Comprehensive Guide: Treatment & Medications for Cat Sk

Dear pet parents of our fluffy feline friends, it's crucial to understand that treating your cat's skin issues with haphazard medications can be incredibly harmful. Different skin conditions require different treatment principles, and the misuse of drugs can not only render them ineffective but also potentially worsen the condition. This can lead to damage to your cat's hair follicles, making it difficult for that area to grow new fur.

Cats can suffer from a variety of skin diseases, including ringworm (fungal infection), dermatitis (bacterial infection), mites, allergic dermatitis, and black chin, among others. Each type of skin condition necessitates a different kind of topical medication; otherwise, your efforts will be in vain! If your cat is exhibiting symptoms like hair loss, dandruff, bumps, frequent scratching, or chewing at the skin, take a deep breath. Let's delve into how to identify and treat different types of feline skin diseases.

Part One: Common Types of Feline Skin Diseases

1. Ringworm

• Common Areas: Around the eyes, lips, nose, limbs, and ears

• Symptoms: Itching, hair loss, rough and easily broken hair, circular or elliptical bald spots with dandruff or redness

2. Bacterial Dermatitis

• Common Areas: Around the eyes, between the toes, and on the back

• Symptoms: Itching, redness, hair loss, red bumps, blisters, oozing, scabs, or scales

3. Ear Mites

• Common Areas: Outer ear canal, which can spread to the front of the head

• Symptoms: Frequent ear scratching and head shaking, leading to oozing, thickening of the ear skin, and scab formation. The outer ear canal will have many brownish waxylike secretions

4. Allergic Dermatitis

• Common Areas: Around the eyes, between the toes, under the arms, in the groin, and in the perineum

• Symptoms: Severe itching, redness, swelling, and sometimes bumps, scales, and hair loss

5. Black Chin/Oily Tail

• Common Areas: The chin, tail, and abdomen for black chin, which is a type of seborrheic dermatitis

• Symptoms: Coallike black spots on the chin, which later turn into boils. The surrounding skin becomes red, swollen, painful, itchy, and starts to lose hair

Part Two: Diagnosing Feline Skin Diseases

1. SelfExamination: Pet owners can make a preliminary judgment based on their cat's symptoms and affected areas. If ringworm is suspected, a Wood's lamp can be used to check in a dimly lit room. Ringworm is often caused by Microsporum canis, which will glow a fluorescent green under the lamp.

2. Professional Diagnosis: If you're unsure about the type of skin disease, it's best to visit a veterinary clinic for a skin scrape test. Professional diagnosis can accurately identify the type of skin disease and also rule out mixed infections with fungi, bacteria, mites, and other pathogens.

Part Three: Treating Feline Skin Diseases

1. Ringworm

Medications like terbinafine or ketoconazole, such as terbinafine hydrochloride and Dapsone (ketoprofen cream), are generally recommended. If the infection is severe, oral itraconazole may be prescribed at a dose of 510mg/kg, once daily.

Caution: While oral itraconazole is more effective, it can cause gastrointestinal side effects like vomiting and loss of appetite, and it increases the metabolic burden on the liver and kidneys, so it should not be taken longterm.

2. Bacterial Dermatitis

For mild symptoms, iodine solution can be used for disinfection, followed by applying erythromycin ointment for inflammation. For skin breaks, it is recommended to use Piptop skin spray + Fuanlte (zinc oxide ointment), and oral antibiotics to control the infection.

3. Ear Mites

Use an ear cleaning solution to clean the ear secretions, then apply a compound nystatin ointment.

Regularly deworm your cat with products containing selamectin, ivermectin, or pyrantel moxidectin, which are effective against ear mites. We particularly recommend Dipai (pyrantel moxidectin drops) deworming medication, which can also kill fleas, lice, roundworms, tapeworms, and 12 other internal and external parasites, has a broad spectrum, is safe, and is affordable.

4. Allergic Dermatitis

Keep your cat away from allergens, and use Newmeino (chlorphenamine maleate tablets) to block allergic reactions and relieve itching symptoms. Apply Piptop skin spray + zinc oxide ointment topically, and ensure your cat wears an Elizabethan collar to prevent it from licking the skin.

5. Black Chin/Oily Tail

Clean the affected area with normal saline or chlorhexidine solution, then apply erythromycin ointment, zinc oxide ointment, or mupirocin ointment.

Switch your cat to a cat food with less surface oil and clean the cat bowl regularly. If a male cat's oily tail recurs frequently, it's advisable to undergo a neutering surgery at a veterinary clinic.

During treatment, make sure to fit your cat with an Elizabethan collar and maintain a clean environment. If you notice improvement in the skin after 35 days of treatment, continue with the medication consistently. Don't let your efforts be in vain by skipping doses!