Feline Cutaneous Asthenia

[kobusls]

Hi! Sorry for the long post just hoping to get some information on what we might be dealing with as far as Feline Cutaneous Asthenia. Specifically whether or not this is something that progressively worsens as they age, whether or not milder variations exist, quality of life, and experiences of anyone else can share.
We recently took in a barn cat of an approximate age of 4 months that we were hoping to transition to our property as an indoor/outdoor cat for companionship and rodent control. When we picked him up he had recently healed from a scratch behind one ear and had developed an abscess which was being treated behind the other ear. We chalked it up to excessive scratching due to ear mites as his ears were visibly infected with something. Brought him home and regularly treated the abscess which seemed to be healing well began treatment for the mites and schedule a vet appointment for abscess follow up and vaccination. Since having him in our home he has had access to outside during most of the day when supervised, and indoors isolated from our senior cat until tested and vaxed. He has been a super cuddly friendly guy and seemed to fit right in the minute we brought him home. The night prior to his vet appointment he tore open the ear with the abscess which had seemed almost healed. At this point he had been in our care for about 2 weeks, had a week of ear mite treatment and was looking good. He regularly submitted to being handled for treatments and was an absolute cuddle bug. We had not noticed anything unusual about him other than I have never experienced a cat who wounded themselves so severely by scratching their ears. We got him to the vet this morning and she took a closer look at the abscess, drained it again, and gave him an antibiotic injection. She then noted that his skin was extremely stretchy. She said that could be why he keeps scratching his ears open (loose skin getting caught on rear claws) and mentioned Ehlers-Danlos syndrome as a possibility. She suggested waiting and seeing how he "grows into" his skin but did note that the stretchiness did not appear normal. At this point other than the issue with the abscess, he does not at this time seem to be wounding too easily but we are definitely coming to terms with the fact that he may need to be strictly indoors which will take some adjustments as our senior cat has never been very tolerant of other cats outside of her sister who passed away last year. I guess I am looking for something hopeful as everything I read online so far is pretty bleak. TIA

 

[Furballsmom]

Hello and welcome!!
This is a post in a current thread that might help you with more information;
All Over Loose Skin - Normal or Should I take him to the vet.

How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat – TheCatSite Articles

 

[fionasmom]

Ehler-Danlos Syndrome (Cutaneous asthenia, dermatosparaxis)
This article and the search below give some hopeful stories of cats who have this condition and offer ways to manage it. Use of cones, claw caps, monitoring and possible rearranging of furniture and fixtures are all mentioned.
cat with ehlers-danlos syndrome for adoption - Google Search
Your vet is probably correct to suggest that you see how he develops. Please let us know how this turns out.

 

[kobusls]

Thanks for the resources! Just wanted for follow up for anyone who might be interested in this thread.
After the visit to the vet we got an e-collar for him and continued to treat his ears, both for the mites and the cut. It was a lot of one step forward two steps back as anytime I gave him a supervised break from the cone, he would scratch resulting in him reopening the wound at least 3 times over the course of a week and a half. I broke down and ordered some claw covers as a last-ditch effort. My husband had used them before, unsuccessfully, on our older cat several years ago, but reading the reviews I was a little hopeful that we could make them work. Thankfully those seem to be the solution so far. I initially only had them on the rear claws on the side with the wounded ear, but then he cut himself on the other ear a few days later...so now he has them on both rear paws. They seem to be staying on well and they don't bother him. Best of all, it means we can let him out of the "cone of shame".
We had him back to the vet last week for his booster shot and she tested his skin extensibility. Anything over 19% is considered abnormal for a cat and would be an indicator for EDS. His was 36%. While she did say that doesn't make for a definitive diagnosis it's a pretty good indicator. Other than the scratching, he does seem to be more "liquid" for a cat, presumably from hypermobility which is also a symptom. He also tires out quickly. Play sessions are vigorous but brief. He doesn't appear to have any of the extreme issues that are described in most articles I read so I don't know if this is something that will become worse as he ages or if he just has a "milder" form? if that's possible. I do wonder if this is not missed as a diagnosis making it more prevalent than we realize. A coworker mentioned that she always thought her cat's skin seemed abnormally stretchy but never thought more of it. He is about 5 years old, and she says he never had any other issues. Honestly, our first vet didn't pick up on it at all. It wasn't until we took him somewhere else, and she also happened to have a skin condition (though not EDS) that makes her own skin very stretchy, so she picked up on it fairly quickly. I'm grateful she did as I was at my wits end trying to figure out how/why this cat cuts himself so frequently.
While it's good to have some answers it makes many, many more questions. There doesn't seem to be any sort of treatment other than preventative measures to keep him from injuring himself which is frustrating. If I come up with any other useful information I will definitely share it. Thanks again!

 

[Furballsmom]

Thank you so much for the update

 

[fionasmom]

Thank you for letting us know that this worked out! Often future members are interested in conclusions of threads, so this is a big help.

 

[Vitomysweeto]

I recently joined this site in an attempt to find others with older EDS cats to see if anyone has had similar experiences with aging. I recently had to euthanize my 19yr old EDS cat, Don Vito ,due to internal complications that might have been prevented. No one knows for sure which makes it harder.
I was completely on my own trying to figure out how to care for him. In 19 yrs I have never met a veterinarian who had any experience with EDS. I’m not an expert but if there is a question you have I will try my best. One thing I wish I had done was research how it affects humans. There of course is more helpful info documented about people than cats.
There are different kinds of EDS. It does get worse with age. With education and patience what you can control and watch out for will get better like skin tearing. Watch out for vomiting and constipation, and gurgling sounds when he breathes. Severe constipation and vomiting can cause hiatal hernias, invaginated esophagus, mega esophagus, and chronic constipation can cause megacolon. I do know some of them are born with hiatal hernias as well which can be managed. If you have to give him a pill make sure that there are no sharp edges. Wet food only and soft treats might be the best option. But consult your vet. Don Vito didn’t have much wrong with him until he was 15yrs old so you never know.
I did end up leash training him to help get him outside and he traveled with me often.