Sebaceous adenitis and mural folliculitis in a cat responsive to topical fatty acid supplementation

To describe a case of feline sebaceous adenitis and mural folliculitis, and its successful treatment with topical fatty acids.

A 5-year-old, male castrated Norwegian Forest cat was presented with a progressive seborrhoeic dermatitis.

Clinical examination and histopathological examination of skin biopsies.

There was severe, multifocal, lymphocytic mural folliculitis and perifollicular dermatitis, moderate hyperkeratosis and sebaceous adenitis on histopathology. Sebaceous glands were either absent or almost completely effaced by a dense lymphocytic infiltrate. Clinical signs began in spring on the face and neck and progressed over an 18 month period to involve the legs. Initially, topical and systemic antibacterial therapy for a mild bacterial overgrowth resulted in partial clinical response. There was no improvement with oral omega 6 fatty acids and surface cleaning. Treatment with a spot-on product containing essential oils, smoothing agents and vitamin E as the sole therapy was associated with a good--but incomplete--clinical response over a 6 month period, with hair regrowth and a marked decrease in seborrhoeic dermatitis. This improvement was sustained until 12 months later when a severe deep pyoderma with associated anorexia and depression occurred. This was symptomatically treated and the cat remained clinically stable for a further 18 months. Periocular and perinasal seborrhoea was a persistent feature.

Topical essential fatty acid therapy may offer a viable alternative to ciclosporin, which has been reported for the successful treatment of this rare disease in cats.