Simple Fix for an Ugly Skin Problem

[Standing Wolf]

A couple of months ago, my big white cat Storm began getting these really nasty little arrowpoint-shaped scabs on his back. They obviously itched and bothered him because he was always licking them, and in fact had licked one quarter-sized spot raw. When I realized that they were rapidly spreading and not clearing up, I took him to the vet. She told me that there were several possible causes, but that it was most likely some kind of allergic reaction and recommended a steroid shot. She said that if it was effective we could expect it to keep working for three or four months.

Within a couple of days Storm's skin began to clear up and within three or four days he was scab-free. A few weeks later I noticed it starting to come back in a couple of places, but then it was gone again almost immediately, so apparently the stuff is still in his system and working.

[Collateral Damage]

A couple of months ago, my big white cat Storm began getting these really nasty little arrowpoint-shaped scabs on his back. They obviously itched and bothered him because he was always licking them, and in fact had licked one quarter-sized spot raw. When I realized that they were rapidly spreading and not clearing up, I took him to the vet. She told me that there were several possible causes, but that it was most likely some kind of allergic reaction and recommended a steroid shot. She said that if it was effective we could expect it to keep working for three or four months.

Within a couple of days Storm's skin began to clear up and within three or four days he was scab-free. A few weeks later I noticed it starting to come back in a couple of places, but then it was gone again almost immediately, so apparently the stuff is still in his system and working.

Having been through just about every imaginable cat skin issue (exaggeration, but lots of them) the one it took the doctor a while to figure out was intestinal parasites.

Also a come-and-go issue, the pinhead sized scabs would show up in clusters, antibiotic shot cleared them up, for them to show back up somewhere else in a couple of months.

Just a thought.

[Standing Wolf]

Having been through just about every imaginable cat skin issue (exaggeration, but lots of them) the one it took the doctor a while to figure out was intestinal parasites.

Also a come-and-go issue, the pinhead sized scabs would show up in clusters, antibiotic shot cleared them up, for them to show back up somewhere else in a couple of months.

Just a thought.

That sounds like something entirely different, though. These "scabs" were much bigger than a pin-head and shaped like a spear point (not an arrow point, like I incorrectly wrote before) and the steroids did the trick. I've read that repeated steroids use in cats can cause some organ problems, so I'm hoping we don't have to repeat it too often, if at all.

[Lummy]

Use a general purpose antimicrobial skin treatment, bath or spray, once a day for seven days, and call a doctor if the problem persists. Cats are magnets for problematic microbes.

[Standing Wolf]

Use a general purpose antimicrobial skin treatment, bath or spray, once a day for seven days, and call a doctor if the problem persists. Cats are magnets for problematic microbes.

I will probably try something like that if it starts to come back, just to avoid having to resort to the steroid treatment and the potential for liver and other organ problems that it might cause if he gets it too often.

[Lummy]

I think there are over-the-counter treatments with which your vet or even your pet store would be quite familiar.

Also, your cat's diet is very important in preventing these problems. I don't know much about this area, but I know that much.

[Dr. Who]

A couple of months ago, my big white cat Storm began getting these really nasty little arrowpoint-shaped scabs on his back. They obviously itched and bothered him because he was always licking them, and in fact had licked one quarter-sized spot raw. When I realized that they were rapidly spreading and not clearing up, I took him to the vet. She told me that there were several possible causes, but that it was most likely some kind of allergic reaction and recommended a steroid shot. She said that if it was effective we could expect it to keep working for three or four months.

Within a couple of days Storm's skin began to clear up and within three or four days he was scab-free. A few weeks later I noticed it starting to come back in a couple of places, but then it was gone again almost immediately, so apparently the stuff is still in his system and working.

Can they do allergy testing? It's possible that it's something in his food or environment that's causing the allergic reaction, in which case changing his food or eliminating the environmental allergen might resolve the problem. I know someone whose golden lab developed a terrible allergy issue and they eventually figured out that some variety of very tiny insect like weevils or mites that were present in the dry dog food were causing the allergic reaction. Since these bugs are in almost all dry dog food, the solution was to stop feeding him dry dog food.