Question:
Im wondering if maybe somebody has had similar experiences as this.
2 weeks ago I found a black kitten in my garden. it was about a month old, so i took it in and ive been taking care of it since.
Last week i noticed her right ear was smelly, and i noticed something on the top of it that felt like a crust to touch, but it was grey-white shade.
We took her to the vet yesterday, and he said it was necrotic tissue, and that the top of her ear is just gonna fall off.
He said he had no idea why that appeared, that could have been a wound maybe.
But she didnt have a wound on her ear when we found her....
And now, the strangest thing.
We examinated her entire head at the vets yesterday afternoon. So i know very well, in detail, what her face looked like.
In the evening, when i came to feed her, i saw this above her eye:
i swear, it appeared within several hours! its SO strange.
its just a circle with no hair, with something that looks like a mole in the middle.
I really dont know what to think now.
i guess we're gonna go to another vet on monday, but i was just wondering, if anyone has had any similar experiences, or if anyone has heard of anything similar?
Does anyone know what feline skin cancer looks like? Cat aids? Any disease at all with such symptoms??
Has anyones cat had something like this necrotic tissue on the ear?
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Answer:
Did your vet check for ringworm? The incubation period is usually about 10-14 days which would be suiting for what you are explaining and it can cause areas to become crusty if they are untreated.
Answer:
um no, whats a ringworm?
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Answer:
ok i googled it
one page says
Quote: One of the simplest ways to diagnose Ringworm is with the Woods lamp, which is an ultraviolet lamp, also know as a black light. 50% of the Microsporum canis species will fluoresce when the Woods lamp is placed near the area of hair loss. If there is no fluorescence it is still possible the skin condtion is caused by a fungus.
The lamp emits a purple/blue glow from the tube, and when there is fluorescence on the skin, it has a greenish appearance. Other material on the skin (dander, medication, etc.) can also fluoresce, so interpretation is important.
the vet did check her entire head with that lamp... so i guess its not that.
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Answer:
It's a very contagious fungus (contagious to humans too!).
The necrotic tissue could have been damaged from many things, a bite, scratch, etc. that got infected. A severe case of earmites...lots of things. The infection and even ear mites (did your vet check for mites?) could cause the foul smell you described as well.
You kitten clearly needs to go back to the vet. Did he prescribe anything for the necrotic tissue - an antibacterial agent of any sort?
Answer:
AddFran wrote: It's a very contagious fungus (contagious to humans too!).
The necrotic tissue could have been damaged from many things, a bite, scratch, etc. that got infected. A severe case of earmites...lots of things. The infection and even ear mites (did your vet check for mites?) could cause the foul smell you described as well.
You kitten clearly needs to go back to the vet. Did he prescribe anything for the necrotic tissue - an antibacterial agent of any sort? no, he said its just gonna fall off, and that they would normally amputate it but that she is too small to recieve anesthetics, so that we should just let it go its own way...
im getting a feeling i have a bad vet....
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Answer:
It may fall off, but you'd think that in a kitten that young he want to make sure it didn't have any type of serious infection. I'd be concerned about that.
Hopefully Dr. Jean will catch this thread.
Answer:
sigh ... why are all the vets around here so lazy.
im going to another one on monday, i swear.
and now i just need to find out what on earth ringworm is in croatian haha....
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Answer:
have you ever heard of athletes foot?
it's essentially the same thing.
Answer:
yeah i heard of that many times.. although i again dont know what its called in my own language. haha
i should be ashamed.
i know its a fungal thing that makes the skin between toes all irritated and cracky...
how hard is it to cure ringworm on humans anyway?
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Answer:
Ringworm is easy to cure on humans, but it takes a few weeks. You use the same medicine as for athlete's foot. It is VERY itchy in people (speaking from personal experience!), let's hope you don't get it!
Ringworm only shows up under the lamp 50% of the time. If it turns green, then you have a diagnosis; but if it doesn't, you still don't know and must do a culture to be certain. It does look like ringworm in the photos but of course without actually seeing the cat and doing the right tests it's impossible to know for sure.
You can use the human antifungal medicine (miconazole) on the cat, too, but not too close to the eyes, and not on areas that she can reach to lick off. Apply it twice a day to the scaly areas; especially around the outside edges because that is where the fungus is actively growing.
Cheers,
Dr. Jean
Jean Hofve, DVM
www.littlebigcat.com
www.spiritessence.com
Boulder, Colorado
Answer:
thanks drjean!
and thanks to everyone for all the replies!
we'll see what happens at the vet tomorrow! fingers crossed!
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Answer:
the new vet was really good.
they took skin samples, but they wont have final results until 2 weeks from now.
they gave us some antifungal shampoo anyway, so we're gonna bathe her in that, and apply it to the hairless spots several times a week.
he says its likely that we wont get the illness, if we already havent. he says it may not be a terribly strong version of ringworm, but it could be just that the kitten is too young and not immune enough.
i hope so!
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Answer:
I'm glad you were more comfortable with the new vet.
I'm also glad he gave you an antifungal shampoo. Keep up with that, because the fungus family is stingy and it often takes weeks to get rid of it. If you become lax about it and stop after a week or so, it'll resurface.
Let us know when you get those results and again, i'm glad you have a better vet now.