Hot Spots in Cats – Symptoms and Treatment

Hot spots are oozing skin infections and are also known by the name of “acute moist pyoderma or dermatitis.” It is an extremely painful condition for a cat and if not treated properly, it can get even more painful. It starts as a skin irritation and if your pet licks the area or chews the affected place frequently, the problem exacerbates. This painful condition requires proper veterinary treatment.

The common symptoms of hot spots are redness, itchiness, scabs and even bad odor. If you find your pet excessively licking or biting a particular area of its body, there is a high chance that it has been affected with hot spots.

hot spots in cats symptoms and treatment

Symptoms of Hot Spots

Hot spots, the common name to an infected sore are common in cats and dogs. To know whether your pet is suffering from hotspots, you need to keep a track of the following symptoms like:

Scratching

If your cat is seen to scratch or bite a particular part of its body, there may be something to worry. The area remains itchy and irritates your pet more thus resulting in more scratching and a big sore.

Redness

The area becomes red, swollen and warm. This is why the disease is better known as “hot spots”. You can see circular patches of skin almost 1-4 inches across.

Lose of Fur

With the worsening of the infection, the area loses the hair and weep pus and the area break open for the bacteria to invade more. This leads to infection. The oozing pus also gives out foul smell.

Treatments of Hot Spots

It is your veterinarian, who can give the best suggestions to treat your pet suffering from hot spots. Hot spots are very sensitive that before initializing a treatment, it may need sedatives. Improper treatment can make the situation very painful. Some preventive measures of the disease are:

Shave and Clean

If you have identified a hotspot, the first thing to do is to shave the area in order to understand how bad it is. Do the shaving after consulting a doctor. Once shaved, you need to clean the area with cold water and a skin cleanser and then dry the area completely before treatments and topic applications.

Creams and Powder

You may need to apply antibiotic and steroid ointment or powder like Panolog or Neocort but definitely under the guidance of the Vet. These local applications have anti-inflammatory and anti-itching properties that are sure to soothe your pet.

Oral Medicines

Doctors may advise to give oral antibiotics based on the severity of the infection. Medicines like Keflex, Cipro, and Clavamox are commonly given medicines to treat the hot spots.

Make sure that you identify the disease as early as possible and give a good treatment to your pet to avoid any major consequences.

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