need advice for recurrent ringworm infection (multi cat)

vivibebean

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hello. i have been dealing with on and off ringworm since september- october 2021 (7 months).
ringworm has been an absolute nightmare and honestly i just want to be free from it.
please give me any advice that could help. or even hearing other people's story.
  • how long did it take you to get rid of ringworm for good and how many pets do you have?
  • what did you do?
  • does lysol disinfecting spray kill ringworm? i heard that only lysol IC kills ringworm?
  • what did you use to clean floors, objects, clothes, etc

my situation:
  • i have three cats between 10 months - 1 years old.
    • russian blue (short hair)
    • siberian (long hair)
    • ragdoll (long hair and sheds the most)
  • this is their THIRD infection of ringworm.
  • they have been getting negative cultures but then positive ones 1-2 months after.
  • unfortunately, due to my roommates and my renting situation, i could only isolate them in my bedroom which has a central air and a mattress on the floor that i couldn't remove because of certain reasons.
    • will try to move them to the bathroom this time though

the first ringworm infection: October. (i ended up getting around 40-50 lesions of ringworm. it was a nightmare)
  • i didnt shave any cats
  • i gave itrafungol every other week
  • wiped with PDI: SANI-CLOTH BLEACH wipes
  • threw away objects that couldn't be washed
  • isolated them in bedroom
  • washed clothes warm - hot water and dried high heat
  • lime sulfur dip (every 5 days) and chlorhexdine ketoconazole (twice a week) bathe them
  • vacuumed with roomba daily (dumb idea because it was very hard to disinfect)
  • disinfected room weekly.
  • cleaned floors with accelerated hydrogen peroxide: Diversey - Oxivir Five 16 Concentrate One-Step Disinfectant Cleaner
  • i didnt bring them to the vet to get them retested after itrafungol treatment was complete because their fur grew back so i assumed it was over (bad idea)

the second ring worm infection: January (i ended up only getting 5 lesions on my thigh while i was disinfecting everything the first week)
  • i didnt shave any cats
  • gave itrafungol every other week
  • wiped with PDI: SANI-CLOTH BLEACH wipes
  • threw away objects that couldnt be washed
  • isolated them in bedroom
  • washed clothes warm - hot water and with borox and dried high heat
  • did not lime sulfur dip or chlorhexdine keto wash them. the first time was just too tiring. also i heard that it is not as effective if it only touches their fur and not on their skin
  • vacuumed with mele C3 cat and dog with hepa filter daily
  • disinfected room weekly
  • cleaned floors with accelerated hydrogen peroxide: Diversey - Oxivir Five 16 Concentrate One-Step Disinfectant Cleaner
  • brought them to the vet in febuary when they finished itrafungol treatment and they came back negative

the third ringworm infection: april (just found out yesterday from a positive culture and I did not get any lesions yet)
  • will probably shave them. third time is enough and i need to see the lesions that i am treating or see the new lesions that are appearing
    • also, one of my cats does not lose fur with ringworm. he was full of fur yet he still had it.
  • my vet previously suggested changing the dosing of the itrafungol if it comes back (which it did)
  • will prob isolate them in bathroom since my renting situation changed
  • will prob either treat them with
    • itrafungol and lime sulfur dip and miconazole lotion on them
    • itrafungol and chlorhexdine ketoconazole bathe them and put miconazole lotion on them
  • vaccum with mele C3 cat and dog with hepa filter daily
  • disinfect room twice in week? hopefully
 

mrsgreenjeens

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The above article has some really good information in it. Your new routine to vacuum daily should help quite a bit. Not sure you actually need to shave the cats, but when you dip them you really need to drench them so they are soaking wet and then let them air dry. You can put them in a carrier or something with a towel in it. Also, be sure to get in between their toes really well. Gently squeeze their toe pads so their claws come out while they are in the dip since the ringworm can hide in their claws too. Dip them twice per week.

I have heard that using an oral medication is really good, along with the shampoos and dips. so if the itrafungol isn't working, there are other ringworm meds that might do the trick. Your Vet should be able to prescribe something else.
 
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vivibebean

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thanks for the reply! i feel like the medications they get is working because they do get a negative culture after their treatment finishes, but they are getting it again from the environment. I prefer shaving them because they are definitely getting it from their environment and my cats just shed so much! i also feel like the medicated baths work much better if it goes directly to the skin and on the lesions. my ragdoll and Siberian are just too fluffy. i feel like nothing i do is working :( but will try again!
also not sure how much a factor central air plays in the spread of ringworm. i heard that the vents needs to be disinfected but thats a lot.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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From everything I've read, the spores aren't really air born, but are spread through direct contact from pet to pet, or couch to pet, or floor to pet,that sort of thing. And the spores can live a very long time, so you need to be sure you thoroughly disinfect (with the proper disinfectant for ringworm) every surface the cats have had access too.
 
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vivibebean

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I’m going to clean eveyhting for the third time! Pretty hard to clean everything just because the cats can literally touch anything. Hopefully it goes away this time. Switching my disinfectant into rescue :)
 

Mamanyt1953

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you'll need to clean almost daily to get this under control. But it can be done.
 

JacquieM

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hello. i have been dealing with on and off ringworm since september- october 2021 (7 months).
ringworm has been an absolute nightmare and honestly i just want to be free from it.
please give me any advice that could help. or even hearing other people's story.
  • how long did it take you to get rid of ringworm for good and how many pets do you have?
  • what did you do?
  • does lysol disinfecting spray kill ringworm? i heard that only lysol IC kills ringworm?
  • what did you use to clean floors, objects, clothes, etc

my situation:
  • i have three cats between 10 months - 1 years old.
    • russian blue (short hair)
    • siberian (long hair)
    • ragdoll (long hair and sheds the most)
  • this is their THIRD infection of ringworm.
  • they have been getting negative cultures but then positive ones 1-2 months after.
  • unfortunately, due to my roommates and my renting situation, i could only isolate them in my bedroom which has a central air and a mattress on the floor that i couldn't remove because of certain reasons.
    • will try to move them to the bathroom this time though

the first ringworm infection: October. (i ended up getting around 40-50 lesions of ringworm. it was a nightmare)
  • i didnt shave any cats
  • i gave itrafungol every other week
  • wiped with PDI: SANI-CLOTH BLEACH wipes
  • threw away objects that couldn't be washed
  • isolated them in bedroom
  • washed clothes warm - hot water and dried high heat
  • lime sulfur dip (every 5 days) and chlorhexdine ketoconazole (twice a week) bathe them
  • vacuumed with roomba daily (dumb idea because it was very hard to disinfect)
  • disinfected room weekly.
  • cleaned floors with accelerated hydrogen peroxide: Diversey - Oxivir Five 16 Concentrate One-Step Disinfectant Cleaner
  • i didnt bring them to the vet to get them retested after itrafungol treatment was complete because their fur grew back so i assumed it was over (bad idea)

the second ring worm infection: January (i ended up only getting 5 lesions on my thigh while i was disinfecting everything the first week)
  • i didnt shave any cats
  • gave itrafungol every other week
  • wiped with PDI: SANI-CLOTH BLEACH wipes
  • threw away objects that couldnt be washed
  • isolated them in bedroom
  • washed clothes warm - hot water and with borox and dried high heat
  • did not lime sulfur dip or chlorhexdine keto wash them. the first time was just too tiring. also i heard that it is not as effective if it only touches their fur and not on their skin
  • vacuumed with mele C3 cat and dog with hepa filter daily
  • disinfected room weekly
  • cleaned floors with accelerated hydrogen peroxide: Diversey - Oxivir Five 16 Concentrate One-Step Disinfectant Cleaner
  • brought them to the vet in febuary when they finished itrafungol treatment and they came back negative

the third ringworm infection: april (just found out yesterday from a positive culture and I did not get any lesions yet)
  • will probably shave them. third time is enough and i need to see the lesions that i am treating or see the new lesions that are appearing
    • also, one of my cats does not lose fur with ringworm. he was full of fur yet he still had it.
  • my vet previously suggested changing the dosing of the itrafungol if it comes back (which it did)
  • will prob isolate them in bathroom since my renting situation changed
  • will prob either treat them with
    • itrafungol and lime sulfur dip and miconazole lotion on them
    • itrafungol and chlorhexdine ketoconazole bathe them and put miconazole lotion on them
  • vaccum with mele C3 cat and dog with hepa filter daily
  • disinfect room twice in week? hopefully
I really feel for you. My new rescue cat arrived with ringworm, unbeknownst to me. It was definitely a nightmare for six weeks, with all the cleaning and me getting lesions and him being sequestered etc. I did topical cream for two weeks, which seemed to do nothing, and then the culture came back positive so the vet prescribed oral med. Really fun administering a liquid medication to a brand new cat for three weeks. The worst part is, the ringworm went away, and now it is back. I just cannot believe it. I really don’t know what to do at this point. I mean, it’s impossible to entirely eradicate the spores from your home. Those (few) people who say it’s not a big deal, just clean and medicate and all will be well, are very irritating. And lucky.
 

JacquieM

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I’m going to clean eveyhting for the third time! Pretty hard to clean everything just because the cats can literally touch anything. Hopefully it goes away this time. Switching my disinfectant into rescue :)
I went through two big bottles of Rescue. Which is a big reason why I can’t believe the ringworm is back. I bleached the vacuum cleaner components after every vacuum. Etc. etc. So much work!
 
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vivibebean

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yesss. i defintely understand how you feel. its pretty hard and good amount of mental break down but ive been cleaning more now.
a lot of things have to cleaned daily.

how many pets do you have? be sure to get as much hair as possible. quarantine pet, vacuum daily, wash bowls daily, change litter daily, disinfect 1-2 times weekly, dilute disinfectant properly and ensure that the floor was vacuumed prior to using disinfect and is dry. try to wear gloves and change clothes after touching cats. dont assume hair growth is a sign that ringworm is gone. my cat grew a lot of fur but still had a lesion. crustiness is also a sign of ringworm. wood lamp can help you monitor and be used as reference but not indicative. culture is the best to tell if your cat sitll has ringworm. when my cat first got it, his fur grew back and i assumed it was done and i didnt do a culture. one of my regrets. dont assume. the less you put in your cat's isolation room, the less you clean, the easier it is.

ive been posting here: Ringworm
with another member who lives by herself and has 6-8 pets and she just recently let out most if not, all of her pets out of quarantine. her culture came back negative after a hard 1-2 months of cleaning! striving to achieve the same results as her :)
dont give up! i feel better when i keep telling myself that ringworm is just a skin infection. it is not life threatening. it is a hugeee pain. but not life threatening.
 

JacquieM

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Thank you, I really felt your commiseration. It is definitely a huge huge pain in the butt. I unfortunately made the same mistake you did. The hair grew back and I assumed we were done with ringworm. I didn’t get the follow-up cultures because I just spent a fortune on my beloved Allie who had cancer. Chemotherapy gave her two extra years of life and I was totally willing moneywise. But to then adopt a brand new cat and have all these expenses immediately again, is really really irritating. It’s not his fault, of course. It’s the foster mom‘s fault, who gave him to me with a ringworm! I also do not have a vacuum with a HEPA filter last time. I’m going to buy one now. All the rest of it I did. I have decided not to sequester him this time. I am not putting him through that again.
 
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