ITCHY SKIN

In a previous article we dealt with the subject of fleas and the problems they can cause. Although they are still the commonest form of skin irritation for dogs and cats, there are many other skin related problems. A dog or a cat may be brought to us because the owner has noticed the coat getting a bit thin in places although they haven’t seen their pet scratching. This is often because the animal’s coat is itchy but during the busy day it goes unnoticed. It is only later on when the animal is quiet, that they become aware of the itchy skin and start to scratch. Cats, being very clean animals, are always grooming themselves, so a little extra grooming goes unnoticed until the coat goes bald. A good clue to an over-grooming cat is to run your hand against the hair. In a normal cat the hair feels smooth; in one with a problem, the hair feels spiky. This is because the cat has bitten off the end of the hair in an attempt to ease the itching. As the weather warms up we will see more itchy (or pruritic to give it its proper name) animals. This is because, like us, dogs and cats have a variety of allergies that will irritate the skin. These include pollens from a variety of plants, house dust mites, some foods and of course our old friend, the flea.

Animals are much like people in the variety of response they have to an itchy coat. Some people with say, a midge bite, will scratch away, while others barely notice. This means that some animals will scratch occasionally and it takes a sharp eye to spot it, whereas others will chew and scratch so hard as to make the skin bleed. Once that animal has got to this stage, they usually need treating for a deeper infection in the skin as well as trying to find out why they scratched in the first place. In some cases the original reason for scratching has long gone but the skin is still sore from the biting. For severe cases we frequently use a combination of antibiotics for the infection and steroids for the irritation. Much has been written about the harmful effects of steroids, but used correctly they can be wonderfully beneficial, particularly in dogs and cats that do nothing but scratch. In most cases a single course of treatment is enough to restore the animal to full health, but occasionally we see dogs (but occasionally cats) with a more problematic skin. These are frequently allergies and can be very time consuming and expensive to investigate. Blood tests and allergy testing in the skin can help enormously but it can often be along time before the underlying cause is found and, as importantly, eliminated.