Kitten With Ringworm And 2 Adult Cats In Home

[LokiTuxedo]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are in a bit of a panic. We rescued a very sweet kitten (probably the most timidest and well-behaved cat I've ever handled.) He had fleas which we bathed him for(he was very dirty when we found him) and they appear to have gone away completely, we kept him in our bedroom and would occasionally take him out to explore.
We took him to the vet, dropped a few hundred dollars getting him tested for feline leukemia, FIV, stool sample. Everything came back clean. We were so relieved and thankful!
(We have 2 adult cats, and the new kitten)

After about a week, we noticed his left pinky toe was hairless (very suddenly), and he behaved as if it were hurt. We thought he might have snagged it and it got infected. We were also worried it could be ringworm since the hair loss. We immediately took him in, and they took a hair sample, gave us a liquid medicine for the toe in case it is ringworm and some antibiotics with a feeding syringe to cover infection possibilities.

We're still waiting to hear back from the vet if the hair sample comes back positive for ringworm. We were dubious about it until we found a tiny/small circle underneath our other adult cat's chin. (Now we're really worried.)

We've been keeping the kitten in the bathroom now so we can clean the space easier. Cleaning bedding, clothes, rugs, etc. with Lysol spray and wipes like crazy.

My question is, we already have the little one quarantined, but if one of our adult cats also has it, what else should we do? We don't have a second bathroom to put him in as well, and our 2nd adult cat isn't showing symptoms yet, but I'm sure she's been in contact with it at this point. Is it even worth separating them at this point if 2 of them seem to have it? We'll definitely be keeping them out of the bedroom now to reduce infecting ourselves.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

OH BOY! OK, first, breathe deep until you know what you are dealing with. There are a lot of things that could explain both of these, and they are not necessarily connected with each other. DO keep the kitten quarantined until you know for sure, and if it is ringworm, then have the older cat checked, as well. Then you will know.

If they both have ringworm, you are, unfortunately, going to be doing a lot of cleaning and disinfecting for awhile. I'm going to give you the links to a couple of articles about dealing with ringworm, just in case.

Ringworm In Cats: How To Win The Fight
Ringworm Infestation In Cats: The Housecleaning Regime

Let us know what you find out! You're not alone with this anymore.

 

[LokiTuxedo]

Thank you Mamanyt1953!

We spent our entire Friday bleaching the floors and doing laundry and vacuuming.
After a trip to the vet for the two older cats, he looked at Loki's chin. (Blix 9 yr/o Female, Lokie 3 yr/o Male, Pickles 8 weeks old)
He said it could be chin acne, or even ringworm. He gave all 3 cats liquid oral medicine to treat ringworm to be safe.
We're still waiting to hear back for the kitten's lab results, and we're worrying that the medicine might harm them if by chance they don't have it.

The small spot on Loki's chin isn't completely hairless, but much shorter/thinner with little black specks in it. After looking at many images online it kind of looks like the blackheads shown and described with feline acne.
Do cats also show these black specks with Ringworm? Just a thought.
Thank you again! I will keep you updated.

 

[silkenpaw]

Ringworm is typically a round, hairless lesion. The skin is clear in the center and inflamed around the edges, forming a ring. But atypical shapes occur often. I agree that the black dots in the center are more suggestive of acne.

Good luck. I hope you are dealing with something that’s easier to treat than ringworm and no more dangerous. Do come back and let us know.

 

[LokiTuxedo]

 

[LokiTuxedo]

I went ahead and included some pictures of the little one's claw, and our adult cat's chin.
His nail is swollen with hair loss on it.
Not sure how close you can zoom in on Loki's chin. But there's a ton of black dirt/specks in it.
Both appear wet from the topical medicine the vet gave us. We have also cleaned his chin spot dince the photo.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

The black specks on the chin make me think of feline acne. What are their bowls made of? If they are plastic, you might want to make a change to either glass, glazed stoneware or metal, none of which have pores to trap bacterial.

Now, that paw...the swelling has me thinking that this may not be ringworm, but some infection. Ringworm does not generally cause swelling like that, although it can cause knotty lesions. That said, if the kitten is gnawing at it, that might cause the swelling, I suppose. SIGH...I'm anxiously awaiting the test results right along with you.

And no matter what it is, the cleaning you are doing certainly won't hurt a thing!

And no, even if there is no ringworm, the medication should not cause any issues. It might not help what it actually is, but it won't harm.

 

[LokiTuxedo]

So the vet called today and said the kitten's hair test results are in. It is positive for fungal and to continue treatment for all three cats.
We asked if it was ringworm and he said it would cost another 200 dollars to send it to a lab to know for sure. Which kind of irks us because he told us he was testing for ringworm.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I would be more than a little irked myself. Should you, at some point, decide to switch vets, let us know. We have some articles that can help with the process. I am not suggesting that you do so...YOU are the only one who can decide how much confidence you have in your vet, and other than this one issue, they may be doing a wonderful job for you. But the information is there, should you need it.