Ringworm negative -- vet baffled

I asked about some bare spots on Mellie's ears in this thread:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76799

The ringworm culture was negative, but the spots are twice the size, as you can see:



also there's a kind of a crusty spot on the front edge. And one developing on the left in the same place.

Anybody have any ideas where I should take this from here? My vet is baffled. She just says to give it time to let it heal. But it seems to keep getting worse. I got a second opinion, and was told it was probably ringworm...that was before the culture came back negative.

Mellie isn't doing any abnormal scratching that I'm aware of.

Has the vet done a skin scraping? What meds have you tried? Perhaps biopsies are in order.

I did a little online research for another member earlier and I think you should look into SCC-squamous cell carcinoma
I found a website that explains a little of what it is and how it starts, hoping this info. will help!!! http://www.camc.co.za/diseaseinformation.htm
Let me know what you think. Hope it all works out!!!

Dr. Doolittle - skin scraping done: microscopic exam for parasites; fungal culture for ringworm, both negative. Topical miconazole used for a week before vet said to stop. Spots didn't get any larger during that time.

Tadi13 - thanks much for the link; I'll research it later today.

Have you looked into Notoedric mange yet?
...it's not scabies, just a dandruff-like mite that thinks it's a flea and does similar damage. The ear shots on your baby look very similar to the ears we've seen on some of our kitties when we first got them. I hope this is the case with yours because it's not as bad as it sounds.

When we found out what it was, we bathed all (38 at that time) of our cats in a diluted lyme mixture and used lavander salve to massage them for about four weeks. We use frontline for flea control but bathing removes the dander and the massages just make their fur feel better.

I hope this helps...it is a frustrating thing to deal with, if that's what it is.

Good luck, please keep us updated!

-kiki

Originally Posted by Roofrabbit

....a dandruff-like mite....

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm assuming that the microscopic exam of the skin scraping was to check for something like this, but I didn't know enough at the time to ask specifically. I'll go ahead and research that, too, anyway.

Just a wild guess, but do your cats bathe each other? I had trouble with bald spots on Mr's ears for a while, and after testing for the usual suspects, the vet suggested that perhaps one of the other cats was overgrooming him. Sylvestra, who sometimes overgrooms herself, had taken to overgrooming Mr's ears.

Not that I've noticed, unless they're doing it only when I'm not looking.

I did some online research on mange, and believe it or not, came across a picture that looked almost exactly like Mellie's ear!! So I called the vet's office, spoke to the vet tech, and we're going to try a couple doses of Revolution.

I just caught up with Millie's current thread Tim.
Good luck with the Revolution.
Let us know how it works for your sweet girl.

Ah, so that's probably it then! I hope the Revolution solves the problem.

oh that's great!
I hope Revolution works too!

-kiki

Tim any luck on this, Magnum has the same thing, the vet has checked fo everything - but nothing comes to mind... I called him and asked about all the things mentioned in your two threads but he had checked for them. Our vet just thinks overgrooming, which wouldn't surprise me since he spends half his day with Bumper grooming him... but there is always that bit of doubt

OK, thanks for the bump. I should have updated. Mellies ears are getting better, but I still have no idea what it was. I don't remember if I mentioned that I saw some pictures on the internet of mange and that Mellie's ears looked exactly like that picture. So with the vet's approval, she's being treated with Revolution. About the same time I also began cleaning the ears twice daily with witch hazel, which also relieves itching. And I put some little booties on her hind feet so whe couldn't scratch. The crusty stuff disappeared and hair started growing back. Another possibility I came across is a staph infection. The description for that sounded similar. Often those cases resolve on their own without treatment. So it could have been that, too. I just don't know....I'm just happy they're getting better.

Thanks to all for the suggestions here and elsewhere. I wouldn't have known to research mange and staph infections without your input.

So glad that your little girl is doing better Tim.