URGENTY need help with my 4-month kitten.

URGENTY need help with my 4-month kitten.


Hi everyone,

I'm new here and really need help with my cat. I bought him from a reputable (or so I thought) "breeder" here in Pakistan when he was 5 weeks old. I foolishly didn't do much research so I had no idea this was too young to adopt. Three days after getting him I noticed he developed a dirty looking spot on his nose which grew and eventually spread to his nose within 2 weeks. This was in April and now it's July and his condition grew worse and spread. He now has ringworm that hasn't healed despite visiting 3 different vets and following their instructions which include daily baths with Davis Miconazole shampoo, an eye drop because it got to his eye (his eye is now fine, thank his) and an ointment for his lesions/bald patches. We also had him trimmed down.

Despite all this, he's showing no improvement. Maybe a slight improvement but nothing more than 10% if I'm being generous. I'm in tears because I'm so frustrated. I want him to be healthy so I know he'll be okay. Here are his problems:

- ringworm (the lesions formed a month or so ago but he had gotten bald itchy patches behind ear, legs, on his nose/eye area and belly and tip of his tail. Now I see the lesions probably due to his hair trimmed down and because it's ringworm I have to maintain minimal contact. Despite this I now have 3 bald patches the size of a coin on my scalp =( we tried to make a quarantine room but it's too hot to have it in a small room like that)

- the ringworm has infected his paws, especially the front 2 which are rough to the touch and brown.

- his eye, nose and mouth area have a weird dark crust that's very stubborn to remove despite daily baths.

- hair loss on the tips of his ears, behind one ear, belly, some of his fingers/toes and tip of the tail.

- He gets a pouch on his belly when he sits on his hind legs. I thought it was because it was saggy skin that formed after the swollen belly he had went down but I'm not so sure now.

He has gained weight because I've switched him to an all-wet diet with a bit of Kibble left overnight. Can you guys please tell me what I can do?! I'm desperate and I'm so upset and full of anxiety because of his condition. I'm starting to regret all of this but I cannot give up on him. My family wants to be of no help and I cannot take him to the vet whenever I want.

I tried looking for Lyme sulfur to do a dip but I couldn't find that here. Have any of you seen a cat in this condition? He's 4 months now, btw. Please help.

I'm just looking at his photos and I am not sure how it got so bad. He is trimmed down so you can see the thinned spots on his body. Also, for food I give him Whiskas Chicken in Jelly which he loves. I feed him 4 times a day and let him eat until he's full. I leave kibble out for him as well which is the Purina Kitten one. He was really scrawny 2 months ago and as soon as I made his diet a mostly wet one he gained healthy weight and now doesn't look as scrawny as before. He had a swollen belly which he doesn't have now but he still gets a little pouch that falls over his back feet slightly when he sits. He was extremely fluffy when I got him. That's him in my profile picture and I'll include another.
Also I do want to add that I live in Lahore, Pakistan and there's a whole university here that trains vets, called the University of Veterinary Health & Sciences (UVAS) and my last vet appointment was to a vet. Professor who teaches as well as operates a private clinic. The campus was huge and well-equipped, they ran a lab on him and confirmed he had a fungal condition ringworm but they're being cautious due to his small age. I have no doubt he's getting good care from the vets but I'm losing hope and they can't figure out how to cure him. I'm considering oral pills from the research I've done but again I'm not sure. If you guys have went through this with your babies, please let me know.

I don't have experience with such severe ringworm. All I can suggest is to continue to work closely with your vets, and keep cleaning everywhere to try to minimise the risk of reinfection from the environment. I'm hoping this article will have a few new ideas:-
[article="32416"][/article]

I don't have any advice...never have had a ringworm problem like that.
But your baby is adorable, and I sure hope somebody here has some good advice for you.
Healing

Thankfully I've never had to battle ringworm either, but here is a very long thread written by someone who did, and she has some very helpful tips:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/210789/6-things-i-learned-from-our-ringworm-plague-book-length

Can you order some of the items you need via the internet?  Like the dip you need?  Or can't your Vet order it?  That just seems awful that you have no access to it...it's not like ringworm stops at borders.  Obviously it doesn't

And don't even get me started on that breeder .  Now not only is your little one suffering, but so are you

Columbine said:

I don't have experience with such severe ringworm. All I can suggest is to continue to work closely with your vets, and keep cleaning everywhere to try to minimise the risk of reinfection from the environment. I'm hoping this article will have a few new ideas:-[article="32416"]Ringworm In Cats How To Win The Fight  [/article]

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Thank you, this article was one of the first I read about ringworm. We make sure to clean and bleach down the floors on a daily basis. I am thinking about also cleaning down the sofas he likes to lounge on after his baths. 

crimmie said:

I don't have any advice...never have had a ringworm problem like that.
But your baby is adorable, and I sure hope somebody here has some good advice for you.

Healing

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Thank you very much. I hope he gets better soon. It pains me to see him so miserable and lonely. I will definitely be getting him a girlfriend as soon as he's 110% better because I think he would be a lot happier that way, especially since we are often gone for a few hours daily. =( 

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
Thankfully I've never had to battle ringworm either, but here is a very long thread written by someone who did, and she has some very helpful tips:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/210789/6-things-i-learned-from-our-ringworm-plague-book-length

Can you order some of the items you need via the internet?  Like the dip you need?  Or can't your Vet order it?  That just seems awful that you have no access to it...it's not like ringworm stops at borders.  Obviously it doesn't

And don't even get me started on that breeder

.  Now not only is your little one suffering, but so are you

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Thank you for the thread, I will read that from start to end! Any tips from an experienced cat parent are appreciated so that is perfect! 

And I can order online because I just moved to Pakistan last year from the US so with my family still back there, I can certainly order supplies to their place and have them shipped here. However, lyme sulfur dip is a chemical and it would cause problems if it was shipped so I am waiting on my brothers to visit us from their college breaks and bring it along. The vets here do offer lyme sulfur dips but I've yet to find the solution in bulk so I can do it myself at home. I even tried calling plant shops because I read that Lyme Sulfur is also used on plants but they didn't stock that. Otherwise, there are a ton of animal lovers here so pet supplies are never a problem. 

The other problem is that the vets feel he is too young to be on oral medication so I am stuck using medicated shampoos which are not helping either. I dont want to overmedicate him but he needs something strong to flush it out of him. =(

And yes, I will never go to a breeder ever again. It was in my complete ignorance that I went with a breeder because I did not have a clue as to how inhumane some breeders can be, and also because I had wanted a white fluffy doll-face persian ever since I can remember. Totally silly reasons to get a cat but we all love him and hope he's better soon. 

This idea could be a little over the top but there is a recipe how to create Lyme Sulfur on Wikapedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_sulfur

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/make-own-lime-sulfur-spraying-fruit-trees-31331.html

I personally would go see the vet school and see if they can help you make lyme Sulfur.

Lime Sulfur can be found at garden shops. Here is someone guide to using gardening lime sulfur to make a cat shampoo.

http://www.pandecats.com/x/limesulphur_shampoo.shtml

Please check with a vet before doing any of the above.

RaffaelloTheCat said:

URGENTY need help with my 4-month kitten.



 

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Hi

Wow ok this is the worst case of RW i've seen.  In the USA and at my shelter we use a two pronged attack.  One, lime sulfer dip shampoo weekly, and then a very safe oral medication, Terbinafine given as a liquid medication in the mouth.  Also anti fungal topical creams containing Miconazole Nitrate.  I would discuss Terbinafine and the lime sulfer dips with your vet.

Your kitten is so precious and beautiful. I am very sad to see such an extreme case of RW. I believe your kitten does in fact need oral help. Ringworm can be self-limiting but if they are too young and their immune system cannot fight it off then it becomes this bad. I had two barn rescue kittens about 20 years back that both came down with ringworm. They were about four months old too then.

Back then the protocol was a bit different and every time I mention this people seem to freak because it is old school BUT - my vet had me dip the kittens twice weekly for three weeks then once weekly for four in a 20/1 water/bleach mixture. Of COURSE NOT the head. You can spot wipe the lesions on the head with the solution but not that nose. They were also given Griesiofulvin oral medication. ALSO - they were completely shaved before treatment. I would highly recommend shaving your dear kitten down completely. Getting all of the hair off and the infected spores is very, very important right now. Then you can also apply creams directly to the lesions.

Colloidal Silver will also kill ringworm. Apply three to four times per day on the lesions. This is after the shave so you can visually get all spots.

Oh goodness. I know my protocol sounds strong but this is a case that I feel needs to be treated aggressively. All my best to you.......... please do keep us posted on your beautiful little one. I know where you live you may not be able to get some of what we are all listing but hopefully your vet can assist somehow. :cross:

Check out this information as well and discuss with your vet for oral: http://www.sheltermedicine.com/libr...ofulvin-and-fluconazole-to-treat-for-ringworm

raffaellothecat Any update ? Very concerned and hope you are able post soon and read the replies you may have not seen yet. :cross:

Feralvr said:

@RaffaelloTheCat Any update ? Very concerned and hope you are able post soon and read the replies you may have not seen yet.

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 Really hoping you're getting somewhere with the treatment 

go and spread news about this breeder.

Tell the breeder about this problem because if there was other in the litter they are probably going through(possibly) the same thing 

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for all your helpful replies. I've been doing research to see if I can get Lyme Sulfur here and some vets do have it for sale so that's a relief. I'll be going this week to pick it up and also see if I can get him on some oral medication.

The thing is, his condition is now getting worse. He developed a full on bald patch on his body! He has isolated thinning but never a bald patch like this. I'm so upset! Not to mention the bald patch I just got on my scalp (the 3rd I've gotten so far). I'm so frustrated and feel like I'm failing to tend to his needs. And now with it effecting me I'm almost starting to resent him which I don't ever want to feel. =(

I'm attaching photos so you can see his thinning on the body, especially where the skin has turned brown. And then the bald patch on one side that showed up 2 days ago.

Oh and I do want to add again that he was clipped so that's why his coat looks short. It's growing in now but you can still make out the brown in his skin that doesn't come out even with daily baths. =(

nessakhoo said:

go and spread news about this breeder.

Tell the breeder about this problem because if there was other in the litter they are probably going through(possibly) the same thing 

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I did! Left a 1-star rating on his Facebook page and he went ballistic. He took my cat in for a week and clipped his fur and stuff but when I got him back his right eye was pink and his retina was cloudy. I was petrified thinking he'll go blind but luckily the vet gave drops that cleared it up within 10 days. So awful what he's having to go through. =(

RaffaelloTheCat said:

I did! Left a 1-star rating on his Facebook page and he went ballistic. He took my cat in for a week and clipped his fur and stuff but when I got him back his right eye was pink and his retina was cloudy. I was petrified thinking he'll go blind but luckily the vet gave drops that cleared it up within 10 days. So awful what he's having to go through. =(

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Good god. Why did you even let him take your kitty back. His litter could be even more sick than yours. (sorry anger at him not you.) is everything clearing up? Do you need a second opinion for vet just to make sure everything is OK? Or you trust your current?

I'm guessing that until you can get the dip and oral medication, (or change what you were doing before)  it's not going to get any better, as it hasn't gotten better in the past. 

I'd try to be quick about picking up the dip you were able to locate and get him started on it.   How about the Colloidal Silver?  Did you locate some of that? 

Please try not to resent him...I know in heart you love him, but it's hard to go thru something like this...it's definitely a LOT of work keeping up with ringworm . But the thing is, YOU could have brought it into the house on your shoe...it could have come from anywhere, really. 

RaffaelloTheCat said:

I did! Left a 1-star rating on his Facebook page and he went ballistic. He took my cat in for a week and clipped his fur and stuff but when I got him back his right eye was pink and his retina was cloudy. I was petrified thinking he'll go blind but luckily the vet gave drops that cleared it up within 10 days. So awful what he's having to go through. =(

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If you can afford it, and if your vet has a ringworm isolation room, you could consider boarding him for treatment until its cleared up....

Option 2, you create a RW Iso unit in your home.  A room that you don't need to use for other purposes, with a fan in the window pointing out, so it creates negative air flow into the room, and ideally a room with running water.  Ideally it will have a hard floor that you can mop with the diluted bleach solution i will describe below.

Buy a box of latex gloves, and an apron that is either washable, or better yet made of plastic so you can disinfect it.  Get spray bottles and fill them with 1 part bleach, 9 parts water.

Keep him in this room until its all gone.  Bath him in the dip in the sink if you have a room you can use that has a sink, alternatively, buy a plastic tub like for washing a baby.  Do the lyme dips in there.  When you're done in the room, whether its for feeding, cleaning the litter, or washing him or playing, remove gloves, remove apron.  You can spray the apron if its plastic with the bleach solution and let it air dry - 10 minutes is required to kill the RW.  Keep a covered trash can with plastic bags in the room and dump all trash and used gloves in the room.

Also you either need shoe covers (rubber or plastic for disinfecting), or a large supply of socks you don't care about.  If socks, put them on before entering the room, and as you leave take them off in such a way that you can step out of the room with clean feet not touching the RW Iso room floor, then drop socks in a covered trash can for washing later, with bleach.  If plastic shoe covers, spray with bleach upon exiting, and as you remove them let them air dry in a bucket just outside the room.

If you can bleach the floor you need to keep the cat out of contact with it until A) the floor is dry from the bleach and b) after you damp mop the floor with water to remove residual bleach.  Basically this means you could put him in a carrier during this process, and you will need two mops, and two mop buckets, one for the bleach, one for the rinse. Bleached floor should air dry for 10 minutes before rinsing.

Always a 1 to 9 bleach to water ratio.  If you do the above, clean the rest of your home so it can become RW free.   All of this is work, but once you're in the groove of it, not so difficult.