Probable Feline Atopic Skin Syndrome in a Cat Affected with Iatrogenic Diabetes

Abstract

Dermatological treatment was administered for a four-year-old castrated male mongrel cat with body weight of 4.9 kg. For nine months, the cat had been administered prednisolone and mycophenolate mofetil, with additional ciclosporin for the latter three months, based on a diagnosis as immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. Moreover, it had developed iatrogenic diabetes and had shown skin symptoms with a cardinal symptom of itching of the face, neck, and shoulder near termination of the diabetes treatment. This skin disease was diagnosed as feline atopic skin syndrome, which was advocated recently, based on various examinations including allergen-specific immunoglobulin E test and histopathological examination of the skin biopsy samples. Diabetes is known to be associated with some dermatologic disorders in cats, but symptoms found for this case differed from known diabetes-associated symptoms. Results suggest that the symptoms worsened along with dose-decreasing or withdrawal of the immunosuppressive drugs, rather than being diabetes-associated.