The challenges of feline allergic disease

Joya Griffin, DVM, DACVD, explained her start in veterinary dermatology and why she is passionate about this field of work. She also described the lack of information surrounding feline allergic disease and the lack of treatment options available compared to what is known about canine allergic disease.

Below is a partial transcript.

Joya Griffin, DVM, DACVD: I had a pet that was my family's dog when I started vet school and she had terrible skin. And of course, this was before we had drugs like Apoquel [Oclacitinib] and Cytopoint [Lokivetmab], available to us. And she would cycle through infection after infection after infection to the point where she had to live in a little e-collar. Our family groomer actually had recommended that we euthanize her. And I just thought this was so terrible... So, I took her to Cornell [University] with me my first year there and the first thing I did was I made an appointment with the dermatology service. They were able to make an amazing, complete transformation in her skin. They literally gave me my dog back, and I saw firsthand what that meant.

Cats are just challenging in general and unfortunately for feline allergy, we don't know as much as we do for the dog counterpart. And unfortunately, we don't have a lot of the same medications for use in cats. There's very little treatment options that are actually licensed and labeled for use in cats and so I think that presents a treatment challenge.