Rescued cat with skin condition

Last Sat. my daughter-in-law brought home a cat. We know the cat (Emily) is 13 yrs. old she had been a strictly outdoor cat for her first 10 years, and an indoor/outdoor cat for the past three. She was being fed cat food from the dollar store. She has had this skin condition for at least three years. She lived in a home with another cat and two dogs. None of them has a skin condition. Emily's skin condition has gotten better and worse but never went away. She was fixed and front declawed as a kitten.
Emily's back is covered with thick scabby somewhat crusty skin. In the past her head has been covered as well. She does not scratch the effected areas. And doesn't seem to be bothered by it. Her fur on the effected areas is thinner and lighter. She is underweight, but not emaciated by any means.
When I first saw this condition I thought mange, but she does not scratch at all, and the other pets in her old house have never contracted this ailment.
Emily hasn't seen a vet since she was a kitten.
I have a vet appt. for next Tuesday. I was wondering if anyone out there has had a cat with this type of condition, or has heard of something like this.
Emily moves slow, probably due to age, and is under weight, but her eyes are clear, no discharge from her nose, she has no problem getting on and off furniture and up and down the stairs. No fleas have been found on her, and we have been checking her for them. We have spent hours petting and checking.
If anyone has any idea what this could be please let me know.
Thanks

It could be anything from allergies to hyperthyroidism, to pemphigus foliaceus.
PF is rare in cats, but it does happen.

Best thing is to let the vet to a skin culture and possibly a biopsy and go from there.

Bless you for taking on an older kitty.

Also I thought this might be important, for some reason Emily sleeps in her litter box at night. I thought that was strange since she was a strictly outdoor cat for her first 10 years. I want to stop this behavior. Once I know what is causing her skin condition I hope she chooses to sleep with one of us at night instead of in her litter box. Right now we are keeping the bedroom doors closed, just incase she has something that could get into our beds.

What else have you offered her to sleep in?

Ours seem to like completely enclosed cardboard boxes lined with bedding and a hole just big enough to get in.

Originally Posted by Arlyn

It could be anything from allergies to hyperthyroidism, to pemphigus foliaceus.
PF is rare in cats, but it does happen.

Best thing is to let the vet to a skin culture and possibly a biopsy and go from there.

Bless you for taking on an older kitty.

Click to expand...

What is PF? Even though we have only had Emily for three days, I can tell already that we are the ones that are truelly blessed!! I fostered cats and kittens for over 10 years and loved them all!! But Emmie is MY cat!! I fell in love with her on site. The first time I held her I knew for a fact she will be with me and will be spoiled by me for as long as she is on this earth!! It's a connection I cannot describe.
Thank you for the info!

Originally Posted by Arlyn

What else have you offered her to sleep in?

Ours seem to like completely enclosed cardboard boxes lined with bedding and a hole just big enough to get in.

Click to expand...

Emmie has the full run of the house, except the bedrooms. During the day she sleeps on a blanket on the headrest of the couch. That's where she spends most of the day, unless she is eating or using her litter box.

Try giving her a covered box/bed, that will probably keep her out of her litterbox.

PF (pemphigus foliaceus) is an auto-immune disease where basically the body attacks it's own skin.
It can be treated.

As I said, it's rare in cats, but it does happen.

I have lots of cardboard boxes!! I will try that. At night I will put it on the couch with her blanket in it.
Her litter box however does not have the cover on it. Just the litter pan. That's what she was used to at her old home so I didn't put the cover on the litter box I have.

She could have more than one thing going on. The skin condition may be an allergy to the food she had been fed. A better food may help her skin condition (depending on what caused it in the first place). Sleeping in the catbox could be a sign of her trying to cover her itchy skin in dust. More likely, though, she is doing it because the litterbox feels cooler than other areas. This is not uncommon with hyperthyroid cats (when Spot's thyroid was really high, he sought the coolest places, like the linoleum in the bathroom, the litterbox, and one time, the refrigerator). I would suggest that you ask the vet for a senior panel to help get a better idea of what's going on with Emily. She's a lucky girl to have people who care for her.