Ivermectin use in cats?

[the73phoenix]

Poor Scaredy Cat! I have enjoyed reading about Scaredy Cat.

Your story reminds me of my girl, Cleo:

Cleo is a calico that has never lost all of her "feralness." She was itty bitty when I got her. I guess someone dumped her off in our neighborhood. Well, I fed her for a whole week and never got a good look at her but she would "talk" to me. So, I talked back, put food out and would sit for hours on the porch having a "kitty conversation." I eventually got close enough to throw a towel over her. You can imagine how she freaked out. I kept her in the bathroom for a while so she could adjust to being around people. I invaded her space constantly talking to her and she would talk back from across the bathroom. I have had her for 7 years now and she is strictly an indoor cat. I imagine if she ever got out that I would never see her again. She is too scared to go near the door though (even though I have 9 other cats that come in and out.) Most people don't even know she exists, they just hear me say I have another cat. She has grown to love me, and only me and 2 of our other cats! And she is still very cautious, but I guess it must just be in her nature.

 

[CjTenorSax]

Hello Everyone!

I just stumbled across this site this morning.

I would like to share my experience with the Ivermectin and my Cat, Chavah, after reading other articles then coming here.

I had a very large litter of Kittens born to a former toss out Mama. They seemed to be some well others sickly. Even the Mama was not doing too well.

Lots of antibiotics from the Vet then they started doing better then right back down a few days after the completed regimen of antibiotics.

Each time they got sick, it was worse. Then they began dying. As of this morning, Chavah was the last one that had been sick left. When Darla died on Friday, I wrapped her in a special cloth & immediately sealed her body in a plastic bag. When I went to bury her, about an hour later, for some reason, I decided to look at her again. To my horror, there were fine hair like worms coming out of her nose!

I had never seen this and I grew up on a farm. I made inquiries & the Vet diagnosed them over the phone as Lung Worms. Apparently, they may be more common in Felines than originally thought.

At this point, Chavah, was obviously dying & it was make the choice of keep her comfortable or euthanize. I opted to keep her comfortable.

I read the pros & cons here and in other sites when I began investigating Lung Worms. From what I read & learned, my guess is they may have been infected in utero.

I had some Ivermectin Paste, left over from a Dog whom suffered from IBS and possibly also got Guardia from the drinking water, (which she had been tested for several times, however, the tests often give negative results even though they have it).

Using Ivermectin on Zorrie, by a previous Vets advice gained me ~ 5 years with Her that I might not have had. That Vet relocated to another state.

I used the amount She recommend for, Zorrie, whom was a 90# Lab, as a guide & starting point. She had been prescribed a 3" ribbon on my finger, for two weeks then reduced by half for one week then again reduced by half for 3 days. Repeat in one month.

Since, Chavah, is probably just 2# when well, I decided to use the same amount as for the currently prescribed Am-Clam, which was upped to 0.5cc.

I gave her the Ivermectin @ 10:15am. She could not hold her head up nor hardly breathe, very raspy feeling & seeing (I am deaf).

@ 10:50am she roused herself towards the litter box but had an "accident" b4 getting there, a good bowel movement, which she had not had since last night.

By 6pm she was walking around & responding to her name.

I just fed her an hour ago. She ate 75% of a 3.3 oz can of Sheba mixed with Kitten Gloop Recipe and Kitten Pedialyte. This morning I barely got 6cc's in her and she was choking so much I had to hold her upside down & slap her between her shoulder blades.

Right now, her breathing is almost normal and she is able to walk around, jump up on the couch and when she lays it is a normal cat curl not a flopped state.

This is a huge contrast to how she was fast fading. Also, it is the reason I decided to join this site.

Thank-you all for posting your opinions & experiences with Ivermectin. I think you all saved my Kitten's life.

Right now, looking @ her sleeping comfortably, I think this will be the first night both she an I get some sleep.

I will post tomorrow on her progress.


OH! To Speckledhen, your question on your Tom's age. I noticed in your Pics he is starting to get his "Chipmunk Cheeks", (the fat padding that grows in their cheeks that is supposed to protect their eyes when they get into fights), my experience shows they grow them when they are about 3yrs old.

Also, after neutering, the "Chipmunk Cheeks" often disappear leaving the much narrower face like a Queen has. So, obviously the padding goes with being a intact Tom.

 

[CjTenorSax]

Sadly, Chavah, passed @ 1:35 pm. She gave it a good run.

Thank-you all, though. Last night she was playing & had a good time as well as a peaceful sleep.

 

[the73phoenix]

So sorry to hear about your kitty passing

 

[Sharm]

The pre-diluted ivermectin that JR Enterprise sells is diluted with propylene glycol, this is very toxic to cats! PLEASE don't order this product for your cat. http://www.askavetquestion.com/propylene-glycol.php

 

[anankae]

The pre-diluted ivermectin that JR Enterprise sells is diluted with propylene glycol, this is very toxic to cats! PLEASE don't order this product for your cat. http://www.askavetquestion.com/propylene-glycol.php

It's fine for dogs tho.

The propylene glycol and cats thing - not that it is toxic to cats, it's that it can be. It's one of those it depends and better safe than sorry things.

That said, I've tried the JR Enterprises dose I posted here on all 6 of my cats (out of curiosity) and all 6 of them are alive and fine and happy. And presumably ear mite free. I don't think I'd feed it to them the way I feed it to my dogs. YMMV.

Like I said previously, if you're diluting your 1% ivermectin for cats, use mineral oil or glycerin.

BTW, since we're on the subject. Ivermectin is toxic to cats. And dogs, and horses and cows and sheep and reptiles and humans and, and, and.

 

[Craig Kerr]

My 10 lb male cat Stinky had ear mites real bad but the first Vet misdiagnosed it as an infection and gave antibiotics. Products with the active ingredient Pyrethrins also did not work for me. The second vet gave me Zymox ear cleansing solution for 1 week followed by a single dose tiny tube of Acarexx, which is .01% ivermectin. Ear mites were gone immediately. Now 8 months later, he couldn't get Acarexx any more, so he diluted some ivermectin and gave me 1 ml of it at .01%, with instructions to put 1/2 ml in each ear. That was 24 hours ago and I don't think it worked this time. So I ordered a bottle from JR Enterprises of their .05% stuff. They recommend a dose of 1/10 ml, per ear. If you do the math, this is precisely the same dose as the Vet recommended. JR Enterprises ivermectin is suspended in pharmaceutical food grade propylene glycol is (not ethylene glycol as found in antifreeze), and is proven safe for cats according to natural news: "The FDA includes Pharmaceutical grade PG on its Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) list. The World Health Organization also considers it as safe for use. Studies on dogs and rats, which were fed doses of PG ranging from two to five grams per kg of body weight per day, showed no links to cancer. The results satisfied the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel enough to conclude that there was no carcinogenic risk with low levels of ingestion of PG."

To sum up, for same price as one dose from the vet for Acarexx, JR Enterprises is sending me 300 doses. I will report back on my results.

I love Vets, just not enough to pay 300 times what something is worth.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/023138_propylene_glycol_products_natural.html#ixzz3ujwOo52O

 

[sourland]

Well, we are rapidly approaching the 5 year mark with Scaredy Cat. She is fat, sleek and shiny but still is a 'wild' creature. If I am late with her feed, she will follow behind me complaining each step. If somehow I find myself behind her, she will bolt for cover of some sort. She has become very talkative to both the Princess and me. Recently she has started kneading the ground as she talks to me. There have been no coyote visitations recently so she is much calmer. The girl is doing well.

 

[DeniseDrake]

Just found the thread about Ivermectin and was captivated about the life of Scaredy Cat. How is she doing now? Would you give us an update?

 

[sourland]

Scaredy Cat is alive and well. She is in beautiful condition, but once again she has become very cautious and alert. My gut says there are coyotes around, and she is fully aware of that fact. Once again we have passed her fifth spring here and there were no kittens - she must have been spayed. For a spell she was sitting on the railing of our deck and talking to me, but she has stopped that behavior.