So there will be another culture?
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Help! Himalayan cat losing patches of hair on neck :(
- Thread starter smr00
- Start Date
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #22
He recultured him. The other cat that had bad ringworm that he was with had an initial culture that was negative too. Anyway, I am treating him with systemic therapy and he recommends lime sulfur dip. I'm scared to do the lime sulfur dip - any advice? I am afraid hes going to get stressed out, try to lick it off of himself after it has dried and then get sick, etc etc. His fur is also white and id rather not stain it if I can avoid it. If its really important I will do it, but Im definitely nervous about this.
Ok so the re-culture came back positive for RW? Or are you still waiting? I personally wouldn't treat RW in advance of a positive diagnosis (woods lamp or culture).
How aggressively one treats RW is imo a bit subjective provided you don't have young kids immuno-compromised people in the home. I say that because with healthy people RW isn't dangerous and it isnt dangerous for the cat either. It's annoying, sometimes itchy, and unsightly and even untreated it eventually goes away.
So a very limited case with a few spots i might treat with OTC anti-fungal cream like Lotrimin and call it a day. With a worse case I might go with oral Terbinafine (tastes super yucky in liquid version) and lime dips I'd probably skip, but i've seen them done many times. It will stain the coat while under treatment but I've never seen a cat lick it. But I wouldn't do any serious treatment, or really any treatment at all without a positive culture.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #24
No initial culture is still negative. Vet opted to treat given that he was around another cat with such bad ringworm a few months ago. I am giving him oral fluconazole and putting topical lomotrin on it. Its been the fourth day - I dont' see any improvement yet. The skin is still very pink and inflammed looking and the area of hair loss has expanded. His hair pulls out rather quickly which was very concerning to the vet and indicated high degree of inflammation. I guess maybe I will hold off on lime sulfur for now? Im not sure what to do. I don't want to do anything to further irritate his skin. I do think it is important to treat quickly because he is very itchy and right now am fending off excoriations with a bandana around his neck but thats just a temporary solution.
Does your cat have fleas? Those spots look just like when 2 of my cats have fleas. They are allergic to them. Also some antibiotics, if your cat was on them, can cause that as well.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #26
I dont know. I haven't seen any fleas and he is an indoor cat. Many onths ago when he was staying with my parents he liked to wander into the garage and unfinished basement which I guess potentially could have had fleas but he didn't have any symptoms back then. He just developed symptoms now while being indoors. Could they have blown in through the sliding door or window? Because thats the only contact he has with the outside world.
A part of me thinks it couldn't hurt to treat him for fleas (its over the counter therapy right?). But I don't want to put anything irritating on that inflammed skin on his neck. What do you think? If it is fleas how long to get better after treated?
A part of me thinks it couldn't hurt to treat him for fleas (its over the counter therapy right?). But I don't want to put anything irritating on that inflammed skin on his neck. What do you think? If it is fleas how long to get better after treated?
Yes fleas can come in to an indoor only cat. Via anything really. Mine are all indoor and I have that issue occasionally. Personally I don't use over the counter drops. I get drops from my vet as I've seen cats react to like Wal-mart brand drops. There is a pill called flea dip in a pill by vets that will kill all live fleas on the cat for 24-48 hours. That sounds like more of an option since the irritation is right where the drops normally go. My cats normally show improvement within 24-48 hours. (both of them hate their backends touch when they have the reaction, but quickly will allow us to touch them after treatment). There is also a cortisone spray over the counter you can get from a pet store that helps with reactions like flea allergy. We use it too to help sooth while treatment is working.
OK just bare in mind the culture may in time prove negative and then he doesnt have it. The photos you've shown aren't typical of ringworm, see the photos here https://www.google.com/search?q=rin...LesAS02oGwBg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1455&bih=995
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #29
I know, i totally agree but vet said that (a) takes a long time for cultures to come back and (b) sometimes they are negative and cat still has ringworm.
The thing I have noticed is his hair is so fragile, you just touch the top of his head and the hair comes out. Is this indicative of any particular diagnosis or is this just a general indication of inflammation of the skin?
The thing I have noticed is his hair is so fragile, you just touch the top of his head and the hair comes out. Is this indicative of any particular diagnosis or is this just a general indication of inflammation of the skin?
In theory a culture can take 4 weeks but i've never seen cultures take more than 2 weeks. We will often do more than 1 cultures spaced out over time after a cat has had an active case of RW to make sure it is over, but i've never seen a cat with an active case that had a negative culture nor have i heard of such a thing.
I'm not convinced the dermatologist has it right in your case.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #31
Besides allergy and assuming she isn't grooming the hair out because its on her head. There is a comprehensive list of causes at this site:
http://www.cat-world.com.au/hair-loss-in-cats
Is there a chance you could take another photo a little bit farther away so we can see his whole body?
Any you haven't applied any flea medications to his skin lately right?
http://www.cat-world.com.au/hair-loss-in-cats
Is there a chance you could take another photo a little bit farther away so we can see his whole body?
Any you haven't applied any flea medications to his skin lately right?
Last edited:
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #33
Exactly, I haven't applied any flea solution. At this point would it hurt?
I will take more pictures but literally the rest of the body looks fine. Its just his head and neck, he scratches his ears and neck and top of head a lot. The skin is pink and inflammed looking and hair is thinned out in some areas and bald in others.
The vet was saying usually allergies affect the face more than anywhere else?
I will take more pictures but literally the rest of the body looks fine. Its just his head and neck, he scratches his ears and neck and top of head a lot. The skin is pink and inflammed looking and hair is thinned out in some areas and bald in others.
The vet was saying usually allergies affect the face more than anywhere else?
Hi
I would not apply flea treatment at this time, especially if he is indoors. If you have to do flea treatment because he's going out consider a chewable pill call Program or Capstar another pill, both safe, but it just seems dicey applying an insecticide to the back of the neck where this problem is.
With the itching, it still seems like allergies. Ringworm doesn't tend to be itchy in cats and you always see either red welts or round bald spots, not what your photos show.
Did you look at the link?
I would not apply flea treatment at this time, especially if he is indoors. If you have to do flea treatment because he's going out consider a chewable pill call Program or Capstar another pill, both safe, but it just seems dicey applying an insecticide to the back of the neck where this problem is.
With the itching, it still seems like allergies. Ringworm doesn't tend to be itchy in cats and you always see either red welts or round bald spots, not what your photos show.
Did you look at the link?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #35
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #36
I did look at link. I always thought maybe it was allergies. I'm just so confused at this point. It doesn't look like classic ringworm. It's crazy because all of this hair loss came on so suddenly. I have pics of him the week before and he had a thick gorgeous mane! But now that I think about it I have noticed him to be itchy around his ears for some time (no noteable hair loss though)-I'm wondering if something was brewing for months. I always just blew the itching off and just thought it was normal. Anyway, for the poster that said this looks like flea allergies-can you tell me a little more about your cats hair loss and condition? The thing that is odd is that the hair falls out so easily-is this seen w allergies or any condition affecting the skin?
When Vinnie was on antibiotics, he lost a huge patch quickly. We obviously discontinued. With the flea allergies I deal with, they lose hair fairly fast. But like others have said it could be a lot of things. I hope he feels better quickly.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #38
I think maybe the vet was biased because the other cat he used to be around had ringworm. I did change his food and litter so far but how long do I have to wait to see results?
The other thing is, w fleas did you notice the skin was inflamed and if you pet the area hair would fall out? That's how fragile his hair is
The other thing is, w fleas did you notice the skin was inflamed and if you pet the area hair would fall out? That's how fragile his hair is
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #39
Now I found that he urinated all over the couch, which he has never done! I'm wondering if this is a sign of just not feeling well. His appetite though is okay and he eats well. Maybe he is stressed out by this whole condition, i don't know?
The vet never checked blood work so I'm wondering if we should at least do some basics to make sure everything is okay.
Last night I put some topical hydrocortisone cream on it and it definitely looks less red and irritated this morning. Granted I don't know if that narrows down our diagnosis or if hydrocortisone would help with just about any inflammatory condition regardless of the underlying condition?!
The vet never checked blood work so I'm wondering if we should at least do some basics to make sure everything is okay.
Last night I put some topical hydrocortisone cream on it and it definitely looks less red and irritated this morning. Granted I don't know if that narrows down our diagnosis or if hydrocortisone would help with just about any inflammatory condition regardless of the underlying condition?!
Hi
The peeing could be a medical issue or behavioral. Clean the sofa with a good cleaner that has enzymes like Nature's Miracle (at pet stores) to really get out the smell lest it draw her back again. I would mention it to your regular vet as he may want to test the urine. Here is a thread on the subject: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/9563/inappropriate-peeing-problems-answered
And an article on removing urine odor is at http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-remove-cat-urine
Your question about the cream is a good one, I would also ask the vet about that. Hydrocortisone cream is generally good for allergic responses and not used in ringworm. Rather than self medicate, I would discuss the use of the cream and get specific instructions and feedback on effectiveness and diagnosis.
The peeing could be a medical issue or behavioral. Clean the sofa with a good cleaner that has enzymes like Nature's Miracle (at pet stores) to really get out the smell lest it draw her back again. I would mention it to your regular vet as he may want to test the urine. Here is a thread on the subject: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/9563/inappropriate-peeing-problems-answered
And an article on removing urine odor is at http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-remove-cat-urine
Your question about the cream is a good one, I would also ask the vet about that. Hydrocortisone cream is generally good for allergic responses and not used in ringworm. Rather than self medicate, I would discuss the use of the cream and get specific instructions and feedback on effectiveness and diagnosis.
