Can a cat with (possible) mange be treated without a vet?

Home remedies for mange in cats and dogs

Intro:

” There is a distinct difference between a ratty, scruffy coat and one that is plagued by mange. The latter is caused by miniscule mites and cannot be cured with a simple bubble bath.

Animals with mange need immediate attention because the condition is life threatening when left untreated. If your pet’s coat is looking uncharacteristically shabby, you may want to become familiar with the symptoms and home remedies for mange.”

Thanks @gailcalled. I must have been Googling the wrong keywords, because I couldn’t find anything useful.

The links that I read rather quickly indicated that it might help to call the vet’s for some advice about home remedies for mange because they are not very effective. But they seem fairly benign also, if you have the leather gauntlets and cojones to bathe a feral (no matter how friendly) cat. You might actually need a coat of armor.

My vet’s office will always take a brief question for free.

@gailcalled I said the same. She won’t even look at the cat, let alone bath it. She’s too disturbed by the skin issues. I was happy to go and look it over, but I’m not giving it a bath, no way, no how.

They called around to rescues and the humane society, but no one will take or treat the cat. I hate to think that the poor thing will get worse, it’s hard enough for cats to survive outdoors. I’ll tell them to ask their vet if they have any recommendations.

My dog had a patch of something that went through her ear from one side through to the other side. I found it when I scratched her ears and she yelped. I never took her to the vet. I suspected it was mange, and I put tea tree (from the health food store) on it on both sides. It healed up over night.

Now this spot was small, but whatever it was died when the tea tree oil hit it. Here’s a link for how someone uses tea tree oil to treat mange, with an explanation of how to apply it over larger areas. It won’t hurt, and might help.

But no worries all you medical people. There’s the ever present “That’s ridiculous! Take it to a vet!” post at the bottom of the page, so you don’t have to yell at me. Peace.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100812123957AAT9Z63

No one is saying, “That’s ridiculous, etc.” The home remedies are benign but usually ineffective, according to the comments on the self-help pages.

What exactly is “tea tree”?

I would make a soothing salve for the affected areas. Use EVOO as a carrier oil, and add drops of lavender oil, tea tree oil, and clove oil. All three of those essential oils can be found at a health food store, and possibly in the organic section of the local grocery store.

It will feel very good on the cat’s poor skin, whether it’s mange or not.

Tea trees grow in Australia. According to my son in law who was born there, it was first discovered because the aboriginals used to swim in the water where the tea trees grew. They dropped their leaves into the water, and there was a thin film of tea tree oil on the water. The remarkable thing was that these people had very few skin conditions. They considered the water there to be sacred.

He told me that’s when the British Army started providing it in the medical kits for their soldiers during WW2, and it was effective against all sorts of things, including jungle rot.

It is anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial, and it kills bugs. I know that much to be true.

My sister in law lived in England for several years. Her friends there told her to put tea tree oil in some shampoo and shampoo the kids hair with it every week. She let it sit for maybe 5 minutes or so to be sure the bugs were dead, rinse, and shampoo again with regular shampoo to get rid of some of the smell. As long as she did that, they didn’t get head lice.

I’ve used it in shampoo on my dog as a flea killer. It works well.

Edit:
And my podiatrist told me to rub tea tree oil on my toenail with the fungus under it. If I did it consistently for several months, it would clear up.

I appreciate that you’re trying to do what you can for a cat that’s not your responsibility, but home remedies are highly unlikely to do any good and may even cause harm.

The fact that the affected areas are largely around the head and neck make me suspect that it may be a chronic, severe ear mite infestation (long term, it can cause thickening of the skin, hair loss, crusting..).

Whatever the issue, guessing on a cause and treatment is like taking a shot in the dark. Have you checked to see if there is a feral cat rescue group in your area? Since you mention that there is a large feral population, getting a group involved to provide medical care and to spay and neuter animals is going to help more than anything. Feral cat groups typically trap, test, vaccinate (rabies), neuter, and release. Ferals are not considered capable of rehoming as pets, so they are released back into their environment but prevented from reproducing (reducing the cycle of misery and short, brutal lives).

It could also be a wound from a cat fight or ringworm. Both should be looked at by a Vet because an oral medication maybe necessary. Ringworm could also be passed to humans.

@syz yes, we’ve called around about the feral colony, the neighbors have also called countless places about this specific cat. No one can help. The rescues are full, no one has the funds to deal with a situation like that in our neighborhood, or they have extremely long waiting lists.

@Tropical_Willie I understand that a vet would be ideal, but it’s not my decision to make, and I can’t really blame my neighbors for not wanting to invest money in a cat that technically isn’t even theirs and may turn around and get sick again or disappear into the wild without a trace the day after they spend a boatload of money at the vet. Do people take that risk? Of course, and I have incredible respect for people who can and do that much for animals in need – but realistically, most of us worry about being able to afford our own vet bill, let alone vet bills for animals that don’t even belong to us.

If you make up the mix I suggested, and also apply it around the ears, it should kill ear mites if he has them. And it’s all natural, so it won’t harm him. Even if he licks at it.

In the NT of Australia there is a huge population of semi and completely feral dogs and cats. Many have mange which is a contributor to kids contracting scabies. The easiest way to treat great numbers is to use the cattle/sheep dip ivermectin. We would shoot a couple of cc’s of it onto a piece of bread, cover it with anchovy paste and toss it to the animals. They were all hungry enough that they scarfed it down. This treats almost all internal parasites (except tapes) as well as heartworm and mange. I would look into getting a jug of it from a livestock supply store and hand it out. It improved the looks and health of animals dramatically and quickly. The scabies plague amongst the kids would always show great improvement as well.