Cat Has Minor Case of Ringworm. Need Some Advice!

[xkappax]

Hi,
my neighbor's cat just showed up here and I noticed he has a really weird round thing on his ear. It is not red or inflamed or anything, just round. I tried putting it under a blacklight and it did not seem to fluoresce, but I'm still freaking out because he rubbed all over my cat yesterday because they are best friends.

 

[Sarthur2]

If it did not show up under the black light, then it’s likely not ringworm. Ringworm also spreads easily so the neighbor cat would have other spots if it was ringworm. My guess is the cat scratched its ear too much, but it appears to be healing well. It could have been a hot spot from a flea.

 

[xkappax]

Thank you so much for your reply. My husband said he thought he could see something under the blacklight, but I couldn't, so we're really not sure. And Robert (that's the cat's name) doesn't seem to have any other spots, just the thing on the ear. He was just treated for fleas (I saw the flea treatment on his neck a little while ago), so maybe he did scratch his ear too much.

I was looking back at my photos that I took of him this week and it wasn't there on Tuesday... the earliest photos I have where I can notice it on his ear are the photos from Friday.

Regardless, I saw his owners outside and I did tell them to keep an eye on it, they said they might take him to the vet and get it looked at. It didn't stop me from deep cleaning the downstairs of my house because I'm completely terrified of ringworm.

 

[xkappax]

A bit of an update, I've sent this photo to my vet this morning, as I can't take this cat in, he doesn't belong to me. He says he's about 99 percent certain it is ringworm. I've put batteries in my blacklight and it did glow a bit under them. I am absolutely freaking out because this cat touched my cat. Is there anything I can do as a preventative measure to make sure my cat does not get it?

 

[Sarthur2]

Is it possible to let your neighbors know it might be ringworm? A vet can take a skin scraping to confirm.

Ringworm is a fungal infection and is usually cured with topical anti-fungal creams or oral pills. Ask your vet if your cat should take oral anti-fungal pills as a preventative measure.

 

[xkappax]

My vet told me I should bathe my cat in special shampoo, but my cat won't have any part of that, so I'll try some of the mousse that was also recommended. I'm beside myself with worry about this. He didn't say anything about giving the cat a pill, just told me to try to bathe or put the mousse on him as a preventative. The cats were not together for long, but t hey were together for long enough to make me sick with worry.

I told my neighbors yesterday that it was most likely ringworm, but after looking at it today, I'm 100 percent positive.

 

[xkappax]

Another update on this thread. It was definitely ringworm and my cat caught it. He has a single dot on his nose. The vet said she wasn't even going to treat him for it, but she gave me a cream and told me to put it on for 10 days, three times a day, just as a precaution.

I am deep cleaning my house, even though the vet said I really dont' have to since i only have one cat and he has a tiny spot. But I want to clean his cat tree. How do I do that? I can't afford to throw it out.

 

[xkappax]

Hi, I took my cat to the vet today and they told me he has a very minor case of ringworm. It is so minor they weren't even going to give me any medication for it, but they gave me a cream as a precaution. The cat that infected him does not live here, and he is not allowed out of the house currently because he also has ringworm and is being treated (his case is much worse). She said my cat's case was so mild she didn't even recommend oral antibiotics or a bath.

I have a few questions.
My vet prescribed the cream and told me to use it 3 times a day for 10 days. She was really unconcerned about it spreading. She told me to wash the bedding a few times. I guess my question is: Should I be taking this much more seriously than this? I'm doing my best, I cleaned all the bedding, I put throws over all the chairs and am washing my bedding. How often should I be doing this?

What should I be doing about the litter box? I just cleaned his litter and put a little in there. Should I be washing this out daily? Weekly? I have no idea what to do, but this is very mild and I need it to say that way.

I have a cat tree, I need to sterilize it, how do I do this? I cannot afford to throw it out and get a new one, it was pretty expensive.

Please, if anyone can help me, this is my first time dealing with this, and I think I'm probably freaking out way more than I should. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.I attached a picture of my cat just for fun, you can't see the ringworm in the picture, it only shows up under a black light. It's very small.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
Bought 2nd hand cat tree: should I do anything with it ?
Take a look at that thread for cleaning/disinfecting a cat tree.

About the litterbox, I think I'd clean that every couple days. This article has some good info, and I think you're right to be taking this at least reasonably seriously. Hang in there!

How to Deal with Ringworm in Cats [Inc. the Housecleaning Regime] – TheCatSite Articles

 

[xkappax]

I read that article earlier, it has a lot of helpful tips, but thank you for sharing it again, I will keep referring to it. I'm just losing my mind about it. I don't know if I'm doing enough, but I can't have this upend my life. Right now, I've put blankets down on some of the chairs so that he has somewhere to sleep and then I can just wash the blanket.

Litter is expensive, so right now I have just a little bit of litter in the box and I guess I will switch it out for the other box on friday. And I'll do that until I'm done using the cream at least. It's a really minor case, they told me 10 days, but really it should be gone in just a few, that's how small of an area it is. I don't want it to get out of hand. I'm so scared of that.

I don't have a steam cleaner, I have a shampooer, is that even remotely helpful or useful in this?

 

[Furballsmom]

I think the shampooer will do a good job.

Oh, by the way, if you're near a Petco store, they have a litter that you can scoop out of a bulk bin which is less expensive. I tend to mix that in with more expensive litters such as walnut which tend to help cut the dust, and it works ok

 

[xkappax]

I do have a petco, I can look into it. I know I'm making a whole lot out of this, and that this could be a LOT worse, but this is my first time dealing with this and I just don't know how to handle it. Like I said, the vet was really chill about it and seemed like it was not really a huge deal. She said it was super minor.

I did find someone who has a steam cleaner, so I'm going to go borrow that, too.

 

[Furballsmom]

I think you're doing an awesome job of dealing with this!

 

[xkappax]

Well, that makes one of us, lol, but thank you. I just ... I have OCD, so it's a bit hard for me to just relax about this. I can only do so much as far as cleaning goes, but I'm trying my best.

I have soft carrier for him to take him to the vet, I have no idea how to clean that. Does anyone have any suggestions on that?

 

[Furballsmom]

Try this;
Soft-sided carriers can be cleaned with hot water and a safe soap or cleaning product, scrubbed, rinsed well and then left to dry.

 

[xkappax]

Thank you. I'm going to try to clean it today. I'm on day two of all of this, I have 9 more days to go of his medicine. It seems like an eternity. I'm overreacting, this is not a bad case, but this is going to be a long 9 days, that's for sure.

 

[Furballsmom]

this is going to be a long 9 days, that's for sure.

I'm cheering you on!

 

[xkappax]

Thank you so much. The worst part about this cat is that he sticks his nose in everything. He was just on my lap and I had to keep him from shoving his nose in my face. I'm finding ways to interact with him without touching the infected area, though, 'cause I can't just not interact with him for 9 days.

 

[Furballsmom]

'cause I can't just not interact with him for 9 days.

oh, goodness I didn't even think about that. Bless your heart!

 

[xkappax]

Well, I can't make this up... my washing machine broke and now I can't clean anything that i need to in order to deal with the ringworm stuff. My clothes are stuck in my washing machine and I'm ready to just give up.

Also, his nose seems to be a little red in the area they put the cream on. I have a call into the vet. I'm new to this, I have no idea what to expect with any of this.