Vets destroyed fur???

Hi, I sent my cat to the vets earlier this week for him to be neutered. I have noticed something different about him and when I went to examine his fur I could see there was a patch missing to the point where I can see skin. This was NOT there before we took him to the vets. What is it? And what can I do??

Hello - and what a headline!   I think it's reasonable to assume that your vet didn't set out to destroy, or even temporarily affect, your cats' hair-coat.  Let's have a think about what might have called this hair-loss. Firstly, (just mentioning it because a lot of people besides yourself will read this), if a cat has an intravenous injection for any reason, it's normal to clip a little bit of hair over the vein.  However, as far as I can see, this isn't over a useful vein and looks too mothy for that.  Those patches usually look square or rectangular and are somewhat bigger and higher up. Another similar cause of hair-loss is if they clipped a patch to put a doppler scanner on, for pulse monitoring purposes.  That would usually just tucked in behind the dew claw, which I can't see in this picture.

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However, there are other possibilities.  When a cat is stressed - for example, if they have to spend all day in the vets, or wake up suddenly in a strange place without their testicles  - their immune system tends to take a little dip.  When immune systems take a little dip, any mites or fungi living on the cats' surface sometimes seize their chance to proliferate.  Nearly all cats carry a few microscopic Demodex mites, for example, which don't cause visible hair-loss unless they manage breed and suddenly there are a few of them.  Another organism which can do this is Ringworm.

Ringworm thrives on cats whose immune system has taken a dip - it is easier for it to take hold.  Your vet should be able to check for Demodex and at least some species of Ringworm, quite quickly.   Sometimes when a cat has been castrated, you are entitled to a post-op check which is set up to check the wound-site and identify any other problems.  Even if you don't have one of these booked, we would firmly advise showing this skin to a vet in order that they can carry out tests or prescribe treatment to help.

So rogue clipping, demodex, other more superficial mites and Ringworm are all possibilities here.  There are a few more, more itchy possibilities too.  We strongly advise another vet check. also advise that you avoid touching the lesion until possible zoonoses (diseases that people can catch) have been ruled out.   Please do let us know if you get to the bottom of it.