Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
A case of diet‐related lymphocytic mural folliculitis in a cat
- Journal:
- Veterinary Dermatology
- Year:
- 2000
- Authors:
- Declercq, Jan
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old cat had skin problems, including raised areas and crusty lesions on its head, neck, and belly. It also had sore spots on its lips and eyelids, and its footpads were dry and scaly. The vet found that the cat had a specific type of skin inflammation linked to its diet, and changing its food helped improve the skin issues over time. However, the cat then stopped eating and lost a lot of weight, ultimately passing away four months later. A post-mortem examination showed it had a serious stomach ulcer and some inflammation in its intestines, suggesting that the skin problems were related to its diet, but the later discovery of intestinal issues raises questions that need more investigation.
Abstract
A 5‐year‐old cat developed a raised hair coat and adherent crusting lesions involving the skin of the head, dorsal neck and abdomen. Erosions were present on the lips and eyelids. The footpads were dry and scaly. Histopathology revealed infiltrative lymphocytic folliculitis, moderate lymphocytic infiltration into the epidermis and apoptotic epidermal cells. A restricted diet as the only therapy resulted in gradual resolution of the skin lesions. Despite an improvement in the dermatological condition, the cat increasingly lost all appetite and marked weight loss occurred. The cat died 4 months after presentation. Post‐mortem revealed a perforated gastric ulcer and a mild to moderate inflammatory bowel disease. The clinical course of lesion resolution in this cat suggested a diet‐related pathogenesis. The late finding of intestinal disease in a patient with diet‐related skin disease is still interesting and needs to be evaluated by further case studies.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3164.2000.00162.x