Thinning skin??

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dirtybirdsoaps

dirtybirdsoaps

Member Since 2014
Hidey has always had a scab here and there from playing with the other cats, one gets a little too rough, but lately its been getting BAD. He has a bunch of scabs under his chin on his neck and a bunch around the neck, I also noticed a small mark on his leg near his paw like a scrape its not huge, and its not a scab. I sat down the other day and trimmed all their nails and they really didnt even need it. I started to search and I seen thinning skin is a common symptom of diabetes. Has any one had this issue? Is there any type of supplement or something to help this? Should I take him to the vet?

I should also mention he is indoors only but I did check him for fleas and ticks and there are none.
 
Hi!
Perhaps, thinning skin has more to do with kitty's age (and dry air, as you said) than diabetes. It's certainly a well known condition in older people, as well as, persons with kidney issues.
Best wishes, Sophie
 
Cushings may cause unusually thin skin which tears easily. It may cause diabetes, too.

Allergies may cause skin irritation.
 
Well my husband brought it to my attention its probably his kitty spa, don't know if anyones familiar or not but its a platform with massage brushes on it. Hidey goes CRAZY on this, he loves the deep rubs...heck he has an obsession with shoes especially dress shoes because theyre so hard he just rubs and rubs and rubs lol. I couldnt believe I didnt think of that, well that would work for the scratches on his chin but not along the collar line. So I took it away until he healed up and have been applying neosporin to his marks.

This morning I woke up, went and put neosporin on him like usual, I even went and told my husband how well his neck is looking. Right after my husband walked out the door I was getting ready to go start my daily routines and noticed Hidey was bleeding where I just applied some neosporin....what the heck, nothing was there a second ago so of course I go to look at it and clean it and then it happened............

A FLEA!!!!

Yup, a flea went walking by the cut. I highly doubt this was a coincidence, so of course I ran to walmart and bought advantage II and dosed all 3 cats and went into CLEAN mode. Vacuumed all the couches, washed all the blankets, all the cat beds and sprayed everything down. Luckily I just tiled my house a month ago lol. I would give all 3 bathes because I know they do need it, but its too cold plus I worry about Hideys cuts (thats why I didnt just use the frontline spray I usually use). I have been checking all 3 cats and I've found nothing on the other 2, one was laying half dead on the floor next to Hidey a bit later, and I found a live one half dead on him....I guess thats a good sign lol.

Ive never really had to use flea stuff on them, Ive only used the spray a couple of times and its been when I've gotten a new stray that would be covered and I would use it to prevent them from getting them.
 
Flea eggs can lie dormant for months. Vibration triggers the eggs to hatch, so you may find more for a while since using the vacuum.
 
I figure Ill do a couple months of treatment with the advantage, keep vacuuming the couches and spraying them like every week, washing all the blankets and beds every week, and using the flea comb.

Geeeeee.....Im sure my husband wont mind :lol:

I didnt see any on the other 2, but they have long hair....how the heck do you find them in long hair??? I used the flea comb on both of them....on Yuri I found "evidence" of some fleas, but not bad, and nothing on Hot Rod......I guess they figure they'll just pick on Hidey :cry:

Also with the Advantage, should I WORRY about them cleaning each others neck? I know its not good regardless, and I've been watching them but I worry about when I go to sleep tonight and them trying to clean each others necks.
 
You want to get it on the skin, so part the fur to apply it.

If they lick it, they will hypersalivate, possible drool, because it tastes awful.
 
Thank you, I parted the fur and applied it to the skin but it's almost like the fur has absorbed it because the area of fur is wet with it.
 
Hopefully that's all it is, and once the fleas are gone, any itching and tearing will be reduced. That would be the easiest fix. Keep an eye on the treatment spot, just to make sure the skin isn't inflamed or tearing near it. I use Revolution and have only one kitty that ever had a patch of hair loss from it. But I know others whose dogs lost a very large patch. If there's any sign of an issue, I would probably try to wipe w/ a soapy washcloth. I'm not sure how quickly it's absorbed into the system, so that might not work.

The thought of Cushings also occured to me - if you go in the forums for the insulin support groups, there's one for Acro-kitties, insulin resistant and Cushing's kitties. I think there are some files saved about Cushings at the top.

The other question I have is if your kitty has been on any steroids recently? My Grayson was on Prednisolone for 2 months, and a fairly high dose, along w/ a chemo drug. His skin started tearing as a result of one or both meds... (or maybe it was his compromised immune system) ... not sure which or if it was the combo. It was EXTREMELY fragile, which is how I found the fragile skin syndrome on a vet med website. Not sure if that's the same as the link someone provided earlier.

Like I said, hopefully it's just aggravation from the fleas - some pets have a more severe reaction to them, while others aren't phased at all. Good luck! Sounds like you've already got a handle on the cleaning part.

Lu-Ann
 
Thank you for the info and suggestions. Sadly the problem is not resolved. Havent seen a flea in days, am still washing everything, but his neck is beat to heck. I keep applying some neosporin but its not helping. Last night my and my husband were talking and to be safe I'm going to schedule him an appointment because he has so many little cuts around his neck and hes missing a good amount of fur there too, I also noticed that the fur by his shoulder blades is now thinning. I will read up on the cushings, the only other thing Im maybe thinking is a reaction to the fleas. Id wonder if it was the treatment but it started before I applied the advantage. I researched food allergies and it seems there woud be tummy troubles as well if that was the case, and in that area he is fine. He has never had any steroids, and believe me that WILL be avoided lol.
 
This paper here has a description of Cushings or Hyperadrenocorticism, including some pictures, in the last half of the document. It's not very common in cats, but we have seen some here.
 
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