Skin Rash And Possible Claw Problems

[Pixelated Cat]

Hello everyone! I already have an appointment made for Pixie with Dr. Mac but just wanted to know if anyone has ever experienced this and/or has any input. Pixie has been scratching at his right ear for about a week, and the rash started out as a tiny patch on the outer ear. Now it is spreading on his ear, and the fur on the ear is starting to fall out while the rash is spreading and scabbing over. This week when I was going to trim his claws, I noticed the claws are peeling, some of them are chafing, and they look red and irritated. He usually tolerates us handling his paws very well, but right now he does not want us to handle his paws at all. I have looked inside of both ears and I don't see any discharge or colored wax. He is eating well and is using his litter boxes well too. He has COPD, and is on 5mg of predisone every other day along with an inhaler with an AeroKat chamber. I have thought about the possibility of this being ringworm, but I'm trying not to panic....I just don't know what else this could be. I have lost count how many times we have been to the vet this year. I just hope it's not too serious this time because he has been through enough with his health, and I just want him to feel good for once. Thank you everyone in advance.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
I don't have any knowledge of ringworm and whether it could effect the claws.
I'm sending every good thought I have, let us know how things are going
hang in there!!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I don't know about the ringworm, but have heard of a fungal infection in the claws that can cause peeling. Could that be it and he is transferring it to his ear?

 

[Pixelated Cat]

Hello everyone! Thank you for your kindness and responses. We went to see Dr. Mac this morning and the rash on his ear is likely a flare-up of miliary dermatitis that he has a history of. He has a fungal infection in his claws which is thankfully not caused by ringworm. His paws are so painful that he cried, and Dr. Mac had to sedate him and give him pain relief to examine his paws, trim the nails down, and pulled off all the flakes that were peeling from his claws. Dr. Mac showed us everything once he was sedated, and the infection caused some of his claws to grow very thick. The thickened claws were starting to grow into his nail beds and poke his paw pads, and a couple of them were bleeding from the base of the quick due to the claw being brittle. I asked if this was like a having an ingrown nail, and Dr. Mac said it likely feels a lot like an ingrown nail to him. I know how painful it is to just have one ingrown toenail, so I can only imagine the pain he has been in with issues with multiple claws and knowing how sensitive a cat's paw pads are. Dr. Mac also recommended having a scratching post for him to sharpen his claws on and to help him shed old layers off of his claws. We have a cardboard scratching post and after some research this afternoon, we found out he needs a scratching post that is much sturdier and made from a stronger material. He is a large cat too, and found out large cats need sturdier pieces of cat furniture due to their size and strength. So in the meantime, Pixie is on an anti-fungal medicine and we are looking for scratching posts and cats trees that are made for large cats.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Glad Pixie is on the mend!!!

 

[SiameseMummy]

Great news that you've got to the bottom of this. Sounds like it was very painful so I'm sure Pixie will be happy to have it all cleared up.

Excellent that it is not ringworm too!

I was told that you want to have a scratching post that your cat can fully stretch up against with some to spare. I have very long cats so we've ended up with some huge furniture around the place!

We may have gone overboard at times but big cats are definitely catered for.

 

[Pixelated Cat]

SiameseMummy Your cats are gorgeous! That is awesome that you have large furniture for your long cats. If you don't mind me asking, do you have any suggestions for large furniture for cats? I am finding the research a bit overwhelming with all of the choices out there.

 

[SiameseMummy]

SiameseMummy Your cats are gorgeous! That is awesome that you have large furniture for your long cats. If you don't mind me asking, do you have any suggestions for large furniture for cats? I am finding the research a bit overwhelming with all of the choices out there.

Well, I am UK based so if you're in the same country (or elsewhere in Europe) I highly recommend Zooplus as an excellent source of large scratching posts. If you're in the US or elsewhere then I am not going to be able to provide actual shops but can give some tips!

The first post I got my cats was on the recommendation of their breeder - the Smartcat Ultimate Scratching post. It's fairly tall (although I've since got taller ones!) but it's really really robust. I've had it 4 years with 3 cats attacking it and there is barely a thread out of place so recommended as a good, basic post. It is more expensive than similar posts but I've had my cats destroy lesser posts in 6-12 months so I'm delighted how well this one is holding up!


The other favourite is their large scratching barrel (which is not normally shoved up against the sofa but the Christmas tree took its usual place!)



This one is a Zooplus exclusive so no idea where you'd track it down outside of the US but if you can just be sure it is wrapped in Sisal. This may be a great first option because the scratching area is tall and you mentioned Pixie is a big cat.

This is the link to my one if it helps:

Natural Paradise Scratch Barrel - XXL Premium

Then there are cat trees/condos which have a lot of platforms. I don't have any of these because my house is not big enough - In my opinion to have enough vertical scratching room they need to be quite wide or they are unstable (plus they get super expensive at the size I'd want!).

Once I win the lottery and move into my mansion this will be my first purchase :

Cat Tree Lucky Cityview 195cm (Grey) | LOWEST PRICES GUARANTEED | FREE DELIVERY

It's totally over the top but does have plenty of scratching space. Often with cat trees the platforms are too close together and they then aren't great for scratching (although great for cats getting up high so if I had space for both I'd get both!).

These are some initial thoughts - feel free to ask my anything as this may just be a lot of information thrown at you!

 

[Pixelated Cat]

SiameseMummy Thank you for the tips and suggestions! I am in the US, and I really like the scratch post and I love the scratch barrel. I can order the scratch post in the US, but will have to look for something similar to the scratch barrel in your picture. We live in a one bedroom apartment for the time being, and the scratch barrel would be perfect as space is limited, and I love that design. Your cats look very sweet by the way