# Crusty bumps on my kitty's body



## Jang (Jul 6, 2010)

I just got a new kitty, Bosco, a few days ago and I instantly noticed little crusty bumps throughout his body. At first I thought it was food or dirt that got matted into his fur and so I tried removing them, but upon closer inspection it appears to be crusty skin that is somewhat clumping on to the fur. The fur comes right off by gently tugging at it, and below the crusty area the skin is pink and reddish. It is on the top of his head, neck, back, thighs, and a large amount on the very tip of his tail. The crusty areas range from 1/8in. to 1/2 in. and are in irregular shapes. He didn't react to me touching or trying to remove the crustiness so I guess they are not painful.

I tried researching it online and it seems like it may be Feline Miliary Dermatitis except that he doesn't seem to itch himself at all. He's perfectly fine otherwise, healthy appetite, good stool, playful and alert, and no bald patches.

Any ideas what it may be? Has anyone ever had a cat with Miliary Dermatitis?

Here's a picture of what it looks like:










And this is Bosco:


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## momocat (Aug 29, 2008)

My cat has a few of those too. I they they are flea bite scars.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Bosco is a cutie! My first thought is a flea-reaction. Even if you don't see any fleas, all it takes is one bite 
for the cat to have the allergic reaction. Can you try a spot-on flea treatment? Please, do not use the OTC 
products available at the grocery store, you need to find Advantage, Frontline or Revolution. 
Other things it could be are an allergic reaction to an ingredient in his food. Process of elimination will narrow 
down the possible causes and help you to eliminate the trigger. Vet visit could also be a good thing, especially 
to rule out the miliary dermatitis or ringworm (_though the pic looks *nothing* like ringworm_).
Best of luck,
heidi =^..^=


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Do you notice any little black specks that look and feel like dirt especially along back of neck and along the spine? If you see these it's "flea dirt"=feces, and as suggested cat should be treated for fleas. Also could be sensitivity to something in his food. Seems a lot of cats are sensitive to grains in foods. Most dry kibble type food isn't the best for cats, but you could try some that is "grain free", and usually cats do better on canned food.


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## Jang (Jul 6, 2010)

Thank you so much for your suggestions! I really hope that it is just fleas, if it is, I will definitely be asking my vet for either Advantage, Frontline or Revolution. I haven't noticed any dirt-like specs on his back, so hopefully he doesn't currently have fleas but had just been bitten before - that would be a best case scenario! My breeder just told me that Bosco really liked digging around in her pots on the porch...so hopefully it is not fungus. I will be getting him checked tomorrow by my vet just to be sure. 

As for his food, I have been feeding him Purina Pro Kitten wet food, and to my knowledge it is grain free (but I may be wrong). Just in case, I will be starting him on Red Dog Blue Kat raw food tomorrow.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

To avoid diarrhea or any digestive upset, it's best to convert to a different food, a little at a time over 3-4 days.


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## Jang (Jul 6, 2010)

Thanks for the advice, catloverami! I've mixed in a bit of raw food with his regular food, so far so good.

As for the crusty bumps - I took Bosco to the vet just now and he is quite certain that it is nothing more than a bacterial infection and gave him a dose of antibiotics. Hopefully this will do the trick and my kitty's skin will clear up!


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