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I'm fostering a 4-month old kitten, and have a couple of health questions. Since I got her a few weeks ago she has been getting this black crusty stuff inside her nostrils - it's not blood, and I've just been flicking it off with my fingernail when it gets really heavy. She doesn't scratch at it and it doesn't seem to bother her. This morning I noticed that the top of her nose has also turned black. It looks like dirt, but this part won't come off when I scratch at it. What could this be?? (I'm trying to prolong a vet visit, since I really can't afford it and I'm not sure when (if) her owner is coming back for her.
Also, how contagious is ringworm? My whole family has come down with it, and when I checked the kitten it looks like she might have it in her ears. I know that cats can get ringworm, but would it be likely that the infection would be in her ears? And how easily does it spread from animal to person, person to person, etc?
Posts: 1225 | Registered: Feb 2002
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I got ringworm from three shelter kittens this summer, four or five places after carrying them around about 10 minutes while their cage was being cleaned. I didn't know they had it at the time (none of the clinic did) but a few weeks later, I had a spot on my chin and a few on my arms, so I asked the vet (no reason for a doctor when you have a vet around) and before I could finish my sentence "is this" she answered ringworm, which had been my guess. So yeah pretty contagious, and one of the kittens did later have it on her ears. I'm still battling it, just one spot, lots and lots of jock itch and athletes foot cream.
The black stuff, could that be a fungus, or some sort of snot stuff, if not blood? Does (Has?) she have fleas?
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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The black crusty stuff *in* her nose isn't necessarily anything to worry about -- my 1 1/2 year old cat has had that his whole life..i don't know where he gets all that dirt build up from! His sister is perfectly clean in there!
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What about the new black spot on top of her nose? I tried washing it, too, and it's not budging.
I know she doesn't have fleas or ear mites, but I'm not sure about worms. Are kittens like puppies in that they should be wormed frequently while they are young? Also, what sort of vaccinations do kittens need? I know she's had at least her first set of shots, but beyond that I'm not sure. Her owner also said that she was spayed, but I can't find a scar on her. How old do cats have to be before they can be fixed?
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They absolutely should be wormed. I don't know how old they spay, but I thought it was around six months.
I think a vet visit is in order, is there any way you can contact the owner and ask her to send you some money to help defray the costs?
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Yeah, they can be spayed at 8 weeks, our clinic requires they (or dogs) are two pounds. I can't find a good vaccine list but the ones I remember from 5 years of 4-H are Feline Lukemia/FIV, Rhinotrachitis(herpes), Chlamidia PS, Caliclici Virus, Panolukopenia, most of those are covered in the destemper (which they need two of) shot I think. Rabies is a law the same as it is in dogs (may vary by state), and bordatella is an option, I believe it is given nasally in cats too, i've only had to have it done once on our cat (state cat show).
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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Yeah, she's a hurricane refugee, so I'm fostering her until she has a permanent home. Her owner is living out of his truck and working for FEMA for a few months, but his cell phone isn't working and I don't know if he has e-mail access (he hasn't replied to any of my e-mails.) He said since he adopted her from a shelter she had already been spayed, so I'll take his word for it for now. He seemed very attached to the cat so I don't doubt that he will come back for her, and if he does I'm sure he will pay for vet costs. Until then, I guess I'll have to bring her to the vet and hope it doesn't cost too much. I don't seem to have any other options. Posts: 1225 | Registered: Feb 2002
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You should let the vet know the situation, or look into a vet offering services for hurricaine victims and volunteers (because the owner is working with FEMA). They probably would offer some sort of discount or let you pay later, many vets will let you make payments anyway.
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That's a good idea, I hadn't thought about that. I don't know if any vets in the area are offering services like that, but I know my veterinarian pretty well and maybe I can work something out with him. Thank you all for your suggestions. :-) I'll let you know what I find out.
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Yay, that should help. You would expect at least a vet or two to help in the Hurricaine, since aren't you at LSU?
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Yeah, but with the massive influx of animals into the city, I don't even know if I can get an appointment anytime soon. From what I've heard, most clinics are overwhelmed.
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Oh wow. I heard Purdue was sending down some Vet Tech students, which would at least help in that they can do anything but opperate and give Rabies, but are required community service time and wouldn't be expected to be paid. Though I'm not sure if this was the truth or speculation on the part of a local person.
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I've got a vet medical book called "Diseases of the Cat" that I'm trying to find her described symptoms in but haven't found anything yet.
Is there something like E-medicine online for veterinary information? I'll google and see if I can come up with something.
That's not a symptom I've ever seen before. Was the cat exposed to the flood waters in NOLA? I'm going to start with the bacterial infections section of the book and see if it might be something like that.
I'll post more as I find stuff.
My vet Dr. George only let me pay half of Drive By's initial huge medical expenses, saying it came from Dr. George's Orphaned Kitten Fund. I hope your vet is able to help you out. I'm sure with the huge influx of indigent animals in your city, though, that all such help systems will be strained.
Good luck with the kitty. I'll post more as I find out more.
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Oh, by the way, the normal way of diagnosing ringworm in cats is the ring shaped marks on the owners' hands or face. It's apparently highly contagious, so no doubt the kitty has it.
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Does she seem sick overall? Is she lethargic? Is she sitting hunched up in the classic "sick kitty" pose? Does she still have an appetite? Is she still playful? Does she feel warmer than usual? I often hold the tips of the ears between two of my fingers briefly while petting to get a rough idea of fever. Also, if the kitten has accepted you as her human, she may actually come to you and tell you if she feels bad. Often they get a lot more affectionate and cuddly when they are sick. I would use those indications to tell how sick she is, to judge if she should go to the vet.
Does she show any signs of upper respiratory infection? Is she sneezing or coughing? Is she having any trouble breathing? Does her breathing look labored? Is her resting respiration rate elevated over normal, from what you've seen?
If she stops eating for 24 or 36 hours, then it's definitely serious.
If she seems fine overall, I would call the vet and ask about the condition and let him decide if she needs to be seen.
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She seems perfectly healthy otherwise. She is playful, active, has a good appetite, and hasn't sneezed or coughed or anything like that. She's extremely affectionate and cuddly, but as far as I know she's always been like that, so I wouldn't take it as a sign of illness.
I don't believe she was exposed to in floodwaters in New Orleans. I know she came to Baton Rouge by way of bus, hidden in a backpack and sleeping inside her owner's shirt.
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Feline Calicivirus (FCV) can cause nostril lesions and crusted exudate. Listen to this.
"An FCV-induced nonrespiratory syndrome characterized by fever, small glossal and palatine ulcers, malaise, joint or muscle soreness, hyperesthesia, and limping in postweanling kittens has been described with two FCV isolates. These viral isloages were serologically related yet were significantly divergent from the broadly cross-reactive virus strains used in present FCV vaccines -- which failed to protect immunized cats from the pathogenic effects of these newer FCV isolates. The pathogenesis of this interesting syndrome remains enigmatic."
Is she limping and does she have any lesions or ulcers on her mouth, tongue, or gums?
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Okay, then FCV sounds like a longshot, but that thing about postweanling kittens caught my attention. I'm so glad he smuggled her out on the bus! I would never ever EVER leave my animals, any more than a parent would leave their children. The fact that people were forced to abandon their animals to be rescued themselves was a deep grief to me. That was so horribly cruel, I thought.
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Yeah. People were ferried across the river (with their pets) to my mom's neighborhood in Algiers on the West Bank, and then told the animals could not be taken on the buses. Hundreds of animals were simply turned loose in the streets. I couldn't BELIEVE that when I heard it - what kind of person just leaves their pet like that?? I would have told them, "No thanks, I think I'll stay here!" if I was told I could not bring my pets. I guess a lot of people really had no choice - you're right, it's just too sad. Posts: 1225 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Like I said, other than the nasty nose, I can't find anything else wrong with her. She doesn't appear to have any ulcers or sores or anything. Posts: 1225 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Keep watching this space. I've finished with viral and am moving on to bacterial, mycotic, and protozoan diseases.
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Nothing suggestive in the bacterial section, thank goodness. Now doing mycotic diseases.
It's no problem! I want to help your kitty plus the more I know about this stuff the better. It gives me the chance to play armchair vet. Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Thought you might be interested in the ringworm section. I'll summarize it here.
"Although ringworm is never itself the cause of death, it is in one sense the most serious infectious disease of cats: it is highly contagious, not only for other cats but also for dogs and humans; treatment can be long and costly; and apparently recovered animals may suffer recurrences or become carriers. (Note from me, we had ringworm once and it was no big deal, responded immediately to treatment and never recurred.)
Ringworm is caused by a group of closely related fungi, the dermatophytes, which infect the superficial keratinaceous tissues of the body -- hair, skin, and nails -- and very rarely invade deeper areas."
Another note by me: I wonder if the nose crust can be caused by the ringworm itself? I'll read this section very carefully to see if they mention that possiblity. That might be what Occam's Razor tells us to guess first.
posted
No word about black crusty noses associated with ringworm. However, it did say that young cats are most susceptible, and that vigorous hygenic measures are essential. Apparently it is persistent in the environment on surfaces, and any shed hair can transmit it to another animal.
"Among pet owners, outbreaks involving cats, dogs, and humans are frequent and have been the subject of countless reports. The majority of such epidemics originate with infected or carrier kittens, but sometimes infection enters a household or school by way of a dog or child. ...
Often it is first suspected in a pet when a physician diagnoses ringworm in an owner. Many adult humans have considerable resistance to M. canis infection, developing only one or two tiny spots that yield promply to a few topical applications of a fungicide."
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How are you treating the ringworm? Apparently they typically give an oral anti-fungal drug, griseofulvin, to cats, and use a topical antifungal cream on the humans. It doesn't say about dogs, but they may have been infected too from your hands.
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By the way, this book is like the definitive cat medicine book but was published in 1987 so wow that's 18 years ago. I bought it when the kittens were born, at which time it was the latest word. Now they're 13. I wish I could afford to get a new one every few years. It's got great info if you can understand the terminology. I just look up all the words I don't know in a medical dictionary as I go.
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Okay, protozoan diseases all seem to present with diarrhea, anorexia, and other gastrointestinal symptoms. So I think she's clear on those. I'm going to skim through the sections on the skin and eyes. Too bad there's not a "nose" section. I'll post if I find anything else out.
It pretty much has to be some sort of nasal or sinus infection, doesn't it? So far, though, nothing in the book jumps out at me.
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Okay, I finished looking through all the sections of the book and I don't see anything that sounds like it. At least that tells you that lots of the common fatal things in the cat aren't what it is, I guess. Which is good news.
I called Dr. George tonight to ask a few questions about Drive By and Felicity. I will ask him when he calls me back what he thinks. He's the best vet in the universe.
Anyway, good luck and sorry I couldn't turn up anything definitive. Let me know what your vet says if you contact him, and how the kitten is doing. I'm so glad she's in good hands.
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are you feeding her out of a plastic bowl? Because if you are, she could be allergic and the black stuff could be an allergic reaction to the plastic. Try feeding her out of a ceramic or metal bowl.
oh-and ringworm...contagious and easy to spread from contact...but I believe it is easy to trea(I could be wrong).
Posts: 306 | Registered: Jun 2003
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I had to stop using plastic bowls too. Mine got sores on the lip boundaries from that. No black crusty stuff. But heck it might present differently in different cats. It might be worth a try to change to a porcelain plate, or use paper plates. I feed mine canned food on Chinet dessert plates, which are paper without any sort of plastic lining. Any sort of plastic at all on their food surfaces, even plastic lined freezer paper with the plastic side down, would exacerbate that condition.
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Hey Jane! I talked to Dr. George today and described the symptoms. He said those are common, that it's a viral rhinitis. He said if you keep the nose clean with like warm water on a paper towel twice a day, then use aloe vera leaves, break them and apply to the nose surface and up inside there if you can reach it, that it will most likely clear up in a week. He said as long as she's not sneezing and coughing and doesn't have fever she's okay. But if it turns into a secondary bacterial infection up in her sinuses, and she starts sneezing or coughing she needs to see a vet. Hope this helps!
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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AK, unfortunately she has started sneezing and coughing. It's not frequent, but enough to convince me she needs to go to the vet. She still doesn't appear sick in any other way, and I don't think she has a fever, but I'm bringing her to the clinic as soon as I have a chance. Thanks again for all of your help. Posts: 1225 | Registered: Feb 2002
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