If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
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? |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
"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. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
"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. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
"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 |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
"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 |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
"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! |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
"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! |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
"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. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
"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. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Curious about Flea Bites | Marek Williams | Cat health & behaviour | 19 | August 24th 13 12:10 AM |
Flea removal....I need help for my babies | tigerdaisy | Cat health & behaviour | 16 | October 9th 04 07:43 AM |
Are Natural Flea Drops Effective? | Mike | Cat health & behaviour | 8 | September 18th 04 08:16 PM |