ringworm, help please

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TNTsmile - 06 Oct 2003 04:45 GMT

any advice is appreciated. Monte, a 4 month old Persian kitten, is our first
family kitten. Unfortunately, when we took him to his first vet's visit we
learned he had ringworm. It was in two places & the vet shrugged it off as no
big deal. He gave us a topical medicine for him. I expressed concern about it
spreading to my children & he literally shrugged his shoulders & said that if
it did happen then we just get the OTC meds for it.

So- flash forward 3 weeks later. Monte has 2 new ringworm spots that have
flared up & so do I (one of them has just appeared today on my neck). The
children don't have it on them.. they were pretty good at washing their hands
every time they touched him. It grossed them out that he had ringworm. Me, I
didn't pay much attention to it & didn't scrub myself everytime I touched him.

It just occured to me today that I should've disinfected his brush. DUH. But no
one told me & I didn't even realize how easy it is to spread. What should I do
at this point to keep this from spreading any further and to get rid of it
entirely?
~Tonya

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Msrebug - 06 Oct 2003 23:56 GMT

My cat had it too as a kitten. The vet gave me a topical cream to put on the
spots 2 times a day for 2 to 3 weeks, or until it was gone, and it did go away
but you have to be vigilant about putting the medicine on. I got a spot too,
and no big deal - I bought a fungicide at the drugstore for ringworm (ask the
pharmacist) and it went away after a long time, but it did no harm. Just be
sure you use the medicine as directed.

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Sunflower - 07 Oct 2003 03:15 GMT

> any advice is appreciated. Monte, a 4 month old Persian kitten, is our first
> family kitten. Unfortunately, when we took him to his first vet's visit we
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> entirely?
> ~Tonya

Ringworm is pretty contagious. It's certainly a big deal, because it's one
of the few conditions that can be communicated to humans quite easily, as
you've discovered. There are various oral anti fungal medications out there
that you should discuss with your vet, especially since it doesn't seem to
be getting better with the topical treatment. One of the oral medications
combined with topical treatment and sanitizing the environment with bleach
should help. I'm concerned that you are allowing the cat to have full
access to your home and thereby spreading the spores throughout it for
possible reinfection later. Confining the cat to a easily disinfected room
like a bathroom or laundry room for the duration of the treatment is a good
idea. The following link has good basic information about how to deal with
ringworm, albeit in a shelter environment which isn't quite the home
situation, but the basics of treatment and santization still apply.
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/CCAH/Prog-ShelterMed/pdfs/ringworm.pdf

Sunflower

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-L. - 07 Oct 2003 09:09 GMT

> any advice is appreciated. Monte, a 4 month old Persian kitten, is our first
> family kitten. Unfortunately, when we took him to his first vet's visit we
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> at this point to keep this from spreading any further and to get rid of it
> entirely?

Some lines of Persians - particularly in California - suffer from
chronic ringworm. Your vet was very wrong to tell you that you could
not catch it. You have to disinfect every place the cat sleeps. The
only good cure I know of for cats is Program (the flea medication) -
the dosage is 44mg/lb of body weight administered every mointh for two
months, and then give the cat the regular dose monthly thereafter as a
preventative. Program works by inhibiting chitin which is a major
compnent in the fungus' cell wall. Buy the dog tablets, crush them
and mix them with tuna - so much easier to administer than the feline
liquid. You can buy them online at 1-800-petmeds.com, but they are
typically an Rx drug.

As for you, the only thing that got rid of ringworm on me when I got
it from my kitten was Lotrimin gel - and an oral antifungal agent.
After four months, both cats getting it, and me getting it - and $1200
in vet and doctor bills, we were all cured. This was before the days
of Program, though. Ringworm is a bear to get rid of.

-L.

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