Skin problem, fur can't grow back

[Evey]

Evey's skin is getting worse. The vet said her skin is getting thinner and gets more wrinklely. When the vet took off her sensor yesterday, the skin got ripped a bit. When she did the ultrasound last year in June, the vet shaved her belly and the fur never grows back. Is there anything I can do help her skin or the fur to grow back?

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Is it just fur on her belly that doesn't grow back? Or elsewhere too. Does she have a pot belly? Anything else unusual about the skin such as dots that look like freckles?

 

[SmallestSparrow]

Is it just fur on her belly that doesn't grow back? Or elsewhere too. Does she have a pot belly? Anything else unusual about the skin such as dots that look like freckles?

It would be an awfully well controlled cat for Cushing’s but that was my initial thought.

 

[Evey]

Is it just fur on her belly that doesn't grow back? Or elsewhere too. Does she have a pot belly? Anything else unusual about the skin such as dots that look like freckles?

The vet shaved her front legs for the IV a month ago but the fur hasn't grown back yet. She also has sebaceous adenoma. There are about 2-3 small bumps over her body. Her skin got some dark spots once in a while. I took her to the vet to test those dark black spot. The vet said there was no infection or anything. The vet said probably it's pigment problem. The dark spots went away after a while.
When she used to have the sensor on her, the fur on that exact spot of the sensor grows back. But just that exact round shape spot. Not sure if this is related, but it seems weird to me.
As for pot belly, I don't think she has it. Her belly is not that big.

 

[Evey]

It would be an awfully well controlled cat for Cushing’s but that was my initial thought.

I asked the vet last year if she would have Cushing but the vet said no because she didn't show symptoms of Cushing except for the fragile skin. The vet never did any test for Cushing. Maybe I should ask the vet again.

 

[SmallestSparrow]

I asked the vet last year if she would have Cushing but the vet said no because she didn't show symptoms of Cushing except for the fragile skin. The vet never did any test for Cushing. Maybe I should ask the vet again.

I doubt with only skin issues and such excellent control it is Cushing’s —although Methos and Erik (my previous Cushing cat) each had skin symptoms before the belly or diabetes. Testing is expensive

 

[SmallestSparrow]

He’s not dead, he does this to scare the poop out of me to get even for poking his ear. Belly was shaved in Jan 2023. You can see his prominent vessels and sort of see the pot belly—it’s more obvious in other pictures I have. He’s a skinny boy otherwise, before the Cushing he’s was very trim and muscular.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Is Evey on any other medications? I know some meds will limit fur growth. Neko's chemo meant she did get much more than peach fuzz after ultrasounds and echocardiogram. How have her recent labwork results been?

 

[Evey]

Is Evey on any other medications? I know some meds will limit fur growth. Neko's chemo meant she did get much more than peach fuzz after ultrasounds and echocardiogram. How have her recent labwork results been?

She is on Telmisartan since December 2023. From the time her belly got shaved in June 2023 to December 2023, she didn't have any medication. She did a checkup on November 25. I attached the results. They seems normal.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Evey's skin is getting worse. The vet said her skin is getting thinner and gets more wrinklely. When the vet took off her sensor yesterday, the skin got ripped a bit. When she did the ultrasound last year in June, the vet shaved her belly and the fur never grows back. Is there anything I can do help her skin or the fur to grow back?

Are they using glue with the Libre?? If her skin is fragile I would make sure no glue is used. (I don’t use any glue at all, ever).
so it’s easy to get the Libre off and limits any damage to the skin.

 

[SmallestSparrow]

She is on Telmisartan since December 2023. From the time her belly got shaved in June 2023 to December 2023, she didn't have any medication. She did a checkup on November 25. I attached the results. They seems normal.

Why is she on telmisartan?

 

[SmallestSparrow]

I have trouble reading the labs on my phone—was there a potassium (K) or magnesium (Mg) level done?

 

[Evey]

Are they using glue with the Libre?? If her skin is fragile I would make sure no glue is used. (I don’t use any glue at all, ever).
so it’s easy to get the Libre off and limits any damage to the skin.

Yes, they used to use the glue with Libre. There was no problem in the past. After her skin healed, I will try to use Libre without glue. I'm just afraid the sensor will fall off easily.

 

[Evey]

I have trouble reading the labs on my phone—was there a potassium (K) or magnesium (Mg) level done?

No, I don't think she did Mg level test before. But her potassium level was at 2.8 last month when she was hospitalized. The vet gave her some potassium pills and it should be at normal range now.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Yes, they used to use the glue with Libre. There was no problem in the past. After her skin healed, I will try to use Libre without glue. I'm just afraid the sensor will fall off easily.

There is adhesive on the sensor backing so additional glue is not needed.
Do you cover the sensor with either a sensor patch or tegaderm?
If you’re not a member of the Facebook group, you should definitely go there for tons of information on using a Libre on a cat. I highly recommend it.
***(Facebook group is:
Freestyle Libre for Dogs and Cats)
There’s lots of very valuable information there to help you that you can share with your vet if they are installing it.
**I also highly recommend that you learn how to install it yourself if you’re going to continue to use the sensors.
I keep them on hand and install them and remove the old ones myself and Ivy is very difficult to handle, but she tolerates this process quite well.
It’s also recommended to use a T-shirt or something to cover the sensor so they cannot remove it if they tend to fuss with the sensors and pull them off.

 

[Evey]

Why is she on telmisartan?

She has proteinuria so she needs to take Telmisartan to keep the UPC down. The vet also mentioned that proteinuria might cause her skin getting thinner since protein can't be absorbed.

 

[Evey]

He’s not dead, he does this to scare the poop out of me to get even for poking his ear. Belly was shaved in Jan 2023. You can see his prominent vessels and sort of see the pot belly—it’s more obvious in other pictures I have. He’s a skinny boy otherwise, before the Cushing he’s was very trim and muscular.
View attachment 71781

His belly is HUGH~ After I saw his picture, I realized I don't really know what pot belly is. Does Evey have a pot belly? Evey's belly looks like his belly but not as big. But her vessels are clear too. I also noticed earlier today that she has some red spots on her belly. Not really sure what it is.

 

[Evey]

Do you cover the sensor with either a sensor patch or tegaderm?

The vet used to wrap her up with bandage wrap but the sensor didn't last long with the bandage wrap. It worked better without it. I haven't tried a sensor patch or tegaderm yet. I will try it next time. and thank you for recommending the FB group. I will definitely check it out.

 

[SmallestSparrow]

In humans some heart and kidney problems can cause a rise in aldosterone. Elevated aldosterone can cause skin changes similar to that seen with Cushing’s (thin fragile skin, easily broken blood vessels), and it can cause too low of potassium levels. You can also get elevated aldosterone from an aldosterone producing adrenal tumor. I know cats can have adrenal tumors that produce aldosterone—I’m not sure if they can have elevated levels from heart or kidney problems. You may want to ask your vet is he thinks ther kidney problem could be causing elevated aldosterone which in turn can lower her potassium and cause fragile skin. Again, I’m guessing based on humans. I assume she didn’t have an adrenal tumor on her ultrasound.

I hope she’s better soon

 

[Evey]

I assume she didn’t have an adrenal tumor on her ultrasound.

She'd done several ultrasound recently but they didn't see any adrenal tumor. I just found some black spot on her skin too. There are some dead skins. I'm not really sure what it is. Do you feed your cat fish oil to help with the skin problem?

 

[SmallestSparrow]

I’m not sure what to say about her skin. In some animals with Cushing’s they get dark spots on the skin that are blocked oil glands. But animals without Cushing can get those also—not as many though. Methos has one on his neck but there are a couple of dark spots on his upper back I’ve noticed. Those may be bruises so I’m asking at his next visit.

I think maybe your vet could re-evaluate the possibility at least that she could have Cushing’s, or that her kidney problems are raising her aldosterone levels.

I don’t feed Methos fish oil because he won’t eat it—I’ve tried. His food has some in it, and occasionally cook salmon for him. But when his coat first had problems my vet suggested fish oil.

 

[Evey]

In some animals with Cushing’s they get dark spots on the skin that are blocked oil glands.

Will this kind of dark spots go away after a while or those are permanent dark spots? Maybe I should ask the vet test her for Cushing's at her next visit.

 

[SmallestSparrow]

Will this kind of dark spots go away after a while or those are permanent dark spots? Maybe I should ask the vet test her for Cushing's at her next visit.

I’m sorry but i don’t know. I would see what he thinks, and if testing for hypercortisolism ( Cushing’s) or hyperaldosteronismb(Conn’s) would be worthwhile. Hyperaldosteronism can cause kidney problems and kidney problems can cause hyperaldosteronism.