Maintain A Healthy Diet
For any kind of skin problem to heal, diet plays a key role. In fact, a nutritionally rich diet plays an important role in maintaining your dogs health and preventing skin infections.
Also, a good diet helps boost your dogs immunity, which helps the body stave off hot spots and other problems.
To help the hair grow back in the hot spots, a protein-based diet is important. In addition, your dogs diet should include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, copper, folic acid, biotin and vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D and E.
For healthy skin, feed your dog eggs, almonds, chia seeds, coconut oil, oats, liver from grass-fed animals, wild salmon, cranberries and sweet potatoes. At the same time, keep your dog hydrated. Make sure your dog has easy access to drinking water all the time.
Additional Tips
- To prevent aggravating the hot spot, put a small amount of vapor rub around the affected area.
- To relieve itching, a small amount of witch hazel spray is a topical option.
- Control fleas and other insects that affect dogs.
What To Do When Your Dog Has A Hot Spot
What is a hot spot? Hot spots are one of the most frustrating skin conditions your dog can get. The sores appear on the surface of your dogs skin and can rapidly become large, painful lesions. Hot spots can appear anywhere on your dogs body but the most common areas to find them are the head, neck or hip. Hot spots are not dangerous to your dogs health but it can be very irritating for them as it can be very painful so its best that we treat as soon as possible.
What causes it? Hot spots can develop from any skin irritation your dog has such as an insect bite, allergy . It can be compared to getting a mosquito bite, it becomes so itchy that you want to continuously scratch it. Your dog is doing anything and everything they can to relieve the itch such as scratching, licking and biting. The area then becomes red, raw and develops into a painful sore.
What to do if you see a hot spot? Inform your veterinarian as soon as possible. Although its not an emergency, hot spots are very uncomfortable and you want your pet feeling back to their happy, healthy selves.
How will the wound be treated? When treating the hot spot, the main goal is to get the sore cleaned and clip the hair around the area to let the air get to it. A really important step is to deter your pet from further traumatizing the area. An e-collar or cone of shame may be needed for this step. Your veterinarian may give an injectable drug at the appointment as well as send you home with:
How Can I Treat My Cats Hot Spots At Home
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. Furthermore, what can I put on my cats hot spots?
Typically veterinarians will recommend hot spot treatments such as topical creams or oral antibiotics. In extremely severe cases, your cat may need to be treated with intravenous antibiotics or other prescription medications that ease the pain of hot spots and help avoid further complications.
Additionally, how can I treat my cat’s wound at home? First, stop the bleeding with direct pressure, using a cotton ball or gauze. Trim the hair around the wound, and wash thoroughly with soap and water. Most abrasions heal better in the open air, and your cat would just pull off a bandage anyway. Keep the wound area clean and watch it closely.
Also question is, can you use hot spot spray on cats?
Medicated hot spot and anti-itch spray is for topical use on both dogs and cats over 12 weeks of age. It has a pleasant smell and does not burn when applied.
How do I know if my cat has hot spots?
Symptoms of Hot Spots in Dogs and Cats
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Second Stage Red Inflamed And Moist + Oozing Pus
During the second stage, the hot spot will continue to be moist, red, and inflamed, but the infection will cause ooze to come out. Most people notice acute moist dermatitis at this stage because the pus is impossible to ignore. Its important to take your cat to the vet at this stage so that the infection doesnt spread.
Natural Topical Remedies For Hot Spots
What are hot spots?A hot spot is an inflamed area of the skin that becomes red and moist. It can be extremely irritating for a pet, giving them the urge to scratch, lick, or chew the affect area. By allowing your pet to do this, the area can grow quite quickly.
How Do Pets Get Hot Spots?Anything that causes irritation to the skin can cause a hot spot. Some examples are: an insect bite, allergic reaction, previous infection of the skin, and constant chewing or licking behavior typically due to boredom. Natural Topical Remedies for Hot Spots:
1. Colloidal Silver: A natural antibiotic, killing bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Apply the colloidal silver by spraying it directly on the area or on to a cotton ball and dab on the affected area multiple times per day. Use colloidal silver in liquid or gel form.
2. Apple Cider Vinegar : Like colloidal silver, ACV is also antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal. When purchasing ACV, look for an organic brand that is unpasteurized and contains the mother . ACV can sting, so dilute it with water, one part ACV to three parts water. Apply the ACV to a cotton ball and dab it on the affect area. Do this multiple times per day.
3. Coconut Oil: Another great antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal remedy! Use unrefined, cold-pressed, organic coconut oil. Apply coconut oil to a cotton ball and dab on affected area multiple times per day.
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How Do Cats Get Fleas
Cats can pick up fleas at kennels, groomers, or outside. “Typically if your cat’s an indoor cat, they’re not going to get fleas,” Dr. de Jong says. “It’s the cat that goes in and out of the house.”
There are many different species of fleas, but cat fleas are you guessed it the most common culprits, according to Purdue Extension Entomology. These pests can jump up about 12 inches high onto an unlucky host, feed, and then lay eggs in the fur. These eggs will also fall off the pet onto the carpet, furniture, or wherever your cat likes to hang out. The eggs then transform into larvae, then pupae, then adults, starting the cycle all over again.
Cat fleas will bite humans too. “Fleas are parasites they’re looking for blood to suck,” says Dr. de Jong. “If they don’t find enough cat hosts, they’ll suck on the owner’s ankles and feet.”
However, the advent of effective flea and tick preventative products has made these infestations much rarer than they used to be. If you’re already using one and think your cat may have fleas, talk to your vet about what and how you’re applying.
Keeping Your Cat Cool
Keeping your cat cool inside your home is important too. Place fans around the house to keep the air circulating, remembering not to point the fan directly at your cat. Another handy tip is to freeze a bottle of water, wrap it in a towel or pillowcase and place it somewhere your cat goes regularly. This stops them from feeling overheated during hotter spells. Remember to ensure that your cat can get away from the bottle if they chose to, and make sure the bottle does not leak!
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Pet Indigestion Or Loose Stool
- When your dog scavenges something from the compost pile, it irritates the bowel, creating nerve impulses that signal the gut to speed up. When food moves too quickly through the gut, the result is loose stools. In dogs and cats with chronic inflammatory bowel disease, the gut responds as if irritated at the slightest stress or change of diet.
- The herb slippery elm, available as powder or capsules, coats the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, counteracting the irritation and allowing stools to firm up. Put 1 tablespoon of the powder into 1 pint of water and bring to a boil to thicken. Let it cool, and administer by mouth. Give a teaspoon or less to small pets and several tablespoons to large dogs every 2 to 4 hours, until the gut settles down .
- Also, be sure to check our list of foods that are poisonous to pets so that you can keep your furry friends from too many stomach aches.
Diagnosis Of A Hot Spot
Most hot spots can be diagnosed with just a physical exam. The typical inflamed and infected skin lesions are easy for a veterinarian to recognize. Identifying the underlying cause of the hot spot is the more challenging part for your veterinarian. It is important to determine the cause of the hot spot, so appropriate action can be taken to prevent more hot spots in the future.
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Can I Use Human Hydrocortisone Cream On My Dog
Human hydrocortisone cream is not approved for animals and not recommended for animals. If your dog were to accidentally ingest that cream by licking the area, serious side effects could occur like diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration.
There are, however, hydrocortisone creams which are prescribed for dogs. They have been known to be effective in treating pruritus, a chronic itch which can cause the development of hotspots. Make sure you talk to a veterinarian, either in person or online to get the right brand for you.
What The Heck Is A Hot Spot
What the Heck is a Hot Spot?
Late summer and early fall are still prime time for allergies in our dogs and cats. Dogs can also be prone to what are commonly known as hot spots. But what exactly is a hot spot?
A hot spot refers to a moist bacterial infection on the skin, often caused by self-trauma, meaning the dog licks or scratches the skin leading to a secondary infection. The underlying cause of what makes the dog itchy in the first place can varysometimes it is a minor injury such as a small cut, sometimes the dog is scratching his ears due to an ear infection and causes a hot spot on the side of the face or sometimes there is an underlying flea allergy or seasonal allergy causing a pet to scratch and damage her skin.
What should you do if your dog has a hot spot? Small hot spots may be treated at home by clipping away surrounding hair, cleaning the hot spot with a mild antiseptic or medicated shampoo and applying an antibiotic spray or cream to the site. Preventing your dog from continuing to lick the site is also important to make sure it does not get worse so use of an E-collar or similar device may be necessary. If the hot spot is large or not responding to home treatment after 24hs , seek veterinary care for your pet. While not usually serious, hot spots can be quite painful. Most will require a clip and clean of the site, antibiotics and medications like apoquel or prednisone to control itching in order to heal.
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Cleaning The Cat’s Hot Spot Wound
To speed healing, your veterinarian will need to clip the fur around the hot spots. The vet uses clippers or curved scissors to trim hair from around the area to improve access to clean the hot spot and allow for better air circulation. Topical ointments and oral antibiotics may both be used to heal the wound. These commonly contain a combination of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories . Most uncomplicated hot spots settle down with seven to fourteen days of treatment.
In extreme cases, the cat may need to wear an Elizabethan collar to prevent ongoing self-trauma to the hot spot. However, this is often distressing to the cat so the vet may give a low dose of a short-acting steroid in order to remove the tingle from the skin so the cat is more likely to leave it alone. In addition, if the infection has reached deeper layers of the skin, your cat may need oral antibiotics instead of a topical ointment.
How To Handle Hot Spots Or Summer Sores On Your Dog Or Cat
If your dog or cat has ever itched, licked, or scratched at a certain spot on his skin so much that it becomes inflamed and possibly infected, youand unfortunately your pethave experienced a hot spot. The broad definition of a hot spot is a sore on the skin that is so itchy your pet cannot leave it alone. The affected area is usually hot to the touch from the localized inflammation and skin infection, thus the name hot spot.
Although hot spots occur on both dogs and cats anytime of the year, some veterinarians also call them summer sores because the hot season brings about extra irritants that can cause the irritations to flare. Our regions summer warmth and humidity, coupled with any small cut, scrape, or irritation on your pets skin stimulates bacterial growth that can cause a hot spot.
A variety of factors such as allergies, insect bites, splinters, a new shampoo, or anything that causes an initial itch on the skin can be the culprit behind a hot spot. Flea allergy dermatitis is one common cause of hot spots for both cats and dogs, and for sensitive pets just one flea bite can cause a raging hot spot.
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Do Cortisone Shots Work
My vet also said that cortisone shots often clear up hot spots. Sometimes one shot does the trick, but other times it may take two to threeone every two weeks until it clears up. Be warned that cortisone is a steroid hormone and can have negative side effects, especially on older pets. There have been reports of pets going blind, becoming ill, or even dying after receiving a cortisone shot in extreme cases. Most pets will not experience any side effects, and it may clear the hot spots right up. Just be sure you know the risks before allowing your pet to be given a cortisone shot.
Shedding And Hair Loss
If you live with cats, you learn to cope with cat hair on your favorite sweater. But if you notice your cat is losing more hair than usual or has bald patches, see your veterinarian as soon as possible. Abnormal hair loss can be a warning sign of several illnesses, as well as fleas, stress, allergies, or poor nutrition.
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Identify And Eliminate Any Environmental Or Food Allergens
Dermatitis is a common symptom of allergies. Cats may be sensitive to either environmental or food allergens and may develop a sensitivity at any time.
If your cat develops hot spots after going outside, they may have a grass or pollen allergy. Like humans, cats might be allergic to mold, mildew, dust, mites, and more.
Top food allergens include chicken, dairy, beef, and fish, but your cat might develop allergies to any protein. Consider an elimination diet to identify irritating ingredients, then remove them from your cats diet permanently.
Keep Your Cat Safe From The Sun
Many cats love soaking up the sunshine, choosing the warmest spots in the garden to enjoy. Make sure you take precautions to avoid your cat getting dehydrated or sunburnt. Overexposure can lead to skin cancer.Provide plenty of shade both inside and out. From sheltered plant pots to cardboard boxes, these items offer makeshift sunshades for outdoor-loving moggies.Think about planting shrubs or using cat hides and boxes in the garden. These help your cat hide away from the suns potentially harmful rays.If your cat has white fur, try keeping them inside between 10am and 3pm, when the sun is at its hottest. Speak to a vet about suitable sunscreen for cats, to ensure they dont suffer from sunburn.
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What To Do If A Pet Is Choking
You can perform the Heimlich maneuver on animals.
- Lift a small pet, or reach over the back of a large one and raise the back legs, so that the rear end is elevated over the head.
- Place your hands around the lowest part of the chest and give a quick, gentle thrust inward and upward.
- Remember to scale the force of your thrust to the size of your pet. For small pets, imagine you are performing this on an infant or toddler.
All About Hot Spots On Cats
Any type of cat can develop hot spots, and were not talking about a wireless connection to the Internet or a trendy place. A hot spot in a cat is a very itchy skin infection, also called acute moist dermatitis and pyotraumatic dermatitis. In cats they are sometimes even referred to as miliary dermatitis.
Hot spots can happen to any cat, but cats with fleas or a history of allergies are more prone to developing a hot spot. Cats with long, thick coats may also be more prone to developing a hot spot.
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