US Ex-pat w. new stray needs help - kitty won't eat! :-(

[pookie-poo]

With her curling up on your shoulder or neck each night, be prepared to join the ranks of the fungus faces soon!

Your little family sounds lovely! I SO enjoy coming here and reading about the adventures of Luna and Slooty!

 

[xocats]

Originally Posted by Shad

Luna has now got the beginnings of ringworm in two spots on her face - above her left eye and above her left lip - poor kitty. If you're keeping score at home, that means Slooty, Mommy, and now Luna are all fungusfaces... only Daddy remains free of infestation.

Daddy believes this is clearly due to his superior bathing habits, although Mommy disagrees with that assessment

Unless you have some amazing kind of immunity Andrew....
I fear that your fiancée will have the last laugh.

Unless your apartment's environment is throughly cleaned until most of the spores are gone forever, you will constantly be fighting new outbreaks of ringworm.

This site has useful info. about how to disinfect with bleach.
You will find specific info about ringworm as you scroll down.
http://www.showcatsonline.com/x/bleach.htm

In a small, enclosed space, I would be very careful of toxic fumes from bleach. I hope that other members will have ideas for you...
You could start a seperate thread asking how to get rid of ringworm.

You and your fiancée will beat this and go on to a more peaceful future with Luna and Slooty ....
your precious babies.

Thank you for the update.
Luna and Slooty

 

[shad]

Wednesday Morning Update

12 hours late, I know, sorry!

Slooty and Luna, besides the ever-present ringworm, are doing great! They aren't climbing the Christmas tree, but they're having an absolute blast batting at the ornaments all day long. I bought sturdy plastic balls and tin bells so when they do manage to get one down it suffers no damage and goes right back up.

They continue to wrestle with great ferocity, and when Luna has her fill of Slooty's barbarism she will come wrestle with Daddy because he doesn't bite her on the head.

They're both eating very well and keeping the litterbox cleaners busy!

It is now in the single-digits daily outside. I wish I could stay inside all day curled up in a warm bed like these two do!

Goodbye everyone!

 

[xocats]

We know that you are very busy Andrew and really appreciate your updates about our fuzzy snowballs.
Daddy doesn't bite Luna on the head.

Have you received the flea meds from your Father yet?

Stay warm with your sweeties.

Slooty and Luna

 

[sablemerle]

I hope those single digits are Celcius.

We're into the teens Fahrenheit here, and I'm sick of winter already

 

[shad]

Friday Morning Update

Originally Posted by Sablemerle

I hope those single digits are Celcius.

We're into the teens Fahrenheit here, and I'm sick of winter already

If by Celcius you mean single digit negative? Then yes...

The only story to tell about these two at this point starts with Ring and ends with Worm. They're really struggling with it. Fortunately, they aren't scratching much so they aren't rubbing anything raw, but things will probably continue to get worse before they turn the corner.

We're just medicating them as best we can and cleaning the house repeatedly. We do have one unexpected gift of fortune on our side - we will be moving to a new apartment sometime in February or March... so if we can get them over the first round of ringworm by then we can send all our clothes and linens to the dry cleaners & leave this contaminated apartment behind!

Don't worry, there won't be any other occupants after us - this apartment block is scheduled for demolition.

Anyhow, I haven't posted any pictures in a while, so here are two!

Luna enjoys sleeping in strange places...

Slooty is getting big very quickly!

Mommy's ringworm is nearly gone, but as you all know we must keep treating it for several weeks to be sure... and Daddy remains impervious

 

[sadieandziggy]

Your day will come for the ringworm

at least you'd get time off work

Have they been to the vet again for the ringworm. How long does it usually take to clear up? It's seems to have gone on forever!!!

They look great, and Slooty is big!!

Keep it up Andrew

 

[xocats]

Oh Andrew...
Luna and Slooty are beautiful.

Those two pictures would make a lovely signature.

A new apartment?
That is exciting news.

 

[jenniferd]

They are gorgeous cats, so white and fluffy. I would say they look a little like Turkish Angora. Are cats like this common on the streets in China?
Look at that: there are odd eyed Turkish Angoras, that's even accepted into the standard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Angora

 

[bnwalker2]

They are both so gorgeous! You guys have done such a wonderful job with them!

 

[alleygirl]

They are beautiful!

Don't worry about the ringworm. It does take a lot of time to clear up, so I'm sure they'll be fine soon

Love the fluffy paws

 

[shad]

Originally Posted by jenniferd

They are gorgeous cats, so white and fluffy. I would say they look a little like Turkish Angora. Are cats like this common on the streets in China?
Look at that: there are odd eyed Turkish Angoras, that's even accepted into the standard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Angora

Bullseye! If you follow that link you get a charming picture of a cat that could be brother or sister to ours.

Futher reading at the bottom in the sources section turned up another page with the following descriptions of Turkish Angora's:

Elegant, finely-boned creatures, Turkish Angoras are graceful, energetic and usually the first to welcome visitors into your home.

Check!

The Angora is often confused with the Persian, but not because they look anything like one another. The Persian is a stocky, placid cat, while the Angora is small, usually ranging from 5 to 9 pounds. Their bodies are long, their ears large and pointed, and their eyes large and almond-shaped. Head shape is completely different as well; instead of the Persian's large head and flattened face, the Angora has a small, medium-long wedge-shaped head set on a long, slim, graceful neck. The legs are long, the paws round and dainty, and the tail long and tapering. When in motion, Angoras move with the grace of small, furry dancers.

A semi-longhaired breed, the Angora has fine, silky fur that is longer on the tail and around the neck.

Check!

They will tolerate being held only for a few moments before jumping down to bat at sunbeams and zoom around the house at top speed.

Check!

Highly intelligent, Angoras can be very strong-willed and determined once they make up their minds. If you put your Angora's favorite toy away in the cupboard before she's finished playing with it, she won't rest until she figures out how to open the door and retrieve her property. Failing that, she'll drive you crazy asking for it until you give in and get it down for her. In a battle of wills, the Angora usually wins.

Double-check!

And of course there are more. I was chagrined to read that they are considered a relatively rare and expensive breed in the United States, seeing as how we literally picked ours up off the street over here in China.

Developing country... cats are cats!

So how are they doing? Well, the ringworm is in full force. Both kitties have sizable crusty patches in various places on their bodies. We continue to medicate. Thankfully this hasn't seemed to have had any effect on their constitutions otherwise. They're still running 900mph around the house and wrestling from dawn to dusk, and all through the night.

We had an exciting moment yesterday evening when Slooty made a tremendously large BM in the litter box and then somehow managed to sit in it?

Horrified at her accident & uncleanliness, she then began zooming in circles around the house with half of her deposit in the box and the other half smushed against her hindquarters and tail.

Daddy was sprinting around the apartment desperately trying to catch Poo Katt before too much of her fudge found it's way off her bum and onto the carpet/chairs/counters/behind tables/etc.!

I eventually managed to snag her and toss her in the bathtub. I held her there while Mommy cleaned up the exterior damage, and then Slooty got a much-needed bottom rinsing!

We're expecting snow all day tomorrow, I'm looking forward to it! I've never been a fan of cold weather, but if it has to be cold, at least make it pretty!

Goodnight everyone! Much love!

PS - Daddy still doesn't have ringworm!

 

[xocats]

You need a video camera.....

Turkish Angoras are one of the ancient, naturally-occurring cat breeds.
Wow! That is fascinating.

It's sad these beautiful cats are not highly prized in China.

Ringworm wars....
Be sure to clean the bottom of your vacuum cleaner and use new bags every time you vacuum.

I am ready for more photos of your "exotic" snowballs.

Toasty warm vibes on the way.

 

[jenniferd]

Are you bleaching all the surfaces that can be bleached (one cup of bleach in the gallon of water)? To kill ring worm.
And after vacuuming, make sure to throw away the bags.
What do vets prescribe for it in China?
My vet gave my cat cream called "zymox."
It's not just for ringworm, but to help with itching caused by bacteria or fungus, because my cat is scratching himself (he doesn't have ringworm). I don't know if it's reallyworking or not, as it's been a short time, but as of now cat seems to be looking a bit better. Sometimes I even manage to catch him to put it on him, LOL.
http://www.calvetsupply.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=745

 

[white cat lover]

You may be lucky "daddy" & not get ringworm.....I've got ringworm essentially living in my home...Damita is always infected, but still 3 of 4 members of my family have never gotten it. And I've had Damita almost 2 years now!

 

[raggiekitty]

PS - Daddy still doesn't have ringworm!

Oh, you are sooo pushing it my friend!

But keep it up, I really hope you don't get it!

How is your fiance's case of it?
I'm glad the kitties are still happy in spite of it all....and unfortunately, I can feel your pain on chasing down the poopoo kitty butt....mine used to manage to step in it on occassion when she was smaller.

 

[sadieandziggy]

I'm really looking forward to seeing some healthy ringworm free kittens.

Great job, and who knew you have an Angora?!?

 

[addiebee]

Andrew - love the story about pursuing the poop-encrusted cat! Gave me and my boyfriend a really good laugh! Glad to see everyone is doing well, ringworm not withstanding.

AB

 

[xocats]

Checking in on your furry snowballs Andrew.

It's update time.

 

[shad]

Indeed it is... I've been a bit sick so I was putting this one off

Thursday Morning Update

Ringworm is the name of the game these days. Both kittens have large flaky patches in various places on their bodies. In order to help slow the spread and make it easier for us to apply the medicine Mommy went after both of them with scissors yesterday.

My beautiful, fluffy white kittens now look like they both went through a lawn-mower!

It's ok though, it makes us laugh and they don't seem TOO embarassed about it...

Regarding changing the vacuum bags - you people should all be using bagless vacuums! They cost a bit more at the outset, but the difference is paid for after you go through a few replacement bags, and then you're saving money all the way... it's better for the environment too!

For the one I bought for us, if we fill its dust reservoir 4 times we've equalized the cost difference for the cheaper bag-based vacuums. We've only had it 3 weeks and have already filled it once, so we'll come out hundreds of dollars ahead by the end of this vacuum's lifespan.

They also both have ear mites, something we've been unable to get medicine for here. We've been treating the symptoms this past week by swabbing out their ears with q-tips but we need to figure out a way to start actually killing the mites. I'm posting this very question in a new thread in this same forum when I finish this post so don't reply here if you have some helpful advice.

But, on the whole, they're both healthy, happy, and rambunctious. They don't look so great, but beneath the skin these are two super healthy kitties and it's really amazing to think back to when we first brought them in and how difficult it was!

Oh, and no ringworm for Daddy...