Expert: Jessica - 6/14/2010

Question
Dear Jessica,

I have read some of the previous questions you have answered about cats becoming infested with maggots, so I thought you would be the best person to ask.

Four days ago, one of my kittens (10 1/2 weeks old) was at the peak of health, very lively and friendly. The next day, she developed a minor eye infection, but it quickly cleared up on its own. The following day, the infection was back, and she seemed extremely lethargic, but she ran off and hid before my mom and I could medicate her.

The next morning, right before church, I found that my kitten had survived the night, but she had an odd crust all over her lower back, close to her tail. I couldn't tell what it was, and suspected she may have fallen asleep in her own vomit, and that it had dried, but I didn't have time to look at it closely. As soon as I got back from church, my mom and I found the kitten and discovered that the crust was not vomit but fly eggs, and maggots had already begun to hatch.
My mom and I spent the next four hours bathing her and picking off fleas and countless maggots. Most of them were located on the surface, but a few had already begun to burrow into her skin (we removed these). Some had chewed a hole into her leg, and we removed those. We also got out all the ones that were hiding in her mouth (that must have been from her trying to clean herself), but there were a lot seemingly pouring from her anus and vagina. My mom removed as many as she could, all that were visible. Her first three stools after the ordeal looked like grey mucus and were packed with maggots, but her subsequent stools have been normal in appearance.
We treated her wounds with peroxide and triple antibiotic ointment. She is in no position to clean herself. We have been feeding her water and a catfood/water mixture from a dropper. This morning, she is still alive, but is cold to the touch and very lethargic. She also cries pitifully at times when she's being handled. I am terrified that she has still has maggots inside her that she could not expel that are devouring her large intestine and possibly her bladder from the inside out. We are also concerned that she may develop pneumonia, though her lungs sound clear so far.
What should we do? Should we take her to the vet? I fear she may be too weak for surgery.

Thank you in advance! Any advice is much appreciated!

Answer
Hi Beverly.  Yes, get her to the vet right away, within the hour.  Don't wait for an appointment - find a vet that will take an emergency.  If she's cool to the touch, she is facing a critical situation, and the difference between life and death may be just a couple of hours.

I'm not sure if the little one has two different things going on here, or if this is all myiasis (maggot infestation).  Any maggots she ingests should be killed by stomach acids, but those that burrow their way into the intestines may be passed out in stool still alive.  Still, since she has fleas, there could be the potential that some of these pests you're seeing in the stool are tapeworms, parasitic worms that live in the intestines, which shed segments in the feces, that are not particularly dangerous.  That may give your kitten a much better prognosis.

Myiasis is often treatable, but it depends on how deeply the maggots have burrowed and whether there is an underlying cause for the infestation.  Many times, the maggots will only feed on decaying tissue, and if your kitten suffered a deep wound that is now necrosing, and this is what attracted the flies, this may be irreparable.  However, sometimes the maggots are strictly parasitic and feed on healthy, living tissue.  When no life-threatening injuries are found, the case stands a better chance of a resolution, but it is dependent on how much damage the maggots have done.  A physical exam will be needed to determine how extensive the infestation is.  Sometimes it's not as deep as one may imagine, and the vet can view the entire wound using a light in a general exam.  Sometimes a good flushing of the wounds can help get most of the maggots out in these cases.

But sometimes surgery is needed to view the full infestation and to try to remove all the maggots.  If the kitten is cool to the touch, it's quite possible she may not be able to withstand surgery, and a difficult decision may need to be made.  This may include trying to stabilize her prior to surgery and hoping that she hangs on, going directly to surgery and hoping that she survives, or making the choice to put her to sleep if her condition is very poor.

Best of luck!

Jessica