Skin Lesions - Difficult Diagnosis

[beccakb]

Hi,

Coming here because I've had 3 trips to the vet for skin lesions on my cat that have still not been properly diagnosed (as each treatment has not gotten rid of the problem). I adopted Daisy in June and noticed a skin lesion on her leg 3 days after I got her. First vet visit, they thought it was a cat bite. It started healing, but then she excessively licked it and made it a deeper wound. This started the long cycle of using an soft E-collar to keep her from licking it.

Took her E-collar off after about 2 weeks, and she went back to licking it and it came back. I also noticed during this time another wound under her arm that looked similar. She then became obsessed with this one and would obsessively lick it as well. Went back to the vet, they weren't sure, so they gave me an antibiotic cream and told me to keep her on the E-collar. Another 2 weeks pass by, and the wound is not healed and she will go right back for it if I take her cone off for even just a second.

Last week was our third vet visit. She is now on Clindamycin and Intrafungol to treat for any resistant bacteria and potential ringworm. These treatments will last up to a month.

Things I'm worried about/why I am here:
-I'm afraid this whole process has created a behavioral habit of wanting to lick these areas--that even if they start to heal from the antibiotics, that she will instinctively go back to these spots no matter what and create new wounds.
-She's been on a soft E-collar now for over a month and I'm considered about how it is affecting her psychologically. I cannot keep her off of it without my supervision, otherwise she will lick the wounds until they are completely raw and open.
-Afraid that this current round of antibiotics won't do anything and I'm back to square one. But more overwhelmed and hundreds of dollars wasted on treatments that aren't working.

I guess I'm just looking for reassurance or advice about how to deal with this. I'm a broke graduate student that got a kitty for support and comfort, and while I love her so much and only want to help her, this has also caused an immense amount of anxiety and stress for me. And I'm at a bit of a breaking point with my sweet kitty. Any help/advice/words of wisdom are greatly appreciated.

 

[beccakb]

Pictures of the wounds.

 

[silkenpaw]

Welcome to the forum. I’m sorry Daisy is having a problem.

I can’t speak to what the wounds are but I wanted to reassure you regarding the e-collar. My Zyngi had a wound on his neck that he would scratch open unless I kept it covered with a collar. To keep the collar from creeping up and exposing the wound, I had to make him a body suit that was attached to the collar. He hated the body suit and really wasn’t himself while wearing it, but once the wound was completely healed and we were able to leave the body suit off, he went back to being Zyngi.

 

[beccakb]

Welcome to the forum. I’m sorry Daisy is having a problem.

I can’t speak to what the wounds are but I wanted to reassure you regarding the e-collar. My Zyngi had a wound on his neck that he would scratch open unless I kept it covered with a collar. To keep the collar from creeping up and exposing the wound, I had to make him a body suit that was attached to the collar. He hated the body suit and really wasn’t himself while wearing it, but once the wound was completely healed and we were able to leave the body suit off, he went back to being Zyngi.

Thank you, that definitely gives me hope.

 

[Jem]

Our kitty Lily, was an excessive groomer, and it was ALL stress related. We tried different foods for possible allergies, different ointments to help soothe the skin and such. She had her favorite spots to groom, on her belly and her forearm mostly. My vet prescribed the Royal Canine Calm formula to try. Within a week, we noticed she was healing. This food got her to adapt to our home much better and allowed our working with her shyness. All her fur is grown back in, she has completely stopped over grooming and is a happy little kitty.
We are actually transitioning her to a new food, as we think she has adapted enough that she doesn't need the food anymore...time will tell.

 

[FeebysOwner]

She is now on Clindamycin and Intrafungol to treat for any resistant bacteria and potential ringworm. These treatments will last up to a month.

Did the vet test for ringworm? If not, you might want to consider having them do so. Most of the time it can easily be identified by simply holding an ultraviolet light over the lesion and looking for bright green fluorescence. However, in some cases, the ultraviolet light doesn't confirm ringworm and a culture must be done (up to 2 weeks for results) of the affected skin/hair. This approach would be helpful especially if these new treatments are not effective.

Additionally, it really would be a good idea for the vet to do a skin scraping to check for other possible causes. Trying to actually identify the skin issue would go a long way in treating it more effectively.

 

[beccakb]

Did the vet test for ringworm? If not, you might want to consider having them do so. Most of the time it can easily be identified by simply holding an ultraviolet light over the lesion and looking for bright green fluorescence. However, in some cases, the ultraviolet light doesn't confirm ringworm and a culture must be done (up to 2 weeks for results) of the affected skin/hair. This approach would be helpful especially if these new treatments are not effective.

Additionally, it really would be a good idea for the vet to do a skin scraping to check for other possible causes. Trying to actually identify the skin issue would go a long way in treating it more effectively.

They used the wood's lamp during the second visit and it came back negative. The third visit was when they decided to give the antibiotic for ringworm just in case. I'm not sure why they didn't decide to do a skin scrape or biopsy. Possibly not equipped to do it...but I don't know. There is an animal hospital in town that specializes in dermatology so if I don't see any change in the coming week or so I'll probably go there to get a biopsy.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I hope you don't have to - but, at least you have that as an option should you need it.

Keep us posted, please!