While most of the conditions are readily treatable, some can be life-threatening. Here's why.

By Tom Ewing

The function of your cat’s skin extends well beyond its role as the matrix for the animal’s lustrous haircoat. In a healthy feline, the skin also works, for example, as a barrier against invasion by harmful microorganisms. It serves as a watertight seal, retaining an animal’s body fluids and preventing dehydration. And it insulates an animal’s internal organs against the outside world’s extremes of heat and cold.

Feline skin disorders require veterinary attention. These conditions tend to be very uncomfortable for the cat.

Despite its normally durable structure, however, every cat’s skin is subject to a wide array of disorders, most of which are minor and readily treatable. But some untreated skin conditions can rapidly progress to a serious, even lethal, stage, with systemic implications. …

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