Treatment Of Cat Miliary Skin Inflammation

Dermatitis in cats is not considered to be a disease, but a collection of cat skin problems responding to a variety of other conditions and cat skin disease.

Feline miliary dermatitis has many other names that cat owners may recognize: blotch, scabby cat disease and cat eczema. It doesn’t matter what you call it, your cat is itchy, uncomfortable and risks of getting a major infection if this is not handled. Incidentally, the name feline miliary dermatitis came to be known as miliary dermatitis because the blotches you see look similar to millet seeds. Also, it is interesting to know that not all cats scratch and itch when they have feline miliary dermatitis.

What causes cat army rash? The list is a long one, and might surprise any cat lover when you see that the reason or cause is flea bites, something that might send you on a panic run through your home to get rid of the pests. Other typical triggers are:

• Bacterial infections
• Fungal complaints
• Allergies of any kind e.g. Including nutrition, bug bites etc.
• Yeast-related infection
• Insects such as mites or lice
• Internal insects, like worms
• Autoimmune illnesses
• Nutritive deficiencies
• Hormone disequilibrium
• Ringworm
• Unknown causes

The list of what causes feline miliary dermatitis is helpful, as it dictates what the treatment will be after the veterinarian has inspected your cat. Often, you may know to take your cat to the vet when you see or feel little, crusty lumps on your cat on the jaw, back and neck and at the base of the tail. A number of these lumps, with red splotches under them, are little, but there may also be large areas over the cat’s body.

Since the itch is generally severe, your cat may itch so much that there is in depth skin inflammation from the frenzied licking and scratching. While you will not always “notice” the bumps because of the way the coat covers the skin, if the cat is spending more time itching and twitching, do a very quck exam using your fingers to palpitate the outer skin layer under the coat. That done; take the cat to the vet for an examination, which is the easy part. The hard part is working out what led to the feline military rash.

Often the vet has seen similar conditions before, making it easier to figure out the cause by the location of the bumps. Typically if the skin lesions are at the base of the tail, you’re generally coping with cat flea dermatitis. If you see skin lesions localized in the head area, you probably have to pursue treatment for a parasitic disorder such as mites. Looking for fleas involves combing the coat to see if there's flea feces or live fleas present. To check for mites, the vet needs a skin scraping. If ringworm is suspected, kitty hairs are pulled and sent to a lab to be cultured.

If all else is eliminated, it can be an allergic response. This implies an allergic reaction elimination diet or your cat is given a prescription diet, sold by the vet. If that helps, the puzzle is solved.

As you can tell, the cause dictates the the treatment protocol. For example, for parasitic problems such as fleas, lice and mites the veterinarian may prescribe products with pyrethrin. For ringworm, the cat may get oral or topical medicines with an anti-fungal agent in them and for worms, an anthelmetic/dewormer is given. And for bacteria or yeast infestations, either antibiotics or antifungals are employed.

Your cat might also get anti-inflammtory prescription medications, antihistamines, an omega-3 or 6 supplement, biotin, sprays, dips, topical creams or gels and shampoos. If you like to use natural remedies, you may want to try aloe vera gel and/or home remedies such as baking soda rinses to dry the bumps up. Another tip is to experiment with a betadine wash to dry the bumps up.

Cathy Doggins is a contributor to cat cat care publications and has written for years on problems such as feline miliary dermatitis. When not caring for her two moggies, Cathy is well known for her contributions to the Cat Health Guide, the premiere online cat health reference employed by thousands of cat lovers each day.