As cat slaves, we want our cats to have beautiful, shiny, and healthy fur. In addition to making them look cute and cuddly, their skin can also indicate their health problems. If a cat loses a lot of fur, has red skin, flakes, or likes to scratch a lot, these could be signs that our cat is suffering from a skin disease.
Skin diseases are common in cats. Pets with this disease often have itching, hair loss, red skin or flakes, etc. The cause of skin diseases can be from many factors, such as fungus or bacteria. It can also be transmitted to humans. Although it may not look life-threatening on the outside, it is a disease that must be treated quickly.
For those who are considering raising a cat or a kitten, the first thing to do is to check the cat's skin health with the naked eye. Observe from the head to the tail, look at the fur, skin, ears and nails. The fur should be soft when touched and not fall out in clumps. When parting the fur, there should be no external parasites such as ticks or fleas. There should be no red bumps, pustules or dandruff flakes. Check under the neck, armpits and groin for redness or scratch marks. Also, open both ears to see if they are clean. The paws and nail bases should be clean and free of scales. If the initial examination shows the above symptoms, it can be roughly assumed that our cat may have a disease in these groups.
1. Fungal skin disease
Cats with ringworm will have hair loss in circles or in patches, with flaking and redness. If the skin layer is severely damaged, it can lead to secondary infections and itching. Also, be aware that the fungus can be transmitted to humans through direct contact or through the environment.
Read more about cat fungus Leaving it untreated is definitely not good! How to treat fungal infections in dogs and cats
2. Skin diseases caused by external parasites
2.1. Things that can be seen with the naked eye, such as fleas and ticks.
Even though they look tiny, fleas are very dangerous to cats. Cats that are allergic to flea saliva will have itching, hair loss, red skin. If it is severe, inflammation and infection may follow. If we do not get rid of all the fleas, our cats will have dermatitis because they are allergic to flea saliva forever.
2.2. Those that need to be scraped and examined under a microscope, such as wet scabies mites, dry scabies mites, ear mites, etc.
Scabies mites are external parasites, similar to ticks and fleas, but they are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. A veterinarian must examine them by scraping the skin under a microscope. These mites live in the pores on the cat's face, around the eyes, body, legs, soles of the feet, and paws. They cause our cats to lose fur and develop skin rashes, especially around the edges of the ears, under the belly, elbows, and outside hind legs. Some cats may experience severe itching that prevents them from sleeping or has a reduced appetite.
Ear mites are parasites that live on the inside of the ear canal and nearby. They can be found in both dogs and cats. They feed on oils and skin debris. They can be transmitted by contact. Symptoms include a lot of ear wax, which is black or dark brown in color, and severe itching of the ear. Some cats may itch and shake their heads until the capillaries in their ears burst, causing swelling or scratching the ears until they become inflamed.
3. Skin diseases caused by bacteria
Bacterial skin disease is common in cats. They will have itchy, red skin and pustules. It is caused by a bacterial skin infection and may be complicated by other infections, which will make treatment take longer. Common causes include a reduced skin immune system, cats like to be in wet places, or exposure to environmental irritants, etc.
Treatment depends on the level of the bacterial skin infection. If it is on the upper skin level, just using medicated shampoo and cleaning the wound may be sufficient. If it is on the middle skin level, antibiotics may be needed in addition to medicated shampoo. If it is on the deeper skin level, a culture may be needed to select the right antibiotic for treatment. This is because most cases require a long treatment period and the bacteria are more likely to resist the drug.
Sometimes, common things can easily cause our children to have skin problems. Therefore, we, the owners, must keep our cats healthy. We should wash and clean our grooming equipment regularly. Try not to let our cats’ skin get wet or damp often because it is suitable for the growth of fungus. If we find any abnormalities in our cats’ skin, we should quickly take them to see a veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment along with the owner’s care, whether it is bathing or taking care of the cleanliness of their living space, which are important parts that will help our cats recover from skin diseases faster.
References
Dr. Sornpat Piyaworasak (Dr. Sem), Department of Dermatology and Department of Internal Medicine, Taling Chan Animal Hospital
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