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Cat skin disease
by Pat
QUESTION My poor cat is diabetic and takes glipizide and cannot take steroids. He has been to the vet several times and still nothing helps. My cat is 7 years old and has a very bad rash and now has licked numerous bald spots on this body and has licked almost all the fur from underneath his tail. I took stool sample to vet and shows nothing. His stool is very soft and very strong for the past 2 weeks. We found 3 fleas on him after giving him several baths. We check him daily for fleas and have found nothing for the past several days. His belly and underneath his tail are very very red and raw and warm to the touch. I started him on Clavamox and he's to see the vet again in 3 days. I just think he's going to be critical in 3 days with this rash. I've given him soaks in Aveno oatmeal baths to try to sooth him. I just don't know what else to do for him. Also, over the past year he has developed a very very very sensitive back. We cannot pet him or brush him on his spine area. And he jumps and cries if we even touch the fur on his spine. His litter mate sister is on chemo at OSU for mammary cancer and is in remission, so I've had my hands full. I really need help for my poor kitty with the severe rash. And especially his sensitive spinal area. Thanks for any help you can give us. Patricia Hi, Patricia, The situation you have is a difficult one. You have a diabetic cat and that rules out the usage of steroids, but your kitty is very itchy and steroids are the best way to relieve the itch. Your only choice (and the right thing to do anyway) is to (1) have allergy tests conducted - the complete series! (2) use the next best thing for an itchy cat besides steroids which is Chlorpheniramine and daily Fatty Acids supplement (I prefer O.F.A. tabs from NutriVed) and (3) don't put anything on your kitty externally; don't overdo the baths (4) continue the Clavamox (5) use Frontline once monthly whether you see fleas or not (6) ask your vet about a hypo-allergenic food (7) SEE YOUR VET AT ONCE Good luck, Thank you for writing, Dr. Neely
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