The Cat with Non-inflammatory Alopecia
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Updated:
SEP 25, 2006
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Key Questions
> How old was this patient when clinical signs were first recognized?
> How long has the disease been present and how did it progress?
> On which part of the body did the problem start?
> Is the disease seasonal?
> Are there other clinical signs such as sneezing, coughing, or diarrhea?
> What do you feed the animal? Was a special diet used in the past?
> Are there any other animals in the household?
> Does anybody in the household have a skin disease?
> Was the disease treated before? If so, which drugs were used and how successful was treatment?
> What is used for flea control now?
> When was the last medication given?
Differential Diagnoses
Non-inflammatory alopecia is a feline cutaneous reaction pattern that may have various causes. Hormonal alopecia is extremely rare in the feline and typically, affected cats show other severe signs. Psychogenic alopecia in the cat is greatly overdiagnosed. The disease usually affects purebred cats with a nervous disposition. Environmental changes such as a new partner, baby, pet, or a move to a new house precede clinical signs. Most cats with non-inflammatory alopecia are pruritic as a result of allergies and may be closet groomers. Many cats previously diagnosed with hormonal alopecia and treated successfully with medroxyprogesteron acetate or megestrol acetate have responded because the anti-inflammatory action of these medications have controlled their pruritus caused by allergies, not because of a correction of their hormonal imbalance. The differential diagnoses for feline non-inflammatory alopecia are listed in Table 2-9.
Table 2-9. Differential Diagnoses, Commonly Affected Sites, Recommended Diagnostic Tests, Treatment Options, and Prognosis in a Cat with Non-inflammatory Alopecia | ||||
Disease | Affected Sites | Diagnostic Tests | Treatment | Prognosis |
Flea-bite hypersensitivity | Dorsal lumbosacral area, caudal half of the body or generalized disease | Trichogram, flea control trial | Flea control, glucocorticoids, antihistamines, essential fatty acids | Good for well-being of the patient with continued management; guarded for cure. |
Atopy* (hypersensitivity to aeroallergens such as pollens, house dust mites, or mold spores) | Cranial half of the body, ventrum, flanks or generalized disease (Fig. 2-51) | Diagnosis based on history, physical examination, trichogram and ruling out differential diagnoses. Intradermal skin test allows formulation of immunotherapy | Allergen-specific immunotherapy, antihistamines, essential fatty acids, glucocorticoids | Good for well-being of the patient with continued management; guarded for cure. |
Food adverse reaction (may or may not be allergic, commonly reaction to a protein, rarely an additive, clinically indistinguishable from atopy) | Cranial half of the body, ventral abdomen or generalized disease | Trichogram, elimination diet | Avoidance, antihistamines, essential fatty acids, glucocorticoids | Excellent, if offending protein(s) is (are) identified and avoided. Fair with continued management, if offending proteins are not identified. Guarded for cure. |
Dermatophytosis (in this form typically caused by M. canis) | Focal or generalized | Trichogram, cytology, Wood's lamp, fungal culture, biopsy | Antifungal agents | Poor for catteries and Persians, good otherwise. |
Psychogenic alopecia (due to excessive grooming caused by psychological factors) | Medial forelegs, caudal abdomen, inguinal region. | History, trichogram | Environmental changes, glucocorticoids, anxiolytic drugs. | Fair |
Hyperadrenocorticism* (very rare, similar pathogenesis to same condition in dogs) | Polydipsia, polyuria, weight loss, anorexia, polyphagia, depression, muscle wasting, alopecia (flanks, ventrum, or entire trunk), fragile skin | Ultrasonography, ACTH stimulation test, low-dose dexamethasone suppression test | Metyrapone, o,p´-DDD, ketoconazolehave been used | Poor |
Anagen defluxion (severe diseases or antimitotic drugs interfere with hair growth, resulting in abnormal hair shafts, which causes hair to break off suddenly) | Alopecia of sudden onset | History, trichogram | Addressing the underlying cause | Excellent if causative factor is removed |
Telogen effluvium (severe stress, such as shock, fever, surgery causes abrupt cessation of hair growth and switching to catagen and then telogen phases in many follicles, which are all shed simultaneously 1 to 3 months after the insult) | Focal to generalized alopecia | History, trichogram | Not needed, if stress was a singular event | Excellent |
Figure 2-51. Non-inflammatory alopecia in a cat with atopy (Courtesy of Dr. Wayne Rosenkrantz).
Figure 2-52. The cat with non-inflammatory alopecia.
About
How to reference this publication (Harvard system)?
(2006) “The Cat with Non-inflammatory Alopecia”, Dermatology for the Small Animal Practitioner. Available at: https://www.ivis.org/library/dermatology-for-small-animal-practitioner/cat-non-inflammatory-alopecia (Accessed: 25 March 2023).
Affiliation of the authors at the time of publication
Department of Clinical Sciences, Coll. of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
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ISBN-10
1893441091
ISBN-13
978-1893441095
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