Question
Hole on Back of neck
When we woke up this morning I noticed a big bloody spot on the back of my cat's neck. He was fine when we went to bed at 10 last night. I took him in the bathroom and tried to clean it, but the blood had matted the fur. I cut out what I could without upsetting him and noticed a small hole maybe 4-5 mm across. It's not bleeding anymore, it doesn't stink like infection and he let us clean for maybe 10 minutes without freaking out, so it can't hurt terribly. He is an indoors only cat (and an only pet) and I can't find anything he could have caught it on in the house, it's right behind his head, so its not a bite, and its a perfectly round hole, so scratch seems unlikely.
AnswerHeather,
Wow! I'm honestly not sure what this could be. My first thought would be that either the cat was attacked outside by a predator or other cat, or he was exposed to something outside. However, you state your cat is indoor only. Is there any chance he may have gotten outside? All it takes is one very brief trip outside to be exposed to any number of things, as well as attacked by predators (or competitors).
What I'm thinking first off is get your cat to the vet! When I've seen things like this in other animals, it's usually parasitic in nature, with the most common being fly larvae. I'm not quite sure how the larvae gets under the skin, but somehow, a fly deposits her larvae on the cat, and within a certain amt of time, depending on the species of fly, it will burrow under the skin, sometimes tunnel, but leave a small hole the size of a BB gun pellet (which is what your pic looks like). Actually, immediately under that hole is the larvae. It's very easy to have the larvae removed, as they're so close to the outside of the body, but it's something you'd want to have done sooner rather than later, as this is not hygienic or healthy for your cat, you, or anyone else in your family. Secondly, when the larvae are ready to "hatch" (or whatever they do), they're eventually going to start coming out the hole. Then they will be in your house, on your cat, and also exposing any other animals in the house, and shortly, the cycle will start again. So, this what my first guess would be after being attacked or exposed to something outdoors.
Secondly, it could be a ruptured abscess, a tumor, or skin cyst--all of which need to be dealt with and treated by a vet.
I would not do anything more with the hole or the area around it except ensure it's clean. Keep your cat from licking it, and get her into the vet's as soon as possible.
Let me know what it is!
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