Ringworm

[marcy]

That is pretty exciting to hear and I am sending mega dust they test negative again. Big hugs to you, Greg and the sweet kitties.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

my fingers and toes are perimantly crossed for your kitties
i hope this is the start of more good news to come
its all just so complicated i can't always get my head around it but im going to take 5 min and be really excitted and happy
hopefully the corner has been turned and this dreadful RW and all this washing will be behind you before you know it

 

[missy]

Oh @missy! I’m so hopeful! This is really good news! I understand wanting to wait another week..but it’s looking good! I have all my fingers and toes crossed! I get not wanting to give them any more Itrafungol..It makes sense...but this has been the RW case of the
year. I even mentioned it to my vet. She said RW sometimes goes away without treatment. Little Oliver..for such a little fella..sure had a potent case. One more week and you guys can be in the clear. I think I’ll cry as silly as that is. Hang in there...You guys are the best parents to your furries..

Thank you Joanne! Yes we are hopeful too but definitely cautiously so. More on that below. RW can go away without treatment but that is generally not recommended as it is so contagious and persistent in the environment and on the cats. And in a multi cat household it is almost impossible to get rid of without aggressive treatment. Plus 70% of the time humans in these households get infected. It is not something to take lightly and does need to be treated for a long time as you can see with our experience. Even with all our aggressive treatment the cats kept getting new spots for at least 8-10 weeks IIRC. And now we are in week 16 now. Crazy.

And thank you for your tears of joy. I cannot wait to get to that point for sure. Not quite there yet. Fingers and toes and everything crossed this next round of cultures is negative for all 4 of the cats again. And hopefully this first round of cultures remains negative.

I'm so glad you guys got through this latest hurdle, @missy ! I hope you continue to get good news here on out.

Thank you @JPie, from your mouth to the universe's ears. I so appreciate your support all these months.

Can't comment. Holding my breath too tightly. Seriously.

Hugs to you all.

oxo

Thanks @mrs-b you and me both. I feel like I won't be able to take a full and deep breath til we know for sure in another month that they are RW clear. This whole experience has and continues to be surreal in every way. (((Hugs))) to you too. And I cannot wait to catch up with you...I am excited for your bling projects that are in progress. Please keep me posted. I am so happy for you and cannot wait to hear and see more.

A cautious yaaaay!!!! Hopefully they will test clear again!!!

Thank you @arkieb1 and for all your input and support over the past number of months I so appreciate all of your help. I have 2 new Malaseb bottles coming and still have one and a half left LOL. Not going to run out of that again. It is still on backorder but last 2 bottles are supposed to arrive here within the week I think. We plan on continuing shampooing them til we get the second round of negative cultures hopefully in 4 weeks or so. Though we will stop shampooing them a few days before cultures next week as the vet doesn't want us to shampoo them right before the cultures as to not get false negatives. I am still unclear as to why she wants us to continue the Itrafungol right up to the next cultures though as it is the same principle. My brain isn't working well these days but that is another issue.

That is the best news and I am so happy for you all and hopeful that this is finally the end. Waiting with baited breath for the next negative!
Good luck with filling your meds too!

Thank you dear @Slick1 so much for all your support and comfort and being a wonderful friend to me. As for my meds that is definitely not happening any time soon. I hate the insurance companies with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. But that is a story for another day and another thread. Sadly I know you get that experience all too well. Thank you for everything.

Strength in numbers!

Haha yassss so true Sharon. My heart breaks for them with all we have and continue to put them through. Just gave them that awful Itrafungol (darn vet insisting we continue with that week 16-record breaking amount of Itrafungol that they have all received to this point) and soon we will be turning the house upside down cleaning and vacuuming and mopping and that is stressful for the cats as well. I cannot wait for RW gate to be over and done. And then Greg can get his much delayed knee replacement surgery finally. Fingers and toes and knees crossed lol. And I also am looking forward to the day we can let Oliver join his brothers as this isolation has to be so tough on him. The little rascal woke me at 3AM by putting his paw on my eye again and then nuzzling right up to my face. He is precious and devilish at the same time.

That is pretty exciting to hear and I am sending mega dust they test negative again. Big hugs to you, Greg and the sweet kitties.

Thank you dear Marcy for being here for me every step of the way. Hugs.

my fingers and toes are perimantly crossed for your kitties
i hope this is the start of more good news to come
its all just so complicated i can't always get my head around it but im going to take 5 min and be really excitted and happy
hopefully the corner has been turned and this dreadful RW and all this washing will be behind you before you know it

Thanks Nicky and yes that is exactly how we felt yesterday. She called us when we were at Costco shopping and it was hard to hear her at first. Greg picked up the call and I saw by his face he was very serious so right away I thought it's the vet. He had some trouble hearing her and then he said I am giving you to the boss. LOL and uh oh.

I had no clue what I was about to hear from her when Greg handed me the phone (in the noisy Costco) and then the vet said the magic words: they are all negative. But then she said I want to do another culture at least because technically one needs 3 negative cultures but two will usually suffice. So I said OK and we hung up after I double checked that yes Fred's culture was also negative.

10 minutes later she called back changing her mind about the Itrafungol. First call she said we can discontinue it and then she called back saying no we should continue it until the next culture. Oy. Unfortunately, despite the fact she wanted to culture them ASAP (supposed to have a few weeks between the cultures I think) I couldn't get an appt for all 4 til next Wed at 3PM which is not ideal. However, the veterinarian office is still short a few vets (one quit) and they are running at full steam so no openings til next week for 4 cultures.

Anyway when we first got the news Greg was just standing there by the ski helmets (I got one in white but I digress) and said to me he just has to process all this and I felt the same. On one hand we wanted to jump and up and down but it didn't feel like time to celebrate just yet. We know we still have this hurdle to get through with the cultures and hoping and praying it is the very last hurdle concerning RW. Nothing is for sure yet and we realize that.

Leaving you with Oliver at the moment who is sleeping peacefully next to me on the bed as I write this post. Unbelievable. Wakes us at 3AM and then promptly falls back to sleep.

 

[kipari]

One more "cautious YAY" from the city of lights!! Crossing crossing crossing all our fingers... Even the tiniest ones.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Tibby says hello and he would be very happy about the negative tests but he's gone back to sleep already

 

[facetgirl]

Another set of fingers crossed here for you guys

 

[distracts]

I am so glad the cultures are negative so far! That's such spectacular news. After SO long on the medicine and with the lime dips and malaseb baths and all the cleaning you are doing - surely they will stay negative? You have worked SO hard to get all your cats through this. If the vet doesn't want you to stop the medicine or the baths yet, I understand that, though I wish they could get a break. I'd think AT LEAST though you could lessen your cleaning, either every other day or twice weekly. That would significantly lighten your load and let the cats have some peace as well, while still treating them.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

hello to all the woundetful kitties presently residing in the beautiful garden state
hope all is well today and love is goung both ways
Ollie my dear - are you being a good little boy ?
there's just something about gingers
Tinky got away with quite alot of naughtiness

 

[KristinTech]

Fingers and toes crossed!!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

hope all is well in the garden state today
hugs to all (well the test did say negative)

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Yay negative tests. Oliver is such a cutie. You’re right he could be Shales brother, they look so similar!

You’re a champ for battling through 16 weeks of RW and treatment. I can’t even imagine. But it seems the perseverance paid off!!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

how is everyone doing down the shore ?

 

[missy]

Update:

how is everyone doing down the shore ?

Hi @Daisys and Diamonds we brought Fred in yesterday for his second culture and Bobby, Tommy and Oliver are getting their second culture tomorrow late afternoon. I am nervous but hoping and praying for good news and that this ordeal will be over within a month. The vet says she always expects the worst but hopes for the best and you can say that is sort of my philosophy too. Really praying for a negative culture for all 4 this second time around. It has been an exhausting and long ordeal for all involved but especially for our kitties. Poor babies have endured so much these past 4 plus months.

One more "cautious YAY" from the city of lights!! Crossing crossing crossing all our fingers... Even the tiniest ones.

Thank you @kipari, I appreciate your good thoughts and wishes. If we get through this in one piece I think a trip to the city of lights is in order. I love it there and have not visited for more than 2 decades. Hugs from us and our furbabies to you and your little ones.

Tibby says hello and he would be very happy about the negative tests but he's gone back to sleep already

Thank you dear @Daisys and Diamonds and hugs to you and Tibby.
I so appreciate your support and care over this time.

Another set of fingers crossed here for you guys

Thank you kindly @facetgirl.

Fingers and toes crossed!!

Thank you @KristinTech.

hello to all the woundetful kitties presently residing in the beautiful garden state
hope all is well today and love is goung both ways
Ollie my dear - are you being a good little boy ?
there's just something about gingers
Tinky got away with quite alot of naughtiness

No, Oliver is being naughty. Biting and hitting my face throughout the night but we are going to release him to the entire house soon and see if it improves his behavior. He needs socialization and the veterinarian yesterday said if it were her cat now she would release him to the entire house and let him socialize with his brothers.

Yay negative tests. Oliver is such a cutie. You’re right he could be Shales brother, they look so similar!

You’re a champ for battling through 16 weeks of RW and treatment. I can’t even imagine. But it seems the perseverance paid off!!

Thank you @MakingTheGrade. We need one more round of negative cultures to be able to breathe again. Technically we need 3 negative cultures but we will be satisfied with 2. Glad you rescued Shale and I think he will bring you many years of joy and love.


@arkieb1 I had to order another 2 bottles from the pet store I found on eBay as they are still back ordered though the ETA was last week. It's nowhere still. And now Itrafungol is backordered til mid December. I was upset at first as we are on our last dose of Itrafungol tomorrow but then I realized they have been on it (with the exception of Fred) for almost 16 weeks straight. If the Itrafungol didn't help/work yet it's not going to help/work so I am not going to sweat that as there is nothing I can do anyway. I cannot understand why both Itrafungol and Malaseb supplies are depleted and the manufacturers are so slow to get them back to market.



Yesterday we brought Fred in for his second culture. Tomorrow we bring the other 3 cats in at 3PM and then it is another waiting game. If 3 weeks (ideally 4 weeks) go by with no fungal growth we get a second negative culture. If however growth occurs before then it is positive. We are all praying for a negative culture times 4.


Yesterday at Fred's vet visit.





One of our concerns is Fred's arthritic pain levels that is preventing him from moving much. And he is still quite constipated. I am giving him Lactulose with every meal and giving him Duralactin for the arthritic pain. The vet yesterday wants me to start giving him Gabapentin again but 1/4 pill twice a day vs the original 1/2 pill twice a day dose I was giving him. The issue is that I had to take him off his steroids after he got the RW diagnosis 4 months ago and turns out the steroids were really helping his arthritis. If we get a second negative culture I will weigh the pros and cons of starting him back on the steroid meds but I cannot lie and say it will be an easy decision. The fear of RW coming back is quite strong despite the fact that Fred needs better relief from his pain. But I am jumping ahead. Let's get that second negative culture and then I will figure it out.

Thanks again to all who are reading and supporting us through this ordeal and sharing advice, encouragement and comfort.

 

[Scandinavian]

@missy You will get through this! You really are troopers and angels all in one! Fingers crossed!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Ollie needs a sister to slap him into line
Borris is so little compared to Tibby but he abides by her rules and he is very polite around meal times if they are dinning together - he waits
till she is finished before he polishes off her left overs

But Ollie's a smart kid -he'll work things out by watching his big city brothers

Poor Fred
but things are going to be ok and RW will be a bad dream soon and Fred can get back on the steriods and start to feel less pain

 

[kipari]

@missy, we keep sending you the good vibes!! Ringworm be gone!!!

Promise to give me a heads up if you ever make it here! I have the perfect sightseeing /culture / pâtisserie /coffee /chocolate/restaurant /perfume / bling plan down to a T!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

i pray its good news from the vet
been thinking of you guys all day

 

[missy]

@missy, we keep sending you the good vibes!! Ringworm be gone!!!

Promise to give me a heads up if you ever make it here! I have the perfect sightseeing /culture / pâtisserie /coffee /chocolate/restaurant /perfume / bling plan down to a T!

Thanks @kipari! Your good wishes mean a lot to me. And you bet I will let you know when we visit again. I would love to meet you in person and give you a big hug (if that is OK with you as I know not everyone is a hugger but warning...I am lol but I also respect personal space so no worries haha).

i pray its good news from the vet
been thinking of you guys all day

Thank you @Daisys and Diamonds. It was a challenging afternoon as we were waiting for a bit and the cats were meowing and anxious so I got more anxious. Anyway we are done with the second culture and now we wait. Praying she doesn't call us anytime soon because if she does that means it is positive. We want a negative culture times 4.

I won't share the grand total of our vet bills for the past number of months (not including all the meds and stuff) but let's just say it is north of 10K. Oops I guess I sort of did share it. LOL. I am not really laughing but if we can just put this RW behind us I will be so relieved. I am just super grateful we could afford it and if we couldn't have afforded it we would have done whatever we had to in order to afford it because they are our family. Period. Though it is ironic in a way as I am not taking my new prescribed thyroid meds as the insurance company rejected it so I am appealing and hoping they will approve it. In the meantime I am still taking my meds but at the lower dose that I already have. If the health insurance company doesn't approve the newer higher dose the cost would still would be less per year than what we spent on the cats in the past few months but still I dont want to pay for my meds out of pocket. With the cats it's different but I have insurance yanno? They should pay for it. It's a med for life quite literally. Without thyroid meds I cannot survive. I loathe the health insurance companies. And in January 2020 they will be denying another med I take daily and have done so since 2006 and somehow I have to deal with that too because that med will cost 1K a month and that is just not OK. But I digress. Sorry. Just venting.

Back to the cats:
Now we have to deal with Tommy's hyperthyroidism as he lost more weight and it cannot wait any longer. So made an appointment to see my sister November 30th and it will be a very long day that day as the drive will be 3 hours each way. And I wonder if it will be worse Thanksgiving Day weekend as it is that Saturday. She only works every other Saturday. Poor Tommy. We neglected the hyperthyroidism despite having the meds since they got RW right after we found out about his thyroid diagnosis and while I had already ordered his thyroid meds we decided to hold off because it can be a tough treatment and Tommy also doesn't take pills. So we didn't want to further stress him with the RW meds and Lime dips and shampoos and daily cleaning vacuuming etc. by adding thyroid pills to the mix. Twice a day meds for his thyroid. I mean poor Tommy wouldn't have been able to tolerate all that plus thyroid meds. But now we really have to address his thyroid condition and pray it is treatable. He is a very tough kitty but now he is just about 8.4 lbs. He used to be 12 lbs.

Yesterday waiting for the vet. They all look so small. Oliver gained so much weight. He is now over 7lbs! Almost as big as Tommy. Oliver is going to be a large kitty.





Oliver has been having loose BMs so we have been giving him Fortiflora based on a couple of PSers recs. Thanks for that by the way. However he is still having issues so the vet prescribed a paste twice a day and capsule which has more probiotic in it plus a special food for him. So hopefully this will help him.

Royal Canin Gastrointestinal High Energy Veterinarian diet wet food.


And this probiotic.



I spoke with my sister and she approved of these choices. Hoping it helps Oliver. The vet yesterday said if he still has parasites based on all the meds he already took (panacur, Flagyl, Drontal and Albon to name just a few I can remember off the top of my head) it would be crazy. So let's hope his occasional diarrhea and daily loose BMs are not going to become a huge issue underlying something worse.

That's the kitty update. Thanks for listening and for your support and any advice you may have to offer.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

oh Missy i could weep for your kitties

that's not good about your insurence - boo hiss
how often do mothers go without but make sure the kids get what they need

 

[Mamabean]

Omg @missy..I’m praying so hard that you don’t hear from the vet’s office..and the kitties are clear! They are lucky to have you both...I get the expenses are so high...but you have to spend whatever it is to make them well. Bailey had TPLO surgery almost three years ago..It was 4K for the surgery..not counting the diagnostics before the surgery and the follow ups. That was for one leg. We were told that he most likely would need the other leg done in less than two years...So far his other leg is good but I hold my breath because he’s too old to put him through that surgery and recovery.
Bailey was switched from Fortiflora to Proviable because he still has loose but not frequent stools. I’m able to get it through Amazon which is cheaper than getting it from the vet so check into that. He tested negative for parasites..so just a sensitive digestive system....Hopefully that’s what Oliver has.
@missy Have you checked Walmart and Costco pharmacy for your meds? I read they have the best prices even if you do have to go out of pocket for a while. Call around because the prices are different in other pharmacies.
I think you should film the first time Oliver gets to visit his brothers. They may teach him a thing or two about scratching mommy..
Fingers..toes crossed no news because that’s good news...xxxxoooo

 

[missy]

Omg @missy..I’m praying so hard that you don’t hear from the vet’s office..and the kitties are clear! They are lucky to have you both...I get the expenses are so high...but you have to spend whatever it is to make them well. Bailey had TPLO surgery almost three years ago..It was 4K for the surgery..not counting the diagnostics before the surgery and the follow ups. That was for one leg. We were told that he most likely would need the other leg done in less than two years...So far his other leg is good but I hold my breath because he’s too old to put him through that surgery and recovery.
Bailey was switched from Fortiflora to Proviable because he still has loose but not frequent stools. I’m able to get it through Amazon which is cheaper than getting it from the vet so check into that. He tested negative for parasites..so just a sensitive digestive system....Hopefully that’s what Oliver has.
@missy Have you checked Walmart and Costco pharmacy for your meds? I read they have the best prices even if you do have to go out of pocket for a while. Call around because the prices are different in other pharmacies.
I think you should film the first time Oliver gets to visit his brothers. They may teach him a thing or two about scratching mommy..
Fingers..toes crossed no news because that’s good news...xxxxoooo

@Mamabean Thank you! And thank you for the tip about Amazon and I will check that out as we are paying top dollar at the vet I am sure. As for my meds I did check out Costco. It is not really a savings at all. I was surprised. For the thyroid meds a few dollars in savings that's it and for the other med no savings at all. Frustrating because the other med is just as important to me as the thyroid med but it isn't a life saving med like the thyroid meds so one could say I can do without it but I really cannot. It is a quality of life med as in I won't want to live if I cannot take this med because what happens is pretty awful when I don't take it. Oy. The thyroid meds are affordable if I have to pay out of pocket but still not cheap. It's about $275 a month. But the other med is 1K a month so really c'mon insurance companies. Stop the madness OK. I have been on it since 2006 and now you are saying not covered. And I am taking the generic which is that expensive. Grrrrr.

Anyway thanks for the tips and I am going to check out the probiotic online. The food is expensive too but I did check that out online and it's almost the same as the vet price. I wish my sister carried food and stuff there but they don't sell products there like the local vet here does.

So glad the probiotic is helping sweet Bailey. And that the surgery provided him relief. I always say if money can fix a problem it isn't (really) a problem. May dear Bailey continue to do well and not need surgery on the other leg. (((Hugs))).

 

[Mamabean]

@missy Bailey says thank you..
I forgot to mention Bailey is also on prescription wet food..Digestive ID..It costs me $77 for eight days of food. I’m trying to wean him back to his regular wet food but I have to do it very slowly. I also tried to get it cheaper online..but it’s not much of a difference. I could cook him boiled hamburger and rice every day but I worry it wouldn’t be nutritionally complete. He’s allergic to chicken but his prescription wet food is turkey. I don’t get it. Sorry for the threadjack!

 

[Poodles4me]

@missy, has your local vet or sister mentioned the possibility that Oliver might have something called Fibre Responsive Diarrhea? Having toy poodles I am very familiar with this condition. They all need to be on a high fibre food to control loose stools and diarrhea. Our youngest had giardia when we got her from the breeder. She is parasite free now but still has ongoing issues with chronic diarrhea. Our girls have recently started on a new probiotic Aventi GI, as recommended by our vet. I'll let you know how it goes. I tried the Fortiflora but the oldest kept throwing up when I gave it to her. I know it's a great product but it just didn't sit with her for some reason.

I looked at the Royal Canin website and found two feline foods which are high fibre. Sorry, this is the Canadian website. It comes up as a default for me. Hill's Veterinary Diets also make high fibre foods but I don't recommend them. They were my food of choice for years until they kept changing their food formulas. I have been using one particular food for about 15 years and they recently changed it again. It did not agree with them and looking at their website there have been other consumers who complained about the same issues I was having. Our veterinarian says they have been having better luck with Royal Canin products lately.

https://www.royalcanin.com/ca/en_ca/cats/products/vet-products/feline-fiber-canned-cat-food

https://www.royalcanin.com/us/cats/products/vet-products/feline-gastrointestinal-fiber-response-dry-cat-food

Good luck Missy, I know this entire RW issue has been wearing you down and chronic loose stool/diarrhea problems with one or more of the casts is the last thing you need.

I feel so bad about your medication issue. It's awful that insurance can deny you something you've been on for years and need for a good quality of life.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

oh dear missy
take care of yourself

 

[TooPatient]

How are you all doing? The cats must be thrilled to have no more itrafugal! I hope they get negative cultures back in a few weeks so you can finally breathe again.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

sending love and sunshine to NJ
and also healing thoughts not just to you both and the cats but alsi the dishwasher

 

[MeowMeow]

Hi Missy. Just wanted to say that I am thinking of you and your babies. I hope everything comes negative soon!

 

[arkieb1]

I saw your washing machine and dryer kicked the bucket on top of everything else. I sincerely hope that by Christmas you are over all of this and can return to normal, that will be the best Christmas gift this year!!!! If you need me to send you anything medication wise for the cats or anything else just let me know!!!!

 

[Sunstorm]

Tri-trich, trichomonas foetas is what usually causes unexplained, chronic loose stools in cats. It was discovered a few years back. Back then Ronidazole was the choice of treatment albeit quite toxic to cats. I only ever had to treat one kitty. Most rid themselves of it after a while but immune support such as the Vetri and perhaps probiotics help.

 

[missy]

I saw your washing machine and dryer kicked the bucket on top of everything else. I sincerely hope that by Christmas you are over all of this and can return to normal, that will be the best Christmas gift this year!!!! If you need me to send you anything medication wise for the cats or anything else just let me know!!!!

Hi @arkieb1 thank you so much, really kind of you! We have stopped Itrafungol and just doing Malaseb shampoos for now. If the RW is still present I don't think I will give them more Itrafungol because if it didn't help after 16 weeks I don't feel confident it will start helping. Of course praying very hard that they are RW free. Fred's hair is still growing in brown so that is what is worrisome right now. Why is the white hair growing in brown in many areas?

And yup, cannot make this stuff up. Dryer in the basement broke. Tomorrow hoping we get delivery of a new one that works. But I have a dental appointment I cannot reschedule and unfortunately we just have to hope the delivery company's timing works with ours. Won't find out til tonight.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas as well!