Hi all, a colleague has 2 persian kittens, one of which has what sounds to me like a hot spot on her neck. She's taken her to the vet a couple of times, and they are saying they don't know what it is. They were talking about giving the kitten a steroid injection - but apparently they don't normally advocate giving it, and should only be given once. My colleague thought this sounded a bit too risky so decided against the injection, and has some cream.

I think the kittens are about 5 months old, they're house cats and are apparently very docile and don't play fight. So no fleas or nicks or scratches. I spoke to her between vet visits and said it sounded to me like a hot spot (I haven't seen what it looks like, but my dogs occasionally get them). She mentioned it to her vet, who said they didn't know, whether it was.

I know there are a number of knowledgeable breeders on here, so thought I'd ask whether this could be a hot spot. Poor little kitten is scratching at it, and sounds uncomfortable and doesn't seem to be getting anywhere with the vets.

Thanks
T

No, they do not get hotspots, and I bet that this will be ringworm . :( So a long, long precess ahead with clearing it. :( The owner needs the vet to BOTH check the patch under a Wood's light, and grow a culture -sometimes one shows negative and the other positive. Definitely do NOT go down the steroid route as it will eventually lead to diabetes if repeated -I lost one of my Persians that way a few years ago. :( How long has she had the kittens? I'd guess about 2 months if they are 5 months old? The question is whether they came with it from the breeder. The cat fancy is VERY hot on ringworm and if there is any chance the breeder might have it they will have to report it to the GCCF and have all their cats tested negative before being allowed to show or breed again.
http://www.icatcare.org/advice-centre/cat-health/dermatophytosis-ringworm-cats

Thanks Goldmali,

Can ringworm be wet (like the hotspot)? I've just mentioned it to her, and she says that the litter sister had ringworm when they picked her up, along with medication to treat it, this was a dry round spot. But this kitten definitely has a wet, raw, itchy patch.

Yes it can take many shapes and it's far from always you see the circular lesions. The litter sister had ringworm?? Oh dear, the kittens should then NEVER have been sold, it doesn't matter if they had symptoms or not, nobody should even have been allowed to visit the breeder,  and this does need reporting to the GCCF! This is the type of incident that breeders can get life time bans for. It is taken very seriously.

Thanks again, I'll let her know. I've sent her a link to this page.

T