SKIN Issues in Cats??? HELP??

[DiamondSmitten]

Well many of you read about my new furbaby. I had her at the vet today per my agreement with the animal shelter and it appears she has some skin issue. They think its a skin allergy of some sort so we are treating her with steroids and clavamox as well as a topical treatment for the individual spots. She has some scabs and two particular places near her shoulders that she bothers with. The vet wants to see her in a week and make sure she is healing and then talk long term treatment. The vet did mention if she doesn''t start to get better by next week that we test for ringworm. So I guess my question is , has anyone dealt with a pet with skin issues? Does anyone have any suggestions? She is such a happy girl but you can tell some of the irritated areas really bother her. I am not bringing my other cat to the new place until we are sure what we are dealing with. I''ve heard that changing her food might help and that now that she is in a stress free enviroment that will help too but my heart is breaking for her right now. Any and all suggestions and help is greatly appreciated!

 

[VRBeauty]

Back before flea drops, one of my cats had a flea allergy that showed up as a skin rash. We treated it with predinsone (a steroid) but I had to watch carefully for side effects, and pull the treatment when they showed up. Since fleas are seasonal, he wasn't usually on the treatment for very long. He eventually outgrew the allergy, as I recall. Definately better to deal with the cause than to treat the symptom if possible, though.

Good luck!

 

[Catmom]

I have a cat that has food allergies which can cause skin itching and rashes and terrible diarrhea. It took a long time to find the right kind of food that she wouldn''t react to but now her skin is fine.

 

[Lynn B]

I don''t know much about skin issues, but I just wanted to suggest that maybe the poor sweet little girl is just simply so DEPLETED of all of her reserves after her *other life*, and having so many babies in such a short time... and that could manifest itself in lots of different ways.

I truly believe that her wonderful, healthy new life with you, nutritious food, rest, and all of your TLC (and necessary medical care, of course!) will probably do a world of good for her. She''ll be thriving in no time, I''m just sure of it!

 

[bee*]

Was there any reason that she didn''t test for ringworm right away? I''d firstly treat for fleas, then get her to test for ringworm. Quite a lot of cats can have skin allergies and hopefully you won''t have to have anything invasive done to figure out what the allergies are from. Worst case scenario would be skin scrapings sent off to a lab which will determine what your cat is allergic to. Hopefully the steroids will work and she''ll be cured in no time.

 

[AmberGretchen]

I''m so sorry to hear that your sweet new baby is having skin problems.

Bee* as always gives good advice - if it were me, I''d want to test for ringworm right away too, as its HIGHLY contagious and can even be spread to humans. For now, until you know what it is, I''d be super careful about washing up after handling kitty, especially if you are going to be interacting with other animals.

I hope your lovely girl feels better soon - goodness knows she deserves and healthy and peaceful life after what she''s been through.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/5/2008 4:16:44 AM
Author: bee*
Was there any reason that she didn''t test for ringworm right away? I''d firstly treat for fleas, then get her to test for ringworm. Quite a lot of cats can have skin allergies and hopefully you won''t have to have anything invasive done to figure out what the allergies are from. Worst case scenario would be skin scrapings sent off to a lab which will determine what your cat is allergic to. Hopefully the steroids will work and she''ll be cured in no time.

Ditto. Allergies to fleas/ saliva are common so that needs to be addressed first in case this is causing the problem. If it does turn out to be a flea allergy you need to go all out to remove them, then things should settle down if this is the case. If ringworm is suspected, then I also wonder why they didn''t test for that immediately as it is a disease which can be transmitted to humans.

 

[bee*]

Yeah it is strange that they didn''t test for ringworm as all they have to do is use a Woods lamp and turn out the lights to diagnose it primarily

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/5/2008 10:02:50 AM
Author: bee*
Yeah it is strange that they didn''t test for ringworm as all they have to do is use a Woods lamp and turn out the lights to diagnose it primarily

I was wondering that if they still used a Woods lamp to test, why they didn''t...

 

[bee*]

Date: 9/5/2008 10:04:53 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 9/5/2008 10:02:50 AM

Author: bee*

Yeah it is strange that they didn''t test for ringworm as all they have to do is use a Woods lamp and turn out the lights to diagnose it primarily

I was wondering that if they still used a Woods lamp to test, why they didn''t...

We''ve tried a few of the newer products for ringworm in our clinic but we''ve always reverted back to the Woods Lamp-it''s been far better than anything and it only takes a second to diagnose. Maybe their one was broken that day? I can''t figure out why they wouldn''t have just tested than and there if not.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/5/2008 10:15:22 AM
Author: bee*

Date: 9/5/2008 10:04:53 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 9/5/2008 10:02:50 AM

Author: bee*

Yeah it is strange that they didn''t test for ringworm as all they have to do is use a Woods lamp and turn out the lights to diagnose it primarily

I was wondering that if they still used a Woods lamp to test, why they didn''t...

We''ve tried a few of the newer products for ringworm in our clinic but we''ve always reverted back to the Woods Lamp-it''s been far better than anything and it only takes a second to diagnose. Maybe their one was broken that day? I can''t figure out why they wouldn''t have just tested than and there if not.

Thanks for the info BeeStar, I was curious as when I was doing my animal care course which included some VN introductory work years ago, the Woods lamp was used, and I wondered if things had moved on since then with other tests - guess the lamp is still an efficient way to diagnose!

 

[DiamondSmitten]

Thanks for everyone''s advice. She was treated for fleas already which is why I guess they didnt think it was that. The vet said to test for ringowrm we have to pull hairs and cultivate them for 2 weeks but that she thought it was a skin allergy which is why she wanted to start the prednisone and clavamox and topical right now and see how she is in a week. I am having the HARDEST time getting her to take the meds. She wont eat ANYTHING I hide the prednisone in. I tried crushing it in her soft food- no luck, smushing it in a regular trreat- no luck, putting it in a pill pocket- no luck.... at this point I am down 3 pills and she hasnt ingested a bit of the medicine. Any suggestions???

BTW for those who changed the cat''s food due to alergies what food are or were your cats on?


Also- don''t worry about her spreading anything- none of my other pets are with me right now while we get this taken care of.

 

[FireGoddess]

Mine won''t take a pill either - I had to scruff her and put it down her mouth and blow on her face so she would swallow. Some kitties are difficult, but of course they are worth it.

Just be careful with the steroids - continued use is not good for kitty.

 

[bee*]

Ask your vet if she has a woods lamp as that can be a quicker way to test for ringworm and if she''s unsure, then she can cultivate the hair sample. Try crushing up the tablet in the teeniest bit of butter or pate-works everytime on my cat at home.