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Really bad news from the shelter...

post #1 of 25
1/25/11 at 3:10pm
Thread Starter 
They have had an outbreak of ringworm and 6 adoptable cats were euthanized today, as well as a stringent new cleaning program.

I don't know all of the names, but I am especially upset about Baby Stockings, who came in with an eye injury and eventually had surgery for inward-bent eyelashes. She was so sweet, so loving, but not pretty due to the bad eye. I saw the little spot by her right ear, and they said that was all she had. I would have brought her home and treated her. I'm just sick.

They have to be very aggressive, but the spread of ringworm can essentially put the shelter out of business for weeks.

I'm encouraged that Light, our little foster, is unaffected. Interestingly enough, I'm the only person who handles her on a regular basis. Do you see a pattern here?
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post #2 of 25
1/25/11 at 4:03pm
Oh no! I am so sorry to hear that! Can they not isolate those cats and treat the ringworm? Or call fosters in to take them? That breaks my heart!!
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post #3 of 25
1/25/11 at 4:22pm
Thread Starter 
There are never enough foster homes. And, then, would you bring a cat into your house that you know has ringworm?

Unfortunately, there's no shortage of adoptable cats, so sick ones just don't win out.

For what it's worth, the director was also very upset, but her responsibility is to the city's animal control program, and part of that is eliminating disease. When they have a parvo outbreak among dogs, the same thing happens on that side, too.
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post #4 of 25
1/25/11 at 4:45pm
I do understand. I surely wouldn't bring ringworm knowingly into my home with my kids and other animals. I didn't knowingly bring in Giardia either...but it has really wiped us out. My shelter does TRY to isolate and treat, if at all possible. I live in a small town and maybe that is one of the perks of such.

I am sorry those 5 babies lost their lives.
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post #5 of 25
1/25/11 at 5:07pm
That's really disturbing. And, frankly, I don't understand it.

How upsetting it must be for you, mrblanche. I'm sorry.



Robin
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post #6 of 25
1/25/11 at 5:48pm
OMG over ringworm? That's absolutely crazy and stupid, IMO. There are much worse problems out there!

Those poor babies
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post #7 of 25
1/25/11 at 8:29pm
I'm so sorry to read this.
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post #8 of 25
1/25/11 at 8:36pm
As Mike said.. yeah... lots of shelters euth animals with ringworm... it can run rampant through a facility and is zoonotic.
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post #9 of 25
1/26/11 at 4:18am
Sigh. What a terrible shame to euth for ringworm. I know it's zoonotic...but I just shake my head.

Sweet little ones, you are in a better place. I am so sorry.
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post #10 of 25
1/26/11 at 5:42am
Thread Starter 
If they had called me, I would have brought Baby Stockings home, isolated her, and treated the one little spot she was showing. They invested a lot of money in her, and she was the sweetest cat. No one has enough hands to pet her as much as she wanted!

I hope she has found some willing hands at the Bridge...
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post #11 of 25
1/26/11 at 5:48am
She's found loving hands and paws with purrs at the Bridge. I'm so sorry.
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post #12 of 25
1/26/11 at 5:49am
I am so sorry to read this, its made me so upset, its just terrible.xx
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post #13 of 25
1/26/11 at 9:48am
That is a terrible and difficult situation for a shelter. We had a cat come in that was in the quarantine room who was suspected for ringworm. Thank god it tested negative. They told me the same thing about how contagious it is and spreads like wildfire. But they would try to treat it. I can only imagine if it spread to the big cat room. Awful. They would have to shut down temporarily and this would be devastating... I am sorry to hear about this and for those cats.
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post #14 of 25
1/26/11 at 11:12am
That's just .....tragic. Poor babies.
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post #15 of 25
1/26/11 at 11:26am
Are they a smaller sized facility? I only ask because I adopted Rocko even as he was under isolation for ringworm(they let me check out the iso room after I was done w/the main rooms...i'm so glad they did because I never would have found my snuggly buddy ). They are part of the MSPCA up here though and are a larger sized shelter. They had about 12 cats in isolation that were in one of the cat free-roam rooms. I can't even imagine if they had put Rocko down.......he only had a small spot on him also but they iso'd him for good measure....i can't imagine if they had choose to euth him instead....omg...they had a little kitten in there as well.

If a shelter has no iso room and not enough foster homes....horrible decisions need to be made. I certainly hope the circumstances around it gets scrutinized and more people are careful about handling and cleanliness.

Have you told them in future to always give you a call before something like this happens so you can perhaps help save even one of them? I think maybe if you can step up maybe others may as well and possibly in future this won't have to happen. But they probably think no one would want to take in cats w/ringworm?

I am sooooo sorry for you heartache and for those poor kitties. Hopefully something can be learned from all of this.....
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post #16 of 25
1/26/11 at 3:31pm


That is just way too sad: having to enthanize those poor babies because of ringworm. Couldn't something have been done? I could understand them having to euthanize a bunch of URI infected cats if no treatment option was available and the disease ran ramped, but to end their lives over ringworm? Geronimo got ringworm once, and I had no problems treating him. None of the other cats got infected, either. I don't understand...

Rest peacefully, you poor sweet babies. I'm so sorry that you had to leave so soon.
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post #17 of 25
1/26/11 at 4:39pm
Thread Starter 
I just couldn't believe they would do it to Baby Stockings, who had had expensive surgery. I had thought of putting a "NO PTS" note with my name on her card just the day before.

On the flip side, I discovered a ringworm lesion behind my ear yesterday. This must be a very aggressive strain.
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post #18 of 25
1/26/11 at 9:51pm
Poor kitties. Ringworm is easily treated and they don't have to have foster homes..heck we treated a whole room where I work at the shelter and kept that room closed to the public. I am so sorry this happened. Thank you for loving them.
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post #19 of 25
1/27/11 at 10:11am
Thread Starter 
I know all the cats, and every one of them was a sweetie. What does that have to do with anything? They were the ones handled the most by the shelter workers and volunteers, and brought out the most often to show to potential adopters.

Now we're on pins and needles, wondering which ones adopted in the last couple of weeks are going to come back, infected.

I need to stop thinking about this. The thought that sweet, trusting cats were put down, many for lesions almost invisible to the eye, is just eating at me. I'm kicking myself for not putting a notation on Baby Stocking's card; her lesion was about the size of a pencil eraser. I even saw it on Monday, and didn't think about it, since she has always had some sores on her head, probably from scratching at her bad eye before she came in.
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post #20 of 25
1/27/11 at 11:54am
I think its important you remember it is not your fault about Baby Stockings. We know how cats are, they would never think it was your fault. Has anything helped with your grieving? Maybe it would be helpful if you did a little something to say goodbye. At best friends in Utah they have a graveyard for all the animals that died while under their care and say goodbye to them with small memorials. People leave small rocks on their graves that had gotten close to them during their care. I know they probably don't have graves but that doesn't mean you can't maybe bury a photo of them or something symbolic like that...

I am so sorry this has happened to you. Don't let it hurt so much that it closes of your heart from opening up to care for more animals. Keep doing it in Baby Stockings memory. I think what you do is really extraordinary.

My thoughts are with you and the others at the shelter who no doubt each have felt this kind of pain.
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post #21 of 25
1/27/11 at 6:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by fifi1puss View Post
My thoughts are with you and the others at the shelter who no doubt each have felt this kind of pain.
At least 2 of the ladies who work there were in tears when I went in on Tuesday, right after it happened.
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post #22 of 25
1/27/11 at 6:14pm
For ringworm? Seriously? Wow...

We deal with ring worm 2 or 3 times a year because my Bassett hound has bad skin and for some reason catches it if the wind blows right. It's really not a big deal to treat, and my husband even sits in the tub with the dog when he catches it. It used to gross me out, but 3 years of flaky dog skin numbed me.

It's just a rash. Garlic and apple cider vinegar kill it in a week. To kill animals over it is appalling, and theres no reason they couldn't have given them all an oral dose of anti fungal, or adopted them out with a rx.
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post #23 of 25
1/27/11 at 6:52pm
I had to post about this again as I was at Animal House Shelter today where I volunteer and my two feral rescues are there awaiting homes. I was incorrect in my earlier post saying it spreads like wildfire. I received more information today from the cat director at the shelter and she told me more about ringworm. So many people are freaked out about it as I was before talking with her and getting true facts.

This is utterly absurd that those poor cats were "done away with" for ringworm. We have two ringworm positive cats right now at the shelter in quarantine and two more in foster, and we do not euthanize for it, we treat it. We even have foster's who will take ringworm cases and treat. Usually, ringworm is only contagious to kittens or cats with immune problems and bad health. There is a high-kill shelter in Southern Illinois, which is about eight hours from our shelter, and we travel down there to save lives. We have transporters who regularly go down there to save many a cat/kitten/dog/puppy. They do kill them if they have ringworm or even URI's. Very sad.

I am so sorry about the sad situation out there at this shelter. It is a shame.
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post #24 of 25
1/28/11 at 8:32pm
Can´t believe it!...

RIP to they...
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post #25 of 25
1/31/11 at 3:54pm
Just from ringworm? I thought it was easily treated?
It's a pity more places don't have a strict no-euthanasia policy. All the best little kitties!
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