# new kitten has weird white scabby spots on his skin



## guppylove1985 (May 20, 2009)

Hello everyone, thanks for taking the time to read my thread. Hopefully you can help me figure out what is wrong with my new kitten. 

Dolce is a persianxsiamese cross kitten, about 7 weeks old. We have been feeding him about a tablespoon of Acana 'provincial' 6 fish dry kibbles mixed with about a tablespoon of wet food 3 to 4 times a day, he has free access to water at all times, and generally is seen waddling around with a full belly :wink: 

He is playful and takes plenty of cat naps, and doesn't seem to scratch at his skin an abnormal amount. The problem is that he has these weird oblong (not round) white scabby almost dandruff looking areas all over his body - on his face, his ears, his armpits and lower belly. The hair is thin in some of the affected areas, some I only see when I part his fur. I'm wondering if this is just dry skin, or something more serious... 

I don't think his previous owner took very good care of him to be honest. She couldn't even tell me what kind of food she was feeding him. I noticed these lesions on him when I first brought him home but I was hoping they would clear up on their own with some TLC. I plan on taking him to the vet come payday anyways, but I'd love it if someone here had some insight so I knew what to expect. 

thanks for any advice you can offer!


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Welcome, and I'm glad you'll be taking the little sweetie to the vet. It sounds like better nutrition will certainly help him out, or it could be a severe reaction to a food allergy...however I think I would be very concerned with mange, since you said they were oblong and flaky, not really looking like ringworm. 
Sarcoptic mange is pretty easy to treat. Demodex mange is more difficult, but I think it *can* be successfully treated.
I would certainly (_if the vet didn't have a DX right away_) request a skin scraping and/or a blood test to see how everything inside is doing.
Best of luck and let us know what the vet finds.


----------



## guppylove1985 (May 20, 2009)

thanks for answering Heidi n Q. Well, I've had him home for a couple of weeks now and while he is still the picture of health in every other way, his tiny scabby spots remain. The one on his ear is no longer scabby looking or dry, but is now a hairless spot the size of a quarter. Does this still sound like mange? 

I'm getting so worried about him, especially because I just signed up for Pet Insurance (since I just got him) and I know that whatever is wrong with him right now won't be covered since it's pre-existing. He's had this skin problem since I brought him home. We live on a pretty low income and although I've saved up close to $300, I'm worried that won't be enough to cover his vet bill when I take him in. I'm sure there are LOTS of people in this same situation right now, my heart is breaking because last year I had to put down my beloved cat Dior because I did not have the $1200 to pay his vet bill. I had such big plans of getting pet insurance when I bought this kitten, thinking that I would never be in this situation again. I didn't realize I would be buying a sick kitten whose illness would not be covered.

Sorry for the sob story, like I said I understand that there are probably a lot of people in the same position I am right now. I guess just talking about it helps sometimes.

Anyways, keep your fingers crossed for me that the vet will have an easy time diagnosing him and that the treatment will be a simple one!


----------



## love.my.cats (Jan 29, 2009)

Has the vet ruled out ringworm? On cats, ringworm often looks like small scabs and it also causes hair loss. It can be transmitted to humans so I'd get the kitty checked over asap.. Even if you tell the vet you have a financial limit & get them to check the cat & work treatment into your limitations. 

When I was younger, we adopted a kitten & I noticed he had scabs but we thought maybe it was from rough playing with the other cats at the rescue.. After a couple of weeks, my MUm & I both had an itchy red dot on our stomachs & went to the chemist where we were told it was ringworm. We got it early so we were lucky but sure enough, that's what the scabs were all over our kitty...


----------



## guppylove1985 (May 20, 2009)

Here are some pics. the lesions are all very faint, and hard to notice unless you are looking for them. The one on his ear is by far the most obvious. We have not ruled out ringworm yet, thanks for the ideas. I have been keeping a close watch and in the 2 weeks or so we have had him my fiance and I haven't had any weird spots.
Dolce









Dolce's ear









One of the weird scabby things...









More...


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I am a little embarassed to admit  I was guessing and just tossing out ideas to check out. I've never had a pet that required treatment for either mange or ringworm. Those are the first major things I think of when I hear of 'skin conditions' with food or flea allergies following closely behind.
Mitts & Tess does a lot of rescue/fostering work and is experienced with treating ringworm. I hope that she will see your thread, especially with the great photos you provided, and she may be able to give you a better idea of what you are dealing with and what to ask the vet to test for.
heidi


----------



## guppylove1985 (May 20, 2009)

it was ringworm, I know because the little bugger gave it to me. Apparently in kittens it can manifest as little scabby white hairless spots. Good to know!


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

You may need to speak to Dolce about his little habit of sharing.... I'm glad you got a diagnosis and probably have a treatment plan to erradicate the fungus.


----------



## guppylove1985 (May 20, 2009)

thanks Heidi! I'm sure we'll both be all better in no time.


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Would you mind me asking you to share what you have to do to remedy this? 
..._the info you share could help other people, too_...


----------



## love.my.cats (Jan 29, 2009)

There are a few different treatments for ringworm.. When my kitten had it, we were given Malaseb wash to use daily for two weeks. We had to lather up all over the kitty and leave for 10 mins (making sure he didn't lick it - a hard task but the vet recommended the bathing as it got to all parts of the skin, rather than just where the visible 'scabs' were & it completely cleared it up.

For us, we were given a cream over the counter at the chemist to apply to the spots on our skin..

You can use anti-fungal creams on pets too but as I said, with the bathing, you can be sure you're treating all problem areas, whether visible or not..


----------

