This cat has been visiting my yard for over a year now...seems stray

I usually feed it

It has this terrible skin infection of sorts for at last a year now

 

Any idea what it is and if it can be treated?

He's not fond of being handled so a visit to the vet will be difficult

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

Oh boy, you better take your cat to the vet whatever it takes. 

 

If that isn't treated, you can say goodbye to him.

 

That looks like a simple ulcer which overtime has become pretty bad, probably because of the cat constant licking it. He needs medical treatment ASAP, probably he is suffering a lot.

That really is a terrible Infection that poor Cat has.

There is only one solution, and that a visit to the Vet .Somehow, you need to catch this Moggy safely ( yours ) and get it treated.

Suggest throw / wrap a Towel around the Cat to prevent injury to both you and the Cat. Once wrapped in a Towel it can b e transferred to a Box - possibly still in the Towel.

The Cat must be in terrible pain, and this should have been treated much sooner.

That is wound not a skin problem! It's been in a fight. That is a classic  mating wound

It has survived for at least a year with it.

It's not my cat as I said above

I will consider a vet..   need to warm up to spending money on a stray cat ????

I don't think it's been mauled..it would have healed already

I suspect extreme ringworm or serious auto-immune disorder

 

3 hours ago, VinnieK said:

It has survived for at least a year with it.

It's not my cat as I said above

I will consider a vet..   need to warm up to spending money on a stray cat ????

I don't think it's been mauled..it would have healed already

I suspect extreme ringworm or serious auto-immune disorder

 

That is horrible! And I thought my little stray black and white had problems. But his were self-inflicted - always fighting with a bigger cat from down the road. I even had him neutered hoping he would calm down. Waste of money.

 

 

That is not a matting wound ,could well be Eczema /Dermatitis that has not being treated ,being a stray .

If you can find any,the   purple / blue antibiotic spray  about 280 baht /can ,use that for a  week or so should improve .

But ,being a stray,catching it every day could be a problem ,and a lot of cats do not like the spray on them ,so hold it well ,wrapping  it in a towel will help .

The cause could well be mites ,a jab of Idectine might not go a miss.

Maybe add some amoxicillin to the food.

 

https://www.petcarerx.com/amoxicillin-caps/10164#10302

 

If this had only occurred recently I would agree with The Hammer 2021 , and say that it was just a healing ulcer after a cat fight.

As you say it has been there for a year, and he also has chronic self trauma at the back of his ears, I would suspect autoimmune as well . My suggestion is ‘Rodent Ulcer’ - correct name Eosinophilic Dermatitis.   

Treatment is usually steroid - a long acting shot could be given for easier medication. Antibiotics, such as Amoxicillin will help resolve the secondary infection.

It is unlikely that it will be a one time simple treatment and cure, which is a problem with a semi-feral cat!