What are these parasites on cat's ears ?

[FlorC]

13 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Hard to inagine why you can't buy from Lazada?   It can also be ordeted from Shoppee, TailyBuddy and other sites.

I don't have a creditcard . Lazada site doesn't work in my 4 brrowsers , CPU goes 100% and I hate their commercials.

Now Taillybuddy seems ok and payment via bank , but 540 B in promo for 1 month ?

https://tailybuddy.com/product/748/frontline-plus-cat-flea-for-cats-kittens-8-week-or-older

I have 6 cats , 7th missing for 2 weeks . That's a lot of money ! And not even in stock.

 

13 hours ago, bbko said:

We put Frontline Plus on our cats and dogs on a regular basis to keep the fleas & ticks away.  Simply apply to the back of their neck or shoulder area.

 

Simply .... Like I said before , it is hard to do it right with thick fur . Some of the fluid is lost on the hair in stead of on the skin to absorbe.

Edited November 22, 2021 by FlorC

[FlorC]

20 minutes ago, G Rex said:

You are correct, these guys only have 6 legs. However they are larval ticks, and in this first stage they have 6 legs. They become 8 legged after they engorge and then moult. The adults are 8 legged.

Incidentally, the OP refers to his cat as half mountain lion (lol) and refers to 'him'.  As a tricolour cat, it is a certainty that this cat is female. Cat coat colour is controlled by a gene on the X chromosome, and only females can have the genes for red (ginger) and black at the same time. Females being XX and males XY. The white is simply a lack of pigment. 

Small correction , the "half mountain lion" , is not the OP's cat but toofarnorth's cat.

Funny enough my big fury male cat looks more like a lion , beige with blue eyes.

[FlorC]

13 hours ago, jvs said:

We have used Ivermectin for over 15 years against ticks,it is the number one drug used for this in Thailand.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1476370/

I'll ask the vet next time , but I thought ivermectin was only for internal parasites .

Can I use my ivermectin tablets ? Although they are freaking expensive too.

[Sheryl]

27 minutes ago, FlorC said:

I don't have a creditcard . Lazada site doesn't work in my 4 brrowsers , CPU goes 100% and I hate their commercials.

Now Taillybuddy seems ok and payment via bank , but 540 B in promo for 1 month ?

I have 6 cats , 7th missing for 2 weeks . That a lot of money !

 

 

Lazada does not require a credit card. Can do cash on delivery or pay by bank transfer. In fact most people only do cash on delivery, saves hassle in case the order for some reason gets cancelled or wrong thing delivered.

 

Shoppee ditto.

 

There are mobile phone apps for both Lazada and Shoppee

 

The stuff is not cheap (though I find it lasts more than a month - I apply it about every 2 months, but given tick infestation maybe you should do monthly at first until it resolves).

 

Lazada and Shoppee usually cheaper than Taily Buddy.

 

It comes in packs of 3 doses. You can get that (3 doses) on Lazada or Shoppee for under 400 baht with free shipping. So a little over 100 baht a dose.

 

Of course with 6 cats that does add up. But alternative may be huge vet bills for tick induced anaplasmosis and/or dead cats.

 

 

[jvs]

1 minute ago, FlorC said:

I'll ask the vet next time , but I thought ivermectin was only for internal parasites .

Can I use my ivermectin tablets ? Although they are freaking expensive too.

Ivermec tablets for animals are very cheap! If you buy a bottle of the liquid it is also cheap.

Vets normally sell a syringe with Ivermec for 80-100 baht..

Every vet or pet shop should have what you want.

Why are you using Ivermectin?

[sometimewoodworker]

16 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Ticks. definitely. They grow larger once they start sucking blood if they are able to stay on the cat for very long.

 

Frontline Plus application once a month (liquid you dab onto the back of the neck) should prevent this asnd also prevent fleas. You can buy it on Lazada

There is a discussion about the best monthly treatment, our 3 get Revolution, though as with @Sheryl once every 2 to 3 months seems to be enough.

Edited November 22, 2021 by sometimewoodworker

[jvs]

I was told by my old style vet that the only real difference the consumer will

see is the difference in price.

He is laughing at people who buy Frontline.

https://www.proquest.com/openview/e952e930765cc4d208f09617e5afbe10/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1936340

[Sheryl]

9 minutes ago, jvs said:

I was told by my old style vet that the only real difference the consumer will

see is the difference in price.

He is laughing at people who buy Frontline.

https://www.proquest.com/openview/e952e930765cc4d208f09617e5afbe10/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1936340

 

Actually this study concludes that "fipronil and its combination with ivermectin have preference over ivermectin alone".

 

So does not support use of ivermectin over Frontline (fipronil). In addition, ivermectin can have some serious adverse effects including seizures etc.

 

There are cheaper alternatives to fipronil (excluding ivermectin which as per above is not as effective) but after having had bad experience with toxic reactions (one cat almost died) I do not use them. Ditto  ivermectin.

 

There are also collars that can be bought, some of them apparently "natural", I am not sure what is in those or if they work.  I do not use collars on cats  any more after bad experiences:

- kitten nearly died from strangulation/choking  after the collar got caught on something

-cat developed bad skin infection under the collar (easy to occur in this climate - fungal and bacterial) which took months to clear up and left permanent scarring

[BritManToo]

20 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

There are cheaper alternatives to fipronil (excluding ivermectin which as per above is not as effective) but after having had bad experience with toxic reactions (one cat almost died) I do not use them. Ditto  ivermectin.

300bht for a tube of Frontline, 100bht for Ivermectin injection.

Frontline kills rabbits, so my vet used Advocate .... which didn't work very well.

Edited November 22, 2021 by BritManToo

[Sheryl]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

300bht for a tube of Frontline, 100bht for Ivermectin injection.

Frontline kills rabbits, so my vet used Advocate .... which didn't work very well.

300 something baht is for 3 doses Frontline, not 1. It comes in boxes of 3 applications.

 

That is Frontline for cats. I have no info re rabbits!

[jvs]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

 

Actually this study concludes that "fipronil and its combination with ivermectin have preference over ivermectin alone".

 

So does not support use of ivermectin over Frontline (fipronil). In addition, ivermectin can have some serious adverse effects including seizures etc.

 

There are cheaper alternatives to fipronil (excluding ivermectin which as per above is not as effective) but after having had bad experience with toxic reactions (one cat almost died) I do not use them. Ditto  ivermectin.

 

There are also collars that can be bought, some of them apparently "natural", I am not sure what is in those or if they work.  I do not use collars on cats  any more after bad experiences:

- kitten nearly died from strangulation/choking  after the collar got caught on something

-cat developed bad skin infection under the collar (easy to occur in this climate - fungal and bacterial) which took months to clear up and left permanent scarring

Yes i read it also,there are also lots of side effects for Fipronil.I mainly wanted to show the difference in price as it was a concern of the op.

Nothing wrong with paying more if you want.

[placnx]

This long hair cat has been licking hair off for over a year. At first the CMU vet prescribed prednisolone and maybe an antibiotic. The condition was worse a month ago, and with hair scratched off behind the ears as well. Front legs and tail are also affected. Before there were tiny red spots on hind legs. I could not see any insects.

 

Any idea what to do? Staff enter room in bare feet. Could they be tracking in something bad from natural situation outside where other cats roam?

 

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by placnx

[FlorC]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

 

Lazada does not require a credit card. Can do cash on delivery or pay by bank transfer. In fact most people only do cash on delivery, saves hassle in case the order for some reason gets cancelled or wrong thing delivered.

 

Shoppee ditto.

 

There are mobile phone apps for both Lazada and Shoppee

 

The stuff is not cheap (though I find it lasts more than a month - I apply it about every 2 months, but given tick infestation maybe you should do monthly at first until it resolves).

 

Lazada and Shoppee usually cheaper than Taily Buddy.

 

It comes in packs of 3 doses. You can get that (3 doses) on Lazada or Shoppee for under 400 baht with free shipping. So a little over 100 baht a dose.

 

Of course with 6 cats that does add up. But alternative may be huge vet bills for tick induced anaplasmosis and/or dead cats.

 

 

I don't have a cellphone and don't get sites like lazada and shoppee .

[FlorC]

1 hour ago, sometimewoodworker said:

There is a discussion about the best monthly treatment, our 3 get Revolution, though as with @Sheryl once every 2 to 3 months seems to be enough.

Yes that is the one I use now , it is one of the safest but not that effective and I use this every month since i found these bugs.

My vet says they are discontinued , it is now revolution plus in orange packet with an extra ingrediend that I don't like.

I'm not a fipronil fan .

 

[FlorC]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

300bht for a tube of Frontline, 100bht for Ivermectin injection.

Frontline kills rabbits, so my vet used Advocate .... which didn't work very well.

Advocate is essentially the same as Advantage , and has a long lasting aweful smell , I will never use that again .

[FlorC]

22 minutes ago, placnx said:

This long hair cat has been licking hair off for over a year. At first the CMU vet prescribed prednisolone and maybe an antibiotic. The condition was worse a month ago, and with hair scratched off behind the ears as well. Front legs and tail are also affected. Before there were tiny red spots on hind legs. I could not see any insects.

 

Any idea what to do? Staff enter room in bare feet. Could they be tracking in something bad from natural situation outside where other cats roam?

 

 

It's not when you can't see them that they aren't there.

One very long haired cat has a very bad reaction to fleas with bald spot like yours from licking . Zoetis Revolution did a good job for her .

Another victim of bugs , like yours bald behind ears .

Edited November 22, 2021 by FlorC
Added photo

[rwill]

As many others have said those are 100% ticks.

Ivermectin injections work good to kill them plus internal parasites too.  The shots are cheap.

 

Revolution only works for a few types of ticks.  I don't know if it is effective for the ticks in Thailand.  My vet carries it but doesn't really recommend it.

[xtrnuno41]

6 hours ago, Scott Tracy said:

In the OP's pics, I can see the insects have 6 legs. My understanding is that ticks have 8, not being I sects, but being arachnids. Spiders in other words. I know it doesn't tell you what they are, but I suggest they are not ticks.

Ticks are commonly referred to as insects, but they are technically arachnids because they have eight legs. As larvae, they have six legs.

Otherwise it could be bedbugs they look similar to ticks and have 6 legs.

Edited November 22, 2021 by xtrnuno41
additional text

[BadSpottedDog]

I'm an avid animal rescuer, and am co founder of a large cat rescue in the US. We save and rehome thousands of cats per year, so I have extensive experience. 

These are ticks for sure. Ticks will embed into the skin, suck blood, cause anemia, and most always cause anaplasmosis and/or erlichiosis, which are blood parasites. Blood parasites are fatal if not treated, but easy to treat. You will have to ask for a blood parasite test, as many vets in Thailand do not do it unless asked to. About 90% plus animals in Thailand have blood parasites. It's treated with daily doxycycline for 45 days (not 30, as a Thai vet will tell you).

The ONLY way to keep these off of your cat is to administer monthly flea and tick medication. You can buy it fairly cheaply in Thailand, but please buy from your local vet and not online. Many of the products on Lazada or elsewhere, sometimes send outdated meds that don't work. Please get your vet to show you how to administer it. Warning: cats don't like it. LOL. Also, the first time you administer this to your cat, watch them closely for about 30 minutes for drooling or foaming at the mouth. This would mean they're having an adverse reaction. Out of my 7 personal cats, only one has bad reactions to the Revolution brand. IF this happens, immediately put the cat in the sink, and wash the medicine off their neck with dishwashing soap. Not regular soap.

If your cat has had the ticks for a while, and especially if they have embedded in the skin, please have it tested for blood parasites, and while you're at it, test for Feline Leukemia (highly contagious to other cats), and FIV (not so contagious to other cats). Many Thai vets don't do this test unless you ask.

Now you know more than you EVER wanted to know about cats and ticks. Good luck!

Edited November 22, 2021 by BadSpottedDog
addition

[2umich]

It is tick larvae. They just hatched out of eggs, it means that you have full grown ticks laying eggs around, and it is not good. Tick larvae do not carry any disease. But you need to get rid of them anyway. I would recommend to check your cat blood for blood parasite, just to be safe.

Edited November 22, 2021 by 2umich

[FlorC]

Ok, ticks , thanks guys . Now I definitly know what to ask the vet.

Checking the blood is 400 THB , but there is no print out or proof she really did it.

Seems ivermectin shots are the best way to go here.

Anyone know of a brandname for this ivermectin ?

 

She did a test for FPV a while ago , like a pregnancy predictor stick and it was positive , but none died , not even the 2-3 month old kittens which should have died because it is fatal for kittens of less than 5 months. It is an accurate test and they had the symptomes . It's highly contagious but 3 of the 7 were not ill . 2 only mildly yet living close together , eating from the same plates.  Mother or grandmother has mild Cerebellar hypoplasia , so maybe antibodies against FPV are given through milk .

Still very hesitant to get them inoculated.

Last spaying she wouldn't let the cat stay because she still feared the cat had FPV and wasn't inoculated.

[Sheryl]

5 hours ago, placnx said:

This long hair cat has been licking hair off for over a year. At first the CMU vet prescribed prednisolone and maybe an antibiotic. The condition was worse a month ago, and with hair scratched off behind the ears as well. Front legs and tail are also affected. Before there were tiny red spots on hind legs. I could not see any insects.

 

Any idea what to do? Staff enter room in bare feet. Could they be tracking in something bad from natural situation outside where other cats roam?

 

 

 

Not likely to be something staff are tracking in.

 

Several possibilities:

 

1- flea allergy - fleas can be very hard to see. Using a small fine toothed comb over a clean white paper, you may see tiny black dots come off. Or you could just empirically treat for fleas and see if that helps.

 

2. skin infection - which could be bacterial or fungal, needs Vet to diagnose and they will need to do a skin scraping,do they do this? Or examine the skin using a bluelight?

 

3. autoimmune skin disease - from the treatment given sounds like this was what Vet suspected. These can be difficult to treat and need a prolonged course of treatment with frequent meds adjustments. They can sometimes be due to food or environmental allergies.

 

If it were me I'd probably treat for fleas first, since that is something you can do on your own, and then maybe a change of diet (google  recommended diet for cats with allergies) as this too you can do on your own, and if these measures did not work then return to CMU and tell them no improvement with what they prescribed.  Thai doctors - both human doctors and Vets - are very partial to just trying medications first without doing a full diagnostic work up but may do one when initial meds didn't work.

 

[G Rex]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

 

Not likely to be something staff are tracking in.

 

Several possibilities:

 

1- flea allergy - fleas can be very hard to see. Using a small fine toothed comb over a clean white paper, you may see tiny black dots come off. Or you could just empirically treat for fleas and see if that helps.

 

2. skin infection - which could be bacterial or fungal, needs Vet to diagnose and they will need to do a skin scraping,do they do this? Or examine the skin using a bluelight?

 

3. autoimmune skin disease - from the treatment given sounds like this was what Vet suspected. These can be difficult to treat and need a prolonged course of treatment with frequent meds adjustments. They can sometimes be due to food or environmental allergies.

 

If it were me I'd probably treat for fleas first, since that is something you can do on your own, and then maybe a change of diet (google  recommended diet for cats with allergies) as this too you can do on your own, and if these measures did not work then return to CMU and tell them no improvement with what they prescribed.  Thai doctors - both human doctors and Vets - are very partial to just trying medications first without doing a full diagnostic work up but may do one when initial meds didn't work.

 

Spot on Dr!

Number 3 on your list is the most likely diagnosis here.  The fact that the hair loss is symmetrical is the clue here. Feline endocrine alopecia or Miliary dermatitis would be my suggestions.

A hypersensitivity to fleas can be a precursor to this condition.  Prednisilone is the most common treatment, but must be given long term on a tapering dosage. I have treated many cats with this condition using Megestrol acetate (ovarid) - but the use of this drug is frowned upon by many vets.