cat with fungal infection

[horsejody]

I noticed one of my barn cats limping. When I looked at her foor, it looked like a piece of her toe was missing. Her foot was a mess. I took her to the vet. Luckily, the toe wasn't actually missing. It was just covered in crud. It seems that she somehow got a really bad fungal infection all over the bottom of her foot, and it spread to her toe. Of course, she chewed it open and infection set in. The vet packed it with a anitfunal/antibiotic cream and wrapped it. She will also be taking amoxicillan for the bacterial infection. The vet says that he has no idea how the cat might have gotten this. It's like she has a serious case of athlete's foot (catlethe's foot?). Has anybody else had this happen or have any ideas for future prevention?

 

[patandchickens]

That *is* bizarre. Just to be on the safe side, has the cat been tested in recent years for feline leukemia and FIV? Immunocompromised cats are more vulnerable to things that wouldnt normally affect a cat.

Best of luck,

Pat

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
No, she hasn't been tested for anything. She seems healthy, and the vet didn't suspect anything like that. I wish I could have all of the cats tested for everything, but so many get dropped off that I would go broke doing it. None of my cats are here because I chose them. They're here because people dumped them. Every year I get a number of cats dumped here. We get them vaccinated, spayed or neutered and most are rehomed. I call the 5 permanently living in my barn the refugees. If Willie continues to have issues, I'm sure the tests will be done.

The cat's one issue is her weight. She was feral as a kitten and I suspect that only cats that can live off very little food can survive that way. She actually eats very little cat food, but she catches a lot of wild things. She has a tiny frame and should probably only weigh 6 or 7 pounds, but she weighs 11. I can't feed her less because she hunts most of her food. I asked the vet if he thought there could be a metabolic problem like diabetes because of the weight. He said that wasn't an issue for her right now, but time will tell. She is a very friendly, active and energetic cat. Hopefully, this was a fluke infection and won't happen again.

 

[bheila]

That's weird. My grandma used to raise persians and they would get skin fungus. They would show signs mostly on their ears but it would be all over their whole body too.
Did the vet say if it could spread to the rest of your cat?
My English Bulldog has skin fungus issues too but I just bathe her in Malaseb. I buy it online from Amazon for around $9-$15. The wanted to charge $50 for it.

 

[horsejody]

This appears to only be on her foot. The vet examined her and even commented on what a beautiful coat she had, especially for a barn cat. The infection is all over the pads on the bottom of her foot and one toe. One toe pad was red and inflamed. The others were scaley and yellow. We saw the vet on Saturday morning. This morning (2 days later) she seems to be putting more weight on it when she walks so I guess there is improvement. I can't see it yet because the bandage needs to stay on for 5 days.

 

[TXmom]

If it were my cat, I would give her Dinovite...I've given it to my dogs, but I know they make a feline version now. It has tons of probiotics and important nutrients that are often lacking in their food. I know she hunts, but who knows if she's getting all the nutrients she needs. The probiotics will help her fight the fungal infection, especially if she's on antibiotics!

www.dinovite.com

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
I'll have to look for that.