Adopted Cat Has Skin Problems, Can I Get Some Input?

[hex11]

Hi everybody, I recently adopted my first pet cat, a formerly homeless female around the age of 6. She was abandoned by her previous owners and had to live outside for a while. When I adopted her, I noticed that she had a bald spot around one of her ears and a wound that was healing (images below.) I figured it might be the stress of being moved around support homes, but it got worse quickly. I got an appointment with the vet three days after I called, and during those three days it escalated by quite a bit. She would constantly groom, bite and scratch herself. After scratching her ears, she would frantically lick her hind-legs, and she would also routinely shake her head like she was trying to get something off. She licked her tail quite a bit, and when I would pet/scratch her, I could feel tiny "bumps" on her chin and all around her body, the vet told me those were small wounds.

The vet inspected her and wasn't sure what it was, but apparently put her on a treatment that'll catch most things. She got a cortisone shot, and cortisone (pred) pills to take for 14 days. An application of Stronghold, and she's going to get another one in november.

She's being weaned off the pills now, getting one cortisone pill for 4 days, as opposed to two a day, and then 1/2 for another 4 days. I've noticed that she's started grooming a bit more and started scratching her ear again, so I'm figuring it's going to come back once the treatment is done.

I'm fairly sure she has Military dermatitis, but I don't have very much experience with cats. My cat has all of the symptoms though. Sometimes she'll pull out some fur and there'll be

Images:

Same night I brought her home:

Day after:

Started bleeding, I got a vet appointment shortly afterwards:

Small bumps on her neck:

The night before vet appointment, there were small wounds like this all the way into her ears:

Paws/legs, you can see that she's overgroomed quite a bit:

Does anybody have any input or ideas on what it could be?

 

[huxleysmom]

Poor thing! I adopted a cat who had food allergies and it looks like this could be a possibility for your poor cat. Is she eating the same thing she was at the shelter? common allergens are chicken, fish, soy, beef and many more. It could also be an environemental allergies to dust or pollen for example. I would start with an elimination diet and give her a single protein food she has never had (to your knowledge of course since she was adopted). Try to chose something completely different like rabbit for example and see how she reacts. If it’s food allergies, you should continue the new diet for 6-8 weeks in order for whatever she is allergic to to leave her system. Good luck!

 

[hex11]

Poor thing! I adopted a cat who had food allergies and it looks like this could be a possibility for your poor cat. Is she eating the same thing she was at the shelter? common allergens are chicken, fish, soy, beef and many more. It could also be an environemental allergies to dust or pollen for example. I would start with an elimination diet and give her a single protein food she has never had (to your knowledge of course since she was adopted). Try to chose something completely different like rabbit for example and see how she reacts. If it’s food allergies, you should continue the new diet for 6-8 weeks in order for whatever she is allergic to to leave her system. Good luck!

There's no pollen around here at this time, I'm in Scandinavia. It could very well be the food, I'll get some new food tomorrow, even though she's on a diet at the moment per the vets recommendation. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Hi everybody, I recently adopted my first pet cat, a formerly homeless female around the age of 6. She was abandoned by her previous owners and had to live outside for a while. ...

The vet inspected her and wasn't sure what it was, but apparently put her on a treatment that'll catch most things. ...

Does anybody have any input or ideas on what it could be?

Were her ears specifically tested for ear mites (and yeast), e.g. showing up under a microscope? You could check with your vet, test for those, and see if it could be that she'll need a few more months/doses of Stronghold beyond the 1-2 doses you mentioned in your OP that the vet has already prescribed. Only time will tell how quickly it will clear up! Poor kitty! In my experience, with a kitten that had a bad mite infestation in her left ear which, when it didn't clear up with 3 monthly doses of Revolution, we found out it had progressed beyond mites to a yeast infection and needed more targeted medicine. The photos you show of close-ups of her ear & the symptoms you describe of her scratching seem to show issues inside the ear similar to a mite infestation like my kitty went through... again, your cat might have a pretty bad infestation of ear mites and you could check if your vet wants to go beyond the Stronghold and target the inner ear also with a specific ear mite medicine.
Good luck!

 

[hex11]

Were her ears specifically tested for ear mites (and yeast), e.g. showing up under a microscope? You could check with your vet, test for those, and see if it could be that she'll need a few more months/doses of Stronghold beyond the 1-2 doses you mentioned in your OP that the vet has already prescribed. Only time will tell how quickly it will clear up! Poor kitty! In my experience, with a kitten that had a bad mite infestation in her left ear which, when it didn't clear up with 3 monthly doses of Revolution, we found out it had progressed beyond mites to a yeast infection and needed more targeted medicine. The photos you show of close-ups of her ear & the symptoms you describe of her scratching seem to show issues inside the ear similar to a mite infestation like my kitty went through... again, your cat might have a pretty bad infestation of ear mites and you could check if your vet wants to go beyond the Stronghold and target the inner ear also with a specific ear mite medicine.
Good luck!

She didn't test for ear mites and/or yeast, I'm pretty dissatisfied with the vet and I'll be visiting another clinic next time. She didn't do very much, just inspected my cat with her hands and eyes. Here's pictures of the insides of both her ears, there's some brown spots but I chalked that up to be ear wax since it didn't look like ear mites from Google. I'm not sure if you can tell with a quick look, but here's pictures of both her ears:

Spoiler

(I put it in some spoiler tags in case someone might find it disgusting and doesn't want to see)

I've been trying to get her to eat another type of food but no luck, she's dead set on not eating anything else.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I highly recommend you find a "2nd opinion" vet and soon (for your kitty's comfort level and health)!

I'm not a vet and you'll only be able to find out what's wrong with her ears, etc., by getting them cultured/tested/looked at by a good vet... but I will show you what we were dealing with in regards to my cat's left ear when we found we were unable to get rid of the issue by using only Revolution. Her right ear improved under the ear mite meds, but not her left ear. After 5-6 months of trying various mite meds to improve her issue, we tested her ear(s) again at another vet and we found a few mites at that point but, additionally, yeast. With new medications, her ear yeast eventually cleared up. Both mites and yeast can spread and be extremely itchy for the kitty, and cause the cat to scratch like your kitty is doing. The scratching can result in a lot of inflammation, too. With the right diagnosis, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe it is just food allergies, but you need to try to find out.

Milly's left ear a few years ago:

Spoiler

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[hex11]

I highly recommend you find a "2nd opinion" vet and soon (for your kitty's comfort level and health)!

I'm not a vet and you'll only be able to find out what's wrong with her ears, etc., by getting them cultured/tested/looked at by a good vet... but I will show you what we were dealing with in regards to my cat's left ear when we found we were unable to get rid of the issue by using only Revolution. Her right ear improved under the ear mite meds, but not her left ear. After 5-6 months of trying various mite meds to improve her issue, we tested her ear(s) again at another vet and we found a few mites at that point but, additionally, yeast. With new medications, her ear yeast eventually cleared up. Both mites and yeast can spread and be extremely itchy for the kitty, and cause the cat to scratch like your kitty is doing. The scratching can result in a lot of inflammation, too. With the right diagnosis, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe it is just food allergies, but you need to try to find out.

Milly's left ear a few years ago:

Spoiler

View attachment 200887

Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks for the information and encouragement, I'll definitely get a 2nd opinion as soon as possible. Milly's really cute, please give her some pets from me. I'll update this thread in the future.

 

[hex11]

I highly recommend you find a "2nd opinion" vet and soon (for your kitty's comfort level and health)!

I'm not a vet and you'll only be able to find out what's wrong with her ears, etc., by getting them cultured/tested/looked at by a good vet... but I will show you what we were dealing with in regards to my cat's left ear when we found we were unable to get rid of the issue by using only Revolution. Her right ear improved under the ear mite meds, but not her left ear. After 5-6 months of trying various mite meds to improve her issue, we tested her ear(s) again at another vet and we found a few mites at that point but, additionally, yeast. With new medications, her ear yeast eventually cleared up. Both mites and yeast can spread and be extremely itchy for the kitty, and cause the cat to scratch like your kitty is doing. The scratching can result in a lot of inflammation, too. With the right diagnosis, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe it is just food allergies, but you need to try to find out.

Milly's left ear a few years ago:

Spoiler

View attachment 200887

Good luck and keep us posted!

Here's an update for future reference, in case someone stumbles upon this thread.

Looks like you and @huxleysmom were right! I took her to the vet around three days ago (and it was way better than the previous one), the itching and obsessive grooming had come back in full force. They inspected her thoroughly, ruled out fleas/mites and said it's most likely food allergies. She got cortisone and vitamin b shots, a good ear-cleaning and cortisone pills to take over 8 weeks. She's also eating Royal Canin Hypoallergenic food now, thankfully she likes it. The vet said it's not too uncommon for cats who start showing signs of food allergies to be abandoned when I mentioned she's a formerly homeless cat. Thanks for the input from both of you.

 

[huxleysmom]

I’m glad you’re on the right way to get her better. Now the hard part is to figure out what she is allergic to. Is the food she’s been put on by the vet one of these hydrolyzed protein diet that she can be on for 8-12 weeks in order to get rid of all the symptoms and then start an elimination diet to figure out what it is, or is she already on a limited protein diet like venison or rabbit?

Here's an update for future reference, in case someone stumbles upon this thread.

Looks like you and @huxleysmom were right! I took her to the vet around three days ago (and it was way better than the previous one), the itching and obsessive grooming had come back in full force. They inspected her thoroughly, ruled out fleas/mites and said it's most likely food allergies. She got cortisone and vitamin b shots, a good ear-cleaning and cortisone pills to take over 8 weeks. She's also eating Royal Canin Hypoallergenic food now, thankfully she likes it. The vet said it's not too uncommon for cats who start showing signs of food allergies to be abandoned when I mentioned she's a formerly homeless cat. Thanks for the input from both of you.

 

[hex11]

I’m glad you’re on the right way to get her better. Now the hard part is to figure out what she is allergic to. Is the food she’s been put on by the vet one of these hydrolyzed protein diet that she can be on for 8-12 weeks in order to get rid of all the symptoms and then start an elimination diet to figure out what it is, or is she already on a limited protein diet like venison or rabbit?

Apologies for the late reply. She's on a hydrolyzed protein diet, she's getting Royal Canin Hypoallergenic DR 25 (soy protein) and Hills z/d (rice protein.) The vet never said anything about an elimination diet and said she can eat these two for life, so I don't really have any plans on transitioning her to other proteins.