Ask the Veterinarian/skin problems

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Expert: - 12/16/2010


Question
Hello. Our cat of about 8 years recently underwent an emergency spaying due to pyometra 8 weeks ago. There were small complications due to her vomiting from the first antibiotic. A couple weeks ago we took notice she was getting small scabs by her tail. She is strickly indoors, and we checked her to fleas. Theres no evidence of fleas. She then got some on her back. While the ones at her tail are gone, the back ones are getting bigger. Could this be due to the hormonal change in her body? A later reaction to the meds? Or food allergy?

Answer
There are many reasons and causes for scabs like these. Fleas and flea allergies are usually the number one suspect for these type of scabs.

A food intolerance, maybe, but a true food allergy will manifest itself with gastro-intestinal problems and then skin issues.You will need to put your cat on an elimination diet to determine if the food she is eating is the cause of this.  

Common causes of scabs on skin are: hormonal issues as you mentioned, miliary dermatitis or eczema, or 'scabby cat' as it is commonly called, fleas, flea allergies, reactions to drugs, etc.

Scabby cat is a condition where the reaction to the offending problem, usually, but not always, flea saliva, causes these type of scabs to spread along the area of the back, the neck, chin, and tail head. Here is an article on scabby cat:

http://www.vetinfo.com/scabby-cat-disease.html

and another one:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+1332&aid=150

Diseases such as ringworm, mites and other parasites usually don't cause scabs like this except for sarcoptic mange, which can cause scabs like this.

Your best bet of course is to take her in to the vets and have her skin looked at. The vet will do a scraping and examine it under a microscope to see whether or not she has any parasites like mange.

He can then determine what to treat her skin with.  

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

Expertise

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

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Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

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Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

Awards and Honors
Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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