What is a skin scraping test?
A skin scraping test is a diagnostic test to determine the cause of almost all skin disorders in cats.
Many possible skin problems can affect cats, including fungal infections, parasites, inflammation, infections, cancer and allergies. Skin scraping tests can help determine the cause of the skin problem, confirm the presence of inflammatory cells, cancerous cells, bacteria, skin parasites such as mites, parasite eggs, fungi etc.
What happens?
A skin scraping test uses a scalpel blade to gently scrape along the surface of the skin. It is necessary to do this deep enough to reach mites, which often burrow quite deeply, as a result, you may see a small amount of blood.
Sometimes skin scrapings will need to be taken from several spots on your cat to check for the presence of mites.
The veterinarian will be looking for signs of fungal infection, mites, cell cytology, and bacteria.
Is the test painful?
It can cause a little discomfort, but it should not be overly painful. Pain relief or anesthesia is not necessary for a skin scraping test.
What can a skin scraping test diagnose?
Skin cancer, sarcoptic mange, cheyletiellosis (walking dandruff), ringworm, chiggers, miliary dermatitis, notoedric mange, eosinophilic granuloma complex, to name a few.
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