Community Action Against Mange

Please Help!

By contributing information, you can help the community build up information about what works and what doesn't.

Please skim the rest of this page and consider sending any similar information that you might have.

Mange is a terrible way to die. The cat you save may be your own!

Ivermectin

breed	age	gender	dose	results	side-effects	contributor	treatment date
American long hair	3 years?	male	.2 mg/kg	visible improvement in 1 week	no adverse effects	Dennis Griesser	2003.07.22
American long hair	3 years?	male	.4 mg/kg	total cure after 3 doses	no adverse effects	Dennis Griesser	2003.07.26
			200 µg/kg, SC		Sudden death in association with the use of ivermectin in kittens has been reported.	Merck Veterinary Manual

Other Treatment

Treatment other than Ivermectin that hopefully results in a cure...

breed age gender treatment results side-effects contributor treatment
date

series of 6 or 7 lime sulfur baths

lime-sulfur dips at 10-day intervals Merck Veterinary Manual

Amitraz (Mitaban) dips

Amitraz at half the concentration used in dogs nonapproved treatment Merck Veterinary Manual

Organophosphate baths for several months

Selamectin (Revolution) topical medication

Treatment To Avoid

Used Motor Oil

Used motor oil is an old folk remedy for mange. [It it sometimes called "burned" motor oil.] And it does work.

It works by clogging up the tiny holes in the bodies of the mites that they breath through.

You smear the oil on the animal, and leave it in for 3 or so days.

Unfortunately, used motor oil contains a lot of bad chemicals. Even fresh motor oil contains chemicals that you probably don't want on skin or in your body. It might poison the animal, or cause cancer.

I would avoid this treatment – especially for cats, who would lick it off!

If nothing else is working, and you are desperate enough to consider using motor oil, I would suggest a variant of the motor oil treatment: get a tub of Crisco shortning or lard (anything edible and greasy), mix it with something to make it taste bad, and smear that on the animal. It is important to make the grease taste bad. If the animal licks it off, the treatment stops, and the animal consumes huge amounts of fat.

Buying Time

Treatment that probably won't result in a full cure, but makes mange easier to live with - while a real cure is prepared. In medical terms, such treatment is "symptomatic and supportive."

breed age gender treatment results side-effects contributor treatment
date

American long hair 3 years? male pink lotion skin less crusty in 1 week; probably not a cure sedation Dennis Griesser 2003.07.07

American long hair 3 years? male worm treatment improve overall health no adverse effects Dennis Griesser 2003.07.26?

American long hair 3 years? male fancy food stop or reverse weight loss no adverse effects Dennis Griesser 2003.07.01?