Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi,
Freek has a kind of scabbing in renewed fur around his amputation-scar (2,5 months after surgery). I know he has a sensitive skin, for example he also gets a scab of using selamectine/sarolaner drops for parasite-prevention.
The scabbing around reminds me of 'Rain rot' on horses, although I see no fluid exudate. When I scratch at the seemingly loose scab, it changes in dandruf and/or hair coming loose like brushes. The hair doesn't get loose on its own.
Could this indeed be dermatofilosis? Or is this 'normal' changed skin regeneration because of changed innervation and blood flow in the skin? Is this something nature should resolve on its own or should this be examined and treated by a vet?
Freek does live partially outside and our autumn finally gets rainy, but his fur is very dense and long, so his skin doesn't get wet. My other cat has skinissues also, but that's looking totally different and is thought to be atopic eczema.
Thanks for your reaction!
Hester, if you can try adding images that will help our Fairy Vet Mother Dr. Pam. Thanks!
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No it is not normal; technically in cats this is often called miliary dermatitis and can be secondary to flea bites or environmental allergies. The cat often makes the lesions worse by licking or scratching. I would comb the entire cat with a flea comb to see if you see any fleas or flea dirt. Is this cat itchy? Normally in dogs you may be able to control this with chlorhexidine shampoo but cats are not a fan of this. You can try chlorhexidine mousse or sprays but ultimately your cat may need to see the vet.
Pam
Hi,
thanks for your reaction. He's not itchy at all, I actually don't see him grooming his scar at all (front paw amputee). And it doesn't look like the pictures of miliary dermatitis I found with google. His fur stays quite dense at the affected places.
The scabs are white, and it gives dandruff when trying to remove them. The dandruff flakes you see on the picture formed one large scab, but when I try to peel it off, it desintegrated in dandruff. It looks like old skincells don't get loose on their own but get stuck at the bottom of his fur. Maybe just large plaques of dandruff? It feels a little bit like a prominence on his skin. Really hard to explain it in English when it's not your native language. Also hard to take a good picture of it.
It is hard to guess the cause but if there are scabs under the coat then this is probably some sort of bacterial infection just like rain rot but probably not due to moisture. Topical chlorhexidine should work or you can contact your veterinarian for an antibiotic injection such as Convenia or oral antibiotics if the topical treatment does not help.
Pam
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