Cleo�s Skin Problem

More than two months ago, Cleo went into a biting-OCD which resulted in bald patches on both her flanks. I took her to the vet and she was given flea treatment, but it did not resolve the OCD. Then we suspect she is allergic to something in the raw food, so we stopped that, and the biting-OCD reduced significantly.

Poor Cleo. She LOVES any type of raw food and was never allergic to it before, but now, looks like she has developed an allergy to something she absolutely craves.

Such is life, isn’t it? You love it so much and yet, you can no longer eat it now.

So we stopped all raw food and her skin began to heal. Hair started growing back and all was well until Monday when I noticed some bubble-like lesions on her forelimb. I was hoping it would resolve itself or get better but by yesterday, it began to look creepily like Tiger’s sporo wounds two years ago.

Yesterday was a public holiday and the vets whom I contacted were all closed. The hours passed very slowly and I was really worried.

This lesions don’t have the classic sporo-look, but Tiger’s sporo lesions (two years back) looked almost exactly like these. That’s what got me so worried.

Managing Tiger’s hyperesthesia has not been easy. He still gets into seizures every now and then if the we don’t stop him from biting his flank feverishly. The tshirts are both so holey now (from the teeth marks). When I’m at work, I cannot monitor him and can only hope for the best. If Cleo has a serious illness like sporotrichosis, managing two cats with illnesses will certainly be a great psychological and physical challenge.

Today, immediately after work, I took Cleo to the vet’s.

Taking Cleo to the vet is like World War III. Even having been our cat for 9 years, Cleo is still as feral as it comes. Cleo and Pole are both untamed. Wild. Primal instincts intact. They trust no one but themselves. Cleo was wailing non-stop in the car and even at the vet’s and it didn’t help that the waiting time was pretty long.

The vet said it didn’t look like the classic sporo lesions and looked more like moist bacterial dermatitis. Still, I was concerned as Tiger’s sporo lesions looked like these, so the vet took took two smear impressions and checked them under the microscope. There was no evidence of sporo spores. But it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s 100% not sporo. It just means no sporo spores were sighted in both smears. That itself, of course, is a relief. But the vet cautioned that if Cleo continues to lick the lesions, she might be creating an opportunity for sporo spores to set in and infect her. After all, sporo spores are extremely hardy and they live in the soil.

Why are tiny things like spores and viruses so hardy?!!

So, now, we need to allow these bacterial lesions to heal as soon as we can. Cleo must stop biting herself. We’ll have to monitor her closely and hope that no other lesions appear elsewhere. For now, it’s only on the left forelimb.

The vet cleaned the lesions with hibiscrub and we would go home, put on the e-collar and apply iodine on it. We would have to clean it daily, apply iodine and if possible, soaking in warm salt water might help as well (if Cleo would allow it).

Of course Cleo wasn’t happy at all, but she adjusted quite well. She managed to eat too.

Being “feral”, I suppose, means you should have all your survival instincts intact?

Tiger tried to console Cleo.

Hey Cleo, I have to wear this tshirt too, see? 

Wearing socks is not an option as we would want to air-dry the lesions to quicken healing. Also, I’m sure Cleo would tear the socks away.

If the “gold standard” for wearing the e-collar is Cow’s experience, then that record would be difficult to break. Cow was on the e-collar 24/7 for more than 21 days when he had his eye surgery and he coped.

We call Cow “IronCat”, for obvious reasons.

I really hope Cleo’s lesions will get better in a few days, then at least we know for sure it isn’t sporo.

Source: https://myanimalcare.org/2016/09/01/cleos-skin-problem-2/

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