Dusty's rash

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Tom Shooter

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Dusty has a very bad rash on his head that has spread to his ears and the area of his front leg that he uses to clean his head. The Vet prescribed Baytril and Prednisolone but neither has helped and in fact it has gotten worse. We also did a flea treatment.

He has had it for about 10 days and the Vet has no idea what is causing it or how to treat it. Since the rash started he has seen 4 different Vets due to other issues and none seem to know what it might be. We did a biopsy Friday and the results should be in Monday or Tuesday.

I notice that you can attach files to the posting so I thought I would post a couple of pictures and see if anyone had any thoughts as to it might be. This site has really helped me with his Diabetes. I can only hep someone here may have an idea. Thank you in advance for any comments.
 

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He is very itchy and is scratching until it is raw in some places. As for ringworm that was the first thought the vet had. Good thought but he sent a sample and it came back negative for ringworm. Also neither of my other cats is showing any signs and I understand ringworm is very contagious.
 
The link on Alopecia says what I think the vet is thinking. He is not an old cat at 8. He has had x-rays and an Ultrasound that has not shown anything but the Vet says it could have been missed and that the biopsy will tell us if Dusty has a tumour (knock on wood).

Why is My Cat Losing Hair?
There are a few different reasons why cats can lose hair. In older cats diagnosed with cancer, alopecia is common
 
With Dusty diagnosed with Diabetes his diet did change substantially. It was a few months before the problem surfaced however. I will say that when he got pancreatitis and was in the hospital for 5 days he rash did improve (a lot) but it got worse again after getting home. Also Dusty gets the same food at home as he did at the Vet.

My wife also commented that when she gives Dusty a few treats (that he does not usually get anymore) his rash seems to be worse the next day. Before he got put on a special diet however he got lots of treats so I am not sure would be it alone. The only other thing I can contribute is that we did get a new Stainless steel cat drinking fountain about the time the problem started. The vet that SS was the best and that he would be more concerned if we told him plastic or ceramic.

if nothing comes back with the biopsy I think that we will need to seriously consider this. I know this might be extreme but I may try boarding at the vet for a week to see what the results are. If he improves I would let him do another week. Maybe after a couple of weeks it would be clear.
 
What dose of pred was he on? And it didn't stop him from scratching at all? Sounds like an environemental allergy at home. Stress can cause hair loss.
 
I wonder about stress, he is a nervous kitty and he has been to the vet a lot (which he hates). As for the post on metal allergies it does check most of Dusty's symptoms. I thing think I will remove it for a few days and see if it improves. there are other sources of water he can get. Thank you everyone for you help.
 
Good luck! My non-diabetic cat Ozzie is losing hair under his armpit on one side, and really bad on his thigh and inner leg. Vet is also stumped. He was licking his leg pretty bad before, but doesn't anymore. Hair is growing back. We did a culture and it came back negative. We can't come up with a reason for the hair loss, except maybe stress from Rufus being sick.
 
Its early but....

I removed the stainless steel water foundation yesterday afternoon. I did not tell my wife as I wanted to see if she saw a difference without knowing we changed anything.

With no prompting she remarked that his heads looks much better this morning. I also think it looks better. Let's hope he continues to improve. I will keep the group informed and if it clears up that might help someone in the future with the same problem. Thank everyone again for your concern.
 
Tom Shooter said:
Its early but....

I removed the stainless steel water foundation yesterday afternoon. I did not tell my wife as I wanted to see if she saw a difference without knowing we changed anything.

With no prompting she remarked that his heads looks much better this morning. I also think it looks better. Let's hope he continues to improve. I will keep the group informed and if it clears up that might help someone in the future with the same problem. Thank everyone again for your concern.
Click to expand...
How is the rash
 
Has your vet checked for mange? My pup had mange and I learned a lot about it.. its less common in cats, but not unheard of. If no answers are forthcoming, it might be worth looking into.
 
And the verdict is in based on the biopsy.

Dusty has a fungal infection that did not show up in the first testing. So $1,000.00 plus dollars later we finally have the answer. Not sure if it is a scam, incompetence or just plain bad luck. I have switched from one vet location to another (with different Vets) during this time but they are affiliated so I am not sure it matters much.

We will begin treatment with a pill and a soap. Hopefully we can get this cleared up. Thanks everyone for all your responses. In the grand scheme of things this was about the best we could hope for according to the vet.
 
Funny I was over at the vets yesterday and I asked how reliable the ringworm test was.

I was told that ringworm is quite contagious and that if he had it most likely the other cats would be showing signs.

Once I have the medicine I will post what it is. I also plan to ask what kind of fungal infection it is.
 
I am so angry. it turns out he has ringworm. The vet took a culture and sent it to the lab where he said it came back negative. Since then I have spent over $1,000 finding out what the problem is and given him multiple types of medicine that would in no way help him. The poor guy has had to put up with 3 weeks of itching because they could not get their act together. I am sure looking at the hole left that a biopsy must be quite painful as well. At this point I guess I have no recourse but to change vets. Again while its not just money I added up the fee in the last 6 months and they are in excess of 4K. I would say this vet really say me coming!

The vet has prescribed that we shampoo his infected areas with Imaverol twice a week and then ordered an Itrfungol Oral Solution. Not sure how many times he needs to take that as he had to order it.
 
Just an update on Dusty. According to the Vet had had both ringworm and an allergy. That may be true as when we boarded him at the vet his rash got a little better.
We had changed his food to Friskies pate varieties about the same time so I stopped feeding him that and start feeding Fancy Feast Pate. Since stopping Friskies he head is slowing getting better so it might be the issue. He will not be getting any more Friskies from now on. I am just providing the update in cases other see something similar after switching their cats to Friskies. I am not sure that was the problem but I am not taking chances.
 
I was really worried about Dusty as I am allergic to darn near everything and rashes are so uncomfortable... sounds like you really got it under control and Dusty must be feeling so much better!!!

:bighug:
 
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