Autoimmune conditions/Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex?

Has anyone dealt with this in their cats?
My cat Mr Grey had areas which looked like some type of injury/scrapes appear on his back feet near the ankles a while ago, I posted about it here. Since it was healing quickly and none of the other cats had anything similar my vet said to just keep an eye on it, we did not know the cause. It healed just fine and the hair was already grown back when suddenly this week another similar area appeared in the same place on one foot, and in a smaller spot between the paw pads of a front foot which also became swollen. I took him to the vet yesterday. He had a low grade fever (103). My vet suggested it could be an autoimmune issue and said it looks like possibly Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex. She gave him a steroid shot and antibiotics and recommended switching to a food with no chicken or fish (or grains but we were already on grain free--Orijen) because it could be related to an allergy. She also suggested that if the diet change doesn't help we may put him on Advantage Multi. She wants to avoid giving more steroids any more if possible.
I am not sure if I should pursue getting a biopsy done? Has anyone else had a cat with an autoimmune condition like this?

Hmmm....I am curious on this thread. My Margo was to the vet this past Thursday as she has a solid hairless spot on an elbow. EGC was suggested as a possibility, & she was given a steroid injection & antibiotic injection. If it doesn't heal in 10 days, my vet is suggesting removing it as it has plagued her for many weeks now.

I would definitely have a biopsy and/or a culture done. My cat Wilma entered the shelter with sores on her paws and body - those healed and when I adopted her she had a wound on her hock that would not heal.

Initially the vet thought it might be Eosinophilic Granuloma (at the time I found lots of great info by Googling). A month later we spayed her and did a biopsy which ok but showed possible infection. A week later vet did a culture and it ended up she has MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). I sure hope it is not that, but be sure to get a definitive diagnosis before you start treatment.

Well Mr Grey isn't doing too well... His feet look a lot better but he has lost more weight and is down to 7.65 pounds, he was 8.4 pounds at the vet visit two weeks ago and his normal weight is 9-something. We're going back to the vet next week, she wants to run labs and if that doesn't show anything then possibly do x-rays.

Ask the vet about atopica, if Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex is suspected. Atopica (there is a generic) has been very successful in treating eosinophilic granuloma.

You might want to get a referral to a veterinary dermatlogy specialist. Can cats get hot spots like dogs do?

I'm waiting for Mr Grey's bloodwork to come back. My vet did a "Viral Plus" panel which includes a chem panel, CBC, T4, FeLV, FIV, and FIP screening. She wants to wait for the results before we do anything else. If the bloodwork doesn't show anything she's going to do x-rays.
We also got some new foods to try from the vet, some freeze-dried raw and Ziwipeak (but so far he doesn't seem interested.)

Thanks for keeping us updated. Will be watching for results.

My vet just emailed me that the labs were fine and the viral screens were all negative. I'll get a look at the numbers when I go back to the vet on Tuesday.

Ok I got Mr Grey's x-rays taken... My vet said they looked good/normal except his intestinal walls are thickened so she thinks he might have inflammatory bowel disease. We are trying some other foods to see if he will eat them, if that doesn't help we are going to have to try steroid shots but my vet doesn't like to do steroids if she can avoid it so we're trying the foods first.

What foods are you going to try? Remember any food needs at least 6 weeks, to know for sure if it is going to work or not.

Thanks for keeping us posted on Mr Grey's tests. How's he doing?

Originally Posted by otto

What foods are you going to try? Remember any food needs at least 6 weeks, to know for sure if it is going to work or not.

Thanks for keeping us posted on Mr Grey's tests. How's he doing?

Click to expand...

The main thing with the new food is whether or not he'll actually eat it! The foods we're trying now are the Royal Canin limited diets. My vet wants me to try the rabbit formula (dry) and I also got one of each flavor of the canned limited ingredient formula to see if he'll eat any of those. Last night I tried the canned rabbit but he wouldn't touch it.

He is doing ok, still skinny but he gained a few ounces since the last visit.