Cats Pooping and Vomiting Everywhere!

@richten1 I should also mention that the cat with the ringworms is the one that has to have the pills and inhaler so very close proximity that would expose me to ringworms. The pet parent does use the pill popper device.

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@Silversitters and to add insult to injury when I asked her to setup a deposit account at the vet in consideration of these “new found cat illnesses”. She said you can just tell them the pet owner will pay and that will be ok - they are very trusting in Thailand. Red flags all over the place. I feel these types of pet parents should be removed from the platform. I pride myself on being a great sitter (all earned 5* reviews) and providing top level care to my little furry friends but I do not like to be taken advantage of.

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@pietkuip plus she said the ants are getting in the cats feeding dishes.

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I would refuse to do a sit where a cat has ringworm, for the sake of future animals that I engage with. Ringworm is not worms; it is a highly contagious fungus and the spores can survive for a year or more. Unless the cat is isolated and you suit up like you are going into an Ebola ward before going into that room, you will probably bring spores home with you, infecting other animals that you encounter. Assuming the homeowners aren’t taking those precautions already, the spores are already around the house.

I avoid fostering RW cats because I don’t want to contaminate the many other pets that I see. In the past, when I knew that a cat had RW, I kept them in a guest bathroom because hard surfaces are easier to clean. I wore gloves, shower cap, shoe covers, gown, changed clothes, etc and I sanitized their bathroom thoroughly before taking other cats.

Ringworm isn’t a danger for most adult pets, but kittens and other pets with medical conditions are at risk. Ringworm in humans is easily treated with anti-fungal cream. I caught it last year from some foster kittens that had undiagnosed, almost undetectable, RW spots.

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@Lassie @Silversitters I contacted the pet parent and THS to cancel the sit. I explained the ringworms are highly contagious and I could be putting myself and my future cat sits in danger of being infected.

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@Alison_smith whilst trying to sort I would limit where the cats can go in the house. I’m not sure where you are or what outside space there is but if there’s secure space outside and the weather is ok then the cats could spend time there. I don’t see why you have to constantly try and clear up throughout the whole house! I hope the situation is sorted soon.

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I wouldn’t make the assumption that the HO knows the extent of the cats issues you are dealing with. You need to call the HO and talk about it. The cat in my opinion (and I am quite experienced with cats) needs to see a vet asap. The extent of diarreha will cause dehydration in a cat and as a senior cat, this is seriuos.

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So many questions: Which vet now? Some cats do spit up their food if they eat too fast or aren’t used to it but constant diarrhea and vommitting are usually symptoms of serious health issues and cats can go downhill fast. Are you actually sending photos of what you are seeing to the petparents? Have you taken them to to the vet? Is this telehealth? If telehealth is it THS vet or their vet?

If you’ve really established that this is the status quo and the homeowners are not coming back to rescue you and the cats and the vet isn’t prescribing magic that will stop this, then IMO you’d be justified in telling the homeowner it isn’t working out and they need to get someone else in unless they have some other mutually agreeable plan – eg having a daily cleaner deal with this unobtrusively if that works for you.

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You must notify the owner immediately, really immediately. Anything else is irresponsible. This cat is very ill and is possibly completely dehydrated. A veterinarian must be called.

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What was the end result for your sit? Hope it all worked out.

Well, probiotics usually bring on gastric distress until the gut is balanced so I ask if you can discontinue the probiotic portion and let the owners deal with the transition.

Perhaps they were unaware of the side effects of adding bacteria into the gut. They are following the vets advice, but the advice may not be fitting for this particular time.

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