Feline pododermatitis is a rare disease that affects the paw pads of small felines. The most possible origin is immune-mediated and is characterized by a soft swelling of the pads in which ulcers, pain, lameness and fever sometimes appear. It is an inflammatory process composed of an infiltrate of plasma cells, lymphocytes and polymorphonuclear cells. The diagnosis is achieved with the appearance of the lesions, the taking of samples and the histopathological examination. The treatment is long and is based on the use of the antibiotic doxycycline and immunosuppressants, leaving surgery for the most difficult cases.
Keep reading this article on our site to learn about pododermatitis in cats, its causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
What is pododermatitis in cats
Feline pododermatitis is a lymphoplasmacytic inflammatory disease of the metacarpal and metatarsal pads of cats, although the digital. It is characterized by an inflammatory process that makes the pads soft, painful, with cracks, hyperkeratosis and sponginess.
It is a rare disease that occurs especially in cats regardless of breed, sex and age, although it seems more frequent in males that have been neutered.
Causes of feline pododermatitis
The exact origin of the disease is not known, but the characteristics of the pathology show a possible immune-mediated cause. These features are:
- Persistent hypergammaglobulinemia
- Heavy tissue infiltration of plasma cells
- Positive response to glucocorticoids indicates an immune-mediated cause
On other occasions it has been seen to present seasonal relapses, which may indicate an allergic origin.
Some articles associate pododermatitis with the feline immunodeficiency virus, reporting coexistence in 44-62% of feline pododermatitis cases.
Plastic pododermatitis in some cases appears together with other diseases, such as renal amyloidosis, plasmacytic stomatitis, eosinophilic granuloma complex or immune-mediated glomerulonephritis.
Feline pododermatitis symptoms
The most commonly affected pads are the metatarsals and metacarpals, and rarely the digital ones. It usually affects several limbs.
The disease usually begins with a slight swelling that goes on to soften (soft swelling), exfoliate, ooze and cause abscesses and ulcers on 20-35% of cases. In certain cases, the architecture of the affected pads is lost.
The color change is very noticeable in cats with light fur, whose pads turn purplish with white scaly streaks features with hyperkeratosis.
Most cats will have no symptoms, but others will have:
- Limp
- Pain
- Ulceration
- Bleeding
- Swelling of the pads
- Fever
- Lymphadenopathy
- Lethargy
Diagnosis of pododermatitis in cats
The diagnosis of feline pododermatitis is made through examination and anamnesis, the differential diagnosis and the taking of a sample by cytology and its analysis under a microscope.
Differential diagnosis of pododermatitis in cats
It will be necessary to differentiate the clinical signs that the cat presents with other diseases that cause similar signs related to inflammation and ulceration of the hashes, such as:
- Eosinophilic granuloma complex
- Pemphigus foliaceus
- Feline Immunodeficiency Virus
- irritant contact dermatitis
- Pyoderma
- Deep mycosis
- Dermatophytosis
- Post herpetic erythema multiforme
- Dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa
Laboratory diagnosis of pododermatitis in cats
In the blood analysis, an increase in lymphocytes and neutrophils and a decrease in platelets can be observed. In addition, biochemistry will show hypergammaglobulinemia.
Definitive diagnosis is achieved by taking samples. A cytology can be used, where abundant plasmatic and polymorphonuclear cells will be observed.
The biopsy diagnoses the disease much more accurately, observing through its histopathological analysis an acanthosis of the epidermis with ulcers, erosion and exudation. In the adipose tissue and the dermis is the infiltrate composed of plasma cells that alters the histological architecture of the pad. You can also see some macrophages and lymphocytes and Mott cells, and even eosinophils.
Feline pododermatitis therapy
Plasmatic pododermatitis in cats is ideally treated with doxycycline, which resolves more than half of cases of the disease. Treatment should be for 10 weeks to restore the normal appearance of the pads and a dose of 10 mg/kg is used daily. day
If after this time the response is not as expected, immunosuppressants such as glucocorticoids such as prednisolone, dexamethasone, triancinolone or cyclosporine can be used.
Surgical excision surgery of the affected tissue is performed when remission or the expected improvement has not occurred after finishing treatment.
