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Cat Skin Diseases

List of cat skin diseases

There are just a few ways to recognize that feline has skin diseases: by getting red and/or itchy, by developing scabby bumps, by losing hair, and by flaking.

In some severe skin disorders, lumps or open sores may develop. Because the repertoire of signs is so limited, different skin diseases often look exactly the same. On the other hand, the same disease may manifest itself completely differently from cat to cat.

This situation presents a diagnostic challenge. Only rarely can veterinarians ascertain the cause of a skin condition by just looking at the cat; diagnostic tests are almost always necessary.

Cat bite infections are probably the most common form of feline bacterial disease. An infected cat bite often forms an abscess, a collection of pus and dead tissue. Fortunately, veterinary treatment of these painful and destructive infections is fairly simple if begun promptly.

Surgically draining the abscess and starting the cat on appropriate antimicrobial medication usually eliminates the infection. You can prevent your cat from getting these infections by keeping her indoors.

Atopy, also called allergic inhalant dermatitis, is caused by an allergic reaction to inhaled particles: pollens, house dust, and mold spores, to name a few. In most cats the mainstays of therapy are avoidance of the allergen when possible, anti-inflammatory medication, antihistamines, and/or medications that contain special fatty acids.

Itchiness is one of the main signs of atopic skin disease, but owners may not realize that their cats are grooming or scratching excessively. Sometimes bald spots are the only sign. Remember that the signs of atopy can resemble those of flea-bite hypersensitivity, which can be confused with those of a food allergy, and so on.

Cat skin problems because of food allergies usually develop in response to foods the cat has been consuming for a while, not to something new. A typical sign is itchiness, particularly of the

facial area, the feet, and the ears, but symptoms vary. The only way to diagnose a food allergy is to feed the cat completely different food for approximately six to eight weeks.

A homemade diet using only ingredients that the cat has never eaten is usually best. The best way to manage a diagnosed food allergy is, of course, to avoid feeding your cat the foods in question.

Cat Skin Diseases - Ringworm (dermatophytosis) is a contagious fungal skin disease most often caused by the fungus Microsporum canis. It often appears as expanding circular, red, flaky, bald patches, but some infected cats have little or no skin condition at all, so diagnosis rarely can be made simply by looking at the skin.

Cats are infected by fungal spores directly from an infected cat or from spores persisting in the environment. In a multicat household, it’s a good bet that if one cat is infected, most of the others are as well. Ringworm spores are extremely hardy and resistant to disinfection; indeed, any spores in the environment retain the capacity to cause infection for well over a year.

As if this were not bad enough, Microsporum canis can cause skin disease in people too; it is not uncommon for owners to become infected from their cats.

A vaccine for Microsporum canis is available commercially, but it is not widely used. While it shows some ability to prevent or cure the skin condition in some cats, it does not prevent or eliminate infection itself.

Elimination of infection from a household of cats is very time consuming, labor intensive, and expensive. Treatment-antifungal dips or baths, oral medication, and topical antifungal medications applied to the skin lesions-may have to be given for several months or more, and the environment must be cleaned thoroughly and treated periodically with antifungal disinfectants (such as household bleach) to kill lingering spores. Prevention is the key; take any new cat for a veterinary exam before introducing her to your household.

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