Skin Care - More Than Beauty Tips

Skin checks for us humans are generally done with our doctor clinically to look for changes to indicate skin cancer or other problems. Your vet will check over kitty during your well visits as well to look for certain signs of problems including hidden growths, wounds, possible infections, etc. Can any kitty with or without diabetes have these things happen? Absolutely! Multiple cat households with regular wrestling matches, chasing, jumping, or generally getting annoyed with one another and trading a few swats and hisses are bound to have a skin wound every now and again. This is usually not serious and clears up just fine without intervention as genetically, cats are set up to be able to handle territorial infighting – that’s why they have that extra belly skin – so their wild ancestors would be harder to seriously injure when an enemy goes for the “gut scratch”. With our sugar babies, we have to be a bit more diligent.

Injuries and Minor Wounds: Diabetes can cause slow wound healing especially if blood glucose is not tightly controlled. This, in turn, can lead to wound infection, abscesses, pain, more vet visits, and other issues. If my kitties get a little too rambunctious or I notice less-than-friendly play, I take the time to check them over for scratches, bites, or any open skin issues. I clean the wounds with a warm damp cloth if it is difficult to see the size of the scratch from bleeding. We want to make sure that there is no ongoing bleeding and that kitty is not in severe pain. Yowling when the area is touched would indicate some pain. Trying to get away from you might indicate pain, but also can indicate kitty does not like wet cloths at all period and that is that! I have had cats that range from being happy to shower with me to jumping away from a drop of water as if it were some form of disfiguring acid that must NOT ever touch their pristine fur. Go with your instincts here, as you know your cat.

If there is a common wound, checking daily for healing is a good idea even for the non-diabetic cat. Worsening of the wound such as swelling, a bigger pain reaction, discharge (especially greenish or putrid smelling), lethargy, or hiding behaviors means the issue probably needs elevated to the professionals for more thorough evaluation and treatment. I say to check every day for wound changes because the earlier you catch a sign of worsening, the better. Being diligent will save misery for you and kitty (and keep your bank account a bit healthier too).

Diabetic neuropathy: This means nerve damage which is caused by chronic high blood sugar. For some kitties this is one of their first outward signs that something is wrong. Neuropathy often presents as weakness of the hind legs, but there are more subtle earlier signs to look out for. During petting time, or while kitty naps (especially if you need to check their feet), I will touch their paw pads and look for a reaction. Usually they will curl their paw around a finger or pull the paw away slowly. This would indicate normal nerve sensation. Doing it this way also gives us a chance to get a good look at the paws to look for skin changes, claw health (such as breakage, brittleness, or ingrown nails). Checking the paws for any type of opening is super important! Even though we fur parents are rock stars at litter box cleaning, it is almost impossible to not have some little germs hanging out in or around the litter box unless you literally sanitize all day and night. Kitty may be more prone to small scratches and cuts on their paws when they have neuropathy, even if it has not progressed into weakness simply because they can’t feel things as well. Consider yourself walking around in your bare feet through the house and stepping on a splinter, piece of wayward cat food, a thorn, or even a pebble. This normally feels rather uncomfortable and your instinct is to remove the item (and perhaps curse a little – or maybe that is just me). Item is removed; we clean the wound, use a bandage if necessary, and move on.

Now consider not being able to feel the thorn, pebble, or whatever small item is lodged in your foot. It might be a dull sensation of something, but you would not react the same way because the pain or pressure would simply be less noticeable. You would likely go on walking and doing your daily things while the item gets more embedded or the untreated wound gets larger as the body tries to expel the invader, and then we encounter germs with our wound we know nothing about until infection sets in causing enough pain, swelling, or other symptoms that will grab our attention. We can prevent this catastrophe by simply giving kitty a quick daily exam while we are working toward remission.

Routine Skin and Fur Care: I can sit here and tell you to brush kitty and check kitty all over every day. I have seen this idea on countless websites, veterinarian information brochures, and many other animal care professionals. That is probably feasible for a cat that loves to be brushed or one that was started out with daily brushing as a kitten. As all of my pets have been shelter animals or re-homed to me under extenuating circumstances, I have learned to improvise and shamelessly recruit members of my household to do some of these checks for me. My husband, I swear can pick up a dog or cat whether they know him or not, flip them over on their back and have no issues whatsoever checking for tangled hair or issues (the only exception to this is his sister’s cats). My college-aged daughter also keeps an eye out on all the animals for any changes and points out areas to me where there is a difference in skin condition or other potential problem. (I guess it takes a village for fur babies too!)

No matter where you are in the journey to diabetic remission, keeping an eye out for small physical changes, minor injuries, and sensitivity changes especially in the paws can save you and kitty a lot of stress and problems down the road. Do what kitty will tolerate while they are in a relaxed mood. If there is a minor concern you are not sure about, you can note it in your diabetes journal to remind you to recheck the issue if it does not seem to be affecting kitty.

Practicalities: You are probably not a psychic. You cannot possibly catch every little thing, and we fur moms and dads have a tendency to feel like whatever goes wrong is our fault in some way if we didn’t see a developing issue. Diabetes is a complex disease with many potential side effects. The development of these side effects have much more to do with kitty’s body chemistry, length of their disease, genetics, and other possible pre-existing issues rather than whether or not you noticed some tiny beginning symptom. Not all kitties are going to put up with daily prodding, and I know one of my boys would treat my hand as a scratching post if I tried to thoroughly examine is belly. If you are reading this, you care, and right there is the best you can do for kitty.

Find other caring sugar moms and dads on the Feline Diabetic Support Group on FB.