Successful therapeutic management of mange in a persian cat

doi:10.15406/jdvar.2020.09.00285

Journal of

eISSN: 2377-4312

Dairy, Veterinary & Animal Research

Clinical Paper Volume 9 Issue 3

Successful therapeutic management of mange in a persian cat

Tawheed Amad Shafi,¹

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Siddiqui MFMF,² Sakhre MP,¹ Syed AM,³ Chigure GM⁴

¹Department of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, India
²Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, India
³Hospital Registrar, Teaching Veterinary Complex, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, India
⁴Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Parasitology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, India

Correspondence: Tawheed Ahmad Shafi, Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, MAFSU, Parbhani-431402, Maharashtra, India

Received: May 11, 2020 | Published: June 18, 2020

Citation: Shafi TA, Siddiqui MFMF, Sakhre MP, et al. Successful therapeutic management of mange in a persian cat. J Dairy Vet Anim Res. 2020;9(3):92-93. DOI: 10.15406/jdvar.2020.09.00285

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Abstract

A Persian cat was presented with a history of hair fall, intense itching, mostly on the spine of the body, legs and ear pinnae. The cat was having decreased appetite and debilitated body condition and poor skin coat. Clinical examination revealed poor skin coat, self-inflicted lesions on the body due to intense itching, however, physiological parameters were within normal range. The cat was diagnosed as mange on the basis of severe pruritus, crusts, and alopecia on the ears, spine, legs and belly and was confirmed by skin scraping. The cat was treated with Ivermectin (200 mcg/kg, SC), weakly for two months and also hydroxyzine HCl @ 2 mg/ Kg body weight, BID, PO, for five days, and antibiotic cephalexin @ 30 mg/ Kg body weight, BID, PO, for five days. The cat showed gradual response to the therapy as evidenced by decrease in the hair fall, improvement in the itching and hair regrowth after two weeks on parts of alopecia. The cat recovered successfully and it took three months for complete regrowth of the hair coat.

Keywords: Persian cat, pruritus, alopecia, ivermectin

Introduction

Notoedric mange also referred as feline scabies, is rare and highly contagious disease of cats and kittens, caused by opportunist mite Notoedriccatithat can infest other animals, including humans.¹ Having zoonotic importance the owners must take proper handling precautions and affected cats must be treated immediately.²Mite and its life cycle is similar to sarcoptic mange mite. The disease is clinically characterized by severe pruritis, crusts and alopecia on ears, head and neck, and can be generalized if treatment is ignored or delayed.³ Notoedric mange has been successfully treated witheffective and safe topical and systemic therapies comprising of non-approved formulations such as lime sulfur dips at 7-day intervals(topical),⁴ selamectin (6 mg/kg, spot-on),⁵ combination of imidacloprid 10 % and moxidectin 1% (spot-on)⁶ andivermectin (200 mcg/kg, SC).⁷ The ivermectin has been used for the treatment of notoedric mange since long time due to its efficacy and good safety. Furthermore, due to its easy availability in the market the present case of notoedric mange in a Persian Catwas treated with ivermectin.

Case history and clinical observations

A Persian cat was presented with a history of hair fall and intense itching mainly on the spine of the body, legs and ear pinnae. The cat had decreased appetite, debilitated body condition and poor skin coat. Clinical exam revealed crusts and alopecia on ears, head, neck, spine of the body, tail and legs (Figure1&2), inflamed and self-inflicted lesions on the body due to intense itching (Figure 3). On clinical examination physiological parameters were within normal range.

Figure 1 Crusts and alopecia on neck, spine of the body, tail and legs.

Figure 2 Crusts and alopecia on ears, head, spine of the body, tail and legs.

Figure 3 Self-inflicted lesions on the body due to intense itching.

Diagnosis and treatment

Diagnosed was made on the basis of presence of clinical signs such as, severe pruritus, crust formation, alopecia on the ears, neck, spine, tail and legs. For confirmation skin scraping was taken and processed that revealed presence of microscopic mite (Figure 4).

Figure 4 Microscopic view of Notoedric mange mite.

Upon confirmatory diagnosis the cat was treated with ivermectin (200 mcg/kg, SC), weakly for two months along with hydroxyzine HCl @ 2 mg/ Kg body weight, BID, orally and antibiotic cephalexin @ 30 mg/ Kg body weight, BID, orally, for five days.

Results and discussion

The cat showed gradual response to the therapy as evidenced from decrease in the hair fall, improvement in the itching and hair regrowth after two weeks on parts of alopecia. The cat recovered successfully and it took three months for complete regrowth of the hair coat (Figure 5). Notoedric mange affect cats of all ages resulting in severe skin lesions and if not treated immediately lead to generalized lesions spreading to whole body that can lead to fatality also.³Although ivermectin therapy is not without side effects and has been replaced by more effective and safer non-approved formulations such as selamectin⁵ or combination of imidacloprid 10 % and moxidectin 1% (spot-on),⁶ but stillivermectin (200 mcg/kg, SC) has been found effective in treating notoedric mange,⁷ a finding supporting our effort to treat such a clinical case.Also, ivermectin is easily available in far off areas and therefore, is a promising choice in situations where the more effective formulations are not readily available in the market for its treatment.

Figure 5 Complete recovery of cat affected with mange after three months.

Conclusion

The cat recovered successfully using ivermectin subcutaneously weakly for two months showing gradual response to therapy, and it took three months for complete clinical recovery.