sadness

I will do my best given time constraints to reply to additional questions.

I have a question, did all the cats have ringworm and how infested were they? I think the announcement on Pinecam was unclear, it said several not all?

From the IMHS announcement---Even with these preventative measures, ringworm was diagnosed positive on several more cats in the last week.

Did you ask other shelters if they wanted to help out? Did you consider asking for funds, not necessarily space?

Is IMHS considered a low kill or high kill shelter?

Edited to add-- We appreciate you coming on and giving your comments about your decisions on our site.

I have the same questions, CG.

Me too! and I think there are other vets that may think differently. I have no knowledge of this but sounds fishy. I have contributed and adopted from IMHS in the last few months and had no notification.I believe the best and hope for the best but I would like a few more answers too.

One more question for DR. P . If I brought one of my cats in with ringworm would you suggest putting it down? Or was this a lesser of 2 evils issue?

CinnamonGirl wrote: I have a question, did all the cats have ringworm and how infested were they? I think the announcement on Pinecam was unclear, it said several not all?

Out of about twenty five cats, three developed lesions over course of three weeks. All cats were cultured and came up postive.

The challenge with ringworm is the spores that are continuously shed into the surrounding environment. Infected animals drop spores by the thousands, and other animals are, or become carriers, of ringworm. These carriers do not show the classic external signs of ringworm, but still contaminate the surrounding environment with spores.

Given and incubation period of 1 to 4 weeks, we know that by the time the third cat came up positive there had been ringworm spore contamination in the shelter anywhere from 4 to 7 weeks. In this course of time all other cats had to be considered infested/exposed to spores due to the physical set up of the shelter which is basically continuous rooms with limited ventilation.

CinnamonGirl wrote: Did you ask other shelters if they wanted to help out? Did you consider asking for funds, not necessarily space?

Yes we did. But requesting isolated housing of 23 cats is beyond the scope most any other shelter - even the big municipal shelters.
The other question is - to what end goal of relocating the occupants? It would still have necessitated closing down IMHS for 12 weeks which in the end would cost more lives than it would help.

While IMHS always needs funds, money really couldn't help in this situation.

CinnamonGirl wrote: Is IMHS considered a low kill or high kill shelter?

Excellent question that I would like to expand upon. I checked with the shelter manager to make sure I was giving out accurate numbers. It turned out in my first post I understated the adoption numbers. In 2010 IMHS adopted out close to 700 animals and euthanized 35.

What IMHS is, or becomes, is totally up to you and the rest of the community. Even within this thread we have seen concerns expressed about IMHS not being able to take in all surrenders whether they are strays or older pets from private homes. Other people expressed concerns about euthanasias being performed at the shelter.

This is paradox that needs to be solved, especially if IMHS expands into a larger facility. Many people would like to see IMHS become an open-intake facility where strays and privately-owned animals can be surrendered at any time. The consequences of an open-intake format is needing to deal with an influx of animals with chronic disease, aggression, and any number of behavioral issues that would make them extremely challenging candidates for re-homing.

CinnamonGirl wrote: Edited to add-- We appreciate you coming on and giving you comments about your decisions on our site.

I sincerely thank you for your interest. IMHS's biggest challenge has always been to get people involved and interested. We currently have several open board position and many volunteer opportunities if you or anyother 285Bounder's are interested.

As this thread shows, humane society work can necessitate being involved in some truly gut-wrenching decisions...but it is also incredibly rewarding.

Lucky wrote: One more question for DR. P . If I brought one of my cats in with ringworm would you suggest putting it down? Or was this a lesser of 2 evils issue?

You would be given the information in the previous two posts as well as a treatment plan for your cat and decontamination advice for your home.

You are correct, this is most definitely a lesser of 2 evils issue in a shelter setting. But the end goal is helping as many animals as possible.

During the ringworm outbreak at IMHS a few years back we had one of the litters of kittens at our home - also with ringworm - full blown. We also had 3 of our own cats at the time. We treated the kittens and none of our cats got ringworm, nor did I, or my husband. My grandaughter got a tiny outbreak that cleared up in 2 days with over the counter medication (the same stuff used for Athlete's Foot).

After our next IMHS litter of kittens were euthanized due to ringworm in 2009 I did a good deal of research, in addition to talking to our pediatrician. He said that nearly every high school wrestler he ever met got the same fungus as ringworm. He also said he has never seen a case of ringworm that has caused scarring. He was unconcerned for our 2 year old daughter (at the time) to be exposed to kittens with ringworm, provided we take reasonable precautions. In other words, it is a very common fungus that can be picked up if you walk barefoot in certain areas. And so yes, it is contageous, but in humans, it is very easily treated. I think the fear that is being conjured about fostering cats with ringworm is overblown. I think it is reasonable to get opinions from other vets on the topic, and physicians about the risk to humans. Then perhaps we can have a reasonable, not fear-based discussion about how we can move forward.

Well said LahLah - ringworm is not the "plague" that IMHS is presenting it to be. Killing all of those cats for a treatable condition is horrifying and unethical.

I am very much looking forward to more discussion about this subject, as I am not adequately familiar with it to discuss it.

Please keep the good information coming!

Here is another relevant post.

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