Content
- What is feline miliary dermatitis?
- External parasites as a cause
- Treatment to follow
- Flea bite allergy as a cause
- Atopic dermatitis as a cause
- Food allergies as a cause
I'm sure you feline lovers have already been surprised to caress your cat, feeling little pimples on your skin. It may be that he didn't even notice, or that his appearance was so obvious and alarming that he had to go to the vet.
In this article by PeritoAnimal we will explain the origin of feline miliary dermatitis, you symptoms which presents and the treatment that you should follow, in addition to other advice.
What is feline miliary dermatitis?
Miliary dermatitis is a common signal in many conditions. To be able to compare, it is equivalent to saying that a person has a cough. The origin of the cough can be quite varied and may even have nothing to do with the respiratory system, and the same happens with feline miliary dermatitis.
The terms "miliary dermatitis" refer to the appearance on the cat's skin of a variable number of pustules and scabs. In other words, it is a skin rash, frequent especially on the head, neck and back, but it is also quite common on the abdomen and we can see it when shaving this area.
In general, many appear and are small, which is why the word "miliary" is used. Although we didn't realize it (because the cat lives outside), it is almost always accompanied by itching, which in fact is directly responsible for manifesting this eruption.
The most common causes of miliary dermatitis are:
- Parasites (ear mites, notohedral mange mites, lice,...).
- Allergic dermatitis to flea bites.
- Atopic dermatitis (it can be defined as a generalized allergy, from dust mite to pollen, passing through various types of materials).
- Food allergies (allergy to some component of the feed).
External parasites as a cause
The most common is that our cat has a parasite that causes it itch, and constant scratching gives rise to the rash we know as miliary dermatitis. Below, we show you the most common ones:
- ear mites (otodectes cynotis): This small mite inhabits the ears of cats, causing a great itch with its activity. It usually gives rise to the appearance of miliary dermatitis in the neck and around the pinna, including the nape area.
- notohedral mange mite (Cati Notoheders): A cousin of the dog's sarcoptic mange mite, but in a feline version. In the early stages the lesions are usually seen on the ears, neck skin, nasal plane... The skin thickens considerably due to continuous scratching. You can get more information about this disease in the PeritoAnimal article on mange in cats.
- Lice: it is very common to see them in cat colonies. Their bite (they feed on blood) causes again an itch that the cat tries to soothe by scratching. And from there comes the rash we refer to as miliary dermatitis.
Treatment to follow
These external parasites respond to application of selamectin either topically (on intact skin) or systemic (eg, subcutaneous ivermectin). Today, there are many pipettes on sale that contain selamectin and also optical preparations to apply directly to the ears based on ivermectin.
As with almost all acaricide treatments, it should be repeated after 14 days, and a third dose may even be necessary. In the case of lice, fipronil, applied as often as indicated several times, is usually quite effective.
Flea bite allergy as a cause
One of the most frequent allergies, which gives rise to miliary dermatitis, is flea bite allergy. these parasites inject an anticoagulant to can suck the blood of the cat, and it can be allergic to these parasites.
Even after eliminating all the fleas, this allergen remains present in the body for days, causing itching even though the responsible ones have been eliminated. In fact, a single flea is enough to trigger the process if the cat is allergic, but in the case of more fleas, miliary dermatitis is more serious, almost always.
Treating flea bite allergy as a cause of miliary dermatitis is quite simple, it should just get rid of the fleas. There are effective pipettes that repel the insect before it can feed.
Atopic dermatitis as a cause
Atopy is difficult to define. We refer to it as the process in which the cat is allergic to various things and this generates the inevitable itching, which associated with it these scabs and pustules that you call miliary dermatitis appear.
Treating it is almost more difficult than diagnosing or defining it, requiring recourse to steroid therapy and other adjuvant treatments, although by themselves they do not do much, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Food allergies as a cause
It's seen more and more often, but maybe it's because we're more and more concerned about our cats and we notice things we didn't notice before.
There are often no fleas or parasites, but our cat itches continuously, causing this miliary dermatitis, which, as in previous cases, can become contaminated and lead to a more or less serious infection.
It doesn't always have to be like this, but the itching usually appears on the head and neck and over time, it tends to become generalized. It is frustrating, as corticosteroid therapy is often tried but does not give the expected result. It may be scratching a few days less, but there is no clear improvement. Until you completely eliminate the cat's previous diet, and try to keep it for 4-5 weeks with a hypoallergenic feed and water, exclusively.
In the second week you will notice that the miliary dermatitis is decreasing, the itching is lighter, and by the fourth, it will have practically disappeared. Reintroducing the previous diet to prove that the cat starts scratching again in two is the definitive way to diagnose it, but almost no veterinarian considers it necessary to do so.
There are still many other causes of miliary dermatitis in cats, from superficial skin infections, autoimmune diseases, other external parasites besides those mentioned, etc. But the intention of this PeritoAnimal article was to emphasize that miliary dermatitis is simply a common symptom from numerous causes, and until the cause is eliminated, the dermatitis will not disappear.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.