Kitty Skin Problems……Again

[Luchia]

Hello everyone

Hoping to get some advice if possible, Will try and include as much information as possible.

My cat(Female, 6YO, Spayed, Indoor) was suffering from a suspected unknown all for quite a long time which cause her to scratch a certain point of herself until it was raw, open and looked extremely sore/painful which stared in 2018, this went on until 2022….
After many many months of the vets trying various treatments it finally started getting better with a daily dose of Prednisone(5mg and 2.5mg alternated each day).

A few months ago she was fully healed and doing well with the medication until last month when she had to have a routine blood test(due to the medication) they shaved a small area under her neck(under her chin area) for the blood test, the results came back as normal and nothing to be concerned about which is great news but now she has started scratching the area that was shaved very often which has cause it to become sore, This has now been going on for 5 weeks and the vet gave her Isaderm Cream(twice daily) but it doesn’t seem to be having any affect at all, she’s been using the cream now for 5 weeks and the wound isn’t improving at all in fact it seems to get a little better than worse over and over, I did mention to the vet that it says the cream will cause thinning of the skin if used for more than 7 days(what the little booklet says) but they didn’t seem concerned about this.

We are now 5 weeks after her blood test and honestly feel like all the progress she made and how the wound was completely healed was for nothing as we are back to square one with it all.

I have a phone appointment with the vet(hopefully this afternoon) and wanted to ask if there was anything I could bring up with them to maybe try?
Honestly feel like an absolutely terrible kitty parent for taking her for the blood test and putting her back through this all over again especially when she had fully healed for several months(nearly a year).

Unfortunately using an E-collar isn’t possible due to the location of the wound, We tried her with one and was still able to freely scratch the wound, We also tried one of the recovery outfit things but she worked out how to remove it very easily.

She doesn’t seem to be in any pain but I can’t imagine the wound been pleasant for her, and it must be itchy if she’s scratching at the wound as I’d imagine that would sting/hurt but she still does it.

Feel at a complete loss with this now and no idea what to do next, it is just heartbreak to be back here when she had fully recovered.

I do want to ask the vet about stopping the Isaderm cream as it’s doing absolutely nothing to help her and I’m worried about the longterm damage it could be causing.

Anything at all people could suggest I bring up with the vet would be massively appreciated.

Thanks

Forgot to add she is also on hypoallergenic food

Just had a call back from the Vet, they are changing her prednisone to 5mg twice a day for 1 week and to continue the Isaderm cream twice daily also and then see where we are at

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I was going to ask if she is still on Pred and if not to restart it, but I guess increasing the dose is the next step since she has never stopped taking it. I am not sure why they insist on continuing with the ointment since it hasn't done anything. Perhaps they are trying to suppress a possible infection? Long term use of Pred can compromise a cat's immune system, which can make a cat more susceptible to infections.

If you are uncomfortable using the ointment, ask the vet to explain why they want to continue it if is not helping any, and maybe ask if another ointment could be used instead.

I do know one thing, cat's do not have to be shaved for a blood draw, and I would ask them to stop doing so. Perhaps, they feel a need to do so given the location where they are drawing blood, but my cat has always had blood drawn from her back leg and has never been shaved. There are disagreements about what is the best location to draw blood, but in your cat's case it would seem to me that the back leg might be better for her.

Have you ever weaned her off Pred to see if an issue would arise? Obviously, you can't do that now, but it might be something to consider/test after she has recovered.

 

[Alldara]

So sorry, I know you've likely covered this in another post.

It's springtime and there's tons of allergens in the air. If she has seasonal/environmental allergies that could explain the sudden resurgence.

It doesn't fix the issue but can assist....do you have air purifiers?

 

[Luchia]

So sorry, I know you've likely covered this in another post.

It's springtime and there's tons of allergens in the air. If she has seasonal/environmental allergies that could explain the sudden resurgence.

It doesn't fix the issue but can assist....do you have air purifiers?

Hi

I have a Dyson Pure Cool air purifier in both the living room and bedroom(it’s a Bungalow) so it covers the entire home

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I just want to add that my cats always get their blood drawn from their necks (it's a jugular draw), and one cat is long haired and the other short haired. They have never shaved either one for the draw. Just saying. Next time there should be no reason they should have to shave anything for this. But I do see the need since she is on Pred long term.

 

[Luchia]

She’s never been taken off the prednisolone, it was reduced from 1 a day to alternating 1 and half of one each day but they have now put her on 2 a day for 7 days then reduce back to her normal dose.

They have tried weaning her off them before but it failed.
Not sure if it would be seasonal allergies as she was perfectly fine and all wounds had fully healed until the shaving from blood test which started it all over again in another area.

I did ask about the Isaderm and they said to use it as it can reduce inflammation and itching which should work along side of the prednison.

I’m not fond of giving her 5mg of prednisolone twice a day but thankfully it’s only for a week and if theres still no improvement she will be going in for a face 2 face appointment, they only allowed a phone appointment as they have been dealing with Mina since 2018 so know the situation pretty well.

 

[Kris107]

What is the food she's on?

 

[ForeverGraciesMom]

I don’t have much advice to offer, but I actually came here to investigate a similar issue with my cat, who is also on Prednisilone daily. I started noticing it about a month after her dose was raised from 5 mg/day to 7.5 mg per day. I’ve since tapered her back to 5 mg per day, but I’m highly suspecting it is from the pred. She has been on it daily for 3.5 years for intestinal lymphoma. She is also being treated for hyperthyroidism and was also given Solensia (an injection for arthritis) until I did some research on it and decided to stop it.

My girl didn’t develop sores, but just dry flaking of the skin and hair loss that started on an area where she had been shaved. The vet gave me Duoxo S3 Seborrhea Mousse which seems to help a little. You may want to look into hyperadrenocorticism as a potential cause.
I’m sorry you are going through this, I know it’s sad and frustrating. Very interested to see what you can find out and sharing notes if they come up in our case too. Best of luck for now!

 

[Luchia]

It’s a Purina brand one from the vets, it’s the hypoallergenic version.

 

[Luchia]

I don’t have much advice to offer, but I actually came here to investigate a similar issue with my cat, who is also on Prednisilone daily. I started noticing it about a month after her dose was raised from 5 mg/day to 7.5 mg per day. I’ve since tapered her back to 5 mg per day, but I’m highly suspecting it is from the pred. She has been on it daily for 3.5 years for intestinal lymphoma. She is also being treated for hyperthyroidism and was also given Solensia (an injection for arthritis) until I did some research on it and decided to stop it.

My girl didn’t develop sores, but just dry flaking of the skin and hair loss that started on an area where she had been shaved. The vet gave me Duoxo S3 Seborrhea Mousse which seems to help a little. You may want to look into hyperadrenocorticism as a potential cause.
I’m sorry you are going through this, I know it’s sad and frustrating. Very interested to see what you can find out and sharing notes if they come up in our case too. Best of luck for now!

Wouldn’t something like that show up on the blood test and other tests she’s had over the years? The vets said it was unknown allergens(most likely environmental and more than one)

 

[Alldara]

Wouldn’t something like that show up on the blood test and other tests she’s had over the years? The vets said it was unknown allergens(most likely environmental and more than one)

If it's environmental allergies, you'll need to talk to your vet about if there's another med you can provide in the spring. As well as making some household changes to limit the reaction.
Air purifiers are a big help. Ensuring your vacuum has a HEPA filter so you're not tossing allergies around is another big one.

We have to do this for ourselves and for Magnus but we vacuum daily with a small one with a HEPA filter and then use Eureka Pet Vac with HEPA filter once weekly. After the pet vac, we use a swiffer dry pad and you'd be surprised what other dirt and allergens are picked up AND THEN we take a swiffer wet pad (with the pet wipes - we also recycle them use Terracycle). This keeps ours and Magnus's allergic reactions to spring lower.

In spring there's the snow mold as it melts, but pollen starts. It's a really hard time for seasonal allergies.

The only other cleaners we use are lysol and lysol bathroom cleaner.

 

[Kris107]

We had a foster cat who had horrible wounds and nothing seemed to help (steroids, etc). She was on limited ingredient diet for a while but when we switched her to hydrolyzed protein diet (our cat has to be on it), her sores immediately stopped getting worse and ended up healing. The shelter was amazed and they were able to put her up for adoption with the caveat that she needed that food. Just something to think about.

 

[Luchia]

Already have all that in place.
We clean with white vinegar spray as it’s a reliable and safe product, have 2 air purifiers running 24/7 and a dehumidifier which also has a HEPA filter running.

Hoover has dual Hepa filters and we hoover everywhere twice a day(morning and evening).

Not overly sure what the allergens could be as she was fine last year, it’s only since they did the shaving to take the blood sample it’s flared up again.

I’ve spoken with the vet about her medication and he’s changed her to 10MG of prednisone a day for 7 days(5mg twice a day) and then go back to her original dose but he doesn’t want to change her medication at the moment as it’s proven to have worked prior to the shaving.

We also use hypoallergenic washing capsules for our own clothes and bedding etc which have always been safe before so nothing has changed.

The vet is certain that it’s been caused by irritation from the shaving which has then given her something to focus on and of course becoming more itchy as it heals so she scratches and makes it worse so a bit of a vicious circle.

Cleaning wise it took a lot of trial and error but we found white vinegar to be the best solution to clean floors etc and doesn’t cause her any reactions, we use single use cleaning pads that you spray the vinegar on to wipe floors etc then throw them away

 

[Luchia]

We had a foster cat who had horrible wounds and nothing seemed to help (steroids, etc). She was on limited ingredient diet for a while but when we switched her to hydrolyzed protein diet (our cat has to be on it), her sores immediately stopped getting worse and ended up healing. The shelter was amazed and they were able to put her up for adoption with the caveat that she needed that food. Just something to think about.

She’s already on a hypoallergenic diet(which is hydrolysed)

 

[Alldara]

Already have all that in place.
We clean with white vinegar spray as it’s a reliable and safe product, have 2 air purifiers running 24/7 and a dehumidifier which also has a HEPA filter running.

Hoover has dual Hepa filters and we hoover everywhere twice a day(morning and evening).

Not overly sure what the allergens could be as she was fine last year, it’s only since they did the shaving to take the blood sample it’s flared up again.

I’ve spoken with the vet about her medication and he’s changed her to 10MG of prednisone a day for 7 days(5mg twice a day) and then go back to her original dose but he doesn’t want to change her medication at the moment as it’s proven to have worked prior to the shaving.

We also use hypoallergenic washing capsules for our own clothes and bedding etc which have always been safe before so nothing has changed.

The vet is certain that it’s been caused by irritation from the shaving which has then given her something to focus on and of course becoming more itchy as it heals so she scratches and makes it worse so a bit of a vicious circle.

Cleaning wise it took a lot of trial and error but we found white vinegar to be the best solution to clean floors etc and doesn’t cause her any reactions, we use single use cleaning pads that you spray the vinegar on to wipe floors etc then throw them away

Each season is different re: allergens. You can check your area on Air IQ. Might help : IQAir | First in Air Quality.

 

[Luchia]

Each season is different re: allergens. You can check your area on Air IQ. Might help : IQAir | First in Air Quality.

That wouldn’t explain why it was only triggered after the area was shaved though, it’s only the spot that was shaved that’s been affected.

My Dyson Pure Cool air purifiers are both reporting 1-3(Excellent) air quality.

 

[Alldara]

That wouldn’t explain why it was only triggered after the area was shaved though, it’s only the spot that was shaved that’s been affected.

My Dyson Pure Cool air purifiers are both reporting 1-3(Excellent) air quality.

My thought was that there's less hair to protect the skin?

The Air IQ shows what types of allergens are in the air. If you make a record, you could record what types are in the air when she has flare ups and then if there's a trend, you can discover what it could be. Same as a food journal.

 

[Luchia]

My thought was that there's less hair to protect the skin?

The Air IQ shows what types of allergens are in the air. If you make a record, you could record what types are in the air when she has flare ups and then if there's a trend, you can discover what it could be. Same as a food journal.

Just had a look at the Dyson App and it also records a diary of allergens in the air and spikes, it also compares the in home readings to the local readings(Both Dyson air purifiers are the top of the line smart models)

 

[Luchia]

I’ve sent the PDF with the records for the past 12 months from Dyson Air purifiers to see if they can spot anything

 

[Alldara]

Thats wonderful! Hopefully they can either pin point or rule out for you!