4/23 Pedro followup on tail cysts vet visit - Cushings??

So we had the vet visit last night to take a good look at the tail cyst issue and I am a bit stressed. I did mention Stud tail but he didn't really respond to the idea. He wonders if Pedro may have Cushings and he is scheduled to run the 8 hour test on Monday. After doing some very initial reading, I'm now thinking I may want to delay testing. Would like some thoughts.

I feel like the diabetes is under control (.1u Lev 2x/day and staying green/blue). We just made it through pancratitis. I feel like he needs a break. The whole process for dealing with Cushings in cats sounds daunting. I just lost my dog last summer and had been dealing with Cushings for her but it sounds very different than for cats.

Vet spent a lot of time on the tail - lots of little black and whiteheads and a number of places where he could squeeze a lot of pus out of the larger cysts. He was somewhat perplexed.
He has been pleased with Pedro's condition overall.
Thoughts on why maybe Cushings:I mentioned that he does still urinate quite a bit for a well regulated cat - sometimes up to 6 good size balls of pee over a 24 hr period. Not the little UTI type spots of pee.
He has had the on-going tail cyst issue for a year or so but it comes and goes. Hence poor skin condition. And over the past year he has not grown hair back well after it has been shaved off in an area. Although most recently the hair has been growing back.

Cushings is very rare in cats. This topic has some info on it:
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=12568

One or more of the stickies on the High Dose board also have links to info about Cushings.

Agree - please check out the HIGH DOSE INSULIN SUPPORT GROUP...

Not all acrocats are at a high dose, and some even have gone OTJ.

Suzie and Spook had cyst problems, I believe -- I will send you her email address via PM

Hi Amy,

My vet suspects Casey of having Cushings disease. We have not been able to regulate his diabetes for over a year so I started doing some research on my own. Casey seemed to show the symptoms of Cushings, -- significant fur loss and fur not growing back after ultrasound (his fur still has not grown in from an ultrasound last Oct) - he has a pot belly and he is always hungry and thirsty. My vet doubted that he had Cushings because it is so rare in cats but we did two tests ldds and acth were performed. One came back negative but the other seemed to stongly indicate that Casey has Cushings. We tried treating Casey with meds- Vetoryl. Unfortunately, Casey could not tolerate it and we had to go off of it. He seems to be doing OK - except he is on a high dose of insulin --18 units of Lantus twice a day. His BG readings are high - almost always in the 300s. I am hoping to have him tested for acromegaly next. I did read that Cushings is more common in female cats (70%) -- so hopefully Pedro will be spared. Good luck.

http://www.cathealth.com/hyperesthesia.htm

Hi Amy,

The above website may give you some insite into a 'possibility' of what your Pedro could 'possibly' be suffering with.

My Ketchie has lumps on her tail, and she also has Hyperesthesia, along with other health conditions. But, if you can read the link, maybe check this out, and the symptoms of these two diseases. Hyperesthesia, and feline psychogenic alopecia. When you mentioned that Pedro has the blackheads and whiteheads, etc. and the hairloss, this could be something to look in to.

Pet him down his back and see if his skin or fur 'ripples'. Does it bother him to touch his back or around his tail? My Jibber I believe has this syndrome. He is the cat in my picture by my name. When he first came to us, he had STUD tail. I didn't even know what that was, but it cleared up when he was neutered. But, he does get HIGHLY annoyed if I pet him near his back, spine or tail.

Just a thought. Something to ponder before putting him through tests for Cushings.

Jean and Charcoal (GA)

No Cushings test today as I remembered that when my dog was tested for Cushings we ended up having to wait until all the Pred had cleared her system. Pedro has just finished being weaned off Pred from his pancreatitis bout. I called the vet Friday and reminded them of this - so they said i have to wait a couple of weeks now.

Thanks for the links for additional info. and thouhgts on other possibilities. I'm just not ready to go the Cushings route yet. He is co close to being OTJ and that doesn't really mesh with the Cushings. He developed another big cycst at the base of his tail on Friday night. I'm going to do some more homework and I may look in to going to a specialist - endocrine or skin??? not sure yet.