# Cat with facial issues. Any guesses?



## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Hi all!
We recently adopted a sweet little kitten who came with some minor issues. Her ears had some sort of weird crustiness in them, and her nose had what appeared to be dried discharge/blood all over it! Since then, her nose has been in good condition, and 90% of the crustiness in her ears is gone.
Unfortunately, I believe she has passed whatever problems she had on to my other cat, Krissy. I figure the problems will just go away but, I wanted to know if anybody had ever heard of/seen anything like this before. Krissy used to love it when I scratched her ears (inside. Yes, the pink part. ) but now I can't even touch the top of her ears without her screaming. The skin around her mouth has also turned a much darker red than what it used to be, and there are weird black specks in it.

From what I have been able to tell, she is _completely free_ of mites, lice, ticks, or fleas.

She is a very good girl and could take any sort of antibiotic orally, or take a shot. I have antibiotics and other various types of medication if I need to give it to her. Thanks so much in advance. She is a sweet little kitty and I really do wish the best for her.

Pictures below. WARNING: They are a little gross. She was not cooperating very well and my camera was about to die. I can get more if needed.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

How do you know that there are no mites? They can't be seen by the naked eye.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

ksalvagno said:


> How do you know that there are no mites? They can't be seen by the naked eye.


 I haven't seen her scratching her ears at all and since both my kitten and dog have not been scratching their ears, and the kitten's crustiness is better, I figured that it probably wasn't mites.
Do you think it could be mites? I sure hope not. :hide:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

If the ear has dark yuck in there, it is mites.

Other wise, it could be the cat got into a fight, if it goes outside.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

toth boer goats said:


> If the ear has dark yuck in there, it is mites.
> 
> Other wise, it could be the cat got into a fight, if it goes outside.


She does not go outside. We have one outdoor cat but, she has to stay inside because she is scared of grass, trees, the goats, and basically everything that moves outside. And, she is much smaller and more fragile compared to her half-brother outdoors.
I hate to hear that it could be ear mites. The insides of her ears have minimal dark, slimy mucus. How should we treat this? Can my dog catch it as well? 
Is it obvious I have absolutely no experience with this? 
Thanks in advance.


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## 21goaties (Mar 13, 2018)

CaramelKittey said:


> I figure the problems will just go away


They might not. Can you get a vet? They can help you identify what it is.

I'd recommend asking on the cat forum too.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

21goaties said:


> They might not. Can you get a vet? They can help you identify what it is.
> 
> I'd recommend asking on the cat forum too.


Thank you!
I asked the same question on a forum called TheCatSite. Just wanted to check here too since you guys are all so knowledgeable.


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## Tanya (Mar 31, 2020)

The dark markings and the ears are definately mites. She may not scratch when you see. Also sometimes flies cause damage. 
You can give all your kitties a mild antibiotic.
If it doesnt help you might need a vets visit.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

It is best to have a vet give you some thing to help treat them. It will get worse if it is ignored. 

Some places may have OTC treatment, so call around.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Yesterday, I did a ton of research and learned I could coat her ears with Vaseline once a day every day until they are better. I did that, and she is doing much better. She is pretty mopey when her best friend the kitten isn't around. Her head kinda droops to the side like she had ear mites but, the weird part is that the kitten is totally fine. No ear crustiness anymore whatsoever.
Thanks all for your help! I have Penicillin I could giver her via injection. Not sure what else we have. If anybody knows the dosage for any kind of antibiotic (we probably have it) I'd love to hear! 
Thanks all!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

That won't treat the mites in her ears though.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

toth boer goats said:


> That won't treat the mites in her ears though.


 I know, thank you though! I'm just worried if her ear flakiness gets infected. Unfortunately, it tends to open up just a little bit when she plays rough with her mini-Krissy. (Kitten)


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

We talked to our vet over the phone today. We have been bathing our dog every 3 days for the past week or so with an anti-fungal shampoo as our vet thinks our dog has ringworm. It has been a week and our dog isn't showing any signs of improvement. I know ringworm takes some time to go away but, our dog's ringworm has made no progress in leaving. She is going to give us another kind of shampoo..hopefully a stronger one. From what I've heard, we can use this on Krissy as well if she has ringworm. We never took a skin culture since it cost $235 to send it to a lab..and a month to get the results back!
Krissy has little spots in other places now. One on each of her front paws, and one behind an ear. They are hard to see, but you can feel a real prominent bump on them.
I have a link to 16 pictures of her and her weird polka dots, as well as her ears. I stopped using Vaseline since it seemed to irritate her a little bit, and it is obvious now that she doesn't have ear mites. I really do not think that it is ringworm since she has spots on her face, ears, behind the ears, paws, chin, and around both eyes. Is there any type of ringworm that spreads like that? Our dog has the exact same thing..in almost the same places except the dog has spots all up his legs. And, all 4 members of our household have Pityriasis Rosea. I know all the websites online say dogs and cats can't get it but.....pigs can and they (cat and dog) have the exact same scars that a pig with Pityriasis Rosea would have.
I never ended up giving antibiotics either. I was worried that might create bacteria that are immune to the antibiotic in the future. Her spots didn't appear infected to me (If you think they are, please let me know. I am obviously bad at identifying rashes. ) and this does not appear to be caused by a bacteria or fungus.

Krissy's Disease

Please let me know if you have seen/heard of anything like this before. It has me so confused. Thanks in advance.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Will the vet not actually see animals?


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

ksalvagno said:


> Will the vet not actually see animals?


We took our dog into the office a few days ago. It was a $60 visit. We called the vet on Friday, and just got a call back today since her office was closed during the weekend. We *should* be able to make an appointment sometime soon. Although, she may just end up sending us the shampoo without even seeing the cat. The vet is seeing animals in person however, they have really weird hours now due to the Coronavirus, and it is a pain in the neck to get there. If they can fix the problem, it will be worth it.


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## LadySecret (Apr 20, 2013)

A vet should not need to send a skin sample to the lab. You can confirm ringworm with a microscope. Or even a visual inspection. The vet should also give oral meds to treat both dog and cats for ringworm. They’ve had it too long for topicals to work well and you are at risk of getting ringworm too. It’s very contagious. 

You can treat for ear mites with an over the counter product. It’s the same thing for dogs or cats. It’s an oil you put in their ears. It won’t hurt them if you use it and they don’t have ear mites. I would treat for both.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

Thank you so much!
Our vet shined our dog's marks under a blacklight, and she said that it was a rare type of ringworm. Thankfully, none of us have gotten ringworm from the cat or dog. The dog has had this issue for 2-3 weeks now, and the cat has had it for a little more than a week. I wish our vet would give oral medication for them already. I'm worried it will spread to all of our outdoor animals if we end up getting it.
I rubbed Vaseline on Krissy's ears for a few days, and the ear crustiness went away for the most part, and hasn't come back. I didn't continue with the Vaseline because it was irritating her, the dog showed no signs of ear mites, and the kitten's ear are perfectly healthy now, and I did not do anything for her. I really don't think she has ear mites.
Thank you for the suggestion though. I'll keep it in mind if we run into ear mites in the future.


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## 21goaties (Mar 13, 2018)

This is a helpful page on treating ringworm: https://www.kittenlady.org/ringworm?rq=ringworm


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

21goaties said:


> This is a helpful page on treating ringworm: https://www.kittenlady.org/ringworm?rq=ringworm


Thanks for the link. 
I bathed her with ringworm anti-fungal shampoo and unfortunately, it did nothing. I know multiple bathes are required but, we have been doing that with our dog and nothing has changed. I am pretty sure that stressing Krissy out by bathing her may make this thing worse although, I'm no doctor. 
She has not given ringworm to any of us or the kitten, so I figured we would all have it by now if it was ringworm! :haha:
She also has a few spots on her front legs, and her stomach. Her spots look exactly like the ones on our dog and..they look exactly like the spots my sister and I have. And, my sister and I were diagnosed with Pityriasis Rosea which is almost completely gone. Vets say cats and dogs can't get it but pigs and humans can. Honestly, I don't believe my vet at all.


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## 21goaties (Mar 13, 2018)

Can the vet do a culture to see what it is?


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

21goaties said:


> Can the vet do a culture to see what it is?


She could however, it is $235 that we are not exactly willing to pay. 
If it is the disease I think it is, it will go away in 12 weeks without treatment. Our dog with the same spots is getting slightly better as we have been able to take him outside in the sunlight now.


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## 21goaties (Mar 13, 2018)

Unfortunately testing is the only way to know exactly what it is. Maybe you can find a different vet?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I do agree.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

21goaties said:


> Unfortunately testing is the only way to know exactly what it is. Maybe you can find a different vet?


I wish we could! We have been looking around for other vets in our area. Unfortunately, the two vet offices we usually go too are closed due to Coronavirus. I'm so tired of this Coronavirus thing. (headsmash) We still haven't heard back from our vet about the stronger anti-fungal shampoo. I was very happy to see that Krissy was more active today, and her nose seemed to be looking a little better as tiny little furs were growing back. She isn't acting like she is in pain however, it still hurts her when I touch her ears. Hoping she will be better soon. I have started sanitizing her feed dish every day now as she had been losing fur on her chin. There are also small clusters of black wet-dirt like things all over the fur under the chin. I looked up pictures to see if they could be eggs or mites or lice however, she isn't scratching that area, and she is the only cat with the problem. I inspect her fur every day for any parasites or abnormalities and I haven't seen any signs of lice or mites. I feel so bad for her since she has been extra-nice recently. I'm afraid her extra-niceness may be a sign that she is in pain and needs help. Have you (or anybody else) had a cat (or dog) act this way? Thanks so much for any help.


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

CaramelKittey said:


> I wish we could! We have been looking around for other vets in our area. Unfortunately, the two vet offices we usually go too are closed due to Coronavirus. I'm so tired of this Coronavirus thing. (headsmash) We still haven't heard back from our vet about the stronger anti-fungal shampoo. I was very happy to see that Krissy was more active today, and her nose seemed to be looking a little better as tiny little furs were growing back. She isn't acting like she is in pain however, it still hurts her when I touch her ears. Hoping she will be better soon. I have started sanitizing her feed dish every day now as she had been losing fur on her chin. There are also small clusters of black wet-dirt like things all over the fur under the chin. I looked up pictures to see if they could be eggs or mites or lice however, she isn't scratching that area, and she is the only cat with the problem. I inspect her fur every day for any parasites or abnormalities and I haven't seen any signs of lice or mites. I feel so bad for her since she has been extra-nice recently. I'm afraid her extra-niceness may be a sign that she is in pain and needs help. Have you (or anybody else) had a cat (or dog) act this way? Thanks so much for any help.


CaramelKittey, what vet are you using? We live in the same area, I could probably recommend some who are open.


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

NigerianDwarfOwner707 said:


> CaramelKittey, what vet are you using? We live in the same area, I could probably recommend some who are open.


Thank you so much! We are using Shore Veterinarians. 
https://www.shorevets.com/


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## NigerianDwarfOwner707 (May 17, 2018)

Highly recommend: https://newkirkfamilyveterinarians.com/

But these others may be close to you as well, not sure.

https://southernoceananimalhospital.com/

http://www.northfieldanimalhosp.com...ces.html#fec0e50f-bc9c-11e1-a2eb-005056ad4734


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## CaramelKittey (Oct 31, 2019)

NigerianDwarfOwner707 said:


> Highly recommend: https://newkirkfamilyveterinarians.com/
> 
> But these others may be close to you as well, not sure.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much! Newkirk Family is closest to us, so we may end up calling there. Still waiting to hear back from our old vet. Our old vet said she would call us tomorrow for an update, so we will see what happens then.

Good news: Our dog is almost completely healed. The majority of the red around his mouth is gone, and his spots aren't spreading from what I can tell.
As for Krissy, the scabs on her nose are disappearing and the fur seems to be growing back. If she shows no progression towards getting better, or starts to get worse, I will definitely give that vet a call.


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