A happy ending for poorly puppy Finnegan
Eight-week-old Staffie Finnegan arrived with mange, a horrible and highly contagious skin disease called mites, and a painful infection that had almost sealed his eyes shut.
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Overcoming a painful skin condition
When six-week-old kitten Arnold was found, all alone and suffering from ringworm, our team were determined to get him back on track!
Arnold the six-week-old kitten was found alone by a member of the public and quickly brought to Woodgreen for help.
Unfortunately, our vets found that this tiny kitten was suffering from a painful and persistent skin condition, ringworm.
Because ringworm is highly contagious, our cat team got to work right away on a treatment plan to keep Arnold and all the other cats in our care safe.
Arnold's treatment plan
Arnold needed daily medication, regular medicated baths and, because ringworm is so contagious, we placed him in a specialist isolation unit with a dedicated team of carers until his tests were negative.
This infection can spread through the air, so Arnold’s carers needed to wear special protective gear while looking after him.
To give Arnold the best chance at recovery, we also had to move him to a new unit with fresh bedding, and toys every two weeks so his old unit could be deep cleaned.
Keeping Arnold entertained
Arnold’s ringworm was persistent and treatment can take a while to be effective so our team needed to make sure this kitten wasn’t missing out on crucial socialisation.
Woodgreen cat carer, Lorna, tells us that for kittens like Arnold “socialising is important as it’s how kittens learn to communicate whilst also creating positive experiences with humans.”
To ensure Arnold was happy and prepared for life in his future home, it was essential for us to make sure Arnold had as much exposure to play and people as possible in an isolated environment. To keep him entertained, we used enrichment feeders, scattered his biscuits around the unit and made sure there were plenty of string toys for him to chase and play with.
A special reunion
The dedicated work of our cat team really paid off. Despite the difficulties that treating a kitten in isolation can present, Arnold had developed into a confident and playful young cat!
So when his third and final negative ringworm test finally arrived, our team were ecstatic – a fresh start was just around the corner for this sweet kitten.
And luckily for Arnold, someone special had been checking up on him all the way through his lengthy treatment plan. Hiroe, the kind member of the public who found Arnold and brought him to Woodgreen couldn’t wait to be reunited and bring Arnold home!
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