cat concern

Question
My house cat has a dime sized bald spot on his head, it also has a little red dot inside of it. What is it.

Answer
Hi Glenna,

Without actually seeing this spot I have to say that the most common cause of hair loss in a small circular pattern around the head is a condition called "ringworm", although its not a worm at all, but a fungus.  Its much like Athlete's Foot and is treated much the same way. Is it scaly?  Is that his only spot or are you seeing more crop up?  They tend to get several areas and its not always confined to the head.  They often get it under their arms or around the toes.  I had one poor little girl who got it all over, she had a new lesion every day and her tail was completely hairless by the time it was done.  That is an extreme case, though, and she had a depressed immune system already so she wasn't able to fight it off effectively.  After treatment she's just fine, you'd never know she had ever had a skin condition at all.  Believe it or not he may have gotten it from you!  If he's a strictly indoor cat its unlikely he would have come into contact with a source, so you may have tracked it in on your shoes or clothes; or you may have pet another animal that had it and you transferred it to him.
I use Lamisil AT, and over the counter Athlete's Foot cream that you can get at any pharmacy (it comes in a spray, too, but that's more expensive; the cream works just fine).  Put a small amount of cream on the area and don't be surprised if it reddens a little, that's normal.  Use it every day until the scaliness goes away, the hair should start to grow back in after that.
You, and especially your children, can get this from him and while its not life threatening it is an itchy uncomfortable condition.  Make sure you and the kids wash your hands immediately after handling him and avoid handling him as much as you can while its still scaly.  Once the scaliness is gone the fungus is, too.
If this doesn't take care of it you might want to run him to the vet for a check, but I think this will probably cure the problem.