Flea allergies - and/or ringworm?
 

I took a cat home on Sunday which someone found and brought to the vet
at PetsMart. She was pretty much completely covered in scabs from what
I thought was a flea-bite allergy. The vet at PetsMart looked her over
and said she may also have ringworm but it seemed to me like the vet
was more interested in listing everything that could be done to enlist
the 'prospective new client' into signing a Banfield Wellness Plan.
Their Wood's lamp didn't work, so short of sending off a skin-scraping
she couldn't even attempt to look further into the possibility of
ringworm.

Short of pictures, here's what she 'looks' like: Her stomach and
basically all her skin below her waist are scabbed up and there's only
a thin layer of hair left. She's got more fur and less scabs on her
back and front legs, with lots of scabs on top of her head. She's
short-haired.

Since I treated her with CapStar and Frontline on Sunday, she has not
been scratching herself any longer (though I have, I have managed to
avoid ringworm for the past three years of rescuing and I'm not
interested in getting it now!). She does groom herself a lot, but it
seems like she's just pulling off the scabs.

Any helpful thoughts?

"pah41071" wrote in message
om...
I took a cat home on Sunday which someone found and brought to the vet
at PetsMart. She was pretty much completely covered in scabs from what
I thought was a flea-bite allergy. The vet at PetsMart looked her over
and said she may also have ringworm but it seemed to me like the vet
was more interested in listing everything that could be done to enlist
the 'prospective new client' into signing a Banfield Wellness Plan.
Their Wood's lamp didn't work, so short of sending off a skin-scraping
she couldn't even attempt to look further into the possibility of
ringworm.

Short of pictures, here's what she 'looks' like: Her stomach and
basically all her skin below her waist are scabbed up and there's only
a thin layer of hair left. She's got more fur and less scabs on her
back and front legs, with lots of scabs on top of her head. She's
short-haired.

Since I treated her with CapStar and Frontline on Sunday, she has not
been scratching herself any longer (though I have, I have managed to
avoid ringworm for the past three years of rescuing and I'm not
interested in getting it now!). She does groom herself a lot, but it
seems like she's just pulling off the scabs.

Any helpful thoughts?

Ringworm in cats typically manifests itself on the tips of the ears, the
forehead around the "kitty bald spots" and the tips of the toes first. It
can progress to numerous lesions on the trunk as well, but typically the
face and feet will pretty hairless by then. What you're describing doesn't
sound like allergies though. Maybe cat mange, which is usually more
generalized than either ringworm or miliary dermitis.

Really, a trip to the vet for a Woods lamp and a skin scraping to be viewed
under a microscope should be a priority. If the lesions don't fluoresce,
and the mange mites aren't present, you can probably count on it being due
to allergies. Although a Woods lamp will give as much as a 50% false
negative reading on cats with minimal lesions, one this badly affected
should have plenty of green glow somewhere if it's ringworm. Of course, a
secondary non ringworm fungal infection of open allergy lesions will
fluoresce as well, so the only real way to tell if it's ringworm and not
some other fungi is with a culture. Whatever it is, a lime sulpher dip can
go a long way towards getting the cat's skin back on track.

"pah41071" wrote in message
om...
I took a cat home on Sunday which someone found and brought to the vet
at PetsMart. She was pretty much completely covered in scabs from what
I thought was a flea-bite allergy. The vet at PetsMart looked her over
and said she may also have ringworm but it seemed to me like the vet
was more interested in listing everything that could be done to enlist
the 'prospective new client' into signing a Banfield Wellness Plan.
Their Wood's lamp didn't work, so short of sending off a skin-scraping
she couldn't even attempt to look further into the possibility of
ringworm.

Short of pictures, here's what she 'looks' like: Her stomach and
basically all her skin below her waist are scabbed up and there's only
a thin layer of hair left. She's got more fur and less scabs on her
back and front legs, with lots of scabs on top of her head. She's
short-haired.

Since I treated her with CapStar and Frontline on Sunday, she has not
been scratching herself any longer (though I have, I have managed to
avoid ringworm for the past three years of rescuing and I'm not
interested in getting it now!). She does groom herself a lot, but it
seems like she's just pulling off the scabs.

Any helpful thoughts?

Ringworm in cats typically manifests itself on the tips of the ears, the
forehead around the "kitty bald spots" and the tips of the toes first. It
can progress to numerous lesions on the trunk as well, but typically the
face and feet will pretty hairless by then. What you're describing doesn't
sound like allergies though. Maybe cat mange, which is usually more
generalized than either ringworm or miliary dermitis.

Really, a trip to the vet for a Woods lamp and a skin scraping to be viewed
under a microscope should be a priority. If the lesions don't fluoresce,
and the mange mites aren't present, you can probably count on it being due
to allergies. Although a Woods lamp will give as much as a 50% false
negative reading on cats with minimal lesions, one this badly affected
should have plenty of green glow somewhere if it's ringworm. Of course, a
secondary non ringworm fungal infection of open allergy lesions will
fluoresce as well, so the only real way to tell if it's ringworm and not
some other fungi is with a culture. Whatever it is, a lime sulpher dip can
go a long way towards getting the cat's skin back on track.

"pah41071" wrote in message
om...
I took a cat home on Sunday which someone found and brought to the vet
at PetsMart. She was pretty much completely covered in scabs from what
I thought was a flea-bite allergy. The vet at PetsMart looked her over
and said she may also have ringworm but it seemed to me like the vet
was more interested in listing everything that could be done to enlist
the 'prospective new client' into signing a Banfield Wellness Plan.
Their Wood's lamp didn't work, so short of sending off a skin-scraping
she couldn't even attempt to look further into the possibility of
ringworm.

Short of pictures, here's what she 'looks' like: Her stomach and
basically all her skin below her waist are scabbed up and there's only
a thin layer of hair left. She's got more fur and less scabs on her
back and front legs, with lots of scabs on top of her head. She's
short-haired.

Since I treated her with CapStar and Frontline on Sunday, she has not
been scratching herself any longer (though I have, I have managed to
avoid ringworm for the past three years of rescuing and I'm not
interested in getting it now!). She does groom herself a lot, but it
seems like she's just pulling off the scabs.

Any helpful thoughts?


I hope you did not sign up with Banfield. If you do a google search under
"groups," you will find a number of references -- many negative. PetSmart
(Banfield) is convenient, but that does not necessarily mean "good." Please
ask around for references (your petloving friends can be good sources of
information), and get to a vet who can do a reasonable assessment of
ringworm and other potential problems.

MaryL

"pah41071" wrote in message
om...
I took a cat home on Sunday which someone found and brought to the vet
at PetsMart. She was pretty much completely covered in scabs from what
I thought was a flea-bite allergy. The vet at PetsMart looked her over
and said she may also have ringworm but it seemed to me like the vet
was more interested in listing everything that could be done to enlist
the 'prospective new client' into signing a Banfield Wellness Plan.
Their Wood's lamp didn't work, so short of sending off a skin-scraping
she couldn't even attempt to look further into the possibility of
ringworm.

Short of pictures, here's what she 'looks' like: Her stomach and
basically all her skin below her waist are scabbed up and there's only
a thin layer of hair left. She's got more fur and less scabs on her
back and front legs, with lots of scabs on top of her head. She's
short-haired.

Since I treated her with CapStar and Frontline on Sunday, she has not
been scratching herself any longer (though I have, I have managed to
avoid ringworm for the past three years of rescuing and I'm not
interested in getting it now!). She does groom herself a lot, but it
seems like she's just pulling off the scabs.

Any helpful thoughts?


I hope you did not sign up with Banfield. If you do a google search under
"groups," you will find a number of references -- many negative. PetSmart
(Banfield) is convenient, but that does not necessarily mean "good." Please
ask around for references (your petloving friends can be good sources of
information), and get to a vet who can do a reasonable assessment of
ringworm and other potential problems.

MaryL

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote:

I hope you did not sign up with Banfield. If you do a google search under
"groups," you will find a number of references -- many negative. PetSmart
(Banfield) is convenient, but that does not necessarily mean "good." Please
ask around for references (your petloving friends can be good sources of
information), and get to a vet who can do a reasonable assessment of
ringworm and other potential problems.

MaryL

I generally work with another clinic - I only use Banfield when I
really have no other choice. Generally that is when someone tries to
drop-off a cat they found/don't want any longer at PetsMart. If the
cat doesn't look healthy/socialized enough for reference to a local
open admission shelter, we usually agree to take the cat provided the
owner is willing to pay for an FIV/FeLV test, which is then done right
at Banfield.

Thanks!

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote:

I hope you did not sign up with Banfield. If you do a google search under
"groups," you will find a number of references -- many negative. PetSmart
(Banfield) is convenient, but that does not necessarily mean "good." Please
ask around for references (your petloving friends can be good sources of
information), and get to a vet who can do a reasonable assessment of
ringworm and other potential problems.

MaryL

I generally work with another clinic - I only use Banfield when I
really have no other choice. Generally that is when someone tries to
drop-off a cat they found/don't want any longer at PetsMart. If the
cat doesn't look healthy/socialized enough for reference to a local
open admission shelter, we usually agree to take the cat provided the
owner is willing to pay for an FIV/FeLV test, which is then done right
at Banfield.

Thanks!

"Sunflower" wrote:
Ringworm in cats typically manifests itself on the tips of the ears, the
forehead around the "kitty bald spots" and the tips of the toes first. It
can progress to numerous lesions on the trunk as well, but typically the
face and feet will pretty hairless by then. What you're describing doesn't
sound like allergies though. Maybe cat mange, which is usually more
generalized than either ringworm or miliary dermitis.

Thanks, I didn't even think of Mange (guess because I've never seen it
in a cat). Luckily she's not scratching herself so I'll take her along
on my next vet trip early next week and keep her isolated until then.
Meanwhile, I've bathed her once so far with Malaseb Shampoo.

"Sunflower" wrote:
Ringworm in cats typically manifests itself on the tips of the ears, the
forehead around the "kitty bald spots" and the tips of the toes first. It
can progress to numerous lesions on the trunk as well, but typically the
face and feet will pretty hairless by then. What you're describing doesn't
sound like allergies though. Maybe cat mange, which is usually more
generalized than either ringworm or miliary dermitis.

Thanks, I didn't even think of Mange (guess because I've never seen it
in a cat). Luckily she's not scratching herself so I'll take her along
on my next vet trip early next week and keep her isolated until then.
Meanwhile, I've bathed her once so far with Malaseb Shampoo.