Why is my new kitten's skin condition getting worse after vet care?

I would advise having a fungal culture done. Ringworm doesn’t always fluoresce with the black light. It may require a culture to rule it out. It could also be a bacterial infection. If the skin issue started after the Clindamycin was introduced, there is a possibility that it’s use in the way that you are administering it may cause a serious skin problem. The injectable Clindamycin should only be administered intravenously or in the muscle. SQ administration can cause toxic epidermal necrolysis. I would strongly recommend that you see a veterinarian ASAP with this little kitten. Perhaps a full service vet instead of the shelter vet as they will be able to do the fungal culture, etc. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It is most likely ringworm but it could also be skin mites - those are the two most common dermatological problems in kittens. It is impossible to diagnose either of those just by looking at photos. I suggest you try to get her to a vet when you can so they help figure out what is going on. For now, continue with the Ketoconazole.

This is probably caused by an allergic reaction. first of all make sure you de-flea Cricket regularly every month with a high quality spot on (ex. Advantage) as fleas are by far the most common reason for these reactions. If the fleas are not the problem, it could be an allergic reaction to food or an environmental factor. this is more complicated to treat and will sometimes require medications such as Steroids, anti histamines or cyclosporin in order to stop the allergy.

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Based on your description I would be suspicious of ringworm, which is a fungal infection that commonly affects young animals. If you can find a shampoo with ketoconazole that may be helpful, but she likely needs a prescription of an oral antifungal such as itraconazole. Please practice good hygiene after handling her as ringworm is contagious to people as well. Of course this is not a diagnosis, just an assumption based on your description. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon!

The symptoms you have described do not fit with a fungal infection like ringworm. The skin appears unkempt all over. Jessy may have light sensitivity, which can happen with a number of diseases, such as tick-borne disease, autoimmune diseases, kidney disease, etc. I am so sorry, but without being able to examine Jessy and run blood work, I am not sure how to help you. Some of these diseases benefit from steroids, but in some cases, steroids could make things worse. He really needs to be evaluated by a vet.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Poor kitten! The skin looks very uncomfortable! It looks as though she may be dealing with skin mites or a severe skin infection. If her URI signs have not resolved, I would consider nebulization therapy with antibiotics along with Orbifloxacin. For the skin, I would discuss administering a product called Revolution for cats to help out with the possible skin mites. I would also recommend using a shampoo such as Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo which can be found online and bathe twice weekly until resolved. I hope this helps and that the poor little kitten gets better soon! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please remember to rate this answer as helpful or not. Thank you!