Staining abnormalities of dermal collagen in cats with cutaneous asthenia or acquired skin fragility as demonstrated with Masson's trichrome stain

This retrospective study compared the Masson's trichrome staining properties of collagen in the skin of normal cats and cats with cutaneous asthenia or acquired skin fragility. A Masson's trichrome staining abnormality was seen in all (n= 8) cats with cutaneous asthenia, three of four cats with acquired skin fragility, and none (n= 10) of the normal cats. A grading system developed to classify the intensity and distribution of abnormally stained collagen fibres indicated that cats with cutaneous asthenia had higher scores (P < 0.001) than normal cats. Cats with acquired skin fragility had intermediate scores that were not significantly different from either of the other two groups.