Cats are not just small dogs when it comes to skin diseases. This was an important point from a talk by Candace A. Sousa, DVM, DABVP (Emeritus, Dog and Cat Practice), DACVD, on skin diseases in cats at the Atlantic Coast Veterinary Conference 2017 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. "Cats are cats," she said, "and their disease processes need to be addressed from the cat's perspective."
Feline skin diseases can cause serious underlying disease and require a thorough diagnostic assessment, including a detailed history and physical examination. Getting a diagnosis generally makes therapy and prognosis "easy," Dr. Sousa.
In contrast to internal medicine, only limited diagnostic tests (eg skin cytology, trichogram, biopsy and analysis tools (eg Wood's lamp, microscope) are available in veterinary dermatology, and trichograms are more frequently performed in cats than in dogs Sousa emphasized that customers should pay for each skin test, including simple abrasions, the opinion and expertise of the experts. In addition to the history and physical examination, the classification of possible skin diseases into categories can help in the diagnosis: categories include allergic, bacterial , congenital / hereditary, endocrine, fungal, immune-mediated, various, neoplastic, nutritional, parasitic and viral diseases.
After the diagnosis, Dr. Sousa told veterinarians to ask the owners what they want to do in terms of treatment - "What do you want?" Or "What are your goals for your cat?" - while avoiding a paternalistic tone. Subsequently, she provided information on congenital, endocrine, neoplastic, parasitic, viral and various skin diseases that only occur in cats.
Congenital diseases
Idiopathic facial dermatitis in Persian cats
This chronic disease, also known as "dirty face syndrome," begins when Persian cats are young and causes black crusts on the face, especially in the wrinkles and peri-ocular area. Affected cats can traumatize themselves. In addition, there may be an ear infection at the same time. Response to treatment is typically poor.
Proliferative and necrotizing otitis
Proliferative and necrotizing otitis is rare, has an unknown etiology, and typically affects kittens aged 3 to 6 months. The physical examination of the ears shows that there are strongly tanned or darkly merging plaques on the concave surface of the auricle and the external auditory canals. The ears can also contain comedones. The histopathological findings include acanthosis, follicular keratosis and hyperplasia of the outer coat of the hair follicle and keratinocyte necrosis.
This skin condition can be treated with topical 0.1% tacrolimus, which is expensive. Oral prednisolone may also be used, but its efficacy in the treatment of this disease is not yet known. The prognosis is bad.
Endocrine disorders
Fragility of the cat skin
It is typically a marker of cat hyperadrenocorticism. The fragility of cat skin generally occurs in older cats. In several possible causes (eg, progestogen therapy, excessive corticosteroid use), this condition results in a collagen deficiency that makes the skin extremely thin.
The examination of an affected cat requires a very careful handling in order to avoid skin cracks. Interestingly enough, Dr. Sousa, the bleeding of the skin does not lead to heavy bleeding. In contrast to dogs, alopecia is usually absent in affected cats. Although biopsies are impractical due to the thinness and fragility of the skin, they often show collagen deficiency and severe epidermal, dermal and follicular atrophy. Dr. Sousa recommended testing the adrenal function during the diagnostic exam. The prognosis is serious, especially if the underlying cause can not be identified.
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