Help! Possible Pemphigus, need input.

Hi everyone,

Meet Teemo, my handsome little commercial kitty whom is very sick. I'm not entirely sure if this is where to post asking for help or what to do but I wanted to take the chance in case anyone has seen anything like this before.


Teemo is nearing 3 years old as of this year. He was incredibly healthy and showed no complications other than a bit of a leaky eye up until Christmas last year (2014). It started with thinning of the hair above his eyes and a couple of lesions, I thought it was maybe the breed or that he had gotten into a brawl with his sister, Ahri. In January, it traveled to his ears where it scabbed and crusted off the hair. He also had a lot of brown/black crusting on the insides of his ears. I took him to the vet and she ruled out anything to do with mites and ringworm because I show no signs and neither does Ahri or my other roommate. It has now traveled to beneath his eyes and around his nose.

Ahri and my roommate recently moved out (Saturday). I have switched his food to a sensitive stomach kibble and have switched to an almond based natural litter (in case of dust allergy). I have thoroughly cleaned my house as well. He is eating and drinking normally, he's also very vocal and attention-seeking seeing it's just me and him now. He is currently on Baytril, Dexamethasone, and Surolan (hence he's a little greasy). I am praying this is not Pemphigus - the rest of his body is fine, he has no scabbing or lesions around his nipples or nail buds.

Please, any advice or suggestions are more than welcomed. I do not want to lose my little man.

Thank you for your time,

Kizz

Hi and welcome to tcs.

Your vet is currently treating with dexamethasone which is treatment for PF.

If he doesn't show improvement in a couple weeks, vet may switch to chlorambucil, an alternative but with possible side effects.

Vet must have decided against prednisolone for a reason.

PF is not the end of the world, and has a great prognosis. 

He clearly has some type of autoimmune response to something. It may very well be PF that he has.

I would also have him on a good quality limited ingredient diet, like Blue Buffalo Basics. Do not switch his food up, and stick with the same protein too, like the turkey/potato flavor, they have dry and canned.

Hi and thank you for your response. Sorry I did not come back sooner as life caught up with me.

Well, here I am again losing my mind because Teemo is becoming increasingly ill again. He is not as bad as the pictures but today he started hiding behind couches again (which is a really bad sign, he only does this when he's very sick).  The insides of his ears are very red and raw with surface scabbing and the hair is beginning to deplete on the back of his ears again. He is still on dexamethasone and he is also now on a very strict diet of Urinary SO as he had crystals around five months ago. My vet is still unsure whether it is PF but has advised keeping him on the steroids just in case.

I also have a bengal, Gondar, who is about two years old and over the last year he has started getting lesions above his eyes and right below the front of his ears so my vet prescribed prednisolone. It is strange as it happens in a circle and then the middle heals before the outline and then the skin blackens almost like it's dirty before healing back to white. My vet seemed positive that it is not ringworm and guessed/ruled it as an allergy but I have switched his food, went to Pyrex glass food and water dishes, had them both on flea medication just in case and the whole nine yards. He isn't nearly as serious as Teemo, the sores are entirely different, and it doesn't seem to bother him other than itching at times but I don't want it to get worse. Could the two be related in some way?

Has anyone on here see anything like either of these symptoms and have any suggestions for me to help him? My vet thinks the next step is going to a specialist but there is no way I can afford it. I'm a student, living on my own and already paying for two sets of steroids and a specialized vet diet...

Thank you in advance for any help!

kizz said:

I took him to the vet and she ruled out anything to do with mites and ringworm because I show no signs and neither does Ahri or my other roommate.

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Did she do skin scrapings and cultures? The above criteria simply aren't enough to rule out ringworm or other fungal infections; the same goes for glowing under a Wood's lamp. Humans and animals with healthy, developed immune systems can be exposed to ringworm spores for weeks or months and never get it.

What about an allergy to the flea medication? One cat at the shelter recently developed hair loss on his back plus on his ears as a reaction to a spot-on treatment applied by the vet. She said it's rare, but can happen.