Ringworm

[PintoBean]

Would you be willing to try applying colloidal silver topically? On you and your cats?

 

[arkieb1]

This is what I use when our dogs or cats get any kind of fungal or skin conditions the vets all swear by it, it has Miconazole in it, can you order it in the US? If not then I will express post some to you;

https://www.petcircle.com.au/product/malaseb-medicated-shampoo/sho6042

Between that and the ACV (using both at the same time) I've always managed to keep everything under control, even the hard to get rid of conditions, and I've had different breeds of rescue cats and dogs over the years.

 

[missy]

Missy, I honestly don't know what else you can do - you've gone above and beyond for your babies, doing everything by the book - and more. You're doing everything right. Just keep at it - persistence is key. Make sure when bathing them at home that the shampoo gets all the way down to the skin. (((hugs)))

Thanks so much @ecf8503, we are massaging the shampoo in all the way to the skin and leaving it for 10-15 minutes for each cat. If only I could convince the vet office to use 8 oz lime dip per gallon vs 4 oz and get them to lime dip the cats twice a week. But that isn't going to happen so Greg and I will see how the cats progress and if necessary we will have to lime dip them at home. It's going to be miserable for both cats and humans. Thanks for all your help and for the hugs too. (((Hugs))) to you and your furry crew.

 

[missy]

Would you be willing to try applying colloidal silver topically? On you and your cats?

I will google it and see what it does. Thanks @PintoBean.

This is what I use when our dogs or cats get any kind of fungal or skin conditions the vets all swear by it, it has Miconazole in it, can you order it in the US? If not then I will express post some to you;

https://www.petcircle.com.au/product/malaseb-medicated-shampoo/sho6042

Between that and the ACV (using both at the same time) I've always managed to keep everything under control, even the hard to get rid of conditions, and I've had different breeds of rescue cats and dogs over the years.

Thank you @arkieb. I have heard of Malaseb shampoo. We are using 2% Miconazole shampoo alternating it with the JKat products that are supposed to be good for ringworm and gentle on the cats too. Off to check your link out. Glad it works so well for you and your animals. Thank you.

 

[missy]

@arkieb1 I just ordered the 16 oz Malaseb shampoo from Petmeds. Thank you.

 

[distracts]

Yes I just used miconazole shampoo twice a week (you can also use something like malaseb which is a combo miconazole/chlorhexidine, and in your case it might be better since that will prevent any bacterial infections since they have so many lesions eta- I see you just ordered it), trying to put topical ointment on (mostly failing at that), and fluconazole. Be sure to leave the shampoo on ten minutes. I thought that was the hardest part because I just had to sit in the shower holding a wet and miserable cat who was crying and struggling to get away.

I had no luck with colloidal silver though I tried it.

I would think since Fred is the worst and isn’t moving, you could order clippers and just trim him down yourselves. Don’t shave him all the way if you’re worried about nicking, just trim him down as short as you can and you’ll be able to see any new lesions anyway I think. Neither of my cats mind the clippers, and I frequently shave their armpits to the skin since they mat there but hate being brushed there. Despite the delicacy of the skin, I haven’t nicked them even without the guards on. Just have one person kind of move them around and pet them, and the other dart in and out quickly with the clippers. My cats are used to being brushed though so they might just think it’s all similar. These are what I have: https://www.amazon.com/ONEISALL-Cllippers-Rechargeable-Cordless-Electric/dp/B01HRSZRXM

Your poor babies. That picture of Oliver is priceless.

If you are worried about how stressed they are in the shower, here is my recent “bad pet parent” story: While we were out of town, my cats were staying with my parents. My cats LOVE exploring fireplaces so we have a really sturdy thing in front of ours that they can’t get through, but my parents don’t. Hugo went in the fireplace and rolled around. I got a text from my dad that said “Sorry we replaced your white cat with a black-and-white cat” and included a picture of Hugo looking very much like Fred in terms of patterning, lol. My parents had tried to wipe the soot off but just smudged it around. When I got back I wasn’t really up to giving him a bath, but then he got diarrhea and needed one. He’s the fighting cat, and I REALLY should have waited for my husband to get home to help but for whatever reason (well, my experience washing T all the time by myself) I thought it would be fine. He struggled and screamed and clawed and bit while I was trying to bathe him, and then finally just went limp with a dead look in his eye and let me do whatever. It was so terrible! I felt like I had killed him or put him into shock or something. It was as bad as the time I tried to blow-dry him (T has always been fine with blow-drying so I didn’t even think it would upset Hugo, until he just fell over and lay there unmoving for thirty minutes). Finally we were done and I took him out and wrapped him in a towel and sat in bed with him all wrapped up. Then I noticed his toes were bleeding copiously. What!? He had somehow COMPLETELY SHREDDED his rear toenails in his struggles. I don’t know if it was on the tile or they caught in the drain or what, but they were shredded down into the quick to little nubs. Even though rationally I knew it wasn’t worse than a really awful nail-trimming job, my god! The way it looked! I took him to the vet and the vet thought it was no biggie and people mess up trimming claws all the time and get similar results. But I was distraught. Couldn’t believe I’d done that to my poor baby who trusts me so much. He avoided me for nearly a week and wouldn’t go into the bathroom at all. Now he is back to normal though, it just took a bit of time. So please don’t worry that you are the only person who has ever done things you feel are awful to your cats... we have all been there. At least yours has a medical reason - this incident of mine was largely cosmetic!

 

[missy]

OMG @distracts and lol. You are a wonderful fur baby momma, truly. I am sorry you and your white cat had to go through that and I totally get how you were feeling. It sucks. Thank goodness he didn't get hurt badly but yes. Cats are super sensitive to everything. At least our cats. On a daily basis many times during the day we are stressing them (and us) out and it is wearing on everyone. Thanks for sharing your story with me.

We have been using Miconazole shampoo (the one you recommended actually) and I also rotate it with the JKat products. But as you saw I just ordered the Malaseb shampoo that arkieb recommended and will rotate all 3. I just don't understand why so much hair is continuing to come out when we shampoo. Is that OK or should we not shampoo? I take your example with T and you got him well with shampooing and no lime dips. Though he was a kitten at the time and so his immune system kicked in whereas our adult cats aren't getting that needed boost from their immune system I guess.

Did T lose a lot of hair with the shampooing? Oliver doesn't. Only Tommy and Bobby and Fred. And Tommy is losing the most. It's upsetting and stressful. And Bobby who used to have a wonderful hearty appetite is starting to not eat much at all. After this week on Friday I think we will stop the Itrafungol as it will be 6 weeks of the orals by then give or take a few days.

 

[distracts]

If you have the malaseb you shouldn’t need to restate since it has the miconazole and the chlorhexidine... I know chlorhexidine is different than the chlorine dioxide that JKatz has but I just looked it up and the Internet seems to think that miconazole + chlorhexidine is more effective against ringworm together.

T actually wasn’t a kitten! He was around 3 when I got him. So just a regular young adult cat.

I think it’s ok for hair to come out when you shampoo. I wash my cats around twice a year and a bunch of hair comes out, which is normal. I don’t know if you’re losing more than a normal amount every time? I know ringworm eats the hair shaft so hairs that are near lesions are more likely to break off. I wouldn’t worry about it though. Maybe ask your sister?

Given that the oral medication has that one-week-on-one-week-off schedule as a regular thing, I think it’s probably fine to stop and see how everyone feels. Giving the cats and yourselves a break from that part of the stress may help. Maybe everyone will get back to eating, and you can try just shampooing twice a week and see if a lower level of daily stress + adequate food + shampooing regimen improves them. Then after a week you can see whether you want to stay off it another week or go back on it.

 

[missy]

Thanks @distracts, yes it is way more than normal hair loss. I am thinking that means Tommy's whole body is affected with ringworm. Ugh.

And he has hyperthyroidism too which was diagnosed right before the ringworm arrived and we have not yet begun treatment for his hyperthyroidism because it involves pills and more stressful treatments so we are putting that on hold. A few people told us the meds for hyperthyroidism can be brutal and we don't want to add that to poor Tommy's mix. He is borderline hyper so not severe enough where I would say yes we have to treat despite all the other treatments Tommy is being subjected to. But I did read untreated illnesses can compromise the cat's immune system and make it more challenging to beat ringworm. We are doing the best we can do but it might not be enough. All the cats but Oliver keep getting worse. I cannot believe all of this is happening. I did talk to my sister about all the hair loss and she feels the infected hair is coming out but it's all over his body.

Thanks again for all your help and input.

 

[arkieb1]

MalaseB is one of the best things you can use, the trick to it is shampoo it on, leave it on for several minutes, time it if you have to, they recommend at least 10 minutes for dogs, and since you have been leaving the other products on for 10 to 15 mins I assume this will be the same. If any of them have a reaction to it, leave it on for less time on any cats that react with it, but still use it.

The worst the infection the more frequently you should use it in this case at the start I'd suggest every second or third day at least. That way you kill everything on the cats.

I was going to suggest the same thing as @distracts get some clippers and any that will tolerate it do the body part yourself, leave the heads, the tails the paws and if you have to the legs and armpits because they are the areas you are mostly likely to nick, cut or graze. Just do it really gently a little bit at a time. You need light weight clippers with really fine teeth and perhaps a guard on them.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Would you be willing to try applying colloidal silver topically? On you and your cats?

i had a work mate who swore by this
she even had a little gadget to make her own
some people dismiss it but i don't see what harm it can do
it has a really intetesring history @missy i know tour tired but give it a google
ive tried it on myself and it in no way hurts or stings or tastes
i have a bottle somewhere - you just buy it from the chemist (drugstore)
i might start feeding it to Gary (man as opposed to cat)

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

missy im so sorry about your dermatitis
i used to suffer terribly
there was this yellow stuff in a big bottle i used to soak in the bath, do you have anything like that in your medicine cabinet
just something to sooze the itch in the meantime
your doing a truly wounderful job with the fur babies, its been the crappiest holiday ever for you and Greg but at least you've been together
im pretty sure if you hadn't already you have now well and trully earned your place in kitty cat heaven one day

 

[missy]

missy im so sorry about your dermatitis
i used to suffer terribly
there was this yellow stuff in a big bottle i used to soak in the bath, do you have anything like that in your medicine cabinet
just something to sooze the itch in the meantime
your doing a truly wounderful job with the fur babies, its been the crappiest holiday ever for you and Greg but at least you've been together
im pretty sure if you hadn't already you have now well and trully earned your place in kitty cat heaven one day

Thanks Daisy. Just finished the Itrafungol and topicals for Oliver, Bobby and Tommy. And cleaned Oliver's playpen as he is playing and running around our bedroom. Takes 2 hours to dry so timing works well and we let him be free in our bedroom for those 2 hours or so. Greg is going to do Fred's topicals as soon as he puts all the towels in the wash. We go through at least 30 towels for the cats per day. Luckily we have lots of towels.

As for my dermatitis thanks for your suggeston. It has gotten worse since yesterday. It's extremely red, bumpy and itchy and uncomfortable and located behind my knees and a bit below. I never had a reaction there. I want to say it's eczema but I don't generally have an extreme reaction like this in the summer. I get it more in the cold drier weather so it's a mystery and it might not be eczema at all.

The problem is my dermatologist (the only one I trust who knows his stuff) is not close by and he is booked through the end of the year. We know this because Greg tried to get an appt with him for his 3 and 6 month follow up and he was unable to so he booked with his other dermatologist (an oncologist dermatologist so I cannot see him for this). I have a monthly appt with David (my derm) but it's not til the end of this month. And honestly I don't think I can spare the time *if* somehow I could get in to see him. I have had quite the dermatological decade let me tell you lol. I had a reaction for the record books just this past March after a finger surgery. A horrific allergic dermatitis to the adhesive the surgeon used when part of my stitches failed. Anyway that took months to clear up. I just wish I knew what this was so I could treat it properly. Right now I am applying Eucrisa ointment (for eczema) and hoping somehow it helps alleviate the reaction and discomfort. It's super itchy and driving me to distraction which I don't need at the moment.

Back to the cats. So we shampooed them Saturday afternoon and I spoke with Elaine yesterday and she agreed to come very early this Tuesday morning (tomorrow) to help us shampoo the 4 of them again before their next lime dip. Then we are bringing them to the vet office this Wed or Thurs depending on what they tell me tomorrow. The staff at the vet office has to speak to the doctor and see what she says. Frustrating doesn't touch how I am feeling right now. They canceled the Tuesday lime dip which IMO is critical and then couldnt tell me what day I could bring them in to make that up. I hate all these days in between when everything I read by the experts (Dr Karen Moriello) says we need to lime dip them twice a week and with 8 oz of lime sulfur per gallon vs the 4 oz the vet office is doing. To be fair most vet offices do 4 oz per gallon but 8 oz is much more effective. I get resistance from this vet office at every turn but there is no other office within 60 miles who will do the lime sulfur dip so I am stuck with them for now. I am working on Greg as he is very hesitant to start doing the Lime Sulfur dip at home. It's a huge mess and very tough to do on the cats. The vet office at least has the facilities and the staff to do it and doing this at home is not the best place. But as with everything we will do what we need to do and if that is what we need to do we will make it work. Just hoping the vet office will step up and at least do 8 oz per gallon or twice a week but Dr D was against it initially when I brought it up a few weeks ago. So I doubt anything will have changed. I will keep you posted. Thanks.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

oh missy

things have to start getting better soon

and i curse that hideous tape - i had physio on my shoulder a while back and she tapped it up which gave me enough releaf to sleep...till the itching started
they need to ban that stuff

don't forget to google the silver when you have a sec
its history is really interesting

 

[yssie]

I'm going crazy reading this thread. I don't know how you're staying sane missy.

I will say this: Few people would have patience or resources to do what you're doing, at the cost - emotional, physical, and monetary - that you've incurred. I understand that this miserable, wretched, god-forsaken fungus was a miserable, wretched, god-forsaken surprise to everyone, but the rescue group has a responsibility to you and the fact that they're apparently now shying from it sits badly with me

::HUGS::. Thank you for posting those pictures - they're lovely to see. Good, bad, ugly. Oliver's face is indeed priceless. Maybe one day it'll even be something you can look back on without crying!!

Sorry in advance for my sense of humour. It has a predisposition toward the miserable, wretched, and god-forsaken.

 

[missy]

I'm going crazy reading this thread. I don't know how you're staying sane missy.

I will say this: Few people would have patience or resources to do what you're doing, at the cost - emotional, physical, and monetary - that you've incurred. I understand that this miserable, wretched, god-forsaken fungus was a miserable, wretched, god-forsaken surprise to everyone, but the rescue group has a responsibility to you and the fact that they're apparently now shying from it sits badly with me

::HUGS::. Thank you for posting those pictures - they're lovely to see. Good, bad, ugly. Oliver's face is indeed priceless. Maybe one day it'll even be something you can look back on without crying!!

Sorry in advance for my sense of humour. It has a predisposition toward the miserable, wretched, and god-forsaken.

Thank you so much @yssie, today has been a hard day already and it made me smile to read your kind words and I appreciate your humor. How is Alex doing? How are you doing? I think of you guys every day. Sending you and Alex healing vines and hugs.

Elaine is coming this morning so fingers crossed she does come. And Lime dip is tomorrow or Thursday. Waiting to hear from the veterinarian office as to which day. And I am a mess but that's not important right now though I do have to figure out what dermatologist I can get in to see to get a handle on this latest reaction I am having. Plus I got another wound this AM trying to get Tommy. Greg accidentally got me with a germ broom handle and I am bleeding again. Which is not good with RW all around. Sigh. Can you tell I am exhausted and ready to see some improvement in the cats to at least draw some energy to get through this? Thanks for listening to me vent and thanks for your warm encouragement. I appreciate it so much. I am feeling vulnerable and yes scared.

@Daisys and Diamonds thank you so much for your enduring support and encouragement. It helps me to read your kind words and I draw energy from your lovely posts.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Oh, missy, sorry about the wound, sending healing dust to you and continued positive vibes!!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

oh dear missy and Greig and all the kitties
this is all just so unfair
poor Ollie just needed a forever home
apart from everything else all this cleaning monster cleaning must be tireing you all out
i had to laugh when you said you had plenty of towels, when this is all over you'll need new ones
i know they breed them tough in your part of the world
sending you love and encouragement from the bottom of the world
you'll get through this

 

[missy]

oh dear missy and Greig and all the kitties
this is all just so unfair
poor Ollie just needed a forever home
apart from everything else all this cleaning monster cleaning must be tireing you all out
i had to laugh when you said you had plenty of towels, when this is all over you'll need new ones
i know they breed them tough in your part of the world
sending you love and encouragement from the bottom of the world
you'll get through this

Yes we just wanted to give Oliver a happy healthy home. We were doing it to save a kitty and his ulcerated eye and doing it in honor of our dear darling sweet sassy Francesca who died in June from an aggressive LCL. In fact she died less than 7 days after diagnosis despite us starting chemo with the gold standard drug Elspar. Heartbreaking and devastating losing her and I still feel like I was punched in my gut when I think of her. Greg and I miss her so much. She was a huge part of our life. She was our heart kitty.

And so we decided yes let's give another cat a wonderful loving safe home and especially one who desperately needed it. So we chose Oliver and got his eye healthy again which was not easy to do as it was a deep ulcer. I couldn't get an appt soon enough with the vet ophthalmologist (there are only 2 in all of Monmouth County and not many in the country overall) and the regular vet was not equipped to save his eye and he kept getting worse. So we marched down to the animal hospital where the vet ophthalmologist was working and I begged to get an apt for Oliver that day. We had one the week after but I knew he couldn't wait by looking at his eye. After lots of tears and begging they got him in that afternoon and the vet ophthalmologist said to me lucky we got in when we did. He would have lost his eye. After that appt we started applying different eyedrops every hour throughout the day and after 3 weeks his eye finally looked so much better. It was hairy there for a while and we thought he still might lose the eye but thankfully his eye is A OK. And then the ophthalmologist after Oliver's 3rd appt with her said OK we can no introduce him to his brothers. And 5 days later everyone came down with RW.

And the rest is documented here. What can I say? No good deed goes unpunished. I might say that but in my heart I don't truly believe it. I am not going to let this horrible experience change what we do for the animals. No. This falls into the camp that cra* just sometimes happens. No rhyme or reason. We will do everything we can to the best of our abilities. It might not be enough to save Fred and I honestly am unsure about Tommy and Bobby too. Very concerned about all the adult cats. But we are going to do the best we can and as a good friend told me (hello R) that is all we can do. But I am hoping and praying we can save all of our cats. I won't lie. I don't know how I am going to deal with losing any of our cats because we brought Oliver in but hoping very much it doesn't come to that. This whole experience is surreal. In my worst dreams I couldn't have come up with this scenario.

 

[arkieb1]

I hope and am crossing everything that when the MalaseB shows up, along with any ointment and medication and the weekly lime dips that it helps you turn the corner and get things under control.

 

[missy]

I hope and am crossing everything that when the MalaseB shows up, along with any ointment and medication and the weekly lime dips that it helps you turn the corner and get things under control.

Thanks Arkieb. Actually today we used 2 shampoos which almost equals Malaseb so at least we got it started. I had a new bottle of Chlorhexidine shampoo I ordered 6 weeks ago that I didn't open when I realized Chlorhexidine by itself does nothing for ringworm. But in conjunction with Miconazole it might work. So we used both when shampooing the cats this morning. Which are the active ingredients in Malaseb. I think Malaseb should be arriving hopefully by the end of the week or by next Monday.

Elaine feels that we are doing too many treatments. Their skin is flaking and very dry. And Fred's belly looks pink and irritated. He has no hair there and perhaps he cannot tolerate just normal treatments for ringworm but we cannot leave him untreated because the others will not get well.

So once again I am in a quandary as what to do. Lime dips yes, shampoo maybe just once a week and Itrafungol continued except for Fred. Their veterinarian called me this afternoon and is willing to do 8 oz per gallon for their Lime dip tomorrow like I requested. Now I am not sure because she did say it will dry their skin out even more. But poor Fred is not getting better and not taking the Itrafungol so lime dips are his best chance IMO. The vet is also open to doing Lime dips twice a week now but is hesitant so I am thinking no on the twice per week lime dips for now and she will re-evaluate them tomorrow and give me her impressions.

Tommy after his bath this morning. Such a handsome baby.



Poor Fred was not happy



And one bright spot right now are that our outdoor ferals are doing so well knock wood. Healthy and content and lounging about. This AM four of them were hanging out in our side yard and porch. Looking good.

Our feral black kitty. She/He doesn't look like our Francesca but she is the same color and I have a soft spot for her because of that.




Our white feral. She has grown a lot in the past 2 months. She was tiny.


This one is definitely a male and we need to TNR him before he gets every female feral pregnant. We have been inundated with RW gate and neglected our TNR duties. Happy to say he acts like he owns the place lol and the other day when I opened the door to get packages he looked at me and barely moved. What am I doing in his home?

 

[arkieb1]

I think you should be doing the lime dips every week if you can and the MalaseB every second to third day, yes it does dry out their skin but it also kills everything, that is the point, and when it starts working which should only take a week or two then you keep it up for another week or two and then you can space it out longer between washes after that. If Fred's skin is the most irritated leave that three to four days between washes but the only way to kill everything with the MalaseB is to use it regularly and I find it a bit drying but not as drying as some of the other products on the market.

Your feral kitties are gorgeous too!!!

 

[missy]

I think you should be doing the lime dips every week if you can and the MalaseB every second to third day, yes it does dry out their skin but it also kills everything, that is the point, and when it starts working which should only take a week or two then you keep it up for another week or two and then you can space it out longer between washes after that. If Fred's skin is the most irritated leave that three to four days between washes but the only way to kill everything with the MalaseB is to use it regularly and I find it a bit drying but not as drying as some of the other products on the market.

Your feral kitties are gorgeous too!!!

Thank you arkieb.

We cannot shampoo them for at least 5 days after the lime dip if we are only doing weekly lime dips and preferably the vet wants us to wait 6 days after lime dip before shampooing. The reason is that the lime dip keeps working as long as it is on the cat. So you lime dip the cat when they are dry and clean and let it air dry. It takes all day with the cats with thicker coats so Oliver dries within an hour or 2 the adult cats take many hours and when we pick them up at 5PM they are still damp after being lime dipped in the AM. And then it keeps working on the cats until it is washed off so that is why if we are doing lime dips once a week we are shampooing them 6 days later and a day before their next weekly lime dip. So we cannot shampoo them every couple of days unless we are lime dipping them the next day and that would be too many treatments.

One reasonable way to do more shampoos would be to lime dip them twice a week but right now not sure about that since all of them have peeling skin and as I wrote above Elaine feels we are doing too many treatments as it is though I do not share that opinion. However the fact is the cats skin is irritated and that concerns me. Fred especially. I need the veterinarian to examine them and tell me what she thinks. She is the doctor and Elaine is the rescue person albeit Elaine has lots of experience but I have to go with the vet over Elaine if they are of differing opinions.

If we do decide we can safely dip them twice a week I am letting the veterinarian take control on that decision because I do not feel equipped knowledge wise re animals and their skin to make that decision so I am leaving it in the hands of the professional and trusting her. If we decide yes we can do twice weekly lime dips then we can shampoo them every 3 days right before their next lime dip. Otherwise we are leaving it once a week shampoo and once a week lime dip and this past week was the exception where we shampooed them twice because the lime dip was delayed and instead of every 7 days this past week we are doing it on day 8 so we shampooed on Sat and Tues but I regret shampooing them on Sat because then we washed the previous lime dip off from the Tuesday before. But that is over and cannot take that back. But I wouldn't do that again.

LOL sorry for the long winded explanation. As you can see I have been doing a lot of reading and thinking and talking to and reading what"experts" in the field are sharing about ringworm and treatments. There is no one method for all as is true in much of medicine but we are just doing the best we can for our cats.

@arkieb1 I so appreciate the time and energy you are taking to share info and advice with me. Because of you I ordered the Malaseb shampoo which had somehow fallen off my radar after I first read about it. I think with all the info I got momentarily absent minded and it helps having knowledgeable people direct me back to where I need to be. Thank you!

Today is Lime Dip day so hoping it goes well and hoping the vet has good news for us. I am nervous for the cats as we might be doubling the concentration of the lime dip from 4 ox per gallon to 8 oz per gallon but again will let the vet look at them and tell me if she still agrees that is a good idea.

Leaving you with a few photos of Oliver last night as we were playing with him. Since he is confined to our bedroom we visit him every few hours and keep him company and play with him. It's hard on little Oliver as he craves attention and we don't have enough hours in the day for everything but doing our best. Look at that sweet precious face. He is looking like he almost has this RW beat fingers crossed. Now hoping hard the adult cats are on their way to getting rid of the darn RW too.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

oh Ollie your so cute
i want to kiss that little face (although i don't want to catch ring worm so ill have to take a rain check little guy )
good luck all with the lime dips at the vet today
sometimes i just don't know what to say but i just wish you all - humans and felines, improvement
i looked at that photo of them in the shower this morning for ages, just not knowing what to say but wishing they would all just get better
no body could fault your love and dedication, missy and Greig
and the love you give the ferrals too
we should have adopted Mr Tibby Tabby sooner but he has a full belly and a warm bed now

 

[distracts]

Plus I got another wound this AM trying to get Tommy. Greg accidentally got me with a germ broom handle and I am bleeding again. Which is not good with RW all around.

If you have blister/hydrocolloid bandaids or silicone sheeting bandages, those are good options for completely sealing over the wound after you disinfect it. I have very reactive skin and I use these whenever I get something.

Oliver looks a lot better in these pics. Since he was the first to get it, I'm not surprised he's the first to improve. Fingers crossed your other cats follow right behind him and start visibly improving.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

missy if you remember get some colodial silver when you go out
they used it for all sorts of things before antibiotics
these days some view it as an attentive treatment but it will do no harm and does not sting
you can use it on yourself too

 

[missy]

oh Ollie your so cute
i want to kiss that little face (although i don't want to catch ring worm so ill have to take a rain check little guy )
good luck all with the lime dips at the vet today
sometimes i just don't know what to say but i just wish you all - humans and felines, improvement
i looked at that photo of them in the shower this morning for ages, just not knowing what to say but wishing they would all just get better
no body could fault your love and dedication, missy and Greig
and the love you give the ferrals too
we should have adopted Mr Tibby Tabby sooner but he has a full belly and a warm bed now

Yay for Mr Tibby Tabby having your warm loving home. He is a lucky kitty indeed.

missy if you remember get some colodial silver when you go out
they used it for all sorts of things before antibiotics
these days some view it as an attentive treatment but it will do no harm and does not sting
you can use it on yourself too

Thanks again for your suggestion. I have such reactive skin that I am nervous to try anything new on me especially because of a reaction I am having right now on my knees and thighs. Very bumpy red and itchy and nothing is providing relief at the moment. No clue what I am dealing with and just hope this doesn't become a huge problem.

If you have blister/hydrocolloid bandaids or silicone sheeting bandages, those are good options for completely sealing over the wound after you disinfect it. I have very reactive skin and I use these whenever I get something.

Oliver looks a lot better in these pics. Since he was the first to get it, I'm not surprised he's the first to improve. Fingers crossed your other cats follow right behind him and start visibly improving.

Thanks Distracts. Yes I have extremely reactive skin. Even the bandages for "sensitive" skin causes a reaction on my skin. I have silicone sheeting bandages somewhere come to think of it. I will search for those.

Yes Oliver was the first to show signs but he is also the youngest and probably his immune system is finally kicking in and he is also the only cat I was giving 10 mg/kg of Itrafungol to as the rest of the cats were getting the prescribed 5mg/kg. The reason I couldn't give the adult cats 10 mg/kg is because it was just too much liquid for them to tolerate. They are much heavier than Oliver so Oliver was getting a manageable amount at 10 mg/kg but at 5 mg/kg the adult cats were getting so much liquid as it was.

So because Oliver was getting a stronger Itrafungol dose that might also have something to do with it. The vet prescribed 5 mg/kg and the Itrafungol insert says 5 mg/kg but much of what I read written by ringworm experts prefer 10 mg/kg and I would have loved to have done that but giving that higher dose to Bobby (16 lbs) and Tommy (10 lbs) would have been too much and dividing it into two doses during the day was another thought I had but they are so traumatized by just one dose a day I decided against it...hope I didn't make a huge mistake. This is day 40 (I think) of almost straight (minus 5 days or so at week 2) of Itrafungol dosing. We are all quite Itrafugnoled out lol. I have gone through 9 bottles of this stuff already!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

day 40
everyone must be exhausted
(well probably not Ollie but it still sux for him too just being a playful little kitten still)

 

[OboeGal]

@missy, I'm just getting on this thread tonight - I'm amazed at the love, dedication, and stamina that you and Greg have shown in the face of this. I wish I could help somehow. All I know to do is to say, as a fellow animal lover, that the two of you inspire me and give me hope. You are two incredible people, and any beings that cross paths with you in life are very blessed indeed.

@yssie, I'm sorry about your baby's diagnosis and loss of leg, but glad that there were no signs of metastasis, and I hope to be able to offer encouragement. My beloved heart kitty, Baby Girl, developed vaccine-induced fibrosarcoma in her rear leg 8 years ago. We also did complete amputation at the hip joint, and I want you to know that she was utterly unfazed by it all. Like Alex, she was quick to want to get going and was a trooper in recovery. She recovered completely and quickly, and while she was a little (but not much) slower and couldn't jump as high, nor balance quite as well, she adjusted beautifully and was a happy little go-getter the rest of her life, which I'm told is quite typical for cats. The cancer never showed the slightest sign of recurrence, and she went on to live until we had to send her over the Rainbow Bridge due to completely unrelated illness on Mother's Day this year, at the ripe old age of almost 19. I'm betting there will be a great deal of good life ahead for Alex!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

im sitting her woundering how things are in the garden state today .... ?
have fingers crossed all is going well