It's RINGWORM!!!!!

[kimlovescats]

Oh dear, here we go again!!!! I took four of the kittens in to the vet today .... 3 of them (Timmy .... the guilty one who started this , Duncan, and Newton) who all have signs of Ringworm, and Casper for his recurring eye infections!

My vet gave me two tubes of a better eye ointment to try .... and he had to call a local Drug Store Pharmacy to get the oral medication for the Ringworm treatment. The one bottle of this medicine cost me $130.00 !!! Yep, and it's in a glass bottle, no pressure there! Each of the kittens (or anyone else who may start showing ringworm) will get 1cc or more (for adult cats) of this medicine per day for 1 1/2 to 2 MONTHS!!!! Plus they have to be bathed in a special medicated shampoo once or twice a week!

Ok.... now for the "fun trip" from the vets office to the drug store to home again. (All about a 45 minute drive)
As soon as we left the vets office, someone pooped a big smushy poo poo in the kennel. OK...let's see if I can paint this picture for you. Four kittens in one small carrier with soft STINKY poop sliding all around for 45 minutes in a small car. Of course, then you add 4 kittens frantically digging their feet and desperately trying to climb out of the crapmobile for 45 minutes. NEED I SAY MORE?

Thank GOD for my fenced back yard! I put the kennel at the FAR end of the yard and released the gate and let four crap-covered irate kitties run out into the grass! OK... are you starting to get the idea here?

Anyway, one by one I brought each rancid kitten in and bathed them .... first with the sprayer just to removed the stinkin' mess... then a good bath with the medicated shampoo. THen each got new eye medication for good measure and a towel buffing and then kenneled on a big warm quilt in the quarantine kennel.

Oh, did I mention I have ringworm on my FACE too?


Kim
"the glutten for punishment"

[sasvermont]

Kim, it is common for cats to get ringworm. When I brought Juni home, the breeder gave me something called "Program" , I think, that you put in the cats' food once a month, to treat and ward off evil ringworm. I will try to do some searches for you, to see if I have the right drug/treatment in mind. The breeder said that one new cat that she brought into her breeder group, was a carrier of ringworm and two of the house kittens got it. Juni did not, but the breeder had the whole house on the treatment, just in case.

Your story is so priceless. I cannot imagine it being funny, but it certainly did give me the total visual/aromatic picture - and then some.

You poor baby, Kim. You will get paid back in heaven, I promise.

L,

SAS

[Logan]

I "saw" it just fine, Jen, from a distance!!!! You have my deepest sympathy!!!!!!

[jazzcat]

Oh Kim, I'm so sorry. I was really afraid it was ringworm from your description yesterday. I went through it with Jazz last year and had a scare of it last week with Scout (luckily her bald spot was a reaction to a treatment of Revolution).

I have to say bless your heart and you have my sympathies. I had to buy the oral medication from a pharmacy too. The only place that mixes it around here is 30 miles away so I had them mail it to me. It cost me $25 a bottle and I had to order it twice. I didn't do the weekly baths but I did have to put dermalone ointment on her spots every day for about 4-5 weeks on top of giving her the nastiest smelling oral medication around. It smelled like stinky cut grass.

My husband also got a spot on his forehead and in a moment of desperation he put a chlorine tablet from the swimming pool on it for about a minute and it disappeared the next day. I can't recommend it as a safe thing to do but it did work. Also, the lady at the shelter where I got Jazz told me she would put Clorox bleach on a Q-tip and rub it on any ringworm spots she got to get rid of them quickly.

Good luck and I'd love to get updates on the treatment. You tell a story well, I almost felt like I was there.

[NoahsMommy]

Oh no!!! You'll have to forgive me for laughing, you DO tell a good story.

You poor thing....just think, this'll be a story you can tell for years to come.

Hang in there, you're doing WONDERFUL things. Those kittens have a wonderful life. I think I'd like to live with you too, even with ringworm, I'd get a nice bath and a warm quilt to snuggle up with.

[Barbara]

Oh Kim, what an ordeal that day must have been -and you still tell it so that we have a good laugh out of it.

Giving medication to 4 kitties for more than 6 weeks would give me quite the horror. I hope Sas' idea will help to reduce this.

I hope that you keep your humour. I admire people like you sooo much. Anyway give little Timmy a scritchie. I remember how pityful he looked in his first pix and am sure he is much much better now.

[Miss Meow]

Originally posted by kimlovescats
... Of course, then you add 4 kittens frantically digging their feet and desperately trying to climb out of the crapmobile for 45 minutes. NEED I SAY MORE?

Holy Batman, not the Crapmobile!

Oh no, a house full of moth-eaten kitties

I hate any type of fungus, and I really hate ringworm. When you see your babies losing their fur, remember that the tide will turn, and they will conquer the dreaded fungus! I think six weeks is the normal timeframe when their bodies start fighting it and you will win the battle.

When Mini and Jasmine had ringworm, a vet recommended the flea treatment with Lufenuron as the active ingredient (I can't remember the brand name). It didn't stop the existing patches, but seemed to halt the start of new bald spots. Apparently it doesn't kill fleas, but flea babies died soon after birth and can't reproduce, and it does the same with the ringworm spores.

Have fun vacuuming, disinfecting, bathing, vacuuming, disinfecting, bathing, vacuuming etc etc I feel very sorry for you.

[sasvermont]

Hope this information helps, Kim!

Keep us posted!

[K & L]

Oh Kim, I was afraid of that! What a Saint you are. Hang in there it get's better!

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear it's ringworm, but at least you know what it is and can treat it, so I guess that's the little bit of good news in this whole story. Hopefully since you've got the kittens in quarantine it will not spread to the others.

And yes, I have to admit, I had to laugh at your story too. Even though you weren't laughing at the time, I bet if you come back in about 3 months time and re-read this, you'll laugh too. You do tell a story well.

Holy Batman, not the Crapmobile!

[moosmom]

Kim,

You poor thing! First the URI and now eye infections and ringworm. Well, at least you haven't lost your sense of humor. I was laughing my butt off (crapmobile is what did it ).

I had a kitten that had ringworm quite a while ago. She was only about 2 months old and I had to keep her isolated for what seemed like forever!!! I treated it with a topical cream used for athelete's foot. Poor kitty lost all the hair on both ears. But she survived.

My daughter got ringworm when she was in the hospital for her brain cancer. The nurse's applied an ointment on it 3 times a day till it was gone. I hope it goes away for you real soon!!!

Hang in there, toots!!

((((((hugs))))))))))

[krazyaboutkatz]

Kim, I'm so sorry to hear that your cats have ringworm. Hopefully it won't spread to your others cats and it will disappear very soon. Please take care.

[jenluckenbach]

Oh my, when it rains it pours! But that usually means that there is a rainbow in the future. What a time you have had. Great big HUGS coming your way. Hang in there.

[smokey the elder]

My cats were attacked by the evil dermatophyte. My vet prescribed Program both for those who had it and prophylactically for those who didn't. I also discovered a wonder med called Trezaderm. This stuff works gangbusters. It also works for ear mites. Trezaderm has much better tox profile than Conafite. I'm not sure why the meds cost $130. Be careful about some of the ringworm meds; some can be quite toxic. Program has the virtue of being very low toxicity, and the cats like the treat-like pills.

The best bet is to isolate anyone with active ringworm together, vacuum the heck out of anywhere they were in the general population, and watch the general pop. for spots and have the Trezaderm handy. Not everyone will get it. I have three kittens in the same room: two got it and one didn't.

Good luck!

[rg_girlca]

Oh Kim, I'm so sorry to hear about this. There has to be a light at the end of the tunnel for you once all of this is over with.
Big huggies for you Kim. Hang in there.