Ringworm - encouragement needed please

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noani

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I spoke to the vet again today, she still stands firm on no oral systemic medication for him, just topical.
I've looked into all the cleaning products you've recommended and went to get what I could. A lot of these are not available in Sicily so I might try and order online.

It doesn't help that we're caught in a Mediterranean hurricane at the moment so it's impossible to go out and shops are closed anyway.

I'm trying to do the best mechanical cleaning possible and washing frequently in the meantime.

I've also read the article, I'm trying to do as much of it as possible, but some products I am unable to find / get at the moment, and it looks like oral treatment is a no no for him at the moment. It maybe I should ask a different vet?
 
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noani

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It's pretty mental. I seem to have this great timing where I got stuck outside on foot in the downburst a couple weeks ago and today as well. I did find shelter for a bit in a shop and then made my way uphill to higher ground to walk parallel streets and get closer to my home. The currents and water coming out of the sewer system actually looked like a white water rafting ad. Insane...
The roads were literally waist deep rivers with the strongest currents. I probably should have followed everyone's advice and stayed put but I just had to get home. I had to wade through the rivers very slowly because if you lose you're footing, the current is insanely strong.
My flat tends to flood a bit and the cats are alone so I was like better try to go now than get really stuck. They keep saying on the news the worst is yet to come on Thursday and Friday.
I only learned once I was home some people lost their lives today. It was pretty darn scary out there to be honest though and I'm a bit anxious about what is to come. The houses here aren't exactly built up to standards you know?
As per usual, the mayor only put out the emergency warning after someone had literally lost their life, so most people in the city were out and about trying to get to or from work.
I'm not going in rest of the week. I don't want to risk getting trapped somewhere and the cats to be alone.
 
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noani

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I'm at my wit's end.

Tonight Yoda managed to wriggle out of the cone. By the time I untangled the collar type thing and the cone itself and tried to get it back on, he started obsessively licking his butt.
After I managed to put it back on (probably five minutes or a bit more?) this is what his bum looked like. I am pretty sure there was no redness around his anus before, as I checked the old wound site a couple hours earlier. Although I am not sure. It might have been like that before and that's why he went for it so obsessively.

I had just put iruxol on the wound a bit before.
I have no idea what to do right now. Normal vet is closed tomorrow (it's past midnight where I am) because we're expecting a Mediterranean hurricane tomorrow and Friday.

I guess the clinic might be open? If they let me do payment plan. I literally have 11 euros to my name at the moment and I don't know what to do anymore.

Could it be that the ringworm spread there? Could a cat lick himself sore within minutes? Do I need to take him for vet asap?

In the second picture to the right you can see the ringworm lesion.
 

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Antonio65

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I've seen the E-collar Yoda have and in my opinio it's too big for him, and probably the opening arond his neck is too large as well, that's why he managed to get rid of it.
You should try to find a properly suzed collar for him. Burster makes wonderful collars, but you can also find E-collars with velcro, so you ca adjust it to the right neck size.

As for the lesion, I don't know how he looked like before, so I cannot tell, but Iruxol is for open wounds till they heal, and it usually works fine within days, provided you are consistent with applying it, that means twice a day for a week.
If the lesion is from ringworm, then it might be happening what I feared and predicted, I doubt that a cat can lick himself to the point of causing a sore on his skin within minutes.

Can you send those photos to your vet and have their opinion even if they are closed?
Do they know you at the clinic where you would like to go?
 
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noani

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I put the iruxol on the small part of his open wound that remained below his tail from his accident. I'm not putting it on the ringworm sore.

He had a smaller collar, we've tried different options, but he was always able to lick the wound. This is the smallest size that makes him unable to reach where his wound was.

The clinic isn't answering phone calls, neither is my vet. I contacted a different one now and will try to get there at 5.30pm if the storm doesn't hit before.

I want to get him proper medication but can't if vets here refuse to take action. The situation in Sicily is truly frustrating, one sent me home with just chlorhexidine which I've since learned from extensive study of research papers is completely ineffective on its own, and the other just said well this one med I wanted to give you is unavailable, just put human stuff on him and keep him in a cone. It's been six weeks of cone.

He's starting to go nuts and I'm starting to really feel the exhaustion from full time job, deep cleaning again and again, and wound and now lesion care. Also his ear meds which he hates. I literally wake up at 6 and go to bed at 1 and don't do anything besides this, work, and have a quick bite of something in between.

Please keep your fingers crossed third time's a charm and this vet is serious and knows her stuff and will be able to really help us.
 

Antonio65

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I put the iruxol on the small part of his open wound that remained below his tail from his accident. I'm not putting it on the ringworm sore.
Sorry, I think I was misunderstood, I didn't want to mean that you were putting the Iruxol on the sore :lol:

The situation in Sicily is truly frustrating, one sent me home with just chlorhexidine which I've since learned from extensive study of research papers is completely ineffective on its own, and the other just said well this one med I wanted to give you is unavailable, just put human stuff on him and keep him in a cone.
Unfortunately, it isn't only vets situation that is frustrating in Sicily. It's the whole picture of the region that is a disaster!
Don't get me wrong, but among the 20 regions in Italy, Sicily is way down the list of my favourite places, I think it's 19th out of 20.

He's starting to go nuts and I'm starting to really feel the exhaustion from full time job, deep cleaning again and again, and wound and now lesion care. Also his ear meds which he hates. I literally wake up at 6 and go to bed at 1 and don't do anything besides this, work, and have a quick bite of something in between.
I know this kind of life very well.
I had been hospicing a cat of mine, 5 am to past midnight, with only one meal fo rme every day for several months.
I always say that if that life didn't kill me, nothing else will.

Please keep your fingers crossed third time's a charm and this vet is serious and knows her stuff and will be able to really help us.
🤞🤞🤞
 
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noani

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Sorry, I think I was misunderstood, I didn't want to mean that you were putting the Iruxol on the sore :lol:



Unfortunately, it isn't only vets situation that is frustrating in Sicily. It's the whole picture of the region that is a disaster!
Don't get me wrong, but among the 20 regions in Italy, Sicily is way down the list of my favourite places, I think it's 19th out of 20.



I know this kind of life very well.
I had been hospicing a cat of mine, 5 am to past midnight, with only one meal fo rme every day for several months.
I always say that if that life didn't kill me, nothing else will.



🤞🤞🤞
Now I'm curious about what the last one is, if Sicily is only second to last!
I am conflicted about it often as in theory, it really is a paradise on earth with what it has to offer nature wise. But the downsides.. you know what I mean.
Here's hoping though. I'll update later after the vet visit. Hoping the storm holds out until after 🐈
 

Antonio65

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Now I'm curious about what the last one is, if Sicily is only second to last!
I am conflicted about it often as in theory, it really is a paradise on earth with what it has to offer nature wise. But the downsides.. you know what I mean.
Here's hoping though. I'll update later after the vet visit. Hoping the storm holds out until after 🐈
Well, I'm conflicted too about which one is the last, between Sicily and Puglia.
Other regions between the two above are bad enough to be carefully avoided!

The downsides are way more numerous and worse than any positive "nature wise" item in those regions.
Up here it might be colder and duller, but things work way better!
 
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noani

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Back from the vet. We may have found a rare gem.
She was absolutely fantastic.
The first vet we have seen who first of all leaned down to ask him "hey little one what's your name?". She is quite old so a bit hard of hearing and it wasn't easy to communicate. BUT she radiates the fact that she does this because she loves her job.
Never going back anywhere else.

The lesion seems to be stable, no growth, and there aren't too many spores or whatever you can see under the woods lamp. She told us to start trying to take the cone off in between medications unless he licks too much. And to keep it on for maybe half an hour after applying the antifungal cream.

No oral medication, as it's only one small lesion and it's like risks and benefits, if the growth has stopped she says no need for oral which may be heavy on the liver?

Anyways, she is by far the best i have ever seen here. I will stick with what we're doing and stop freaking out so much. Poor baby is probably stressed because of me at this point.

Also, she said in another 10, 15 days he might start not being contagious. Which would be great.

Ah, when she saw the pic from last night she said immediately "did he lick himself" and said she is 100% sure that's why it was red. If it was ringworm, it wouldn't have disappeared or almost gone away by today, but gotten bigger instead.
 
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Mamanyt1953

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That's wonderful news...ALL of it, from finally finding a vet you trust, to sorting out these issues! I did answer you in your other thread. A dab of olive oil will soothe that sore fanny!
 

Antonio65

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Glad to read youget sorted with both finding a good vet and having good answers to your questions.

Back from the vet. We may have found a rare gem.
She was absolutely fantastic.
The first vet we have seen who first of all leaned down to ask him "hey little one what's your name?".
See? This is what I mean by "Sicily could be the last or second to last place where I would like to live".
Though the people over there might look warm and welcoming and all the rest, they have an innate rudeness in them, I can't explain it otherwise, words fail me, but this is the impression I have.
In the north, people might be colder and less welcoming, but I never found a vet that didn't try to make the pet at ease when they were on the table. I always found vets that cuddle the cat and ask them for their name before starting the visit and listen to what the owner has to say.

Hopefully this new vet will fix all the troubles for good 🤞
 
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noani

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Thank you everyone for the ongoing support !
I am starting to realize I may be a tad paranoid whenever he has something. I just added up our vet visits and well. I'm starting to feel like my hypochondria has extended to him and I'm putting him through more vet visit stress than necessary.

That being said, he still seems to have ear mites (I use the cleaning solution given by vet but he won't let me drop them in so I use cotton wool soaked in the solution to wipe out the gunk).

I noticed today that one of his eyes seems either swollen or he is just squinting. All the time now. I'm not sure if he could have hurt himself maybe by playing with one of the toys, or, as I've been googling, if the ongoing ear mite situation may have caused an ear infection as I've read squinting can be a sign of that.

Now that should I do? Take him to the vet AGAIN?
Wait a few days? There is no discharge from his eyes, they aren't red or anything. He's just like squinting all the time and it's more shut when he sleeps than the other eye too.

I don't want to risk overlooking an ear infection but I also don't want to keep stressing him!

I've tried searching the forum for this but haven't found anything really pertinent.
 

Mamanyt1953

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Well, first, you need to get those drops IN the ears. They need to go deep into the ear canal to kill the mites. Just wiping won't do it. Since he's a "problem child," look on youtube for how to make a "purrito," which will immobilize him so that you can medicate those ears properly!
 
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noani

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I think they aren't ear drops to kill them per se, he's got a spot on that should kill them.
The way the vet described it was more for cleaning up the excess wax with this solution while the spot on will kill them?

I've tried to turn him into a purrito but he escapes immediately. I'll try again later when my partner is here with two extra hands.

His eye is back to normal. I may need to just calm down a bit about every little thing...
 
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noani

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Not much progress. Can anyone describe what to look for when trying to figure out if it's getting better/if the treatment is working?

I've tried for hours to find information on Google about ringworm healing, stages, what to look for, and so on.

It doesn't seem to be getting bigger and there seem to be a few fine hairs growing in the lesion now. Is this a good sign?

He's also figured out a way of contorting himself to lick the spot even with the frickin cone. So I may just take it off now I guess?
 

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Little hairs are great! It means you guys are on the right track. When we were dealing with RW it was on the tip of the tail and started with a few fines hairs. RW can take a bit to get rid of but keep it up!
 
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