EEK! ringworm!

[HowieDawn]

My sister took her cat to the vet yesterday. Poor little kitty has ringworm. I take my 3 cats to see her 3 cats often. (to socialize.) Anyway, I think that my cats may have it. Actually, i am pretty sure that they do. Gina has this spot behind her ear (size of a penny) that i have been putting neosporan (Spelling?) on for a week now. I just thought that she had scratched her ear or something. Is this ring worm? I have bought shampoo for it. It says to bathe the cat once a week for 4 weeks. ($25 yuck)

How did the cats get ringworm? is it easy to get rid of? They don't seem to be bothered by it. Am i over reacting....any info would be helpful

Thanks

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails, Explore, Dream.
-Mark Twain

[Karen]

Best bring your kitties to the vet - ringworm IS contagious, but at least there are no "worms" actually involved. If they do have it, you vet can reccomend what's best - see http://www.fabcats.org/is25.html for a good description, and lots of information.

[HowieDawn]

that was helpful, thanks. Those poor kitties..the ones pictured, they looked awful. Karen, do you personally know anything about ringworm, or do you have any past experiences with it?

There was another forum...about a bunny having a spot on it's ear. The vet said that this is usually where it starts with animals.

[Karen]

I have, thankfully, had no personal or pet-sonal experience with it, so I only know what I've read. Closest I've come was we had one dog who'd get what was basically a heat rash in the summer, which wasn't fun, but wasn't serious, either.

[4 feline house]

Howiedawn, I'm almost embarrassed to say this, but I have personal experience - not only did my old guy Zebo get it once, but I've had it! And let me tell you, the best reason to get rid of it off your kitties is to keep from getting it yourself! It is very itchy! Ringworm is actually a fungus, the "tinea" fungus which is the same one that causes athlete's foot and um, er, "male" itch. If you ever get it, Tinactin, Lotrimin, etc should take care of it. If it won't go away after a few weeks, or if you have any underlying immune-suppressing conditions (which is why I frequently get it) you may need a pill called Fulvicin. But if you think your kitties have it they will have to go to the vet because it is never a good idea to use human medicine on a pet without first seeking advice from your vet, because many of the inactive ingredients in people medicine is toxic to pets. But they will get essentially the same medicine. You will know you have it because small, red, scaly, intensely itchy spots will start appearing on your skin. As the fungus spreads, the original infection will die as it spreads outward, which will cause the "rings" that give it its name. In a bad infection, the rings will generally not form, the marks will just get larger. In your cats, though, you will not usually see a ring pattern, you will just see spots of hair loss with a scaly look to the skin. Rarely, the spots will look like sores. If this is what your cats have, and your vet says it's not ringworm because the sores aren't dry, insist on the black-light test to make sure. Zebo was misdiagnosed because his spots were sores instead of being dry and scaly. Ringworm is really not all that common in cats anymore due to better environments, general health, and nutrition. Mostly kittens, badly cared for cats, or immune-suppressed cats get it. But, like Zebo and your guys, any cat OR human can get it.

As far as it usually appearing on the ears first, I'm not aware of that, but it may be true. Oh, also, STOP the neosporin because that may be further upsetting the balance of the natural flora (fungus, yeast, bacteria) that beneficially reside on your cat's skin. And get them to the vet ASAP because it is contagious! Good luck with them!

[HowieDawn]

I will be getting them to the vet ASAP. Do you remember what kind of medication they were on or how much it cost? My sister got a circle on her leg. The doctor told her to put monistat on it. Since it is a fungus fighting medication. She got a medication that costs $100 per cat for a month!

[4 feline house]

Howiedawn - that seems like a really steep price - it has been many years since Zebo had it - he's been at the rainbow bridge for about 5 years now, and he was a young guy when he had it. But I really don't remember it being very expensive. Unless they are having to take the Fulvicin - the people variety of the pill can be a little pricey - but unless they have it really bad or are immune compromized I can't imagine why the vet would have put them on it. But, like I said, it's been probably 15 - 20 years since Zebo had it, so the price of it may have soared like everything else. I know I had to get some Lotrimin for myself (us diabetics get alot of skin fungal infections) just a couple of months ago and I was surprised at how expensive it was getting. But I still would have been surprised at any more than $100 per month total. I hope she can find it cheaper somewhere if cost is a problem and it's not cleared up within that month.

[HowieDawn]

did you try shampoo first, or go directly to medication?

[wolflady]

4 feline, thanks for the good info! At least you're not alone, because I've gotten the fungus too. Did you know you can use the cream that people use for athlete's foot on the spots?
As far as experience with cats getting it, the only experience I've had is at the cat rescue where I do volunteer work. We have a room full of healthy cats, and a separate room full of cats with ailments. These are the cats that we see last, so we don't spread any of the ailments. We have had an outbreak of ringworm. I've never seen it so bad, but yes...it usually shows up first on the face. One of the poor kittens at the rescue has it so bad that he is almost completely bald. I don't think the medication should be as expensive your sister paid, Howie. I could be mistaken though. For the cats that have ringworm at our rescue, we use 2 different topical medications plus an oral medication. All three are for the really bad cases like the little kitten. He's doing really well, and we're all hoping that he'll get through this tough time!!!

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"In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats." - English proverb

[4 feline house]

Poor little bald guy. I hope he's not too miserable.

[4 feline house]

Howie-just realized I somehow missed your question before I posted a minute ago - but I am not aware of any shampoo for tinea for people or for cats. This must be something new. I would be reluctant to use a shampoo on a cat for tinea unless it was highly recommended by my vet, though, because it would have to be used every day for what may be weeks, and cats should not be bathed that often - in fact, not at all unless they get into something or have matting long hair, or some other such condition that can endanger their health. So, to answer your question, no, I have not had any experience with a shampoo for ringworm.

[HowieDawn]

well, i got the shampoo. I am required to bathe them once a week for four weeks. They said that this should do the trick.

I have another question for you. How often should or shouldn't you bathe your cats. Our cats get bathed once a month. I have two long haired cats and one short haired. I do brush them every day.

[HowieDawn]

[/B] [/QUOTE] . They have 'dry shampoos' that avoids the ordeal of bathing at least some of the time. I would like to know more about dry shampoos.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Spencer. I went to www.healthypets.com . They sell a "dry shampoo" The address is http://store.yahoo.com/healthypetscom/quikwatsham8.html for the waterless shampoo. They have a program where you can speak with a live person to help you with their products. You may want to go there yourself and ask any questions that you have. Here is the discussion that we had.

OH SHOOT! I COPIED THE CONVERSATION AND THEN WHEN I WENT TO GET THE ADDRESS I COPIED IT AND PASTED AND THEN IT WAS GONE. basically she just said what the web page said. "QuikClean Waterless shampoo for dogs and cats allows you to shampoo without wetting or rinsing your pet. Tearless with optical brighteners, lanolin-enriched. Contains no harsh chemicals, leaves no irritating residue, is pH balanced and mild." She said that it is still better to use the old soap and water. But this will do the job.

[4 feline house]

Howiedawn - I hope this doesn't turn into another declawing post, because cat bathing can be controversial. First of all, remember that cats groom excessively and are some of the cleanest animals on earth. Also, let me say that occasional bathing is often necessary, such as, like in your case, medicated shampoos are being administered, or when a cat gets a harmful substance on their coat, etc. Alot of breeders and showers bathe frequently, especially if their wares are the long-haired variety. Notice I said wares, because to alot (NOT ALL) of breeders, that is all their cats are: merchandise. To that end, they want the cat to look its best, regardless of whether or not it is in the cat's best interest. Of course, they won't do anything to make their cats damaged goods, because that defeats the purpose, which only adds to the controversy. But most vets discourage frequent bathing as detrimental to a cat's sensitive skin. A shampooed, blow dried Persian, Maine Coon, or Angora can look stunning, but underneath he can have itchy, dry skin from the loss of the natural moisturizing skin oils. I want to repeat, I am not saying never bathe your cat. But it is my opinion (and only an opinion, I admit) that bathing willy-nilly is not a good idea. It should be done only when necessary for defleaing, removing mats and excessive dirt, removing substances that the cat has gotten into that may harm the cat as he grooms, etc. If you feel that you must bathe occasionally anyway, the frequency you decide on should take into consideration your cat's age, health, diet (balanced with lots of essential fatty acids) and environment (dry or moist). So! Now that I put that out, feel free to disagree with me!

[Logan]

Is it just terrible if you don't bathe your cats?? I don't think I would survive it. Mimi is almost 12 now, and I must admit that her first and only bath was when she was a little over six weeks old. I wouldn't dare even try to bathe Butter. I have enough wounds from just trying to pet or brush him to prove it just wouldn't work.
Am I a terrible mom?? They are fastidious bathers and look wonderful. Am I fooling myself?