Help! Himalayan cat losing patches of hair on neck :(

[erinradfeeley]

I would take him to the vet and have basic blood work done. That can tell you a lot. I'm surprised your vet didn't already do that. It was the first thing my vet did when my Vinnie got sick.

 

[smr00]

 
I would take him to the vet and have basic blood work done. That can tell you a lot. I'm surprised your vet didn't already do that. It was the first thing my vet did when my Vinnie got sick.

I know! I'm going to have them check a hemoglobin, TSH, kidney and liver function. Anything else?

For allergies, the vet tech I spoke to who was on call today said there is a blood test for this. Is that true?

 

[smr00]

So I took him to the general vet today. Really disappointed in the care we received. I don't think this guy knows what he is talking about one bit. He basically didn't say anything, he wasn't sure what this is. He was like we can try a course of steroids, i'm not sure what this is because he is not presenting as a classic case for one thing or another. 

So frustrating. I feel like this is going to be up to me to figure out while the second set of cultures are pending. I'm not going to go back to this general vet ever again but I will follow up with the dermatologist. 

I have been putting topical hydrocortisone on it which helps a little with redness but the hair is falling out like crazy and he is essentially bald in a ring all around his neck, up to his ears. I don't have a definitive diagnosis and am just worried out of my mind. 

 

[stephenq]

if it makes you feel any better skin conditions are rarely dangerous and often hard to diagnose!  An oral steroid sounds like a reasonable "experiment". 

You've tried anti-histamines right?

And did you discuss the cream with the vet?

 

[smr00]

I spoke with dermatologist today. He has a high suspicion that this is dermatophytosis. He recommended continuining w oral fluconazole and doing lime sulfur spray once a week. I tried the spray for the first time today! hopefully it helps. I read somewhere that it is used in a variety of conditions not just fungal infections. We will see how it goes.

His long hair definitely does make it difficult to spray though, its hard to penetrate to his actual skin. I'm wondering why vet recommended spray vs a dip - probably less traumatic for cat but still in long haired cats, you really need to spray and spray to get it everywhere.

 

[stephenq]

Hi

Just so everyone understands, dermatophytosis is another name for ringworm.  Regarding my last post, did you ever discuss and/or ever try anti-histamines?  i ask because the first concern was allergies.

I know your dermatologist suspects ringworm, and if true, it will eventually produce a positive culture or the diagnosis will prove incorrect.   An active case of ringworm will always produce a positive culture assuming the sample was correctly taken.

 

[smr00]

I did discuss allergies but he doesn't feel its consistent at all with allergies. He specializes in derm and allergies actually. For whatever reason he is just not keen on the allergy diagnosis and seems pretty confident about this ringworm diagnosis. He did tell me that it will take a long time potentially for cultures to grow back and i have to be patient. With the other cat that had ringworm in January, the first cultures were negative and finally on repeat cultures they were able to grow back positive. But it was a long time until definitive diagnosis. He did say if no responsie in two weeks and no growth on culture we would consider skin biopsy. I really hope we don't have to go that route since I don't want to subject my baby to that.

 

[stephenq]

Ok keep us updated alright and good luck!

 

[smr00]

Update: My cat's skin on his neck is now much less pink and more greyish brown with lots of flakes (dandruff). He is still itching like crazy. I don't know what to make of the change in the appearance of the skin - is it getting better? Is it evolving? What is going on? I was putting coconut oil on it before and stopped a week ago - is the dandruff and skin change because the skin is less moisturized. I have no idea.

Now I just noticed another pink patch on his belly that he keeps licking! This is new! And the hair is thinned out there.

Does any of this help with the diagnosis ?

 

[stephenq]

 
Update: My cat's skin on his neck is now much less pink and more greyish brown with lots of flakes (dandruff). He is still itching like crazy. I don't know what to make of the change in the appearance of the skin - is it getting better? Is it evolving? What is going on? I was putting coconut oil on it before and stopped a week ago - is the dandruff and skin change because the skin is less moisturized. I have no idea.

Now I just noticed another pink patch on his belly that he keeps licking! This is new! And the hair is thinned out there.

Does any of this help with the diagnosis ?

If he is grooming the area where there is hair loss then he may be causing it by over grooming due to allergic irritation or a psychological condition that causes over grooming.  I maintain that nothing about your cat's case to me is consistent with ringworm.  Please read these links carefully and consider another consult with your primary vet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychogenic_alopecia

http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/skin/c_ct_alopecia

http://www.cat-world.com.au/hair-loss-in-cats

 

[smr00]

Well the thing to keep in mind is that the itching and baldness all started on his neck and behind his ears, an area that he definitely cannot lick. So I think automatically psychogenic causes are out.

 

[stephenq]

 
Well the thing to keep in mind is that the itching and baldness all started on his neck and behind his ears, an area that he definitely cannot lick. So I think automatically psychogenic causes are out.

Understood and I recall that, but the articles discuss many medical causes besides ringworm....

 

[smr00]

update: vet called back and said absolutely nothing has grown from cultures and he has no idea what this could be. He is now recommending a punch biopsy of skin.

What do you all think?

I really never thought this was ringworm either but decided to treat anyway just in case it was, since the other cat had it so bad.

Now his skin is grey/brown and a little flaky - the vet says this is all post inflammatory hyperpigmentation which I think makes sense. However, if that is the case, does not mean the process is resolving on its own? I mean if whatever the underlying process was has not resolved then wouldnt the skin continue to be pink and inflammed looking like before?

Although the only thing going against that is he still itches all over. I really think, my gut feeling is that he has an allergy. But i don't know if a skin biopsy is going to help us with that.

 

[stephenq]

 
update: vet called back and said absolutely nothing has grown from cultures and he has no idea what this could be. He is now recommending a punch biopsy of skin.

What do you all think?

I really never thought this was ringworm either but decided to treat anyway just in case it was, since the other cat had it so bad.

Now his skin is grey/brown and a little flaky - the vet says this is all post inflammatory hyperpigmentation which I think makes sense. However, if that is the case, does not mean the process is resolving on its own? I mean if whatever the underlying process was has not resolved then wouldnt the skin continue to be pink and inflammed looking like before?

Although the only thing going against that is he still itches all over. I really think, my gut feeling is that he has an allergy. But i don't know if a skin biopsy is going to help us with that.

Did you read the articles I linked you to on hair loss in pets and discuss the various possibilities with your vet?

Allergies was your original concern as well as mine and so I will ask again, did you every try a combination of either anti-histamines  or Steroids to see if either brought relief?  Sometimes a diagnosis can only be made by treating the presumed condition, and if it works then you have a diagnosis.  Allergies is a very common cause of itchiness/hair loss in cats and i don't understand why this wasn't more aggressively pursued or ruled out.

 

[smr00]

Hi Stephen,

Yes I did read all the articles - I have been reading about feline dermatology nonstop for the past few weeks! The vet didn't think it was consistent with allergies to begin with but I spoke with him again today. He said the reason he recommends biopsy is that there are many features of his presentation that don't go together and it isn't a slam dunk diagnosis. He said the fact that the hair was falling out so easily pointed away from an allergy. Also the pattern and distribution of hair loss not consistent with allergy. But he did say its not impossible and that it certainly could be.

He said he usually recommends a month of steroid taper to calm the inflammation down and in his experience sometimes the change in food isn't enough. A month sounds like a long period of time though. I would love to give him omegas but what if he is allergic to fish.

In terms of allergy testing, he said that it isn't good for airborne allergens and that in cats it involves over 70 pricks and can be very uncomfortable....

 

[stephenq]

That makes a lot of sense.  Cats do really well on prednisilone (steroid) with basically no side effects especially short term.  It isn't anything like in humans or in dogs.  Many people, myself included describe them as a wonder drug if it addresses the problem.

 

[1flychicken]

Hi Stephen,

Yes I did read all the articles - I have been reading about feline dermatology nonstop for the past few weeks! The vet didn't think it was consistent with allergies to begin with but I spoke with him again today. He said the reason he recommends biopsy is that there are many features of his presentation that don't go together and it isn't a slam dunk diagnosis. He said the fact that the hair was falling out so easily pointed away from an allergy. Also the pattern and distribution of hair loss not consistent with allergy. But he did say its not impossible and that it certainly could be.

He said he usually recommends a month of steroid taper to calm the inflammation down and in his experience sometimes the change in food isn't enough. A month sounds like a long period of time though. I would love to give him omegas but what if he is allergic to fish.

In terms of allergy testing, he said that it isn't good for airborne allergens and that in cats it involves over 70 pricks and can be very uncomfortable....

Hey there. I went through this whole saga only to have no conclusion. Ha! My himmie is having similar issues and I was hoping you could give us the official diagnosis or result here? Are you still around? This was almost 4 years ago, so I doubt it, but... maybe?

 

[Sbest]

My Himalayan is having the same issues! Has anyone got a definite diagnosis on what the problem is?

 

[MVM11]

My Himmie Leo has the same thing. He loses a patch of hair in the same place on his neck each spring, and sometimes small areas nearby. There are many many strains of fungal infections that cats get, that is why the ringworm culture is not coming back as such, but I bet you it’s fungal. And yes, it’s itchy to him. The red dots are abrasions from him scratching when you arent looking.
After much terrible stress for both of us, creams and nonsense with no answers just more questions and bills from the vet, I tried Zeasorb antifungal powder. It works miracles.
Now, each year when he gets it, I sprinkle the Zeasorb powder on the spot and right away it starts to heal. Now it never progresses to the raw stage at all so he doesn’t get the dark patches that discolor his hair and skin. Yes he may have some flaking as the skin dries and the powder dehydrates the fungus. I still don’t know what causes it, but I definitely know that the Zeasorb powder heals it for us. Try it, what have you got to lose?