What causes skin problems in cats?
One of the more common causes of skin problems in general for cats is flea allergy dermatitis, or just being bitten by fleas. Other problems can be environmental allergies, so something that's out in the environment like pollen, or even food sensitivities or food allergies in cats can cause skin problems.
What are some signs and symptoms that my cat may have a skin condition?
Generally, if cats are really itchy, that would be a sign that something's going on. But cats are really good at hiding their skin problems, so they can have anything from chin acne. So if you're not looking at your cat's chin enough, sometimes if you just look under their chin, you can see a lot of little red bumps or some little black specks. But a bald belly is a sign of cats having skin conditions when they start getting a little bit bald on their wrists and on their inner thighs. Fur loss, chin acne, cat acne, and generalized cats will itch a lot, itch at their ears, pull their fur out. Those are all signs that your cat is having a problem with their skin.
What tests will be performed to diagnose my cat's skin condition?
First of all, we're going to comb your cat and look for the presence of fleas for flea allergy dermatitis. And then a big thing for us is cytology. We would be taking a little sample, just pressing a slide against your cat's skin and looking at it under the microscope so we can see if there are bacteria or yeast present. Sometimes we'll do skin scraping to look for the signs of Demodex, so mites that can live under the skin and make your cat very itchy. And again, if we're looking for feline acne or chin acne in cats, we're going to take a cytology of that chin to see if we have bacteria present. Because if it is, then we have to treat it.
How do we treat skin conditions?
Skin conditions in cats, number one is parasite control. Use a good anti-parasitic medication to make sure that fleas are not a factor for your cat's itching. Otherwise, when we're initially treating cats' skin conditions, we can use oral steroids, which can help a lot. Because when cats are itchy, you know, you can see it, the cat will look like they're suffering, they're so scratchy. Sometimes we'll use long-acting antibiotic injections if it's indicated. Sometimes we'll use steroids if it's indicated. Maybe sometimes topical therapies also. Long-term management of a cat's itch, if it's due to environmental allergies, we can allergy test and then desensitize. We can also use special foods to manage your cat's skin disorders or skin itching.
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