Sunny's Going Bald!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Hi, as many of you know my new kitten Starr was diagnosed with ringworm and is back with his foster mom getting treated. I bathed my other 3 boys and then gave then advantage yesterday morning. Well last night I noticed that Sunny now has a bald spot on his head near one of his ears. It doesn't look like Starr's but I'm not taking any chances and he has a vet appointment at 11am this morning. Since last night he now has several more bald spots on his head and a small one on his neck. He has very sensitive skin and has gotten bald spots in the past due to advantage but nothing like this. I'm hoping that it's just an allergic reaction from the medicated shampoo and the advantage and that it's not ringworm. I won't be able to update you until tonight because I'll need to get to work asap.

[furrykidsmother]

My guess is it is probably from the Advantage. I had a friend who used it on her cat and it caused little burnlike spots and loss of fur. Needless to say she won't use it again. I think some cats may be extra sensitive to it. Hope it isn't anything serious. Please let us know what the vet has to say.

[AmberLee]

OH NO!!! Please let us know how things go.

Smootchies to poor little Sunny. Do they itch?

[jenluckenbach]

I sure hope it is not the ringworm. Good luck at the vet, Sunny.

[sasha the cat]

Mew, I hope Sunny doesn't have ringworm! Speedy recovery to Starr and to Sunny.

Purrs & kittykisses,
Sasha the Cat and her purr~ents.

[krazyaboutkatz]

It's not ringworm. Yahoo! He just had some kind of an allergic reaction to the shampoo and/or the advantage. I have some animax ointment that I have to put on all of his owies 2 times a day for the next 7 days. He now looks like a grease head but he seems so much more comfortable and thats exactly what I was hoping for.
He now weighs 12lbs but isn't fat. I think he may have gained some more muscle from his new Innova food. Everyone at the vets office thought he was very handsome and even the vet said that he has a wonderful disposition. He was a very good boy but so scared that he started shaking. He was so happy to go home. I'm now hoping that my worries are over and I told the receptionist that I hope I don't have to come back for quite a while.

Thanks for all of your concerns.

[Barbara]

Poor Sunny- a visit to the white coats is no fun. But we are happy to hear it's not the ringworm.

Hope you feel better soon with your ointment

[jenluckenbach]

Poor sensitive Sunny, having an alergic reaction. But that is better than ring worm

Hope you feel great, real soon.

[Killearn Kitties]

Poor Sunny! I'm glad he seems better for his ointment.

[NoahsMommy]

Tracey,
I'm so glad this ended happily. Ring worm is horrible, I'm so sorry Starr has it.

Please give my love to him for me.

Hugs,
Kelly

[TopCat3]

Ooh dear, you're going through it a bit at the moment, aren't you?Hope they all make a speedy recovery soon. Do you shampoo your cat's then? Brave you don't think I'd live to tell the tale if I tried to shampoo either of my two. Have you thought of using a mild organic human shampoo well diluted? No nasties in that to cause problems, I'd have thought. The frothing factor, sodium laureth sulphate that is in most shampoos and anything that bubbles and "cleans" is a known toxin and possible carcinogen. I don't use any shampoos on myself that contain it, I get little itchy scabby things on the scalp if I do, especially where the hair is extra short at the back. Best of luck with this one, hope both kitties are OK soon.

[Jennsen]

I am very relieved for you also that it's not ringworm! My little sister (rescued) a beautiful long-haired Birman from a kitty mill when she was 6 weeks old. The kitty mill was the most horrible place I'd ever seen in my life!(It was soon shut down after) Right away my sister got ringworm over 60% of her body and almost went blind because it was spreading into her eye. I got one spot on my arm. We went to the doctor every couple of weeks for almost a year getting different medicines. I wore a circle bandaid on my arm for almost a year also. It just never went away! The cat was taken care of right away, and the bedroom they had occupied was closed up until we got our never up to go back in there! We did eventually and threw everything out the window, including the matteress so we wouldnt take any chances taking it through the house! I of course got the ringworm right back on my arm soon after. That's when I learned about the powerful anti-fungal agents in Apple cider Vinegar! Since ringworm isnt really a worm, it's a fungus of the skin, vinegar works great in treating it! Apply it 3 times a day to the effected area and it will soon disappear! I would not recomend this for cats, but works great for people! And it's alot less expensive than the doctor's remedies!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I was away for most of the weekend and now my other cat Storm has a bald spot on his head. He also has one where I applied the advantage. I think that both he and Sunny had allergic reactions to the shampoo and/or advantage. Poor kitties. Luckliy the spots don't look like ringworm because there aren't any white flakes. I think I'm going to be buying a black light to keep on hand for future use.

[jenluckenbach]

Maybe it was a combination of the shampoo and advantage. Were they given close enough (time-wise) to cause irritation?

Hope they feel (look) better soon.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Originally posted by jenluckenbach
Maybe it was a combination of the shampoo and advantage. Were they given close enough (time-wise) to cause irritation?

Hope they feel (look) better soon.

Yes, I gave them a bath with the special shampoo and then the next morning I gave them their monthly doses of advantage. I'm thinking that since their skin was clean and free from their natural oils that this may be the reason that they had such a bad reaction.

I know that when people color their hair, it's best to not shampoo first so you'll have some of your natural oils to help protect you. Maybe this is the same with animals and flea products.