This week, Rocco was looking a whole lot better. Rocco is now five years old. His owners had adopted him off the streets as a tiny malnourished kitten and had done a super job to turn him into one of those very large ginger cats we often come across in Malta. Until three months ago, the only reason for them ever coming to the clinic was to give Rocco his annual vaccinations and to have him neutered. This time, however, it was a bit more serious.
Rocco had developed raw red weepy blisters on all four paws. His owners told me that it had started with a couple of small localised areas and had spread quite rapidly. Initially, Rocco had seemed unfazed. Now he seemed to spend his time overzealously licking and grooming his paws to the extent that many of his paw pads were swollen with red raw skin. His owners were alarmed – their once beautiful cat was rapidly losing condition and clearly in discomfort.
A clinical examination turned up nothing untoward. All blood tests were negative and he was otherwise eating and drinking normally. Having excluded a food allergy and some of the more common sources of dermatitis such as a flea allergy, it seemed that the problem was, quite literally, skin deep. Rocco was suffering from contact dermatitis. The tricky part would be finding out what type of contact dermatitis was afflicting him, and what the underlying cause might be.
Contact dermatitis is an uncommon skin disease that happens when your cat or dog touches or comes into contact with something that irritates the skin. Areas such as the chin, chest, belly and paws, are more prone to being affected because the fur is sparse on these parts. There are two type of contact dermatitis: allergic and irritant.
Allergic contact dermatitis is, quite simply, an allergy. Like most allergies, your pet might be in contact with the allergen for some time with no outward visible signs manifesting themselves. During this period, your pet’s skin slowly becomes sensitised to the cause of the allergy until one day the symptoms suddenly become evident. With this type of contact dermatitis, skin sensitisation generally lasts between six months and two years before the symptoms become visible.
Irritant contact dermatitis behaves differently. There is no period of skin sensitisation. As soon as your pet comes into contact with the substance that irritates the skin, there will quickly be a reaction. The problem is that both allergic and irritant contact dermatitis tend to present the same type of symptoms.
Contact dermatitis is generally characterised by a rash on the skin. Some cases might present clusters of red welts that look like hives – commonly referred to as urticaria. Other cases like Rocco’s might develop red and itchy skin with blisters that burst and weep. Left untreated, the blisters will thicken and become crusty and scaly. Fur loss then becomes inevitable.
If you suspect that your pet might have some form of contact dermatitis, you should visit your veterinarian sooner rather than later
Some causes of allergic contact dermatitis include detergents or shampoos, plastic feeding bowls or toys, carpet cleaners or deodorisers, cleaning solvents, antiseptic solutions and insecticides such as fly spray.
Causes of irritant contact dermatitis similarly include soaps and shampoos, cleaning solvents and sprays, household deodorisers, perfume, soil fertiliser and even certain plants such as the green or reddish-purple wandering Jew plant that is so popular locally.
Whichever the case, your cat or dog will inevitably display outward symptoms of discomfort such as nipping, licking, scratching and even biting the affected areas. Biting and licking will bring on secondary infections to the area and the problem is compounded. If you suspect that your pet might have some form of contact dermatitis, you should visit your veterinarian sooner rather than later.
The vet will discuss with you your pet’s medical history. Having excluded a food or flea allergy, he or she may conduct blood tests, skin allergy tests, or take scrapings to examine for parasites or ringworm. If these too turn out negative, the vet will then consider the possibility of an irritant causing the contact dermatitis. In the meantime, the vet will prescribe medication that will reduce the inflammation of the skin and make your ailing pet’s life less miserable. If secondary infections are present, these too will be addressed.
With contact dermatitis, your cooperation and observation as pet owners is paramount until all possible causes have been eliminated. You also need to be patient since it can sometimes take time before all potential sources of allergens have been eliminated.
Rocco’s owners were determined to help their cat live a better life. As the weeks progressed, we meticulously rejected a series of suspect allergens and irritants. The breakthrough came when we decided to try a period of enforced confinement. For three weeks, Rocco was not allowed out of the house.
Rocco’s usual escape route had become routine. Right next to the house was a patch of undeveloped scrubland. Every evening, he would scale the high garden wall and leap down into the open field below.
This summer has been long and hot and this past year has been very dry. Any vegetation that has not yet turned to dust is now sharp, prickly and dusty.
For Rocco, the confinement was unbearable. Although he had been spayed, he still regarded himself as the king of the neighbourhood and had become accustomed to roaming around during the night. He meowed vociferously and continuously, but his owners were determined to find the source of allergen and ignored his pleas for release.
Rocco’s confinement proved that whatever it was that was causing his contact dermatitis, it was likely to be in that field. Perhaps the force of his landing onto the brittle dry grass forced particles of dirt into his paws. Having found the likely cause of allergen, Rocco’s skin dermatitis started to calm down and heal healthily. The difficult part will be to convince Rocco to stay in, at least for a while.
thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com
Dr Martin Debattista is a veterinary surgeon.