[Watch] This Stray Mangy White Cat Transformed Into A Handsome Boi By A Good Samaritan

Saiko, the stray cat got a glow up that went from a scabies infected cat to a healthy chubby cat.

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Recently, a video of a stray cat transformation went viral on social media. The video originated in Palembang, Indonesia a few days ago but it went viral in Malaysia as well.

It was uploaded by an Indonesian TikTok user (@rumahkucingirfan2) who has a cat shelter near his house. He often documents cases of stray cats he rescued and uploads them online on his TikTok profile.

Lok at that shiny white fur after the glow-up!
(Credit: @rumahkucingirfan2 / TikTok)

This time, he documented a case of a stray white cat named Saiko. When Irfan first saw him near a roadside stall, he couldn’t bear to look at Saiko’s sad condition as his body was thin and his face was filled with scabby and crusty fur up to his neck and legs.

Irfan decided to bring him home and help Saiko with his treatments. When he brought Saiko to the vet, it turned out that he had scabies or mange. He listed all the treatments and medicines that Saiko had to take which included an antiparasite drop, a worm and a VCO oil to treat the scabies away.

After a few weeks of continuous care, the scabies disappeared on their own and his white fur began to heal slowly. Now, Saiko has turned into a chubby and pristine white cat, all healthy and active.

@rumahkucingifan2
♬ Jiwa Yang Bersedih – Ghea Indrawari

As someone who operates a shelter, Irfan has been rescuing sick stray cats and treating them at his home. He even built a shelter home, especially for his dozens of cats. Among the cats that he rescued were blind ones, paralysed ones, amputated ones, and many more.

He helps the cats with help from public donations. You can find out more about him and his journey in treating stray cats on his TikTok account here. You can also donate to his account through the PayPal link in his bio.

@rumahkucingifan2
♬ Kiss the Rain – 弹钢琴的瑞瑞

What Is Mange Or Scabies?

Mange is a generic term that refers to an infestation of parasitic mites. It causes skin problems that affect many animals, including cats and dogs. It is caused by tiny parasitic mites that bite your pet’s skin and cause itching, flaking, hair loss and inflammation.

Scabies is a type of mange caused by a particular family of mites. Besides that, scabies is usually the term to describe human cases while mange is more commonly used for animals.

Scabies can be divided into two categories, which are:

Feline Scabies / Notoedric Mange (Notoedric cati) – These mites are uncommon for domesticated cats, but are common for stray cats. The mites burrow under the skin and generally affect the head and neck area. Symptoms include crusty, itchy edges of the ears, intense itching, flaking skin, hair loss and inflammation.

Canine Scabies / sarcoptic Mange (Sarcoptes scabiei) – Despite the word “canine”, these mites can affect cats as well and the symptoms are usually the same with the feline scabies. Cats can get these from infected dogs living in the same house.

To find out about other parasitic mites that cause mange in cats, click here.

Scabies can begin with itchy crusts and scales on the ear margins. If left untreated, it can spread to the face, and cover the animal’s entire body. This may cause the cats to feel so miserable that they stop eating and eventually die.

Feline scabies are highly contagious from cats to cats. Unfortunately, certain types of scabies can also infect humans, dogs, and rabbits by direct contact. But they live longer in cats as it’s a suitable host for them. In humans, they can’t survive for long but one should definitely seek treatment from medical practitioners if they have worrying symptoms.

Meet Elmo, a stray cat with scabies and here’s how long it took to treat him after a few injections.
(Credit: Farah Harith, TRP)

Treatment options

There are several options for the treatment of this condition. It includes an antibiotic injection, organic control products, a bath and a few more.

Ivermectin is one of the first treatments used for feline scabies. It is usually given by injection every 1-2 weeks for a month.
Another treatment is a lime sulfur or amitraz dips. It’s a type of solution used in a bath but it has fallen out of favour as it can be stressful for some cats.

However, you should still bring your pet to the vet as only they can determine the type of mites infecting your pet and provide specific medicine to be used.

Recovery time from scabies generally takes a few weeks depending on the medication that your vets recommend. The infected cats should be quarantined from other cats in your house during treatment to avoid infection.

All in all, keep a lookout for your domesticated cats if they tend to love exploring the outside world. They could also get infected from other animals.

And if you’re a cat lover who’s capable (financially & emotionally) of taking care of a sick cat, you can try adopting these strays and giving them treatment. Who knows, their second chance in life might be a real happy glow-up.

Elmo now is looking like a regular healthy and mischievous Oyen, isn’t he?
(Credit: Farah Harith, TRP)

READ MORE: What Exactly Is Feline Parvovirus?

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