Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 9/13/2005

Question
My cat has been diagnosed with the above condition and my vet is thinking of referring me to a vet dermatologist. His white count is high (25 thousand) and his sugar is just under 500. He just turned 8. He has large open, draining sores on his abdomen which have been cultured and biopsied. We are awaiting further stains and culture results. What can be done for him? The vet is puzzled.

Answer
It is difficult to know how to specifically treat these without the culture results. Some recommend cold water soaks and some recommend flushing the lesions.  MAny diseases cause sterile pyogranulomas (pus and scar tissue) in the fatty tissue (panniculus) in the skin.  With a blood sugar of 500, he needs to be treated for diabetes, which may be the result of chronic infection (the high white blood cell count) or Cushing's disease.