Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 8/24/2005

Question
Hello Dr.Gotthelf,
I would be delighted if you could advise me. My cat, Mabel has something going on with her skin. She is a domestic short hair, black and approximately 9 years of age. She seems very well in herself, is eating okay, is a good weight etc but when I stroked her recently I found little scabs all over her body, mainly located on her stomach and tail underside. She doesn't seem to be losing any fur and isn't scratching very much ( well, not that I have seen, she is mainly an outdoor cat and only comes in for meals)The only strange thing is that she seems very irritated by something and will run and hide as if something is bothering her then lick her fur. My first thought was fleas even though I could not see any flea dirt or fleas but I used Frontline on her anyway. The problem doesn't seem to have gotten any worse, but no better either. My other two cats are absolutely fine and have no scabs. Do you have any idea what this could be? I have kept cats for many years and never experienced this before. Mabel is more of a hunter than the other two cats so I can't help but think she has picked up something from a mouse/bird. Also, the weather is humid at present, could it be a heat rash?
I look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance.
Regards,
Rachel.

Answer
Rachel;

You are describing a condition called "miliary dermatitis."  This is usually associated with allergies to something.  It could be that one flea set this off (even though you didn't see any fleas on the cat) or it could be a pollen type allergy.  In any event, ask your vet to look at this.  The treatment is usually a shot of a long acting steroid called DepoMedrol.