You are here:

Cats/Sore on near left back leg

Advertisement

Expert: - 8/29/2009


Question

Misfit's sore
Hi Jessica,

Thank you in advance for answering the question. My cat has a sore near the back left leg. She has had it for a little over a year now. It is not infected and it is not sore or tender to the touch. I also do not think it is an abscess because there is no pus coming out and there is no odor. Every few weeks it will almost be healed and then she will lick it until it is red and irritated again. Under the sore there is what appears to be a bump. I do not know what it is. She licks all the hair from around it too. It does not appear to hurt her. Before I rush her to the vet I want to know every other possibility out of the way. She hates going to the vet so I don't like putting her through that.

Last July when she got her shots the vet noticed it and said that it was nothing. He gave her medicine to keep it from getting infected. She is an indoor cat only and has not been in any fights. Is there anything that you can think of?

Thanks,
Tara

Answer
Hi Tara.  I’m not a vet, so my knowledge on the subject is not profound.  But I am wondering if your kitty could be suffering from panniculitis, which is an inflammation of a small area of fatty tissue under the skin.  At first, it causes a small bump.  These can ulcerate and become open sores.  Unfortunately, they can become infected, which may lead to a systemic infection.  Treatment is generally to remove the lesion surgically.

There is also a condition called eosinophilic granuloma complex.  Most often, this disease causes open sores called “rodent ulcers” on the lips, nose or inside the mouth.  Once thought to rarely cause ulcerations elsewhere on the body, many vets are now recognizing that sores often do crop up in other areas.  Some cats suffer multiple lesions at a time while others suffer only one.  Although not well understood, the disease is thought to be related to some unknown allergy, perhaps to fleas or something in the environment.  The treatment is usually a cortisone injection or oral prednisone to help reduce the overactive immune response that’s causing the condition.

There is the potential that she could be suffering from some sort of autoimmune disease such as lupus.  This often causes more than just one sore.  Nevertheless, the treatment would be the same as for eosinophilic granuloma complex.

Environmental and food allergies can definitely cause sores on the skin.  Again, this often causes a body-wide reaction, but it is certainly something to consider.  You may want to check your cat food label and see if it contains corn, the most common allergen.  If so, consider switching to something grain-free, or a food that contains rice, instead, over the course of a couple weeks.  If it’s a corn allergy, you should see improvement within 6 weeks.  If there is no improvement and food allergies are still suspected, a prescription food with alternative meat and carbohydrate sources may need to be tried.  For environmental allergies, cortisone shots are once again the usual treatment.

I don’t think the appearance quite fits a cancer such as squamous cell carcinoma, but this is somewhat common in cats.  Your vet could do a small biopsy pretty easily to rule that out for sure.

I would recommend that your vet do a skin scraping to be sure there are no mites and also a fur and skin culture to test for bacterial and fungal infections.  Despite its atypical appearance, I have had some surprise diagnoses come back when the vets were sure that no infectious agents were present.

I hope all goes well!

Jessica  

Jessica

Expertise

The areas in which I have gained the most experience are cat health and feral cat management/rescue. I provide supportive care to chronically ill cats, hospice care to terminally ill cats and also am involved in trap-neuter-return efforts. My specialities lie in taming feral cats and in the allopathic treatment of cats with illnesses or special needs. I also have owned Siamese, Himalayans, Abyssinians, Russian Blues, Savannahs, Bengals, Peterbalds, Don Sphynx and Oriental Shorthairs and am well-versed in cat breeds as well as cat behavior and nutrition.

Experience

I have 15 years of extensive experience with cats ranging from breeding to medical care. My daily routine consists of caring for cats with diabetes, thyroid disease, kidney failure, feline leukemia, feline AIDS as well as feral cats. I have experience with liver patients, heart patients, feline infectious peritonitis, cancer, recovery from amputation and trauma, congenital deformities and most every disease in between. I have assisted cats giving birth and hand-nursed kittens who were neglected by their mother from 2 days old through weaning.

Education/Credentials
15 years' hands-on experience

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.