# Skin Condition - clumpy and grumpy :(



## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Tequila, my 10-year old "fluffy" male - and I don't mean fluffy fur, I mean fat (near 20 lbs) has a pretty baffling skin condition.

Around November, he started getting very *flaky skin* on his back, particularly above his tail area. *Dandruff*, but yet *oily skin* is rampant. Had fleas once before (spring 2010), *no fleas now*. (was very allergic to fleas at the time). *Pulls out chunks of fur* and leaves them around my apartment. *Scratches himself *and frequently *licks around his back area. Extremely sensitive to touch, *back-ripples and meows angrily at me when I pet him anywhere on his back half. Condition has now progressed to *matted clumps of fur *on his backside, above his tail.

Thought it was from the forced heat in my apt during the wintertime, used a humidifier. Did not help, and condition persists even though the heat has been off since March. Took him to the vet for his checkup, mentioned to the vet, did not come up with a conclusion (contributed it to old age grumpiness, what?!) Changed his food to Blue canned five weeks ago, did not help. His size prevents him from properly cleaning himself, but I cannot imagine this is the sole reason for his condition.

Seeing a different vet this Friday morning; also considering seeing a animal dermatologist but the guy charges $150 just to be seen. 

Tequila is chewing up his left rear leg as I type this. Ugh.

Will keep you posted but any thoughts would be appreciated.

My boy


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Quick response as I need to leave work and go home...but I believe that hypothyroid symptoms also include greasy and matted fur. Combine those symptoms with his weight and it seems to point in that direction. I can double check on this later or you can research if you see this before I get a chance. 

In any case I think he needs some bloodwork done...


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Thanks, appreciate that. He had bloodwork done in late February and it came back fine - no issues at all. But I may have them do it again..


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## MinkaMuffin (Apr 1, 2011)

Overweight cats have a hard time grooming themselves and one of the first results is dandruff and oily skin. Giving him a bath and getting weight off of him should help immensly. (My cat had the worst dandruff I've ever seen when I got him at 22lbs, after a bath and food change, it has gone away, and now at 18lbs he can groom himself a bit better, but I still have to brush him a lot and 'wash' him with a wet handtowel to keep his coat healthy.)
Other issues can present themselves because of the stresses of being overweight, so like dooblebug said, I would get a blood panel done to rule out hyperthyroidism, diabetes, etc.

~
Read what you wrote a bit more carefully.
While it may not seem like enough, if blood panel rules out other causes, not being able to groom can be enough to cause these symptoms. Cats normally groom their whole bodies at least once a day, and if they can't reach an area well, the skin can become sensitive and irritated, which could then lead to pulling out hair, etc.

But the hair-pulling is quite worrying because it could Not be caused by inability to groom. It could be stress, it could be some other skin issue.. I would definetely get a second opinion and if possible, that dermatoligist.

Best of luck to your kitty, he's quite handsome.


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Thanks everyone. I'm off to the vet right now. Isn't it wild how, when one cat goes in the carrier, the other one is suddenly all curious and poking fun? Lumen is making fun of T in his carrier right now.. so not nice.

Lumen is very "teasing" to T often.. jumping on him sleeping peacefully and so forth.. probably adding to his stress.


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Hi all,

Blood work is "beautiful" according to the vet (she reviewed the blood work from late February), no signs of hypothyroidism, diabetes, or fleas or anything.. but, he is on a strict diet. He is 20 lbs even (!) and needs to get down to 14. The issue is, like you've said, that he cannot reach to groom himself.

She gave me the prescription stuff. The Hills Prescription Diet r/d, canned and dry. I HAAAATE the ingredients label, but if it's shrot-term, I hope it's alright. I've seen worse in the stores. I'll check the forum for thoughts on r/d.

He needs a good bathing; I'm taking him to the groomers on Thurs (a week from yesterday). That should help tremendously. I do brush him once every other day, but I will be more often and more consistent.

He also has a follow-up appt with the vet a week from today - he's got a small (bead-size) bright-red lesion on his lower right gum where the top right tooth hits it. Looks like he had a cut and the tooth is now affecting its healing. She gave me clavamox antibiotics to aid the healing process.


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

This was him at the vet today, saying quite plainly: MOM TAKE ME HOME!!!


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

Update - Teq LOVES the r/d. Inhales it. Kinda weird.

But Teq still hates being touched and is being overly aggressive to Lumen. Lumen only comes within 5 feet of Teq, and he (Teq) hisses and growls and swipes at her (L). It's really sad. They've never completely gotten along, even though I introduced them properly and over a week's time (was that too short?) He's always been an only-cat til L showed up. He's always been so aggressive to her (except in the very beginning, then they would groom and lick each other).

What changed? Ugh.

Back to vet on Friday this week coming up to check on his mouth issue.


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## MinkaMuffin (Apr 1, 2011)

blondie1483 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Blood work is "beautiful" according to the vet (she reviewed the blood work from late February), no signs of hypothyroidism, diabetes, or fleas or anything.. but, he is on a strict diet. He is 20 lbs even (!) and needs to get down to 14. The issue is, like you've said, that he cannot reach to groom himself.
> 
> ...


That's great that his blood panel came out well, you can breathe a sigh of relief. 

If your vet is only giving you the diet food for his obesity problem, then I would return it. As you saw, it is full of by-products and grains and flavorings (which is why he likes it) and overall, not a good choice for actual weight loss. My 22lb cat was recommended the same, and it did nothing for him. It wasn't till I moved him to a 100% wet diet that his coat cleared up and I started to see increase in muscle and loss of fat.

"if it's short-term" - Even if he loses 1 pound a month, it would still be 6 months before he is back to proper weight. And once he gets further along in weight loss, 1 pound a month will be too much as they can only safely lose 1-2% per week. So you'd be paying the vet big bucks for 8+ months.

The bathing will help immensely. You can also try using baby or cat wipes on his fur when it looks oily, and then brushing it out a bit to move the oils around properly until he can groom again.


blondie1483 said:


> This was him at the vet today, saying quite plainly: MOM TAKE ME HOME!!!


Don't tell him I said he looks cute when he's angry. =^.^=


blondie1483 said:


> Update - Teq LOVES the r/d. Inhales it. Kinda weird.
> 
> But Teq still hates being touched..


So did my cat. Made it twice as hard to switch to better food later. It's just got lots of flavorings in it to make them like it; pretty much like junk food. :/

It's only been two days, it's going to take a bit for his skin to heal. I know it feels like forever when you are anxious and waiting for their recovery. ((hugs))


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

The latest (and prob last) update on this thread:

I took him to the groomer this past Tuesday (three days ago) to get a soothing bath and a proper brush-out. Turns out, the shampooing REALLY helped him a lot! His skin is a lot less sensitive, less flaky, and (most importantly) he is SO much happier! Purring a lot, letting you pet him, even getting along with my other cat much better. I think I will take him to get bathed every eight weeks. It soothed him so much, well worth it.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

blondie1483 said:


> This was him at the vet today, saying quite plainly: MOM TAKE ME HOME!!!


OMG! He's a handsome boy. He looks like a bigger version of my Egypt:










I would agree that the Hill's will be a waste of money with very little result. No grain canned will be a much better fit.


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## MinkaMuffin (Apr 1, 2011)

blondie1483 said:


> The latest (and prob last) update on this thread:
> 
> I took him to the groomer this past Tuesday (three days ago) to get a soothing bath and a proper brush-out. Turns out, the shampooing REALLY helped him a lot! His skin is a lot less sensitive, less flaky, and (most importantly) he is SO much happier! Purring a lot, letting you pet him, even getting along with my other cat much better. I think I will take him to get bathed every eight weeks. It soothed him so much, well worth it.


Yay!


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## lyttleravyn (May 5, 2010)

I'm glad he is feeling better! When I first read your post I definitely thought a thorough bath would help tremendously. As cats get older their skin and coats continue to get greasier and greasier. When hair sheds it "clumps" to the live coat with oil and if not combed out can eventually form mats. A proper degreasing bath, blow dry and comb out on a regular basis can help keep his coat in great condition. Can I ask where in NJ you took him to? I'm a cat groomer in Howell and a woman who attended the same cat school as me (the National Cat Groomers Institute of America) is a mobile groomer in Hopewell, we are both Certified Feline Master Groomers.


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## blondie1483 (Jan 19, 2011)

NJgroomer said:


> I'm glad he is feeling better! When I first read your post I definitely thought a thorough bath would help tremendously. As cats get older their skin and coats continue to get greasier and greasier. When hair sheds it "clumps" to the live coat with oil and if not combed out can eventually form mats. A proper degreasing bath, blow dry and comb out on a regular basis can help keep his coat in great condition. Can I ask where in NJ you took him to? I'm a cat groomer in Howell and a woman who attended the same cat school as me (the National Cat Groomers Institute of America) is a mobile groomer in Hopewell, we are both Certified Feline Master Groomers.


Hey, thanks! I took him to the Bridgewater PetSmart (next to the Somerset Patriots Minor League Baseball Stadium) and the girl I dealt with was really great. I'll be sure to PM you to ask about rates, etc!


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