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What Can We Do?
-- Olivia's Story
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"She looks terrible. Is she in pain? It looks like ringworm, did we test for that? It is on her ears and nose too. Is it contagious, is it spreading?"
These are some of the questions we began to ask as we evaluated Olivia. Olivia was brought in to Blue Ravine Animal Hospital with crusty scabs along all four paws and red irritated skin and hair loss on the ears, nose, and mouth. The exam started with tests to rule out the possibility of a severe ringworm infection. The results
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Olivia, in a thoughtful pose
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indicated it was definitely something else, but what? Even a biopsy of one of her claws did not shed any light on her problem. We were determined to do all we could to save this young, active, and very vocal kitten of 8 months. Just being with Olivia a few moments was enough to get attached to her. She makes a point to call for anyone near to give her some attention. We knew we could easily find her a good home if we could find out what was wrong with her and treat it.
A specialist in animal dermatology was consulted, as a last resort, in an effort to put this mystery to rest. And she did. After a brief exam and a review of past treatments to control the condition Dr. Sousa determined that Olivia had Pemphigus Foliaceus. Phemmy what did you call it? Yes, Pemphigus Foliaceus is a severe skin disease of dogs and cats caused by a dysfunction of the immune system. The underlying cause is unknown but
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Shown above and below -- crusty growths on Olivia's toes.
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all cases involve the autoantibody production in which the immune system produces antibodies that attack the animal's own body cells. Symptoms include redness, crusts, (Continued on page 4)
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