"Judy" wrote :

Seeing as this cat was diagnosed with "eosinophilia granulatoma," can you
tell me what this is? I did a web search on this and nothing came up.


Judy,

My 5-year-old females was diagnosed with "eosinophilia granuloma"
after she was diagnosed with asthma and they found some little bumps
on the backs of her legs. (The kind she has is called "linear granuloma"
and the vet says it is rare. It just means "bumps in a line" from what
I can tell.) Someone below sent you some links for the "eosinophilia
granuloma
complex," so you can read more. It manifests as different things--sometimes
an ulcer on the lip, but usually some sort of skin disturbance. It is, like
asthma, allergy related.


She was diagnosed over two years ago and the only thing
I do for her is get her Depo Medrol shots if I see her wheeze or cough
or if the bumps on the back of her legs come back. (This is a powerful and
really effective steroid injection, but with repeated use brings side
effects
like diabetes, so the idea is to get your cat as few as possible while still
controlling the condition. It works wonders, but there are also other
treatments with less side effects that you may discuss with your vet.)


But back to hair loss. About three months ago I started finding tufts of
her
fur (she is a shorthaired cat) around and noticed a small bald patch on
her side. I attributed it to overgrooming from stress due to our other cat
coming into her territory for the first time, but now I am not so sure. She
now
has a very stylish "fade" looking do-it-herself haircut on one entire side
of
her body. In other words she has licked the fur completely off the entire
area she can reach, all the way up to the pretty longer fur at her back
bone, so that it looks sort of mohawkey. I sometimes notice very small
bumps, but cannot be sure if the licking causes them or they cause the
licking. But I know for sure it is time for a Depo shot. The thing is
she does not seem to be in any discomfort. But I have noticed that she
keeps the backs of her legs bald, too--and her tummy around where
her spay incision is.