A Rare Skin Condition in Cats

I do not know how old this article is and whether input would still be helpful (you might consider dating articles for this reason), but I have a cutaneous asthenia kitty, Gus, now age 8 years. I also had his brother, Cutie, who was affected more severely; I lost him when he was a year old to a sudden massive intestinal hernia. Hernias are part of the syndrome in people, and apparently also in cats - Gus also had a hernia but his was umbilical and able to be repaired. Although Gus' skin is pretty hyperextensible, he does not tear as readily as Cutie did - I was constantly repairing him! Vet glue and Facilitator are very helpful. Neither cat is/was declawed - I don't believe in it myself under any circumstances but can understand, perhaps, why some people might back- declaw a c.a. kitty. But you can trim claws very short and also consider using soft paws. Cutie wore a preemie all-in-one with all four legs sewn closed initially; Gus wears suits also - I found Dr. S. Krebsbach in Wisconsin who also owns a c.a. kitty and she had special suits made up out of swimsuit fabric and sent me one to use as a pattern. Now with all the dog clothes in fashion you can sometimes find suitable clothing of the right body-shape in doggie style stores. I never had to have either sutured - Cutie didn't hold sutures (a previous owner's vet had tried). I got him when he was about 10 weeks old. I got Gus when he was about 4 months. Both survived neutering without a problem, although I spent 2 hours afterwards repairing the tears in Cutie even though my vet and techs were careful. It was very hard to lose Cutie - he was fluffy and blonde and looked persian, and was very sweet and lay totally still when I debrided or dressed his wounds (he didn't like getting dressed much, however - especially having legs stuffed into leg holes!). He was not very active, and lived in my bathroom, where he didn't even get up onto the edge of the bath or toilet - he stayed on the floor, but he did play with toys and seemed very happy, coming to me every morning and putting his little paws on my legs as I sat, wanting me to pet and pet him as he kept his eyes squeezed shut in delight! Gus, on the other hand, has always been very active - he thinks nothing of leaping three or four feet from the top of one cat tree perch to another, even in his suits. He is very relaxed and likes to "hang" out of his bed or off the edge of the cat tree, front legs trailing, sleeves rolled up - looks almost human. He has lots of purrsonality (he also has an overbite, is shorthaired, black with only a tiny bit of white on his tummy, and has a complete corkscrew flush to his back for a tail, out of which then grows about 5 inches of regular tail - talk about a genetic anomaly! Gus in mid-life has developed some gingivitis and I'm getting worried about how my vet is going to cope w/ that (she's a bit squeamish about working on the c.a. cats - Dr. Krebsbach was as sad as I was when I told her my vet said there was nothing she could do for Cutie's hernia and we had to put him to sleep - I think Dr. Krebsbach at least would have tried to repair the hernia). I give my c.a. kitties vitimin C and E supplements. They are pictured at www.bemikitties. com/carocats/cats.html - I think Gus is in bed with Buddy on page one, and there are several pix of Cutie on about p. 4 or 5. Hope this helps the person who inquired if you can still forward it to him, or future people who may inquire about c.a. kitties.

I would recommend sending the slides to a dermatopathologist and a follow-up with a veterinary dermatologist. Not to undermine your routine veterinarian, but a Board Certified Veterinary Dermatologist has had extensive training on skin diseases and if nothing else can sit down with you and recommend a plan specific to your feline friend. They may or may not recommend further testing based on the second opinion of the pathologist and clinical evaluation.