Feline Paraneoplastic Alopecia

Your elderly cat is losing weight and you notice major areas of hair loss on her body. After extensive tests and examinations, your veterinarian tells you that the hair loss is called paraneoplastic alopecia, and it's a sign that your pet has a much more serious disease. Learning what the hair loss means to your pet, and how to handle the underlying condition, will allow you to make a decision about treatment.

  1. Considerations

    • Feline neoplastic alopecia (hair loss) typically precedes a veterinary diagnosis of pancreatic, liver or bile duct cancer in a cat, says Dr. P. Jane Armstrong in her paper "Neoplasms of the Feline Liver and Pancreas" presented at the 79th Western Veterinary Conference. A disease of geriatric cats, these internal neoplasms (cancers) cause the animal's hair to atrophy and its skin cells to become hard and crusty (keratinize), allowing the dead hair to fall out.

    Symptoms

    • Cats with this type of alopecia typically lose the hair on the abdomen, chest and legs before other parts of the body. Excessive grooming due to itching leads to further hair loss on the ears and around the eyes. You may notice a "peculiar and highly distinctive smooth, shiny and glistening appearance" on your pet's naked skin, says Dr. Peter Ihrke in his paper "Newly Described Feline Skin Diseases" presented at the 2006 Congress of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association. Your cat can also develop a yeast infection with circular scales, cracks and crusts on its paw pads, making it painful to walk. Symptoms of the underlying neoplasia include weight loss and lethargy, with abnormal blood tests signaling the differing causes of the alopecia.

    Diagnosis

    • Early diagnosis of any type of alopecia typically includes skin scrapings, cytology of suspected fungal or yeast infections and microscopic examination of hair roots to determine if any pathology is involved in the hair loss. In the case of a 15-year-old cat with sudden alopecia presented in their book "Small Animal Dermatology," Drs. Anita Patel, Peter Forsythe and Stephen Smith detail how veterinarians used blood tests, skin biopsies and ultrasonography to reveal a cancerous liver mass that caused the alopecia and concurrent skin infection.

    Treatment

    • Veterinary treatment of the hair loss usually entails removing whatever tumor is discovered, say the veterinarians at PetMD. Because the cancer has commonly metastasized by the time the alopecia and lesions develop, vets rarely recommend chemotherapy, opting instead for supportive care. Supportive treatment often includes fluid therapy and pain management to offset symptoms and improve quality of life for the affected pet.

    Warning

    • The systemic signs of the underlying cancer (weight loss, loss of appetite and lethargy) can become apparent around the same time as the hair loss or may develop before it. Because the tumor has spread to the animal's liver or lungs by the time the symptoms of the skin disease emerge, "most cats die or are euthanized within a month of diagnosis," Ihrke says.