Hair loss in cats
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- terri_in_pa
- Caroline
- terri_in_pa
- Caroline
- terri_in_pa
- biogardener
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» terri_in_pa - Hair Loss in Cats
Caroline,Thank you so much for writing this article! My Jules had ringworm when i first brought him home..and it wasnt easy to eradicate...I brought him home in late June, introduced him to the others (2 dogs and tiara) briefly, placed him in the bathroom till the morning at which time he had a vet appt. In the meantime, i was getting some things on myself as well. WE were both diagnosed that day with the ringworm...
Because Jules was sooo very tiny, being the runt of the litter, he could only get topical solutions to care for the problem...i had him shaved right away, and started his routine...poor thing...and did some research...What i found was incredible. I have always kept a clean home but now it became an obsession...floors were washed 3x a day, vaccumed the same amount...Dogs were in one room of the house...Tiara in another bedroom and Jules in one bathroom. The dogs each came down with a small spot of it around their faces..Tiara had gotten some at the collar area. This all occurred 2 to 3 weeks later. I had Tiara shaved too, for fear of it spreading.
Needless to say, the summer months were awful. The dogs were stressing, the older one snapping at me, Tiara was stressing after her shave, she lost 20% of her body weight. And poor Jules, always wet and greasy from the ointments, and never acting like a kitten..
We had gotten 2 clean cultures from him in late August and Sept. The dogs are ok, Tiaras coat is growing back and she has regained all her weight plus alittle more.
Jules, well, he is a porker, now at 7 lbs and 6 months he is the same size as his sister who is 13 months old!
But, the problem has reared its ugly head again..i noticed his skin crawling just 2 days after his neutering (2 weeks ago)...got the black light checked and did find a couple of small spots on him. I then called the vet telling them i now want him on the Fulvin, an internal medication. He is now been on it for 2 weeks and will continue this for the next 2 weeks. After this, i will talk to the vet about the vaccine that is out for this..
Thank goodness, i caught this in time, as all the others have nothing. There is a two week inncubation period, and it has passed with no problem.. The meds he is on has made it not contagious, so none of us will get it. Ill keep you posted on this situation, as i feel others need to be informed about it...we must be involved with our cat care!
-- posted by terri_in_pa
» Caroline - Ringworm
I remember when you had all those problems...you're becoming a pro now at dealing with it! Glad you liked the article too.Sounds like maybe poor Jewels was exposed to again at the vet (you may want to mention it to them too - better cleaning practices for them?).
-- posted by Caroline
» terri_in_pa - The Vet is aware................
i did tell them about it...and now he is on internal meds..The only thing is that it is a 2 week inncubation period, so i cant blame the office for this..I did some more research and found that there is a vaccine for it...and i will be stopping at the vet this week to discuss this possibility with him...they had mentioned to me that if this doesnt go away after the next 2 weeks they are talking allergy tests.....no way, it is ringworm -definite....and so my next battle will be for Jules to get the vaccine..He just doesnt seem to have an immunity to the spores around him...and as you know, spores are everywhere, and there is nothing that gets rid of them completely. Like dust, you know????What i will do now is watch him carefully, so what else is new?? LOL and if i find hairs with the ringworm closer to the end of his medication, ill bring them in for them to culture.
Jules has an incredible coat! Like sheep wool, it is hard to get through, and one must take quite a bit of time to go through it thoroughly. It takes me quite awhile before i find any signs of it...he has very little but that is too much..
The biggest conclusion i have found???? All pet owners should be ACTIVELY involved with their pets health care....Knowledge is power!
-- posted by terri_in_pa
» terri_in_pa - the vaccine
is called Fel-O Vax MC-K ringworm vaccine, it was licensed in March of 1994. Recommended for high risk animals, it is given in a series of 3 injections, the second shot is given 2 weeks after the first..The third injection is given 3 to 4 weeks after the second.This works at the skin level, not affecting the spores on the hairs. because of this, the hair will probably be treated topically.
Ill keep you posted as to what my vet says.
-- posted by terri_in_pa
» biogardener - Here is my experience with cat hair loss.
One summer, our cat' belly went totally bald. The vet told me that the hair loss was a hormonal problem due to her having been fixed as a kitten. And this was 12 years later. I didn't buy that explanation, because it made no sense.Then I found out that during my absense, my mother had left the cat outside during an aereal Malathion spraying for mosquitoes. Everyone else in the family left the city. That cat never did respect my mother, so she did not come when called. So the poor cat was left in the city and was exposed to all that poison, and her belly was rubbing on the grass which was soaked with Malathion. It is a wonder she did not end up with a respiratory problem.
The fur all grew in again half a year later and she lived to be the oldest cat I have ever known, well into her twenties.
-- posted by biogardener
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