# Bactroban safe for cats?



## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

My female cat has a small wound on her head, just in front of her ear, which I think she got while playing with her brother. I think she is scratching it, because the wound is getting bigger (looks like a rash). It is not infected and there is no apparent discomfort on her part (she lets me touch the area), but she keeps on scratching at it. I clean the area with a saline solution, but I am hesitant to use anything else. However, it is taking longer to heal than it should because of the scratching. Is Bactroban ointment safe to use on cats?

Of course, I will take her to the vet if it gets any worse, but I know they will just give her a cortisone shot, which I don't like doing.


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

Yes I believe it is but I personally would go and see a vet first before using anything other than a saline solution and some pure Aloe vera gel.


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

If this is spreading rather than healing then I'd say you need to get it checked out if only to be sure it isn't ringworm. Chances are it's exactly what you think and you can always refuse the cortisone shot.


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

Well spotted Havoc re the ringworm. Not sure why I missed the spreading part of the post....

You may want to take a trip to the vet to rule out ringworm. That can affect humans too....


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## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

:scared:Ringworm!!!!!! How dreadful! Would the vet be able to confirm definitely whether it is ringworm or not? I just get so fed up with all this hit-and-miss stuff with vets.


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

Yeah they can just use a special lamp to see whether it is ringworm or not. Or they will take cultures - the most reliable form of diagnosis.

Check out this link: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2134&aid=223


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

koekemakranka said:


> My female cat has a small wound on her head, just in front of her ear, which I think she got while playing with her brother. I think she is scratching it, because the wound is getting bigger (looks like a rash). It is not infected and there is no apparent discomfort on her part (she lets me touch the area), but she keeps on scratching at it. I clean the area with a saline solution, but I am hesitant to use anything else. However, it is taking longer to heal than it should because of the scratching. Is Bactroban ointment safe to use on cats?
> 
> Of course, I will take her to the vet if it gets any worse, but I know they will just give her a cortisone shot, which I don't like doing.


Nope, I wouldn't do it. You're self-diagnosising for a start (by assuming it's a bacterial infection). It could easily be a hot-spot/allergic reaction/fungal infection. Plus I honestly think even if it was a bacterial infection, you have to know your getting the right to cream to fight the right infection. Some antibiotic creams are fine for one type of bacterial infection but useless or harmful for others.


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

hobbs2004 said:


> Yeah they can just use a special lamp to see whether it is ringworm or not. Or they will take cultures - the most reliable form of diagnosis.
> 
> Check out this link: Ringworm (Dermatophytosis) in Cats


the problem with the lamp is.... it can only ever tell you a cat is positive for ringworm, it can never confirm a negative. And even if the lamp doesn't show a postive, they can still be positive (happens an awful lot, at least 50% of my ringworm cats/kittens have tested negative to the woods light). Some of the fungal particles glow kinda neon green under the lamp (for positive for RW) but unless the room you are doing it in is 100% dark you get false negatives all the time.

To sum up, your vet can use the lamp and be pretty certain of a postive. But never of a negative.


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

Tje - that's why I said that taking cultures is the most reliable form of diagnosis, 

I also included a link with loads more info on diagnostics and treatment as well as human cross-infections.


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## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

Many thanks. I didn't even think of ringworm Now my whole body is itching. I will get her to the vet tomorrow am.


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

Hobbs, sorry. I didnt read properly, you know me, as soon as the dreaded RW pops up in my head I dont think straight. :lol:

Koekemakranka no need to panic. It probably wont be. The position is pretty classic for RW (around the eyes ears area and the extremities - feet, bottom of the legs), but the area your cat has her spot, is also the place that my older girl gets hotspots. And if they scratch on those hotspots they do well spread isnt the word, but they do get bigger. 

If anything I would say the fact she is itching is a positive sign, others may disagree, but in the ringworm cats I have fostered itching was never a big deal. I often think itching pointed more often to a hotspot than to RW. When I have caught RW from them it wasnt itchy either.


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

I didn't want to cause a panic. RW is highly over dramatised because of the GCCF protocols. Like I said, chances are it isn't ringworm but probably worth checking.


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## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

:scared::scared: Caught...ringworm.....:scared::scared: I have visions of losing all my hair. Plus, her "brother" is a longhaired cat...imagine :scared: It's midwinter here too.

I just thought of something. I have difficulty in getting my cats to eat wet food. They won't touch raw food in any form (they bat it around but won't put their mouths to it). They also "go off" their wet food often. The animal behaviourist said it is my fault that they are so fussy:frown:. Anyway, they both eat different wet food, and the female has for the past month or so, only deigned to eat Whiskas (I think that's the brand) "ocean fish entree" which seems to consist of whole bits of sardine and other slimy sea creatures. I remember reading somewhere that fish is the culprit in almost half of food-related allergies. What are the chances that it may be an allergic dermatitis? I will also suggest this to the vet (although I don't like putting too many ideas in their heads)


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

havoc said:


> I didn't want to cause a panic. RW is highly over dramatised because of the GCCF protocols. Like I said, chances are it isn't ringworm but probably worth checking.


heyyy you didn't make me panic Havoc... it was the first thing I thought of too, lol. But then again RW always is as it's a bit of phobia with me as I have had so many with it. And it definitely should be ruled out for the OP. NO doubt about that. I have no idea what the GCCF protocols are... but I do agree with you that the very mention of RW can create terrible panic. I have found ... well... when I suspect someone's cat may have RW... if I say that, they panic. If I just say "you know i think you should pop to the vet, I think he may have a fungal infection" that there's no panic, hehehee. If they ask what I mean with a fungal infection, I just say "oh you know, like athletes foot but then the cat version of that" 

koekemakranka... his hair wont all fall out. It never has with any of my RW cats or kittens. Most people would never even notice a cat has RW providing the cat gets timely treatment. There is usually NOTHING to see or small hardly noticeable patches, nothing drastic. Honest!!

Yes it could be a food allergy, but it could be a bacterial infection too... lol.

Let us know how you get on at the vets.


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## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

Thank you,people. I took her to the vet. It wasn't ringworm (she did the lamp thing and took some sort of scraping). Vet says it looks like some kind of allergic irritation. She gave her a antiinflammmatory shot and an ointment to put on the wound twice a day. I also put her on a bland wetfood (no more fish). Two days later, it has almost completely cleared up. the redness is completely gone, just a couple of little scabs remain.
Many thanks for your support.


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## The Twins (Oct 11, 2009)

koekemakranka said:


> Many thanks. I didn't even think of ringworm Now my whole body is itching. I will get her to the vet tomorrow am.


Phew! Ringworm can be a nightmare to treat so i'm told!


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## merothe (Jun 4, 2010)

lol a friend of mine had ring worm a while back :scared: tbh if it didnt have such a gross name it wouldnt have been a big deal. You just get a anti-fungal cream and it goes away..

Glad your cat is getting better


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

merothe said:


> lol a friend of mine had ring worm a while back :scared: tbh if it didnt have such a gross name it wouldnt have been a big deal. You just get a anti-fungal cream and it goes away..
> 
> Glad your cat is getting better


Merothe... ringworm in cats is a *FAR* bigger deal than ringworm in humans.

Like you say in humans it a bit of a cream for a few days to a week and it's gone. (most of the time)

In cats it invloves vile tasting medicine which has a harsh effect on the cats overall health (and big syringe full of it) for 6 weeks long. And that's the easy part. The hard part is; the cats have to be bathed every 2nd day for 6 weeks (that's 21 baths per cat). And not just a simple, wet, shampoo and rinse... not you have to soak the cat, apply the shampoo and leave it for 5 or 10 minutes to do its work. That's very tricky not just because cats hate beiing bathed... but you have a soaking wet cat that you have to hold or cage for 10 minutes... and you also have to assure it doesn't get cold or catch a draught.

Add on to the medicine and bathing regime the fact that ringowrm is very contagious for every other cat or dog in your home... that means your hygene and disenfecting levels in your home have to be very strict and very thorough when you have cats with ringworm. Plus you have to quarantine the ones with ringworm from the ones without it. Per bath time I use a minimal of 4 towels per cat... so I have 4 cats with ringworm, thats 16 bathtowels to wash every second day... all their bedding needs throughly washing every single day too, as do all soft toys or soft furnishing they have access to... and the room they are quarantined in needs a through daily vacuuming and disinfecting.

Whe you have had 6 weeks long of 4 cats with ringworm, lol, you wil realise why some of us (especially thos eof us in rescue circles where it is very common) are slightly paranoid about it. It is a LOT of work!

And this treatments lasts a MINMAL of 6 weeks... it can easily take 12 weeks before they're cured. 6 weeks is the minimal though.

Please don't confuse it with the human version... it's night and day!

But just for the record... I agree in humans it's generally no big deal and I have caught it often enough from rescues... but not so long ago a ringworm patch on my arm starting acting up and small blisters appeared... luckily an well informed aquaintance mentioned the word "impetigo" which got me running off to my doctor staright away, thank god I did, I had indeed contracted impetigo (a nasty bacteria that uses the ringworm patches to worm its way into your body)... and impetigo is not something anyone wants to get. It's a hideous thing!

So if some of us are a bit RW paranoid  ...  I can assure you it's a grounded fear in rescue circles (or indeed with any cats that have unrestricted access to the great outdoors).


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## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

Impetigo is terrible. I had it once. It ia apparently a streptococcus or similar bacteria that attacks the skin. Happens if your immune system is low, e.g. after a bout of flu. I wonder of cats could get it:eek6:
I am VERY happy that Girly doesn't have ringworm, though. It would have been very puzzling as she is primarily an indoor cat (only goes out briefly for about half an hour every morning and evening and will not leave the garden)


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