DERMATOLOGY
A big tip : Consider the calendar : If a cat ’ s pruritus is seasonal , you do not need to perform a food trial . But if the pruritus is not seasonal , you do need to perform a food trial . " Blood testing for food allergies is unreliable , inaccurate and a total waste of your client ’ s money .”
We have established a facebook group earlier this year and already have 700 members from all over the world . We would like to invite all Veterinarians who are interest in Veterinary Dermatology to join . With this new platform we will be able to communicate easier and share interesting cases , discuss difficult cases , new treatments , etc .
In order to join the SAVDIG , a registered facebook account is required . It is really simple .
1 . Go to www . facebook . com
2 . Register yourself as a user on facebook under create account . All new users must have a functional email address .
3 . During registration please stipulate the region and practice you work at for our demographic purposes .
3 . Once you have registered and have a fully functional facebook account please click on the link below or copy this into the URL whilst you are logged into facebook https :// www . facebook . com / groups / 300873470265888 /? ref = bookmarks 4 . You can request to join this group and we will confirm . 5 . The facebook page allows each member to upload any photos or post remarks .
If you have any struggles or need assistance please feel free to email Cameron Prior on u29072299 @ tuks . co . za . Cameron is a keen final year veterinary student at Onderstepoort , who has been very helpful in changing the format away from the old web forum site to a newer social media platform to make the group more accessible .
Interested parties can also contact Heidi Schroeder ( wpsam @ absamail . co . za ) or Andy Leizewitz ( Andrew . Leisewitz @ up . ac . za )
Food allergy Food allergies can start at any age , so it isn ’ t unusual to have an older cat that breaks out with pruritus due to food allergies . Dr . Ghubash cautions that , in her opinion , you should be on the lookout for this more in Siamese and Siamese cross-breeds than others .
Changing the diet to a veterinary prescription diet for 12 weeks is the only accurate way to diagnose food allergies in Dr . Ghubash ' s opinion . The reason the over-the-counter ( OTC ) diets don ' t work for food trials is because the food companies frequently " cobatch " when they produce their foods . This means that they use the same equipment to produce different brands of specific foods . This can frequently lead to differences in allergen content in each bag on the shelf . Dr . Ghubash points out that there was a study that demonstrated that OTC venison diets had microscopic traces of other proteins in them . As a result , there is no OTC diet that she recommends for a food trial .
Think food allergies are off the hook if the cat improves with corticosteroids ? Dr . Ghubash says think again as some cats do .
Targeted testing You can ’ t use a blood allergy test to diagnose allergies or atopy . Make the diagnosis and then use the blood tests to tailor your immunotherapy .
It ’ s never wrong to step back and do a biopsy , says Dr . Ghubash . The results might tell you that the animal is allergic . Sometimes you may need multiple samples , and remember to send your samples to a pathologist who is comfortable reading skin histopathology . The results might tell you that the animal is allergic , or that they have a condition only diagnosable via biopsy .
Allergies to parasites If the cat goes outdoors at all , rule out flea allergies before anything else , even if you don ’ t find any fleas or flea dirt and the cat is receiving monthly flea control . Some cats are excellent groomers and can groom any live fleas or their evidence ( flea dirt ) that were ever there off of their bodies before a reaction is shown . Dr . Ghubash says that , “ Regardless of the history , the vast majority of itchy cats that you see are going to be flea-allergic .”
You may note a pattern in these cases , with the pruritus being located mostly in the dorsal and lumbar regions . If you see that , think parasites : fleas , Cheyletiella and Notoedres species and Demodex gatoi .
A note about diagnosis : it can take months to rule out flea allergy , but Dr . Ghubash would recommend doing that before initiating food trials . “ Putting them on once-a-month flea preventives and still letting them go outside is not ruling flea allergy out ,” she says . She recommends keeping the cat indoors , implementing
Issue 06 | DECEMBER 2016 | 13