections (URI) are common in young kittens and can cause ocular (eye) discharge and nasal discharge, with intermittent sneezing and/or coughing. Ringworm lesions are typically itchy but not always. Be on the lookout for any additional hairless or crusting lesions to appear elsewhere on the body, and also if any similar lesions appear on any humans in contact with Rayder, as ringworm is highly contagious. It would be best to have him visit his veterinarian for a thorough physical examination to rule-out a potential URI and perform a dermatophyte culture if indicated.

I am sorry to hear about your kitten! I would recommend bringing her in for an exam at your vet. If the swelling is progressing tonight or she develops any difficulty breathing I would get her to the emergency vet. We could have swelling do to an allergic reaction from an insect bite or exposure to any other substance/plant (most of the time we don't see a mark/know the cause) but I would also want to check for things like an abscess or infected tooth causing swelling. It sounds like he may also have a mild upper respiratory infection (like us having a cold) that he has passed to the other cats. You can read more about this at https://www.petcoach.co/article/sneezing-and-feline-upper-respiratory-disease/

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be 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. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Hello, sorry to hear about your cat. Those do not definitely look like your typical ringworm lesions. They look like your cat has been scratching at them often and likely developed a hot-spot from this. It can be associated with allergies or fleas and will require some medications to control the itchiness and local infection. Finally, your veterinarian may opt to obtain a hair culture to completely rule out the possibility of ringworm. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Ringworm typically presents as lesions on the head and face. This area looks more indicative of a flea allergy or stress related licking. Cats with fleas will often develop an allergy where they start to lick and chew at the area on their lower back. This condition usually requires the cat be treated for the fleas and medication to reduce the itchiness. This could also be compulsive licking or another type of skin infection/allergy. I recommend having her seen by a veterinarian when possible for an exam and treatment. You may want to put a cone on her if she is licking the area to prevent her from further irritating it.

Leo's skin could look like that for any of the reasons you listed and add skin mites to the list as well. The problem with skin conditions is that they all clinically look the same. Diagnostics or sometimes a response to treatment is the only way to know what is the underlying condition. For a young cat like Leo, fleas, skin mites or ringworm is more common but allergic reactions are not impossible. That lesion on his head looks pretty inflamed. if you don't see any obvious cause like fleas, I recommend to have him examined by his veterinarian. The veterinarian who will look for other clues on the physical exam to get a better idea what the underlying cause is. Ringworm and mites can be ruled out with some simple diagnostics and he can receive medication to heal the lesions. You may start an omega 3 fatty acid for cats as this can help with inflammation and skin health but it may not fix the problem. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.