Treating cat mange...the impossible battle

That's a great deal on the DE!  Haha.  I hope that they are cured!  

I'm happy that Snooshy feels better.  You have such precious animals.  I hope that all goes well for you.  Fear definitely plays a part.  I don't know if they're cured.  I guess you will find out in time.  

If they start showing symptoms again, I would isolate them for a month.  Hopefully, you won't have to do that.  It would be incredibly hard to separate that many critters for that long.    

Yes a month would be too long for everyone...

There are too many kids in the house that were missing their bathroom lol

I am scheduling Revolution for ALL the animal once a month and I will us DE in the meanwhile ...i think once a week i will powder them down with it...maybe once every two weeks for the next few months until i am assured it is gone.

So far so good! Another thing i noticed about Shooshy and the other cats is when i don't treat the mange often they start to get a funny meow and a cough. Now that they are treated that is all gone! Definitely notice it in my Snooshy. My theory is that the female mites get in the cats throat when they are grooming them sleves and they burrow in the skin inside the throat....call me crazy but it just seems to be a pattern here! and even though the vet did a lot of testing to find infection i always thought it was in his thraot because i know his voice and i can hear the changes in it.

my poor Snooshy. I ask him all the time to please tell me how to help him.

I am just so grateful that they are all doing so well atm!

Check out Swiffers 'selfie' picture in the photo section of the forum! lol  

Snooshy said:

my poor Snooshy. I ask him all the time to please tell me how to help him.

I am just so grateful that they are all doing so well atm!

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I wish my babies could talk to me too. That would make it so much easier to help them! :lol3:

Snooshy said:

So far so good! Another thing i noticed about Shooshy and the other cats is when i don't treat the mange often they start to get a funny meow and a cough. Now that they are treated that is all gone! Definitely notice it in my Snooshy. My theory is that the female mites get in the cats throat when they are grooming them sleves and they burrow in the skin inside the throat....call me crazy but it just seems to be a pattern here! and even though the vet did a lot of testing to find infection i always thought it was in his thraot because i know his voice and i can hear the changes in it.

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That's interesting. Good to know.

I'm happy they're doing better! I will pray that they're through the mite-mare!

Swiffers is so cute! He's a character!

MANGE UPDATE!!! 

I now have a vet that is agreeing that i am likely dealing with a very rare type of mange and agrees that it is a very very difficult type of mange to treat. she has done scrapings on one of my worst affected barn cats and she also made a call to a specialist.

My new regime is giving the cats ivermectin every 1-2 days! My Snooshy has never looked so healthy since doing this. His fur is thick and sleek again and the rim of his eye is all cleared up. Just a bit of thin fur on the backs of his ears but this never ending horror story is almost over!!!!! YAY!!!

The cats are no longer shaking their heads and scratching miserably but also no more strange infections and sickly looking cats!!! My Snooshy is also more cuddly now and tolerates being pet. He was just so miserable when he was sick.

What a long journey this has been.

Ohhh and DE is useless for this type of mange since the mange is a type of scabies, a parasite that lives under the skin,  not like fleas or a more typical mange that is on the animals fur crawling around in the powder.

That's great news! Oh boy, what a long journey you've all been through. I'm so glad you're at this point where they've obviously turned a corner, and hopefully you'll manage to knock it out completely soon. Must be very hard treating barn cats with it too.

i took my kitten (2 months old) to the vet and he said that she probably has sarcoptic mange. she's itching like crazy, has some bald spots and inflamed behind her ears. he didnt found anything in skin scraping but he suspected that it is sarcoptes. vet said she probably caught it with the other cats. i told him that none of her litter mates (which already found a home) mom (5yrs old) and my other male cat (3yrs old) are showing no signs of itchiness and they are just fine. vet said her mom probably has it but hers is not active and since the kitten probably has a weak immune system, she caught it. vet gave an injection to counter the itchiness and for the sarcoptes. after 24 hours she no longer itch and the wounds she had coz of scratching like crazy and some spots that began to show with some ooze starting to heal (i also continue to apply topical cream on her wounds). its been five days and her bald patch starting to grow, fur looks better and she seems fine aside from scratching once in a while  which i dont know if this is just ok. she cant scratch directly coz i put a cushion like thingy around her neck and when she itch, its not so terrible and doesnt last for about 5 seconds. she must come back to the vet after 2 weeks for follow up medication. now my concern is, will she be reinfected again by her mom? she still occasionally crave for her mom's milk and mama cat will still nurse her. and the kitten play with her and my male cat too. will the kitten be reinfected or will my adult cats become infected instead? so far theres no signs yet. i cant isolate the kitten since she's crying so much if left alone. and the kitten is in my room every night (and noisy and cries coz she want to get out) and theres no spots in me or anything. i sometimes feel some itch (i dont know if its just psychological coz i know its contagious) but after a while the itch will go away.

i bumped into this forum as i search for similar case with mine and was touched with snooshy's battle lol.

p.s the kitten eats just fine, sleep and play. im just waiting for her to recover and send her to a new home. as much as i want to keep her, i cant take care of 3 cats </3

CatEmpress,

I wanted to get back to you because no one responded. If your kitten had scabies, it would be highly likely that some of the other cats would have showed symptoms (not 100%, but highly likely). A negative skin scraping cannot rule out scabies.

Here, I suspect something else is going on. Allergies of some sort would be likely. It is possible that the kitten is allergic to food, litter or other environmental allergies, such as dust, pollen, materials in the household, detergents, ect. Both of my cats have food sensitivities. One has allergies and sensitivity to litter. I had to switch my litter, which helped a lot. You could ask your vet about antihistamines. Consult with your vet on this because some a lot of meds are toxic to cats. It has to be a cat safe med and a safe dosage.

Also, there are other many conditions that can cause itching and bald patches. Conditions like Lyme disease can cause itching. It is frequently very challenging to figure out what is going on.

I hope you can get to the root of the problem and find the kitten a good home. It might be a good idea to give the new owner a heads up. It can be a big commitment to take care of an animal with allergies or health issues. Sometimes, owners can be also unaware that their cat is suffering. People also fail to realize that being a pet owner is a responsibility. They sometimes think a pet can take care of itself. Just my 2 cents. If you continue to have itching, you should follow up with a doctor. Hopefully, it will resolve. Anyway, I wish you and your cats my best!

thank you for your reply! well after her injection, her fur looks great than when she was first told that she probably has sarcoptes. then probably she really has it. but until now (i hope never) none of my adult cats will catch it! and i still sometimes itch then it will go away after some minutes. coz whenever i feel itchy i immediately apply some tulmeric rub lol. i cant wait for wednesday to receive her final shot (i hope) so that i can ask everything im concern with to the vet. when i took her to the clinic, the vet only said that it is contagious to humans. i have no idea what sarcoptes till i searched it at home! he could've told me that i need to isolate her or whatever must be done or sanitize the house or whatever!geez. and yea that is so true. having a pet is also a lifetime commitment. i will tell her future owner about it. but really i doubt if they can take care of her as much as i do. thats why i must now (finally ive decided) spay my 5yrs old cat. thank you <3

CatEmpress,

Are they giving her Ivermectin injections?  If so, that should treat it.  However, some cats can act as carriers (and re-exposure your kitten) even if they are not showing symptoms.  Hopefully, you will get it resolved with the final shot!  I hope all goes well. If you continue to itch, you should see a doctor and let them know about your kitten.  If it is cat scabies, they are supposed to not be able to survive long-term on humans.  I have read about some cases where people said otherwise.  

Best of luck to you and your kitties.

Snooshy,

I'm so happy that you're kitties are finally doing better!  That's fantastic news!  

I'm not sure what kind of drug it is but she is now well I decided to keep her coz I feel sorry for her.

Awe! That is so sweet!  

I'm so happy to hear that she is better now.  

yes she's now strong and playful and none of my adult cats got infected or the kitten getting reinfected. but now I'm dealing with the mama cat spaying recovery. it hasn't been 24 hours yet (almost) and I feel so not good dealing with it! to think that I have to experience this thing again when the kitten's turn to get spayed after 3 months or so *sigh

 Ok , so i posted a thread about mange and then realised it's in the pictures only category but i dont know how to delete it so instead i have edited my message and posted a picture of my one eyed Snooshy with redness from the mange around his eye. hehe love him <3

I will now go post my message in another category ...

Stilll.......fighting....mange.......

I was posting on here a very long time ago now it seems. Well the fight is still on. the mange in my cats is still here. I am about 97% sure it is almost out of the house now, but the worst barn cat was taken off his medication and started on a new one (by a vet) and the new meds didn't work at all so the mange is back in him like crazyyy awful. He is back on his original meds and started to get better again. It is such a long terrible battle.

Hope everyone and their furr babies are well.

Aww, he's a cutie even with that red eye.

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Note: Threads merged

I hate mange.....

I still cant get rid of it...

Ivermectin every single day for soooooooooooo long now.

Just when i think its gone it comes flying right back. I have a feeling this is going to be a life long process. 

On a good note the cats are doing great. Furr is long and healthy again...I had forgotten how fluffy my Snooshy was!..and fur coming out from the bottom of his paws and crimped fur on the inside of his arms and legs....so cute.

The mange around his eye is gone and his ears where perfect and then it slowly declined again. I think the Ivermectin loses its power if it sits on the shelf too long...so i bought a new bottle and its working again....i will change out the bottle every couple of weeks to make sure it stays fresh.

This is an unreal experience.

Hello. I am treating my three cats who is sick same way as yours. Did your cat recover from scabies or you are still fighting?

Hi there!

I am still fighting the battle. If i stop the treatment it comes back. I just cant seem to get it completely gone. It looks about 98% gone but cant stop giving the ivermectin or it starts coming back again. I think my dose is too small but making sure the bottle doesnt get contaminated is key.

I am making a lot of phone calls and trying to get more information.

How are you treating yours?