ROYAL OAK, Mich. – Oakland County Animal Control Division is putting out the call to 501(c)3 animal rescue organizations to take some or all of the 84 cats saved from a Royal Oak home Monday in an animal hoarding case. Animal Control said a number of the cats are displaying symptoms associated with ringworm, a fungal disease that is highly contagious for both cats and humans.
"Ringworm is contagious to both humans and pets. We implemented our plan to limit exposure at our shelter," said Bob Gatt, manager of the Animal Control Division. "We want to hear from 501(c)3 animal rescue organizations which are willing to take some or all of the cats and be responsible for treating their ringworm."
Ringworm is an itchy skin disease caused by a fungus. It looks like a round patch of red, dry skin and has a red raised ring around the patch. Sometimes the ring has blisters or is crusted with water or pus-filled blisters, according to Oakland County Health Division. Ringworm requires up to four weeks of daily treatment with anti-fungal medication to go away. The intensive treatment on many animals exceeds Animal Control's capabilities to provide limited veterinary care.
In addition, the 84 cats have put Oakland County Animal Control & Pet Adoption Center over capacity to safely and humanely house cats. Pursuant to Board of Commissioners policy, the Center is giving public notice that if no 501(c)3 rescue organizations step forward within the next 10 days, the cats will be humanely euthanized.
"It's not something we want to do or look forward to doing," Gatt said. "But this is an unfortunate case of someone who thought she was helping the cats but violated the law and resulted in a public health risk."
Any 501(c)3 animal rescue organization that would like to step-up to care for some or all of the 84 Royal Oak cats should contact Animal Control at 248-391-4100 or petadoption@oakgov.com.