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SCRATCHING PETS
“Our Commitment To Your Pet Lies In The Quality Of Our Care”
It is not easy to diagnose scratching in pets. We diagnose scratching using a combination of clinical assessments, imaging technologies, laboratory analysis, skin scrapings, where and how the lesion presents itself, etc. as you can see from the table below:-
Some of the reasons why pets itch and scratch are due to:-
- Allergy
- Cold
- Drugs
- Dry skin
- Electrical stimuli
- Endocrine problems
- Heat
- Infection
- Internal disorders
- Kidney problems
- Light
Some of the tests that we may need to do are:-
- MICROBIOLOGY TESTS
- Fungal culture
- Bacterial culture
- IMMUNOLOGIC PROCEDURES
- Intradermal skin tests
- Direct fluorescent antibody
- HISTOPATHOLOGY
- PROVOCATIVE EXPOSURE
- Environment
- Diet
- Drugs
The most likely diseases based on presentation and distribution could be any of the following:-
DISEASE |
HISTORY |
LESION (S) |
DISTRIBUTION |
SPECIAL TEST(S) |
Very pruritic conditions |
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Sarcoptic mange |
May be contagious
Dogs of all ages affected
Non seasonal |
Papules, excoriations |
Elbows, ear margins, ventral abdomen and chest |
Skin scraping, response to therapy |
Atopy |
Age:1-5 years
Breeds: terriers, golden retrievers, Irish setters
Seasonal and non seasonal |
Most cases have only pruritus, later papules, excoriations, erythema, and lichenification occur |
Face, ear pinna, axilla, abdomen |
Intradermal skin test (IDST) |
Flea allergy dermatitis |
Dogs and cats usually older than 1 year
Seasonal, except in subtropical climates |
Papules, excoriations
Cat: miliary crusty or papular lesions |
Dog: tail, head, inner thighs
Cat: neck, back |
Response to flea control
IDST with flea antigen |
Superficial staphylococcal dermatitis |
Usually young dogs- more common during warm months
Can be chronic
Tendency to relapse |
Papules, superficial pustules, erythematous collarettes with scales |
Abdomen- may generalize |
Response to antibiotic therapy |
Feline hyperesthesia syndrome |
Usually house cats
Any age
Psychologic episodes |
Pulling of hair |
Usually back, also limbs |
None |
Feline miliary dermatitis |
(see flea allergy dermatitis) |
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Rhabditic dermatitis |
Animals on wet straw |
Papular |
Ventral-abdomen and legs |
Skin scraping |
Notoedric mange |
Cats-contagious |
Papules, excoriations, crusts |
Head |
Skin scraping |
Subcorneal pustular dermatitis |
Recurrent vesiculopapular eruptions
Nonresponsive to antibiotics and corticosteroids |
Papules, vesicles, erosions, crusts |
Body and face (nose and ears) |
Histopathology - subcorneal pustules - response to dapsone |
Pemphigus (foliaceus and erythematosus) |
Dogs and cats of any age
Recurrent lesions |
Vesiculopustular eruptions, erosions, scales and crusts |
Face, body and feet
Mucocutaneous lesions are rare |
Histopathology - subcorneal acantholysis
Positive direct FA |
Dermatitis herpetiformis |
(see subcorneal pustular dermatitis) |
Vesiculopustular eruptions |
Body |
Histopathology - subcorneal pustules
Response to dapsone |
Bacterial folliculitis |
Younger short-haired dogs |
Papules, small pustules |
body |
Skin biopsy |
Acral pruritic nodule (lick granuloma) |
Usually solitary dogs
Constant licking of limb |
Nodule with eroded surface |
Forelimb |
Skin biopsy
Radiography of limb |
Drug eruption |
Recent drug therapy |
Papulomacular eruption |
No specific distribution |
Response to drug withdrawal |
Food allergy dermatitis |
Dogs and cats of any age
Non seasonal occurrence
Acute and chronic signs common |
Papules, erythematous plaques, excoriations
Lesions may be severe
Cats: may cause miliary dermatitis |
Dogs: no specific distribution
Cats: facial, may generalize |
Response to hypoallergenic diet
Skin biopsy |
Allergic contact dermatitis |
Non seasonal occurrence
Signs may wax and wane |
Papuloeruptive to erythematous plaques |
Ventral: feet, legs, abdomen, chest, axilla, neck |
Provocative exposure to potential allergens |
Mild to moderately pruritic conditions |
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Pediculosis |
Young animals |
Scales-small papules |
Generalized |
None |
Cheyletiella dermatitis |
Young animals |
Scales-small papules |
Generalized |
None |
Demodectic mange |
Usually dogs less than 3 years of age |
Alopecia, scales, erythema, pustules |
Localized- face, legs
Generalized - face, body, ear canals, feet |
Skin scraping |
Pyoderma |
No significant clues |
Pustules
Fistulous tracts |
Depends on type |
Bacterial culture |
Dermatophytosis |
Young animals |
Circular scaling or asymmetric patches of alopecia |
Head and legs usually
Body in some severe cases |
Fungal culture |
Seborrhea |
Common in spaniels
No significant clues |
Asymmetric patches of scales |
Body, face, ears |
None |
Nodular panniculitis |
Recurrent painful or pruritic nodules |
Nodules with necrotic centres |
Body |
Histopathology - necrosis and inflammation of fat |
Sporotrichosis |
Often develops following skin injury |
Nodules suppurative lymph nodes
Cats - erosive nodules |
Limbs- may follow lymphatics
Cats - head and face |
Cytology
Fungal culture
Histopathology - PAS and methenamine silver stains |
As you can appreciate the problems are many and will need to be identified. It is therefore recommended that your pet is seen by us at the earliest, to prevent the problem progressing and causing other complications. Early recognition and treatment means that your pet will recover sooner, and will therefore be far more comfortable. It is not only significantly more difficult to treat a pet in an advanced stage of the disease, as well as far more expensive, but one also has to take into account the significant pain and stress your pet is under by not being treated at the earliest.
We sincerely recommend that you please call us on 1300-838-738 (1300-VET-PET) to schedule an appointment at the earliest. We do not believe in berating our clients for presenting the pets late, as we believe that this is counter productive. It is not our intention to cause you any embarrassment, offence or anxiety. Our approach is now that you have presented your pet to us, how do we go forward from here, not only keeping your pet’s welfare at heart, but also working with your wishes and limiting factors. We do approach all cases presented to us with a level of sensitivity. As pet health care professionals we will present our assessment and treatment in a professional manner and factually as possible.
You may not be aware that in older pets multiple problems often arise as aging affects all body systems. As pets age they become increasingly vulnerable to diseases. The three leading causes of non accidental death in pets are cancer, kidney disease and heart disease. Older animals seldom suffer from a single disease. One problem may markedly influence the course of another. Ageing is characterised by progressive and irreversible change. Pets are likely to start having diseases associated with ageing between 7 and 13 years. Smaller dogs tend to live longer than large dogs. The quality and length of life of older pets can be improved through regular health checks (every 6 months). A thorough clinical examination will help define some of these problems.
Because we do care for the welfare and interest of your pet, we do go out of way to ensure that your pet can access medical or surgical attention in time of its need. It would also interest you to know that:-
- We do pride ourselves in the quality of our services.
- We do provide a 24 hour on call service.
- We also offer payment plans through a third party, provided you meet the criteria as set out by the financing institute.
- If you cannot bring your pet to us, we will come to you as we do have a fully equipped pet ambulance.
- We also do house calls.
- Your pet will receive a very high level of care given the level of diagnostic and monitoring equipment that we have on hand.
- We do welcome you to take a personal tour of our facility.
- We also provide pet grooming services
- We also provide puppy classes. Puppies are trained not only indoors, but also outdoors, being exposed to outdoor noises and traffic in a controlled environment. The puppy training classes are run by Ms Julie Pocknee.
- We do care for our wildlife, and work very closely with wildlife carers providing veterinary care where needed.
- We take an active part in community services and proudly support Service Dog Training, by way of providing veterinary services to working dogs of individuals with disabilities. Please see www.servicedogtraining.com.au
If you have not used our services before, we do suggest that you try our services and see the differences for yourself. From our analysis we find that over 30% of all new patients are referred to us by existing clients, and a further 25% of all new patients are brought in by existing clients. Our clients travel from as far as Camberwell, Clayton, Fitzroy, Ringwood, Chelsea, St Kilda, Port Melbourne, Pakenham, to name but a few. From the level of service we provide, you would come to understand that we are not your average Veterinary Services provider. We do recommend that you bookmark our web address www.petcarevet.com.au
Our staff are very friendly and courteous. We are very easily accessible. We are located at 234 Power Road, Endeavour Hills, at the intersection of Power Road and Heatherton Road, Endeavour Hills, just off the Monash Freeway. Please note that parking is at the rear.
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