Pittsburgh Veterinary Dermatology

08/01/2025

Patient Spotlight 🎉

This sweet kitty Heathcliff was rescued by his mom as a stray with a very large wound on his neck. With her very diligent care and our prescribed treatments, Heathcliff started coming out of his shell, and has completely healed his wound.

The photo on the left was from his first visit in January, and the photo on the right was from his recheck last week. His mom reports all of the remaining open areas have been healed for about two months, and Healthcliff is feeling much better.

Cases like this can be very challenging, but with time, dedication and teamwork, we can often make a big difference! Way to go Healthcliff and his mom! 🤩🥳⭐️

08/01/2025

Fun Fact Friday!

👂🐱 Did you know cats can get growths in their ear canals called aural polyps?

These benign (non-cancerous) growths often start deep in the middle ear or Eustachian tube and can cause persistent ear infections, especially if the infection is only in one ear. Polyps most commonly develop in young cats, and chronic upper respiratory infections can contribute to their development.

At our dermatology clinic, we use advanced tools like CT imaging and video-otoscopy to diagnose and remove these polyps safely. If your cat has persistent ear or respiratory issues, aural polyps could be the cause.

07/31/2025

🐕 Topical Treatment Top Tips 🐾

'But he will lick it right off!'

We hear this concern frequently from pet owners - the pet wants to lick the product off, and their human is concerned it will either make their pet sick, or not be effective.

Here are some tips we offer to help alleviate this concern:

🐾 Apply the topical treatment before a meal, walk, playtime, or offer your pet a lick mat with a tasty treat spread across it. This gives the treatment time to absorb into the skin.
🐾 Use a barrier - sock, shirt, pants, e-collar, bumper. Often, it only needs to be for a short period of time to allow the treatment to absorb, 15-30 minutes.
🐾 Most topicals we prescribe are made for pets, so are non-toxic if licked. They may taste bad, but should not harm your pet. If we prescribe a treatment that absolutely should not be licked off, we will let you know!

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Topical therapies can be extremely helpful in treating skin disease. We want you to be successful! Please reach out if you are having difficultly using the prescribed topicals on your pet.
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07/18/2025

Handsome Tucker came to visit us today all the way from Maryland, and he was loving our cat room entertainment with birds, squirrels and chipmunks right outside.

We love having this kitty-friendly space to help our feline friends (and their people) relax during their visit.

07/07/2025

Great info on trimming your dogs nails!

07/04/2025

Happy Independence Day! Happy 4th of July! 🇺🇸 Happy Day for sun 🌞, fun 😁, pool parties 🥳, picnics 🌭, fireworks 🎆!!!
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Don't forget to keep your pets away from the extra yummy foods and inside and safe from the LOUD fireworks. Our office is closed today and this weekend. 🐶🐈

06/29/2025

Veterinary dermatology specialists cover ears in addition to skin and allergies! If your cat has an ear infection in only one ear there might just be a mass in the ear canal that is causing the issue. You can have them checked out by your family vet to confirm.

06/27/2025

Yes yes yes

When you have the diagnosis, not to make the diagnosis.
When you have the diagnosis, not to make the diagnosis.
When you have the diagnosis, not to make the diagnosis.

Here’s the reason: Allergy tests are not diagnostic tests.

We use allergy tests to determine environmental triggers [not food triggers] to include in an allergen-specific immunotherapy (allergy shots) prescription.

That's it. That's the test.

Kinda disappointing? Yeah, I agree. I wish there was more capacity for these tests, too. All veterinarians and dermatologists wish we could just snap our fingers, draw some blood, do a skin test, or call a genie to determine what is causing the symptoms of our patients.

But, instead, allergic disease is a diagnosis of exclusion.

I do an allergen test when:
✅ My patient has been diagnosed with atopic dermatitis (environmental allergies),
✅ I've ruled out other causes of itch (like fleas, food allergies, parasitic issues),
✅ I've stabilized the skin with good inflammation control,
✅ And the owner is ready to start allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT)—a long-term treatment plan designed to retrain the immune system.

Allergy tests are one of the most powerful tools we have to build a custom, science-backed treatment plan that can reduce the need for lifelong meds and improve long-term comfort.

I bet you have questions about this.................what are they!?

06/12/2025

CHECK IT OUT‼️ Have you ever seen these red marks on your dog❓️Blackflys and gnats are the common culprit, after your dog has been in the grass. 🪰🌾

PSA‼️ Are you seeing these lesions on your dog's belly lately❓️ Well, don't panic 😲 They are most commonly due to black fly bites 🪰 and uncommonly related to tick bites or Lyme disease 🐶 They may cause slight irritation, but typically resolve on their own within 2 days. If lesions persist or worsen, schedule a consult with one of our knowledgeable doctors to ensure nothing else is amiss. 🐾 HAPPY SUMMER 🌞

06/12/2025

Seed ticks are the larval stage of deer and lonestar ticks, typically very small and resembling poppy seeds. They can attach to humans and animals to feed on blood, but they may be less likely to transmit diseases compared to older ticks.

Often our clients tell us their dog doesn't get ticks so they don't use tick prevention because they check them over every day and would see them.

The is from Dr Sargent's dog and the only reason she saw it is because it was attached to her eyelid. Fortunately she uses tick preventative and the tick was dead when she removed it

06/04/2025

Send us pictures of you hugging your cat!