RINGWORM at the Sirrah house...argh updated 4/11/07

**sirrahbed** · 04-04-2007, 08:30 PM

No, the vet did not use the light on Emily. He did not think it was ringworm at the time but took a slide of skin cells and plucked hairs to culture. That was 2-3 weeks ago. The skin looks normal and healthy - no redness, sores or scabs. There are the two places on each side of her belly and on the backside of her rear foot.

I agree with you on the drug company problem - so frustrating that folks have to pay what is charged. She has not had any medicine yet because she won't eat! We got her an assortment of things to tempt her - oily tuna, baby food, toddler meat sticks, wet catfood. But, at least she has come out of exile and snuggled onto my lap.

I marked the calendar for baths every four days. Thanks Catlady711

**Catlady711** · 04-04-2007, 08:59 PM

Originally Posted by sirrahbed

I agree with you on the drug company problem - so frustrating that folks have to pay what is charged.
I marked the calendar for baths every four days. Thanks Catlady711

You're welcome.

It's also a frustrating problem for the vets too. They try so hard to help animals and minimize the costs to owners (at least where I work anyways) and some drug company just up and decides to stop making wonderful but inexpensive products that worked with little or no side effects! So that kinda puts the vet in a bad place having to prescribe out or carry more expensive drugs, as well as the fact many times the human version, or more expensive versions don't always work as well as the old ones did. It frustrates the owners who may have a tight budget and don't see results as fast as they used to or requiring longer treatment which means spending more $$$.

We used to have a wonderful cheap little pill for siezures that worked great! But a few years ago they stopped making it, so we had to switch to a slightly more expensive one that has more side effects, is a regulated drug so it requires a TON of paperwork every time we dispense it, and is so touchy on the dosage that it doesn't always control siezures as well as the old pills did.

We used to have a wonderful product for mange dips, but a few years ago, again some company up and decided to stop making it. That one really put us in a bind as there isn't really any alternative product that works nearly as well or fast as the old one did.

We used to have a wonderful insulin for our diabetic animals and yup, they up and stopped making that also. The new one requires almost starting over to get the glucose levels just right and of course costs almost double. *sigh*

It's like I've said for years about any product: Why do we need new and improved? What happened to old and reliable?

**krazyaboutkatz** · 04-05-2007, 01:27 AM

Debbie, I'm sorry to hear that Emily has ringworm.

Starr had it when he was a kitten and I returned him to his foster mom so she could treat him because she also had several others fosters that had it. He had dry flaky white patches. It took several months and then he had another small a outbreak on his ears when I had him.

I bathed all of my cats just in case and I just used some medicine on Starr's ears but it irritated them a lot. I later used animax cream and he later had the same ringworm culture test that Emily had to make sure that he didn't have it any more. I also gave all of my cats the dog program pills just to be on the safe side and no one caught it. I forgot what the doseage was though. Good luck.

**Catsnclay** · 04-09-2007, 11:01 PM

Well Deb - how's it going??????

**Lizzie** · 04-10-2007, 02:10 AM

I'm sorry you are going through this and hope that Emily's ringworm clears up quickly and it doesn't spread. Adult cats are more resistant to the fungus than kittens, so that will help. And, as others have said, some people are prone to get it and others are not. If you haven't experienced any itchy patches on your skin by now, you will probably be okay since I am sure you are now being careful not to allow Emily's fur to touch your bare skin.

I had three kittens with it at about the same time as Tracy. (Imagine keeping kittens still for ten minutes while the shampoo "works"!) Even though only one kitten showed signs of ringworm, I isolated them all in a large bedroom. That was in early August, when the weather was glorious and they really should have been out on the deck in the sunshine. By the time I was able to release two of them, it was December. The third kitten didn't show any signs until her brothers were almost clear so had to be isolated alone for another three months. Only now is her fur starting to grow back across her nose and around her eyes - the most horrible place for her to get it because extremely difficult to treat.

I feel sure that the fact you are treating Emily with oral as well as topical medicine, that she is an adult cat and you don't have any FIV+ cats will help you get through this in a few months. You will have to be insanely clean, laundering in warm water everything that Emily lies on every single day. Clorox, most unfortunately because I loathe the smell, is the only thing that kills the spores as you probably know from some web research. I threw out a sofa, climber, computer chair and rugs in order to ensure that I got rid of the spores because I couldn't Clorox them. Everything that I took into the isolation room was cleaned with Clorox when it left. Their dishes were washed on the sterilisation cycle. I wore a robe, overshoes and gloves that stayed in the room.

Good luck! It takes time and work, but it does go away.

**catnapper** · 04-10-2007, 07:48 AM

Oh dear - I have no advice but I wish you best of luck with everything. It sounds like a nightmare. (((hugs))))

**moosmom** · 04-10-2007, 09:51 AM

Ringworm is HIGHLY contagious to both pets AND humans. Make sure when you handle a cat with ringworm to wear rubber or latex gloves and always wash your hands everytime you handle them.

Miconizole cream for athletes foot is a great topical cream. I had a case of ringworm years ago. Fortunately, only one of my cats had it. She was isolated for 3 months till it completely disappeared. Her ears were totally bald. My daughter and I took turns sleeping in the bedroom so Marina Mar wouldn't get lonely.

Good luck and please, be careful.

**Maya & Inka's mommy** · 04-10-2007, 10:46 AM

Awwwwww, I just found this thread. I am not often on PT anymore...

My cats got ringworm (Maya & Inka) after we got Zazou. Zazou came from a shelter, and was a carrier for this disease. She didn't get ringworm, but I treated her as well!
I had to wash all 3 cats (Snoopy wasn't here yet) every 4 days, and give them medication. It was a VERY HARD time! I was as wet as my cats, and my kitchen was a wet mess

. But..... it helped!!
After a while, when the bads weren't needed any longer, my scratches got time to heal properly

. Be careful though when you have touched her: wash your hands with a special disinfectant !

Good luck, Debbie!!

Pics from my girls. Don't they all look so happy???
lovely Inka

gracious Maya

and the one who caused all this mess: lovely Zazou

**Pawsitive Thinking** · 04-10-2007, 10:55 AM

Poor pusscats....hard to explain to them that its for their benefit isn't it?

**sirrahbed** · 04-11-2007, 11:53 AM

Update on Emily and the battle against ringworm:

We are giving Emily her griseofulvin doses twice daily at 1 teaspoon at a time. She HATES the medicine and I think that right now, she hates us also

The medicine is supposed to be given with a fatty meal, but Emily refuses wet food. We have tuna in oil but she does not even want that right now. So, we catch her twice a day, wrap her in a towel and do the best we can in getting that medicine into her. She has learned to spit lots of it out. This morning - I was very worried that she inhaled some of the medicine. I heard gurgling and gulping

When I put her down, she acted very distressed and the rattling sound was very loud for about 5 minutes. She was able to give a few coughs and she is breathing fine now though she looks scared and *I* am still a little scared that I may have choked her. I hate doing this to her even though I know it is to get her healthy. It still makes me want to cry because she gets so upset - poor baby.

I have also researched and sent for some of the Program dog tablets. I found some research done among showcats and am following those suggestions.

As for the baths - the shampoo the vet sold us is Hexadene which does not even contain a fungicide - the vet feels that regular bathing helps to remove the spores. So, I am bathing her but not really aggressive about it. She hates that too. Thankfully, Emily is so sweet and docile that the baths are going pretty well - no bloodshed yet. Today is bath day but I may or may not do it.

I am washing all of our linens with diluted bleach and doing what I can to meticulously clean everything - but there is just no way I can eliminate the spores. We have upholstered furniture and carpet throughout the house. But I am trying. Lots of handwashing and cleaning. All of our kitties are snuggly with one another and short of isolating Emily for the next month - the cats are going to come into regular contact no matter where they are. I hope that isolation does not become necessary. I am petting and stroking her as I always do.

At this point, I don't know what else I can be doing. I hope we can get rid of the ringworm and that the other cats don't get it. I am planning to give everyone the Program. Emily's hairloss is contained to 3 spots and all but one are looking good. One spot is about the size of an egg but the skin looks good and there is no redness or irritation - it just looks like she has been doing too much grooming.

Fingers crossed here

**smokey the elder** · 04-11-2007, 11:56 AM

When I had a ringworm outbreak 4 years ago I was given Program tablets (double up the dose) and a topical called Trezaderm. The combination worked very well. I never bathed a single kitten. I was careful not to spread ringworm, but I think adults are usually more resistant. At the time the vet said I could give Program as a preventative, so I did that, too.