Ringworm in multiple cat household - update 9/27

[Lizzie]

As many of you know, ReachoutRescue is dealing with 3 kittens with ringworm. I just found out this morning that I have one kitten with ringworm, and myself. The kitten went into immediate isolation and I've taken the morning off work in order to start a major laundry and housecleaning, and take the kitten and his siblings to the vet. I can see from the web sites I've visited that treatment is quite a long haul for cats. I also found out that the drug I was given years ago is no longer available to cats, due to commercial reasons! I don't want to imagine this going through my household, I would feel that I was going mad.

My only experiences with ringworm have been when I had only one cat, and when I fostered a cat that I knew ahead of time had the infection and I practiced isolation nursing on him immediately. Have any of you dealt with this where you found one cat in a multiple cat household has ringworm? Did you treat all the others even if they were symptom free? Did cats who didn't have any or had little contact with the infected cat get ringworm?

[catnapper]

I know Jen had it last year. She's at work now, but I'm sure she'll be happy to tell you about her ringworm woes. You might do a search to find out too - she posted a lot on here about it.

[Laura's Babies]

The only experience I have with them is I had out of state company one time that brought her cat... After she went home she called to tell me her cat had them and to watch my cats... I already had one on my leg and couldn't figure out where I got it from but my cats didn't get them and I think she was there about a week with her cat.

[kuhio98]

Yeppers, it was Jen who had 20+ cats to treat.
From Jen's threads, it sounds like you're in for a world of fun....

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=89048&highlight=ringworm

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=89247&highlight=ringworm

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=92314&highlight=ringworm

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=95283&highlight=ringworm

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=97071&highlight=ringworm

[Lizzie]

Swear! Swear! Curse! Curse! Double Curse!

I just read through the posts from Jen, thank you Lisa.

I just stripped the living room of comforters, throws, blankets, cushions, pillows, etc. and the mound filled the shower staff in the bathroom where I have my washing machine. I've always had loads of comforting soft stuff for the cats to snuggle into and now I'm really going to be paying the price. I will spray clean surfaces as much as I can before I leave for work, not Clorox which I don't have because the smell makes me retch. That kitten has been everywhere, but eveywhere, never keeps still. The vet doesn't have an opening until 3:20pm and I have to go work since my boss is out on vacation and was relying on my being there every day while she is out. I was about to say that it never rains, but it pours when I looked out of the window, and there it is - raining!

If the ringworm has spread to downstairs via me, then I don't know what I'm going to do because I have three barely social ferals there.

I don't know where the ringworm came from since I've had the kittens for about 6 weeks, but the fungus is everywhere so I could have brought it into the house.

[Killearn Kitties]

Very best of luck in dealing with it. It sounds an awful lot of work.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

My cats had ringworm too! A few weeks after we brought Zazou home from the shelter, Inka and Maya got ringworm. Zazou was a carrier!! My hubby also had 2 spots on his cheek!
I had to give all 3 cats bath , every 5 days (4 times!! :eek: )

Those baths were a real nightmare ...
http://users.pandora.be/bernardgabriels/images/bad3.jpg
http://users.pandora.be/bernardgabriels/images/bad4.jpg
http://users.pandora.be/bernardgabriels/images/bad6.jpg

Have fun....

[Lizzie]

Thanks, everyone, for telling me about your living nightmares and rather gleefully looking forward to me posting pictures of multiple wet cats!! Well, I wondered how I was going to lose that last 10 pounds that seemed to be sitting around my middle and not wanting to budge, guess it will all go from cleaning and cat baths. I'm not going to do this alone, even though it will cost me. I know a tech who can subdue any cat and I will hire her to come and help me. I'd rather lose the money than my arms.

[jenluckenbach]

I feel SO bad for you, but I made it through and so shall you.

Program flea tablets! (http://www.petvetdirect.com/home.asp?display=full&cid=155&itemid=NOVPROD90x2&itemname=Program+Flavor+Tabs+46%2D90lbs%2D++YEAR+S UPPLY)

1 large dog sized tablet per cat. They are palatable and 9 out of 10 will simply eat it. (broken up into about 4 pieces) Or mix with food for the subborn ones. Or just pop the pieces like any other pill.

So hopefully your ferals will enjoy the taste and just EAT it!

Wash your hands with Betadine!! Soap and water is not enough.

Bathe any cat with lesions. Malaseb shampoo (http://www.healthypets.com/malsham12ozb.html) once a week for a month.

[jenluckenbach]

Any type of fungal (over the counter) cream "for athelte's foot/jock itch" on all lesions twice a day for a month.

Bleach is the only cleaner that will kill the fungus/spores. So even though I understand how you feel about the smell (and believe me I DO!) bleach all hard surfaces! over and over again! :(

[emily_the_spoiled]

They have bleach products that don't smell like regular bleach. I wonder if those would do the trick for you?

[Lizzie]

In order to use bleach, I'd have to wear a ventilator night and day, which would scare the cats and be very uncomfortable to sleep in. I will order a grapefruit seed extract product online, it's very concentrated and I will have to hope it will work.

As I looked down at my three purchases at the PCC checkout today, I had to smile. Heavy duty cleaner to spray on the furniture and carpets. A lime (20c cheaper than a lemon) for juice to put on my ringworm. And a box of chocolate chip cookies to help me cope. Tea, cookies and PT to help me through the coming miseries and frustrations, which is much better than facing this alone.

[Reachoutrescue]

Good luck Lizzie! I am having a heck of a time here! My vet gave me Miconazole...an antifungal cream...I am almost low so I went to walgreens and picked up som Clotrimazole...generic for Lotrimin. I asked the pharmacist if it was just like Miconazole, she said yes. So you should try that. Just make sure you wear rubber gloves while appling it or when touching your cat. Trust me I know how you feel!! The vet said it can take months to heal ringworm, and it can come back. I hope you and I make it through this...unsick!

[Lizzie]

I just called my vet's office to ask the tech if she will be available to come and help me with baths and found out that they don't recommend full baths, especially on kittens, unless they have lesions all over. They scrub the area with chlorhexidine, apply a topical anti-fungal, and prescribe an oral anti-fungal.

There are two things about this that are upsetting me far more than the work, etc. One is that Cattulus will be separated from his brother for at least a month, and those two are very closely bonded. He's also an intensely loving and sociable cat, so isolation is going to be hard on him. Of course, his brother may get it too and I'm having all 3 kittens checked this afternoon.

The other is that I can't take in Beans or Leda until the house is clear. :(

[rg_girlca]

Oh No Lizzie, not you too. Poor you. Prayers on the way that it clears up soon and that no other kitties get it.

[critters]

1 large dog sized tablet per cat. They are palatable and 9 out of 10 will simply eat it. (broken up into about 4 pieces) LOL. My monsters didn't read that book--only 1 of them will just snarf it. The others, however, don't mind if they're crushed and mixed into canned food.

I haven't finished all the posts, but bleach is your friend!!

[doolittleky]

Lizzie, It has been so long ago when I had it with my multianiaml household that i don't remember it so clearly as the ones that have had it recently. I do remember how expensive it was for me because i had to treat all my animals( cats and dogs) with Fulvicin which is very expensive. They were on it for over a month and maybe longer. I was jsut about to see if my doctor at the time would prescribe it to me so i could get it cheaper since it was costing me so much from the vet. About that time I finally got rid of it. I also used Conafite as the topical. I was very lucky that I didn't get it when they had it because i was always rubbing my face all over them. I did have it after that once when I had a smaller outbreak and I just used the conafite on it and it went away.

Good luck. I know it is very frustrating!
Melissa

[Lizzie]

I just spent the last two hours at the vet with all three kittens then had to leave them in their carriers in my car while I set up a room for them. I feel really terrible that I had to move my frail and very elderly Ginger into a smaller bedroom, out of the room she's pretty much lived in for months. She lost her lovely long low sofa too, where she could eat as well as sleep. But I couldn't put three very active kittens in the smaller bedroom for a month, that would have been cruel also. There was no perfect solution. Anyway, I had to clean Ginger's new bedroom thoroughly first, put in new bedding and move her over. Then clean her room and set it up for the kittens.

After discussion with the vet, we decided that it was safer to treat all three kittens, even though two of them show no sign of ring worm. Better to treat them all, even though the medication can be hard on the liver, than discover just as Cattulus is almost well that the other two have signs of it. I will check all the other cats daily, looking for signs. They are all much older, so not in the most vulnerable category, and have survived years in a shelter.

Clean, treat, check and hope. Time for a cuppa and one of those cookies.

[catmandu]

Knock on Wood, noringworms at the Found Cat hotel.
Good luck with your Cats.

[kimlovescats]

Here is a bit I found online:
Ringworm is a fungus, and not a worm. While mildly contagious to humans, ringworm isn't as bad as many people think, so don't panic! Ringworm is not dangerous to cats, or to humans except for young children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems. It typically appears as a roundish bald spot commonly found around a cat's face, ears, head, paws, and tail accompanied by scabby, reddish or grayish welts.

Common treatments include twice or more daily applications of over-the-counter anti-fungal creams to the affected spots. An Anti-flea medication called Program® (Lufenuron) may also be effective in treating Ringworm, but its use is "off label". Your vet can ask the manufacturer (Novartis) to fax the studies and dosage information. Lime dips, and other prescribed medications may be worth reserving for more serious cases.

In humans, ringworm looks like round reddish welts. Avoid sun exposure to the welts, and apply anti-fungal cream on and around the welts at least twice a day. Consult your doctor if you're concerned or if the welts are spreading.

.................

I had a small ringworm outbreak in my kennel a few years back, I gave a few baths, applied some spray anti-fungal on some areas, anti-fungal creams on others, and let it run its course. I know many people panic over it, but it's not all that bad .... ugly, but not harmful or life-threatening. I would much rather have a ringworm outbreak than a coccidia outbreak!!!!

Good luck, and try not to stress too much over this!

Hugs,
Kim

[Lizzie]

The problem is, I do have cats with compromised immune systems - my FIV+ boys, and so I really need to battle the infection. If I didn't have them, I would be more laid back about the problem.

You raise an interesting question though and I'm going to post a new thread in Cat Health asking why people who have cats with healthy immune systems treat ringworm since the medication can damage the liver, and have other side effects.

[kimlovescats]

The problem is, I do have cats with compromised immune systems - my FIV+ boys, and so I really need to battle the infection. If I didn't have them, I would be more laid back about the problem.

You raise an interesting question though and I'm going to post a new thread in Cat Health asking why people who have cats with healthy immune systems treat ringworm since the medication can damage the liver, and have other side effects.

You are right, with the FIV+ kitties I would be more concerned with the outbreak having more of an affect on them! My vet told me about the liver and kidney risks with the medication, so I opted to try local treatment and thankfully that was all I needed!

[Reachoutrescue]

Lizzie, I know what you are going through...I have three kits here with ringworm. I am worried my boys are going to get it....let's hope we are in the clear. Keep me posted, and I will do the same.

[Lizzie]

After a lot of thought, and after seeing that two of the kittens are having rather loose stools, I decided to wait on giving the oral medication and treat topically for now. I accidentally left the shampoo at the vet's last night so tonight was the first application - not easy because the lesions are very close to the top and side of his eye. Then I had to apply Conofite which really stung him. He now has a second small lesion above his left eye and a bloody mark in his ear - so back to the vet to check on that tomorrow. I'm checking everyone in the household each evening and have found no ringworm on any of the other cats so far, but it's early days yet.

My own lesion is clearing up nicely with the lime juice and aloe vera treatment. I must remember to buy betadine or a chlorhexidine soap tomorrow, and some soft gloves to wear in this isolation room, my hands are already red and sore from constant washing.

[smokey the elder]

I had an outbreak 3 years ago. My vet prescribed Program (high dose, I forget what it was) and Trezaderm for the spots. It took about 2 months to clear up. One of the kittens never got it, even though she was in with two infected kittens.

[Lizzie]

I brought up Program with my vet since so many PT'ers had mentioned it and he said it didn't really help. I wish I could use lime juice and aloe vera on Cattulus as well as myself but, besides being "alternative" medicine that I don't mind experimenting with on myself but believe I shouldn't on a cat, the poor kitten would literally go up the wall if I put lime juice on the open lesions.

[Reachoutrescue]

I really hope all goes well for you Lizzie. I hope I do not get that as well. Yes, I beileve the kit would go bonkers if you were to put lime juice on the wounds...but then again, it may work. My mom used to use lemon juice on my cuts and scrapes as a kid....it hurt, but the wound was better in a day or two. Crazy huh? Good luck hun.

[kimlovescats]

I've heard / read of other "home remedies" as well .... one of which is to put a small dab of BLEACH on the spot!!! :eek: :eek: You think lime juice would burn????? :rolleyes: Don't think I would want to burn my kitties with bleach! Again, all I can stress is try not to stress .... even if you do nothing, it will clear up on its own! ;)

[Lizzie]

Tracy - you may well not get it. My vet told me he'd handled hudreds of cases in both cats and dogs, some very severe, and all bare handed but he'd never got it himself. I think I am prone since I got it on my arm from my first cat about 30 years ago, and now this one.

Kim - I'm working on it all but not stressing. When I checked online, I found out that the reason it's bad for FIV+ cats to get ringworm is because they can't take the oral medication, so that made me feel better since I've decided that I prefer the topical approach. I may, of course, be proved very wrong in my approach. It's difficult dealing with something that you can't see even though you can see the results.

[Reachoutrescue]

Tracy - you may well not get it. My vet told me he'd handled hudreds of cases in both cats and dogs, some very severe, and all bare handed but he'd never got it himself. I think I am prone since I got it on my arm from my first cat about 30 years ago, and now this one.


I know I may not...I hope not! But I worry for my boys. I am takinmg every precaution!

[kimlovescats]

I truly feel for both of you ladies having to deal with this! Maybe I was just very fortunate in the past to not have too bad of a case of it. I did however get one small spot on myself, and the OTC cream zapped that for me with no problem! GOOD LUCK!!

(((HUGS))) ... with gloves ;)
Kim

[Reachoutrescue]

(((HUGS))) ... with gloves ;)
Kim

I have gone through so many gloves! It is crazy!! Thanks for the protected hug though!!

[doolittleky]

I am glad that you ahven't found anyone else that has it yet. Hopefully no one else will get it and you will get yourself and your babies all cleared up.
Melissa

[jenluckenbach]

When we had ringworm here, VERY few actually got it. But it was not gone after the first "round" of medication. :(

I never got it, but Charlie got a small spot. It went away really fast on him.

[kuhio98]

Lizzie ~ How goes the battle?

[Lizzie]

Thank you for asking, Lisa. I'm sitting in the isolation room now and have just finished a battle with Cattulus who desperately wants to wrap himself like a boa around my neck and head as he used to - the reason I got ringworm under my chin. He wasn't happy with simple lap fussing so got up in the window - aaargh! now he's back and climbing me again. His ringworm spread a little to another spot on the left side of his head but both places are starting to respond to topical treatment. The one on the right side of his head is the most difficult to treat because it runs right down to his eyelid and it's hard to treat right to the edge without getting stuff in his eye. I keep checking the other kittens who are clear so far. So are all the other cats.

Keeping up with cleaning is a nightmare (Cattulus just stuck his head in my tea, so that's out) and my hands have reacted badly to the combination of lots of washing and latex gloves by becoming lumpy and inflamed all over the backs. I try to change the comforter and throws on the kittens' sofa every day which means two hot washes each night. I've finally got through all the initial laundry of every pillow, cushion, cover, tablecloth, etc. from upstairs and I'm using the minimum, locking away the extras dowstairs and, hopefully, away from the spores. I suppose in a way it's fortunate that Ashley, Cattulus' sister, keeps using the carpet as her litter box since I'm having to throw it out piece by piece which means the spores are going out with it. Unfortunately, only plywood lies beneath (Yuk! I just took a swallow of tea before I remembered Catullus had his head in it. Can you get ringworm inside? :eek: )

All I can do is keep cleaning, keep using isolation techniques, and hope that we are lucky.

[Reachoutrescue]

Oh, LIzzie....I hear you!! I am so frustrated! Sampson, the orange and white Olney kitten who started out the ringworm....well his ringworm has spread onto his paws. Lola, another ringworm victim, it has spread under her neck and to her back paws. And Luna, yet another victim, it has spread badly all over her head, back of neck and front inner leg. The sores are drying up from the meds, but they keep spreading!! I am so aggrivated! What do I do next?!?!?

[Catty1]

Lizzie - I have seen latex-free medical gloves...are there any around your area?

Poor you!

I hope all is well SOON!

HUGS

[Lizzie]

I would suggest that you ask your vet to prescribe the oral meds but they are expensive and you are already strapped. If they can stop the spread faster though, it might be less expensive than it spreading. Do you have the three infected ones in isolation? You must be concerned that the three that are to be spayed/neutered in a few weeks don't get it. I lay in bed this morning thinking about all the money pouring out of me into this cat and that and wondering what I was doing, and the conclusion I reached was that I wasn't sorry for any of it, I've done what I felt I needed to do and I'll cope with the consequences.

Edited to respond to Catty1's post. I'm going to Bartells pharmacy soon to look at different gloves. I know I need to buy some cotton ones that I can wear in this room so that I don't have to wash my hands every time I come in and leave. I don't usually have a reaction to latex, only when my hands are getting chapped from washing and I have to have gloves on long enough for my hands to get damp inside. The Kiss My Face hand cream I've been using doesn't seem to help at all so I've switched to pure aloe vera. At night, I wake up every few hours with my hands burning and itching like crazy and find that I'm scratching them in my sleep - so I'll wear gloves at night.

[jenluckenbach]

Lizzie - I have seen latex-free medical gloves...are there any around your area?

HUGS
Yes, I have seen those too.

good luck with the continued treatment.

[Lizzie]

Work (of the paid variety) has finally leveled out to somewhat normal, so I can now post and update. I really wanted to update this thread so that Tracy of Reach out Rescue can get some online support because I know she's going through a much worse time of it than I am. Her most recent post, 9/24, on another thread stated that she had 3 more kittens with ringworm and I know she has a triple case of it herself. I can't imagine coping with that. I know I've become shorter tempered with the kittens as I treat them each evening, holding them down more firmly as I scrub and soak their heads, hoping against hope that the lesions will go away soon, please, very soon. My greatest fear is still that Ashley will get it at this point so the isolation and re-infectoin will go on and on. The floor is now laid mostly with black plastic as Ashley has destroyed ever more carpet and all three kittens are bouncing off the walls with boredom, especially since I had to discard all their soft toys, flutter wands, etc.

So, Tracy, how are you coping? Are any of the kittens that had ringworm originally cleared of it yet? Were you able to put the kittens on oral med or have you decided against it?

[kimlovescats]

Just want to send some (((((((((HUGS)))))))) of encouragement to both Lizzie and Tracy, "this too shall pass"!!! ;)

Kim

[Reachoutrescue]

So, Tracy, how are you coping? Are any of the kittens that had ringworm originally cleared of it yet? Were you able to put the kittens on oral med or have you decided against it?

Well, I have not put them on oral...it was so hard just to give them the meds for there URIs. I decided to just deal with the ointments. Well, the first three that had it are doing better. Two of them are healed, but poor Luna, the tortie has gotten it again. I also found lessions on three more kits, so now there are 7 in all that have it! Wow is me! Mine are getting better faster then expected. They do not itch anymore. I fear getting more in other parts though. Icess is quickly recovering. I think he may have some scarring from him scratching. But that is okay, my mom said she will love him anyway! I know how you feel Lizzie...I am so stressed about it! Sometimes I just want to scream! But I just grin and bear it! I will post an update with ebay links soon. It has been very hectic here. I have not forgotten you guys at PT though. Sorry to be such a stranger. Talk to y'all soon.

[Freedom]

I can't even imagine what you are dealing with. I took in a stray kitten in July 2005, and she had 2 spots of this on her head. She was 2 pounds of energy. All I remember is giving her baths twice a day, putting on ointment, and I think oral meds. It seems to go on forever, but was cleared up in about 3 weeks. Had to make a rush trip to the vet's one morning when I got the special shampoo in her eyes and she held them shut tight for over 5 mintues. Forturnately her eyes were OK. None of the others in the house ever got it. I found dealing with ONE a bit overwhelming! Good luck to you and the cats, get healed up soon!