Pet Question

Yes, mange is contagious. The two types of mange are demodectic and sarcoptic. The first is NOT contagious, but the second is. The mites will get into the skin of a human, but the immune system will not allow them to 'live' there. My understanding was that demodectic mange is somewhat of a genetic thing in dogs - perhaps it is the low immune system that is the genetic part, either way, I would take BOTH pets it, because if one pet got it then the other one may have it, and they will be passing it back and forth.
I got sarcoptic from my dog, we were very clean, but he picked it up from a neighbor dog :( I had a few bumps on my arm, they went away by themselves.

Mange is only contagious among animals. No worries. except for the puppy's fur.

There are different types of Mange though. Some are only passed to other felines, some to other animals in general.

CAT mange is different from DOG mange. There is a certain kind of mange that can be transmitted to humans but only dogs get it, 95% of the time anyways... so it's rare for a cat to get that kind. I would have the kids wash their hands just to be safe.

Treatment for Cat Mange

The treatment of cat mange will consist of cutting the cat’s hair short and administering frequent baths with sulfur based shampoos. Get a hypoallergenic shampoo that contains 2 or 3% lime sulfur and use this once or twice per week.

Ivermectin may also be administered in cats with mange; however, it should only be administered if the vet recommends it, as Ivermectin hasn’t yet been approved for use in felines. (please don't use this babe) dont want the precious kitty getting fatally sick or something.

Typically, the cat mange will heal in 6 to 8 weeks.

This info is actually from the poster below me's site just by irony haha... funny stuff :P

she could be allergic to fleas.

try advantage for cats.

my cat is allergic to fleas and will lose/remove his own hair because the itch is so bad.

good luck-

Yes mange is contagious to us because all mange is, is scabies which is a microscopic bug that gets underneth our skin. Although i just went through this with my dog it turned out it was not mange but just a skin allergy so the cat maybe just allergic to something even maybe the new puppy. Still take the cat to the vet and if it is just a skin allergy there is nothing to worry about and can be controlled with benadryl but you have to get the right doseage from the vet.

That sounds like my poor cat that was allergic to flea bites. Put him and our other cat on Advantage toget rid of the fleas and the vet gave him a steroid to help with the immediate itching and allergic reaction. He was also allergic to any foods with chicken and did the same thing. Virtually every cat food on the market has chicken in it, we had to get a prescription lamb based food though there are a few non-chicken based foods on the market but my cat didn't like them.
It might not be mange.

I am no vet, but I am pretty sure that mange is a parasitic infection. Try looking up dermodectic mange and see if you can find some useful information. Then when you get into the vet's office, you'll know what kinds of questions to ask.

Sorry that your kitty isn't well. :(

http://www.vetinfo.com/demodectic-mange-cats.html

My poor Sasha was half bald with a flea infestation recently. I too wash shocked because I NEVER saw any fleas. Sasha is super fluffy so we didn't notice the damage at first. She is really shy and spends much of her time hiding. When we did finally notice it, I also noticed lots of scabs all up and down her back. Oddly enough, my other two fur balls didn't have the issues that she did so I guess she had the higher sensitivity to it. I got a topical flea medication and combed all three with a flea comb. Then I went nuts vacuuming everything and washing their bedding. If that hadn't worked the first time around, I was going to bomb the place but I left that as a last resort. It's really hard finding a place to hang out in the middle of winter for several hours with 4 children, 3 cats, 2 hamsters and 1 guinea pig.

Also, several days after I applied the topical meds, I gave her a soothing bath with some medicated shampoo to help her with her skin. A month later her fur is now growing back nicely, no more scabs and I haven't found a flea on any of them. That does remind me it's time for the next application of the topical meds. I found those easily at the pet store. I also wormed Sasha since she was the worst hit and had gotten skinny (something else we hadn't realized all that fluff was hiding).

Considering where the bald patches are at, it's entirely possible it's just a really bad flea infestation. As for mange, I haven't had an experience with that in so long that I couldn't tell you how expensive it is to treat. That would also depend on the severity of the infection. Good luck and I hope your fur baby feels better soon.

Actually, when I googled it in the past, it's not what you think. I don't believe Mange is contagious. The microscopic bugs that get under the skin are already there and can be found on all pets and even on our own skin I believe. Our bodies have a way of dealing with it and keeping it under control. But, in animals sometimes their immune system get decreased until these bugs over populate and get out of control. We've dealt with it in my dog off and on for 8 years. He was born with parvo and I nursed him through the illness. He was less than a pound and was a hairs breath from dying. He never did get all the way back to perfect health and his immune system hasn't been able to fight it. We have other pets and none of the others have ever caught it from this dog. I don't know what to say about getting rid of it. We've spent hundreds and hundreds and tried all kinds of things with limited success.

My grandmother's cat was allergic to fleas and went bald til they got her on Advantage.

The other thing about mites is that, at least for other animals, stress can cause a flare. If you have a new puppy, the cat might be stressed and voila! mites. I'd get it checked out. She might just need a couple of rounds of ivermeticin (sp?) and be good to go.

mange is expensive but mange also stinks. real bad. the kids can get mange from the cat make sure they wash thier hands after handling it. I dont know if it can pass from a cat to a puppy. mange is in diffrent forms the inherited variety cant be passed to other animals. one of my dogs had it I spent $600 on the dog and it went away and come back a month later and the dog was so miserable it wouldnt come out of its box and if I said hey pretty girl she would wag her tail but never come to me she was suffering so bad I had her put down.

Mine had a couple of fleas a while back and she got a bare, raw spot right between her eyes, I think that might be where the flea liked to feast or something. I gave her a flea pill from the vets office and literally watched several fleas come up off of her and croak right in front of my eyes. She's pure white so it was easy to see them surface. The bare spot is now gone.
Your cat can have fleas and you dont even know it. I didnt know until the vet took a flea comb and combed her back and sure enough there was a flea. I was shocked. She sleeps in bed with us and I've never seen a flea.

I wouldn't suspect mange but maybe fleas, allergies or ringworm. Maybe the new puppy brought home some fleas. Take a very close look on her skin on her head and pull the hair apart. If you see little specks of something looking like dirt, it's flea feces. If you take some of it and place it on a paper towel and then sprinkle some water on it, it will bleed red. I really think that this is what is going on. Use Advantage (topically flea control you can get at any pet store or vet office without Rx) and treat ALL of you pets at the same time. It may take some time for them to die out and the cycle to be broken but it's much more efficient than treating you house.
If the lesions are round and hairless with a light red cycle or crusting, it could be ringworm. If you are aggressive with treating it you can get some clear Iodine and treat it yourself though it takes a long time for it be under control. Ringworm is a NORMAL fungus that leaves on all of us. It's just when the numbers get too high they can cause lesions and itching. Allergies on the other hand are a bugger to treat and locating the source. It's not too common in felines.
Hope this helps,
C.

it could also be a flea allergy...