Yemala new problems

Our lovely Mala has been OTJ since mid-May, and was only back on insulin for appx. one month. To summarize:

Initial diagnosis - May 2006. OTJ June 2006 - April 2011

Developed ear infection April 2011. On steroids, recurrence of diabetes. Controlled, and off the juice May 2011.

Three weeks ago, Mala started to show patches around her ears that look like bite marks or scratches. She has 4 civvy friends, so we suspected rough play at first. But the scratches continued, and she has lost fur around her ears. Small sores that seem similar under her jaw. New scratches started on the other side of her head. (First scratches and bumps - left side.)

The left is mostly healed now, but she has ripped hair out of that side of her head above her eye. The other side shows raw red bumps and scratches. I have seen some blood when she's really gone after herself.

NO OTHER CAT HAS THESE SYMPTOMS.

She is an entirely indoor cat, as are all the others, so this is not insects.

We haven't ever caught her scratching to this degree, and haven't seen her rip out the fur.

In all other ways, her behavior is normal. Appetite is good, demeanor is her usual sweet/sour self, seeks out attention and affection, doesn't show sensitivity when her sore areas are touched. Her BGs are in normal range.

Has anyone else seen this?

N.B. - I'm not eager to return her to the vet. He's likely to want to take expensive and intrusive blood samples which A> I can't afford, and B> aren't likely to result in a strong diagnosis. The stress of car rides has also been known to throw her into bad health, so I only take her when I have no other choice.

Of course, this little cat has her paw firmly on my heart,and I can't see her suffer (which she doesn't seem to be).

Advice?

 

Renee:

Willie (Christie and Willie) and Sara (Jan and Sara) have had similar sounding conditions. You might want to post in LL if you haven't and check with them. I believe both of them have Pemphigus Foliaceus which is an autoimmune disease and requires special testing to diagnose. It can get pretty ugly. Jan had pictures of Sara on her condo a week or two ago. It requires treatment with cyclosporine (well...steroids work but you don't want her back on steroids and the cyclosporine works great but there are certain requirements for the cat to go on it).

Good luck and hope Mala improves.

 

my Snowball had something similar. Finally a period or oral prednesolone resolved the issue.

 

I had a problem with my cat scratching his ears and neck which turned out to be caused by food allergies. I removed beef and wheat gluten and it stopped. Don't know which one was causing it.

Lana

 

Hiya! Willie does indeed have pemphigus. Some questions... how would you describe the sores? Are they crusty at all? Do they heal in one spot and then move to another? If there is movement, is there any discernable pattern... linear, symmetrical, etc.? These can be signs of pemphigus. Lana offers another possibility as well. What is the primary protein you are currently feeding? You can try to ascertain food allergies by engaging in an elimination diet. You basically need to pick a novel protein and remove all other possible allergens... no gluten, no egg, and none of the protein you currently feed. Our vet suspected food allergy at first and I had access to venison, so we put him on a venison diet until we got the diagnosis. In addition to the illness affecting his belly, he also had sores on his face that at first seemed like overly aggressive scratching, but eventually got much, much worse.

Do you have a veterinary dermatologist nearby? That would probably be your best resource. If you think your vet would be willing to do it, I would suggest getting JUST a biopsy. It is pricey, but it is the definitive test for several conditions (including pemphigus), so either you find out within a week exactly what is wrong, or you eliminate a significant number of possibilities and you know that it is likely that the problem is allergy related (in addition to foods, cats can develop environmental allergies as well). They will put Yemala under a light anesthesia and take a couple scrapings from the affected skin areas and ship them off to a lab. If you are able, I'd strongly suggest doing it ASAP if things do not clear up pronto.

In the meantime, I would recommend keeping the affected areas very clean and treating them with the neosporin with pain relief. Will help with healing, offer some relief of any discomfort, and provide an antibiotic effect to help keep down infection. You can also give an oral antihistimine... I would have to check to see the name of the one the vet recommended for Willie (it was a generic I got very inexpensively from CVS).

I'd recommend looking at sites that provide photos of various feline dermatological conditions... you may be able to get some idea of what you're dealing with. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

 

I see no discernible pattern to the sores. They are crusty and red - almost like bug bites, only no bugs in the house. They started on the left, seemed to mostly heal, then appeared on the right. The worst sores are in that lightly-furred area between the eyes and the ear. She's had some fur loss in that area, as if she's scratched herself severely. She's occasionally a little twitchy and irritated in her attitude, but mostly she's the same behaviorally.

She has had a few sores under her jaw, but those are unusual.

As for vet expenses - right now, I haven't the money to pay for what you're suggesting. I am out of work, and my husband's paycheck barely covers what we need in terms of bills and groceries. I will do everything I can for this wonderful kitty, but I'm limited. If I get a job next week, I might be able to figure out something, but I can't afford a multiple-hundred dollar vet bill.

 

Renee,

It does sound like it could be pemphigus Foliaceus. I know you said you can't afford testing right now. Does the vet have care credit that you could apply for? They pay the vet and you pay them back in monthly installments.

Let me just say that Sara started with runny eyes and sores on her ears and chin. I tried eliminating things from her diet and gave benadryl before we did the biopsy. Just in a few weeks it has gone to under her tail and private area [which looks very uncomfortable] to spots here and there all over her body. She lost hair on one ear and around her eyes. She is one cyclosporine and I'm hoping it will clear it up. Christie has had excellent results with it on Willie.

The thing is when it got to a certain point on Sara she stopped eating. Which has made things much more difficult for her to overcome this disease and I hope I don't lose her. Wish I had done the biopsy sooner. I hope Yemala has something like an allergy that is easy to take care of.

If any of these symptoms sound familiar or you have any questions feel free to pm me. Wishing your girl Yemala the best.

jan and sara