Ear Mites/Ringworm? AHH, so confused!

[princessesme]

We just adopted a new kitty a few days back (who still remains unnamed) and when we were playing with him and cuddling with him, I noticed a bare spot behind his ear. You can kind of see it in the right light that it is naked and looks to have little scabs only near the edges. Well, going through his paperwork, when this little guy was brought in to the animal shelter a few weeks ago (he is 3.5yrs old) his fur was caked in feces and he had ear mites, VERY BAD. According to his medical history, his ears were swollen and then he was bleeding behind his pinna (which I learned, is his ear, lol).

I've noticed that he is still itchy and I checked his ears and it doesn't look like he has ear mites any longer, but we will continue to clean them if the vet gives the A-OK. At this point, I am a little panicky though because the vet isn't open until Monday and I didn't really notice it today. We were doing the blanket thing where I took his blanket and left it out in the house for our girl to check out and get used to his scent. We were also doing scent rubbings between the to, with a washcloth.

So, although I will DEFINITELY be calling the vet, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with ear mites and/or ringworm? He has a little bald patch behind his ear, which looks kind of oval where he scratches A LOT! (I assume he is still itchy after having ear mites) and before, it just looked like normal skin color, but now the coloring looks a little tan. When I looked at it the other day, it also looked like there was scabbing around the edges. I am hoping that it is him healing after being brought in having bled behind his ears, according to the paperwork and not ringworm, but I was just looking for anyone elses input.

Also, he is a thin line that kind of wraps around the left part of his eye that looks bald, but it is a line and not round at all.

Thanks for any input!

 

[princessesme]

Also -- just wanted to add.. I have been reading that having a strong immune system helps keep ringworm away. We have had him less than a week and he gets Lysine 2x a day, but I can't really keep his stress levels too far down, because he is in isolation and I know he is going STIR crazy in there.

 

[barbb]

This does not sound like ringworm to me. Usually ringworm is very classic round spots and normally it is not accompanied by itching. Also, most adoption facilities don't have only one cat with ringworm, it spreads very quickly and it would be extremely abnormal for any adoption group to not detect ringworm. If there is an outbreak it is a bunch of cats and they are all quarantined, in normal cases http://manhattancats.com/Articles/ringworm.html  Also, ringworm is more likely to happen with kittens or cats whose immune systems are weak.

Do you have a phone number on your adoption contract? I would check with them and find out when he was treated for fleas and ask if they used revolution or frontline or if they just bathed him. Revolution and some other products kill not only fleas but also different varieties of mites. So it would be good to know what they used on him. Also find out what they were feeding him so you can get that same food and help him adjust to his new home and food easier.

A lot of cats are sensitive/allergic to fleas and flea residue and he could just be reacting to that since you said he was a mess when he was found. Also, he was in a facility where there were a lot of cats, so even if he didn't have fleas he would be exposed to flea residue. 

Animal allergies usually manifest with itching around the ears, neck, or stomach, or back of the tail. For now, call the adoption group or visit them and talk to them and find out about the food and flea/ear mite treatment. Also make sure on your paperwork that he  was tested and that he is negative for all major diseases. 

If the itching persists it could be a food allergy, although that is rare. Just take one step at a time. Petsmart sells small packets of hypoallergenic wipes and I would recommend that you use those on your kitty for now, make sure it is the hypoallergenic ones. They will help reduce his itching similar to the way we put cortisone on our mosquito bites. 

 

[princessesme]

The shelter we got from him is really great. I used to volunteer there and I know they are very good about pulling cats back into medical, if they show signs of anything. I also looked at his paperwork and he was given Acurexx for his ear mites, Frontline and Profender. Then they send us home with his de-worming medicine. They also test for all major diseases and his came back negative. Now we just have to finish his booster shots for FVRCP and FELV and he will be good to go.

The poor little guy when he came in got a good bath (thank goodness) to get the caked on feces off. His ears cleaned up and then he was neutered. So he has gone through quite a bit in the past few weeks, but I am glad that he is much better with most of those things, it was just the little patch behind his ear that concerned me.

Also, thanks for the tip on hypoallergenic wipes! We had some on hand and I gave him a good rub down with them this morning. So I am hoping that will help reduce his itching that he is having. We also have a bag of cat food that they give them at the shelter so he is in the process of switching over to BG Chicken dry, with wet mixed in throughout the week (similar to his shelter diet, but with higher quality foods

)

 

[princessesme]

Seriously, I have to stop Googling because it is going to turn me into a crazy person!

Naku has still been itching, even after a bath and with hypoallergenic wipes. At this point, I am hoping what I am seeing is just related back to what we was brought in with (the really bad ear mites and he bloodiness behind his ears, as a result of the scratching - I would assume). He still has a little oval bald patch behind his left ear, but it looks normal skin tone and I think I saw some little baby fur growing in. No fur in the middle yet and still a little concerned about the teeny dry patch on his nose, but he's got an appointment on Monday. For all I now, it could be fur facing the wrong way. (The little guy will NOT stay still long enough to get a good look at anything on him)

I called the shelter to get more info on his vet care while he was there too (just to make sure I am fully understanding his vet paperwork). I know they keep them back in medical before they are released and he was in there longer because of all the things he needed to get done. Then, after a behavior evaluation, he was introduced to free roam rooms (with about 8 other cats). So.... now that I have stopped Googling, I am hopeful that it is not ringworm on him. Plus, considering I know the shelter (especially from volunteer work), I know they would not release any animals with any kind of contagious medical issue (especially to live in a free roam room).

I am back to breathing normal again!