<p>Sorry - Icky subject but CC people hve such a wealth of information tht my first thought was ‘I’ll ask on CC’.</p>
<p>My daughter’s kitten has been diagnosed as having fur mites. Kitty does not live here but she brought her to visit for a few hours a couple of weeks ago. So of course I am concerned my cat may now have them. The vet has told my daughter she will have to do sulpher dips. I read on the net that frontline has the insectaside that treats fur mites and has been used ‘off label’ to treat cats (I am guessing ‘off label’ means that it is not officially used for mited but has been found to work). Any experience here? Also on the net it says the environment may have to be treated. And that people can get them temporarily. Ugh.</p>
<p>The kitten came from a litter at my son’s house. One of their other cats has fur loss problems so I am wondering if that is her problem also. Their vet has been saying it is an allergy but I am wondering if he checked for fur mites.</p>
<p>Anyways I am waiting for my D to get back to me. She just texted me with the news. I am sitting here itching now :(</p>
<p>Well, Frontline for Cats is the same chemical used for dogs. It’s available without a prescription. </p>
<p>First, I would bath the cat with Natural Chemistry Flea and Tick shampoo, safe for cats over 8 weeks I believe (not near the bottles at the moment). It has a cat-lableled version, although it is the same formula as the dog label. I would also spray the environment. There’s a NC Pet and Area spray. We just got in a new version that smells <em>wonderful</em>.The Natural Chemistry stuff is safe. Your independent pet store should have it or be able to order it. </p>
<p>After a bath, when the cat is fully dry and maybe a day later, THEN I would use the Frontline.</p>
<p>PM me if your want more details … like the phone number for Natural Chemistry!</p>
<p>Apparently the mite she has is a fairly rare one - Demodex gatoi - not the one I was thinking it was based on my google search which is common.Sounds like the cat version of the dog mite that causes mange (though I am basing that on internet searching - no personal expertize involved). Apparantly hard to diagnose because it is rare - her vet had sent a fecal sample to a good lab they use (hooray for living in a college town with research facilities) and it took a little longer than usual for them to find what it is. The treatment is a sulphur dip which is usually successful.</p>
<p>I suspect that is probably my son’s cat’s problem also and that their vet has not diagnosed it yet so we have sent him (son) the info. I think we will go with the sulphur dip so kitty will smell like rotten eggs. According to what I read not all cats will get infested and often it is cats with suppressed immune symptoms. So I am hoping my fat boy (he’s on a diet)won’t have a problem and that her kitty was susceptible because of being a little kitty. D will ask the vet more next week. Can’t treat her till her stitches are out (she was just fixed).</p>
<p>Finally…a cat thread!! It’s been a long time since we’ve had one and I’ve missed them. [Dog owner here, and I can’t explain why I like the cat threads…]</p>
<p>swimcatsmom, I’m keeping fingers crossed that your kitty does not develop this problem. If your D can handle a litterbox, she can handle a sulfur-smelling cat. Although my new shelter kitten loves to cudle with us, and if that’s the case with your D’s kitten, your D will get some “aromatherapy” - LOL!</p>
<p>Her kitten is a snuggler. Even the vet was commenting on her sweet nature - when they were putting the tubes down her throat to sedate her she was purring at them and the minute she saw someone after she woke up she started purring again. She sleeps with my D so she will get a good dose of ‘aromatherapy’ when she does the sulphur dip.</p>
<p>The surgery my daughter goes to is a cat clinic dealing only with cats. They are going to give (ha ha - ‘give’) her the dip stuff and show her how to use it next week when she takes the kitten to get her stitches out. As they specialize in cats they should be providing product that is suitable for cats. She worked there for a while when she was thinking of becoming a vet and has dipped cats so should be able to do it herself. My son’s vet did a scraping of their cats skin (she is losing her fur - Ds kitty came from their house) so they should find out soon if she has the same problem.</p>
<p>My cat when I was a kid developed a severe urinary problem that the vet said was related to flea collars. His urine crystallized and he woke us up one morning screaming in pain because his bladder was close to bursting. He survived but had to take medication every day. Has made me wary of flea collars even though it was nearly 40 years ago.</p>