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!