Feline idiopathic ulcerative dermatitis

I do not have any advice but I am going through something very similar with mine. I will be watching this thread.

Although this post is old, I thought I'd share my cats long struggle with Feline Idiopathic Ulcerative Dermatosis and how we overcame this.

Two years after adopting an 8 yr old persian cat from a shelter he developed hair loss on his neck (between the shoulder blades). It looked just like ring room at first- an outline of a red circle. I decided to save the money and not have a biopsy, since my vet was pretty sure it was ringworm. We treated him with a combo anti-fungal/anti-bacterial cream for 2 weeks and it got worse. It scabbed over and was getting larger than a silver dollar.

We tried evey skin scraping test -(for mites, parasites etc) and it was negative. The sore was just getting larger - though my cat never acted like it itched or bothered him. We tried numerous medications - Oral steriods - oral antibiotics- all were no help

Finally 4 months later, we spent the money and had a surgical biopsy done - as well as partial removal of the ulcer. The pathology report showed feline idiopathic ulcerative dermatosis. My vet told me that the cause is unknown, but they think it may be from a past injection. My cat had a steriod injection 3 months prior for a stomach problem. But my vet also said it could from an unknown allergy.

So we put him on Hills Z/D hypoallergenic food - stopped letting him go on our patio and tried silver sulfadiazine on the ulcer. We stopped the cream after 2 weeks as it was turning his hair crazy colors, but stayed with the hypoallergenic diet and outdoor restriction. The ulcer and scab healed within a month and slowly over the next 2 months his hair grew back.

Four months later, we discussed with our vet about slowly introducing some things back into our cats life (he was miserable and cried daily about not sitting in our closed in patio "outside"). Nothing happened, so we assumed he wasn't allergic to anything outside.

The Hypoallergenic food (Hills Z/D) gave him loose stools and diarrhea from the beginning, which he never had before, but it cured the ulcer. The diarrhea became fairly bad 6 months later so we switched him to regular food and gave him treats- yes very stupid we know now.

Today is 7 months later and the hair loss has returned on the bottom of his neck with a tiny scab starting. I assume it was the food (since we only changed it 1 month ago). We are going to the vet this afternoon to have a new prescription for food. The vet suggested Royal Canin Hypoallergenic Prescription food, since the Z/D gave him diarrhea.

My vet seemed perlexed as food allergies are not known to be the cause, but 2 pathology reports showed feline Idiopathic Ulcerative Dermatosis and it was cured by diet and returned when we put him back on a regular diet. Not sure if hypoallergenic food would work for anyone else, buy it cured my cat and his ulcer was large, disgusting and hung on for months until we switched his food. The food had an immediate effect, but it was slow to heal, so stay with it.

Good luck.

This is the same food I feed my cats for another condition, but I know it is prescribed for the condition your cat has... I would discuss it with your vet - I feed this food in dry (only available in dry), and Z/D wet.
Here is the info on it: http://www.royalcanin.us/adx/aspx/ad...ADULT%20HP.pdf

I'm glad the food helped your cat. I've tried both of those foods, Atopica, hydroxyzine, oral steroids, etc, without luck. Every time it scabs over and looks good, he goes nuts and tears it up again. My cat itches like crazy in this spot and has been scratching at it from the beginning. He's indoors only and I don't know what kind of allergen could be doing this. Does anyone have ideas aside from steroids and diet? I've been battling this for over a year and my cat is miserable.

Thanks.

Ok, here goes. I hope someone can help me about this.

We rescued a domestic cat 3 years ago & here is her story.

She was a meer 6 ounces when we first weighed her, only smaller when we got her! She is now a healthy 12 pounds!

She has been fixed & declawed(front only) & pretty healty since birth except for her dermatitis! Well if it is dermatitis!

She has been treated by numerous specialists all over new york area & $$$$$$ later we are still at a standstill!

She seems to be in OK spirits but I am done with putting her through this!

She gets a scab between her shoulder blades & scrathes & tears at her neck violently where some nights she wakes us & we go to comfort her. Thank god, & I know people think this is inhumane, that her front claws are off, otherwise she would have been bled to death by now. We have a soft e-collar on her & we also wrap the area with dressing to prevent her from hurting herself.

She has been on numerous creams, compounds, anti-biotics! and no result. They are toying around with the idea of taking off her front claws so she won't harm herself. Depsite this I think that is not the solution as she is still in discomfort. We have changed her diet so many times, removed scented products from the house, everything trying to establish her 'allergies'.

We are still seeing specialists, but I am hoping on this forum that someone may have additional help. I do like the doctors & specialists that we see now but we need a solution, before I start tearing my own hair out. I just don't want her to be in pain or discomfort anymore, I think that this is unfair to all involved. Note: She is soley indoors, she comes out on our back deck with us on occasion but never for too long.

 

Thank you in advance

 

 

Do you use any spot-on flea products on her?

 

 

 I've never seen a cat capable of scratching between their shoulder blades with their front feet. How large is the dermatitis area?

 

 

 

Do you know what creams and compounds have been tried? Has she ever been on oral cortosteriods?

 

 

 

I thought she was already declawed in front? Do you mean take off her back claws? Please don't let them do that to her, it would be harm in and of itself. Doesn't treat the problem either and would be akin to chopping off someone's fingers so they couldn't scratch an itch, rather than dealing with the actual source of the itch.

 

 

 

What diets have you tried (wet/dry/brand/flavour), and for how long? What does she eat now?

re: flea products: all flea products have been administered at the advice of specialists.

 

re: her front claws: her front claws were removed due to chronic diabetes patient in my home. The area of concern is mainly on her back between her shoulder blades but she did have other areas, all up near her head, but that can be reached with front or back. I am not going to defend decisions that were made.

 

re: the creams & compounds : one is , a coumpound of alum/tran/silva/tacro, i just got a new batch of this in at a cool $150!

 

re: declawing front: Yes this was a typo, front are off. The specialists want to remove the back. Before you get all humane about this, bear in mind that we have not done this, don't want to either. But she is in chronic pain & if we are humane in a sense by keeping her nails on, well why not attack me for keeping her alive & letting her suffer all these months? I don't appreciate the tone! I have spent well over $7,000 in vet bills to help this animal & I am asking you for help here on this forum & not asking to be attacked! I made that point that this does not solve the underlying problem, therefore respect my feelings in this matter too! I am suffering not only mentally but financially!

 

re: her diet: again all of the changes were again, consulted with specialists. Since she is in pain, and out of it with all the drugs I am letting her eat her favourite food, wet meow mix. She is soley on wet food cause with all the drugs there is risk of constipation & dehydration, so she is getting what she needs from her foods too. She has a water fountain that we fill with fresh bottled water every day & with her meds I flush her mouth with water to ensure that she is getting hydrated. We tried precsription food, & she refused to eat it! I am not going to make her eat food she doesnt like, she is going through enough already.

 

 

Again, I am looking to see if someone has had similar experiences. I am trusting her care with the doctors that currently see her but if anyone has advice as to how to make her more comfortable I would appreciate that, without being attacked! Every decision that we made for our pet was well thought out & with the advice & help from specialists! We are all baffled here at the extent of her pain & discomfort! I joined this forum looking for remedies that I can use & not to be attacked! I am going through enough mental issues dealing with a sick animal & some comfort would be greatly appreciated.

I am sorry you feel you have been attacked.... I can't find that in this thread.... in any case, here are some hugs to you.... I know how it is to deal with a chronic case.... It is really frustrating...

About the diet..... food for thought - no pun intended - have you thought about a raw diet?
I know You said she is going to have what she wants - she has had enough already..... I totally understand that
Here is my experience on it: My cat Bugsy was on the brink of a potentially life threatening surgery for his IBD. We tried everything - everything to solve his 14month non stop daily diarrhea..... Every dingle diet - wet, dry, prescription, single protein, every medicine - long and short term.... several rounds, natural and traditional - to a point that is affected his liver - not only my checking account.
I was always adamantly against raw. Strongly against raw. But I was out of choices..... I had three choices - 1-let him suffer and potentially let that develop into something really serious, i.e. lymphoma; 2-put him through exploratory surgery and not be able to treat him anyways, as he is no longer able to take meds due to his compromised liver; or 3: give raw a try. I picked 3. And it worked immediately.
And I am not joking when I say immediately. I transitioned him slowly - it took 8 days for him to get to 100% raw..... But on that very day he had 100% formed, solid poop. Not a sign of diarrhea. And that was it - I never looked back, and he has done wonderful ever since.
Apparently his problems were caused not by the proteins on the food, but by the additives in them..... and there is no way to get around it but to feed a raw diet.
By making that change I might have saved his life - and a whole lot of grief on my part......

Nobody is here to attack you..... nobody is here to judge you..... and I hope you do accept the ideas we offer you..... Because one thing I learned from my situation with Bugsy, is that when we play the same game, things don't change.... We do need to change things to have different results..... and I SO wish I have made that move way back when......
All the best for you and your baby

Berniemc9, I'm sorry that you feel so defensive about this. I'm asking you a lot of questions so that I can try to help your CAT, it is not my intent to attack *you* at all. My real concern is with the so-called "specialists" that don't seem to have provided your kitty with any relief, despite the vast amounts of money you've forked over. So lets start this again, shall we? 
 

 

 

I have no idea what that is, do you have a link? And if it isn't working, why are the "specialists" still using it? 

 

Again, has she ever been on oral corticosteroids (prednisone, prednisolone) or been given a Depo-medrol injection? I'm not the biggest fan of steroids, but they have their place and this seems like one of them. At least until the source of the itching can be sorted out. If she has been given them and they didn't do anything, that in itself is a clue. 

 

Not a ringing endorsement, I'm afraid. Vets don't tend to have the first clue about what cats should and shouldn't be eating, and that includes "specialists". So for instance, if your girl has a corn (or chicken or fish or soy or yeast or whatever) allergy, and all the foods the vets have tried have had some form of corn (or whatever) in it, then that doesn't exactly help the situation. Has she ever been on an allergy elimination diet? That's where you feed a simple, novel protein food exclusively for at least 8-12 weeks. Preferably NOT a prescription food, which are over-priced, poor quality diets anyway. 

What are the drugs that she's on?

 

 

 

Great that she is on wet food, much better for her than kibble. However Meow Mix might potentially be part of her itching problem. It contains a number of ingredients that tend to be hyperallergenic, like wheat gluten and fish. If a raw diet, as Carolina mentioned, isn't possible, then I'd suggest a grain-free canned food with a novel protein source like venison or duck. Innova Evo 95% and Natural Balance are a couple brands that come to mind. 

 

 

Have you ever taken her for another opinion elsewhere? To be honest, I'm not so sure these vets are really doing right by her, but I also don't have all the info, obviously. I just see a few red flags in this situation that would have me going to another vet if this were my cat.