Cat Skin Problems

Cat skin problems? No. This fine looking cat is scratching his or her chin. The picture is here to simply illustrate the page and this cat has no skin problems that I know of.

Skin problems in cats are quite wide ranging. They are listed on this page. It seems that these problems can be bracketed under four headings. This page pulls various strands together. Where I have dealt with the subject earlier I have provided a link. Otherwise it is dealt with on this page¹. I do not provide treatments here because that is the domain of a good vet (and one that does not declaw). The objective is to provide an overview so that we have some knowledge when seeing a vet. We need to keep an eye on vets.

Contents

1. Itchy Skin
2. Hair Loss
3. Infected Skin
4. Lumpy Skin

Itchy Skin

1. Fleas – one of the very common cat skin problems
   • Flea treatments can kill
   • How to control cat fleas
   • Can cat fleas bite humans
   • Cat scratch fever
   • Flea bite dermatitis – very itchy skin and it may be raw having broken down. It causes the cat to scratch and damage to the skin as a result. Some cats accept fleas and flea bites while others are allergic. There is a skin rash with fleas present. Cure is extensive flea treatments. See Ragdoll cat skin scabs.
2. Head Mange Mites – causes intense itching around the head, neck, face and edges of ears. I think my Charlie might get these. They are considerably smaller than fleas. I comb them out with a flea comb nonetheless.
3. Walking Dandruff – caused by a mite that is somewhat red. Heavy dandruff over back, neck and sides of cat. Uncommon. It is contagious (communicable by contact or by a bodily exhalation in this instance). Transferable to people.
   • Feline Dandruff
4. Chiggers – these are harvest mites. Cats pick them up from grass. The larvae are parasitic and can be seen on the cat’s skin under a magnifying glass. Likely places are: between toes, around ears and mouth. Might see raw skin and scabs.
5. Ear Mites
6. Ticks
7. Lice – one of the rare cat skin problems and unlikely to be present on well cared for cats. Normally found under matted hair around shoulder region. Localised hair loss due to scratching.
8. Maggots – eggs of flies. Flies can lay them on infected wounds on the cat’s skin. Happens in warm weather. The maggots digest the skin and enter the skin leading to a bacterial infection. This will be clearly visible. Maggots eat dead skin/flesh and are used in human medicine sometimes.
9. Food Allergy – see hypoallergenic cat food. This is a cat skin problem that is traceable to a food allergy.
10. Contact Dermatitis – rarely one of the cat skin problems because of the protection provided by fur but can be present where hair is thin (feet and chin for example). Two types (1) irritant and (2) contact dermatitis. Both caused by contact with a chemical. The former is caused by the chemical causing irritation and the later sensitization through repeated exposure. The rash shows itchy raised areas and inflamed skin. Chemicals that might cause dermatitis are:
    • detergents (irritant)
    • solvents (irritant)
    • soaps (irritant)
    • flea powders (allergic)
    • poison ivy and other plants (see plants poisonous to cats)
    • dyes in carpets (allergic)
    • leather (allergic)
    • plastic dishes (allergic)
    • rubber dishes (allergic)
    • some medicines (allergic)
    • flea collars (my Charlie was given a flea collar before I cared for him and he still has hair loss where the collar was). Flea collars are not recommended by me (for what it is worth).
    • litter boxes (dermatitis around tail and anus) (history of cat litter)
11. Inhalant Allergy – see cat skin rashes and feline allergies. It is difficult to differentiate between the various causes of an allergic reaction as the symptoms are similar. This is caused by breathing in such allergens as:

• pollen
• dust
• molds

1. Miliary Dermatitis – an allergic skin reaction caused by: flea bites (most common reason), mite bites and lice bites. It can also be caused by skin infections (bacterial and fungal) and drug reactions. Small bumps and crusts on the skin form down the back and around the head. See also Ragdoll cat skin scabs. This seems to be one of the not too uncommon cat skin problems

Hair Loss

1. I have covered this subject before. Please see:
   • Cat Hair Loss and Hair loss health tip.
   • Feline Endocrine Alopecia.

Infected Skin

Pus and/or signs of bacterial infection on the skin or beneath it (called Pyoderma by the vets). Can be subdivided into two cat skin problems:

1. Self mutilation through scratching and/or biting caused by itchy skin (see above)
2. Disease
   • Feline acne – skin pores are blocked forming black heads or bumps that come to a head.
   • Impetigo – an infection of the dermis (the lower or inner layer of the two main layers of cells that make up the skin²) of the skin in kittens. Scabs and blisters, some containing pus can form on the abdomen of newborn cats. It is caused by the litter box not be sanitary leading to secondary bacterial infections.
   • Abscess
   • Thrush – a yeast that invades the mouth and ear canals. It affect people too. Can be brought on by long use of antibiotics that disturb the natural bacteria in the body and corticosteroids; also can affect cats with suppressed immune systems.
   • Mosquito bite caused by a hypersensitivity to the bite. Results in crusty sores and scabs on the nose, ends of ears and itchy paw pads. Can lead to fever.

Lumpy Skin

This relates to cat skin problems of lumps on and under the skin:

1. Warts – relatively rare and tend to occur on older cats.
2. Hematomas (blood under skin) -caused by a blow resulting in a contusion (bruise³)
3. Abscess – see above
4. Subcutaneous (beneath the skin) Cysts – non-malignant tumors in glands in the skin. Can grow to an inch in length. Can become infected at which point it needs to be treated. Should be removed for this reason.
5. Mycetoma – also affects people. It is quite serious and I suspect rare in cats and more likely to occur in arid parts of the world⁴. A fungus enters the cat’s body via a wound and forms a tumor like mass beneath the skin. There is an opening to the skin’s surface that drains “a granular material”⁵, white, yellow or black in color. In people it is found in India and Africa, for example.
6. Sporotrichosis – one of the rare cat skin problems caused by a fungus in the soil. The fungus spores enter the skin via a cut for example or by being breathed in or eaten (rarely⁶). It affects people too, such as farmers. In the USA it is more common in the north and central regions of the country. A nodule (a small area where tissue collects and which can be felt) forms at the site. This is more likely to be the cat’s paws, face, legs or base of the tail. There is hair loss in over the nodule. Rarely, the disease is internal and in lungs and liver.
7. Grubs – the larvae of flies picked up from soil, penetrate the cat’s skin forming lumps with a small breathing hole for the larvae. The larvae can protrude from the hole. See My thinks he is a Turkish Angora (the story of a rescued feral cat with this cat skin problem)
8. Cancer – see also cat health and cancer and Feline Fibrosarcoma and cat vaccination recommendations – Several types of cancer:
   • squamous cell cancer – a neoplasm (new and abnormal growth of tissue, which may be benign or cancerous⁷) forming a cauliflower type growth around body openings usually, and where there is chronic skin irritation. Need early detection as it can spread.
   • basal cell cancer – an area of small nodular (bumpy) growths under the skin. Need to be removed.
   • mast cell cancer – normally on scrotum, hind legs and lower abdomen. About 33% are malignant. Can spread.
   • melanomas – malignant tumor forming in the bottom layer of the epidermis (the outer layer of the skin⁸) of the cat’s skin.

SEE ALSO SCABS AND CAUSES

Feline Skin Problems to Cat Health Problems

THIS PAGE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED AROUND 8 YEARS AGO. I HAVE RE-DATED IT TO BRING IT FORWARD IN TIME AS IT IS A POPULAR PAGE.

notes

¹ https://pictures-of-cats.org/PoC-Medical-References-and-Methods.html – Book 1

² http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2958

³ http://www.mondofacto.com/facts/dictionary?query=contusion&action=look+it+up

⁴ http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/m/mycetoma/basics.htm

⁵ https://pictures-of-cats.org/PoC-Medical-References-and-Methods.html – Book 1 – page 110

⁶ http://www.emedicinehealth.com/sporotrichosis/page2_em.htm

⁷ http://www.mondofacto.com/facts/dictionary?query=neoplasm&action=look+it+up

⁸ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidermis_%28skin%29

Photo: Creative Commons – Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic. By pasipasi