Nanaimo and District SPCA remains under quarantine for ringworm with 18 cats and two dogs confirmed with the skin disease.
“[The quarantine] is going to be in place for a while,” said Leon Davis, Nanaimo branch manager. “The oral treatment takes three weeks and then there is reassessing.”
The branch closed its doors Aug. 30 when ringworm was discovered on three kittens in a litter surrendered to the shelter Aug. 29.
“Ringworm is out in the community and all we can do is remain strict with our security protocol,” said Davis. “All 30 of our cats are in individual cages, we are closed to adoptions and surrenders from the public and the animals are cleansed with a lime/sulphur solution every four days.”
Davis said the quarantine is taking a toll on both shelter staff and the animals. “The dogs take the cleaning pretty well, but cats don’t like to get wet at the best of times. They don’t understand it’s good for them,” Davis said.
The public continues to drop off much-needed towels outside the shelter’s gate on Labieux Road and Hill’s Pet Nutrition supplies all B.C. SPCA shelters with free food, but Davis doesn’t see any end in sight soon.
“It all depends on the test results. The results from our second culture should be back next week,” he said. “What we need to see is a couple of negative cultures in a row.”