Ringworm - am I doing too much cleaning?

kaytekat

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Mod Note.. moved from another thread.

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Long frustrated post ahead.

My rescue group is downplaying my concerns over ringworm. I have one 10 wk old kitten who has been isolated for two weeks in a bathroom. He has ringworm He is on the 2nd week of his five week pulse fungus oral treatment.

I have two other kittens 10 wks and 6 mos in another room for 2 weeks who were exposed to him. One of those kittens just showed ringworm today. They all also have a bloody diarrhea for which I finally got antibiotics. It’s not giardia or parasites..

They say I am worried too much about cleaning, but everything I’ve read not just on this post but every other post on every other site has stressed how important it is to clean to remove spores. I clean the bathroom with the ringworm kitten with Rescue every other day walls and floors. Remove all towels, bedding, food, bowls, toys, litter, and throw away or sterilize all of that. On the intermittent day I still wipe stuff down, clean up any fur etc.

The other room that has the two kittens is a bedroom which has way more stuff in there to clean so I have just been doing the floors and spraying rescue on the Ottomans and Lysol on the bookshelves. Luckily no bed or carpet in there.

The rescue group completely poo Poos my concerns and think I am over cleaning.
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I have three other cats in my home, I am worried that I have been transmitting the spores on my clothes throughout my entire house. when I visited the kitten with active ringworm, I wear a plastic suit and use bleach wipes when I leave. But in the other cat bedroom, I have not been wearing any protective clothing, which means I have very likely brought ringworm out of that bedroom into the remainder of my house on my clothes.

I feel like I am a hostage to cleaning and spending time with the kittens because they’re so little and lonely. I work full-time. I’m just so frustrated because of the time it takes and in 10 days I’ve already spent $400 in cleaning materials and extra litter boxes because now there’s cats in different rooms.

am I going overboard with my concerns and my cleaning? I just feel like I’m not getting any support or understanding from them. When I told them cat number one had ringworm, the response was bummer. I had to take them to two vets for confirmation because they didn’t believe it.
 
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mrsgreenjeens

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Have the other two kittens who were exposed tested positive for the ringworm? And how long have you been isolating those two? That info may be helpful for others who may see this. I don't really know too much about it because luckily have never had to deal with it. I'm guessing you did read the article on ringworm posted in the original thread?
 
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kaytekat

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Have the other two kittens who were exposed tested positive for the ringworm? And how long have you been isolating those two? That info may be helpful for others who may see this. I don't really know too much about it because luckily have never had to deal with it. I'm guessing you did read the article on ringworm posted in the original thread?
One of the exposed kittens tested positive yesterday. So I put the two with ringworm together and the other in a room alone. She had been with the one who tested positive yesterday for 2 weeks.
 

mani

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I did a similar amount of cleaning as you many years ago with a rescue cat with ringworm. It can't do any harm, and you'll feel as though you're doing your very best. :) It's so very contagious.
 
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kaytekat

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I have made the extremely painful decision to rehome the foster kittens with another home. As I sit here holding a sweet purring baby I am heartbroken. I don’t feel I have the energy for at least 5 more weeks of the cleaning/medicating plus working full time in the office. Cat detail is all I do when I come home and the rescue leader continually downplays my efforts and concerns as ringworm is no big deal. Telling me I’m cleaning too much, dont worry about spores getting into my home (and other 3 cats) etc. trust me, i am not neurotic. Just cautious wearing gloves, wet swiffering, changing clothes etc. But 2 rooms to do those things to plus feed/medicate/socialize does take all bloody night. She told me not to start the other two on treatment and wait and see…which i did and 2 weeks later a second infection.

I feel horrible but also tired and burned out. She is angry.
 

mani

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K kaytekat you need to know your limitations and you reached yours. Good on you for recognising that. It's pointless if it's not doable.
Don't feel horrible.. the woman who is angry may just be frustrated, but if she's not being civil you probably need to find another rescue to volunteer with.
When I was a child (a very long time ago :lol:) my mother got a cat that had ringworm and I got it really badly.. it was a nightmare. I was too young to remember most things but I remember that.
When I had a cat with ringworm I was as scrupulous as you - probably because of that experience, but also on the advice of the vet.

You found out how contagious it is, as it spread to at least one of the other kittens. It is too much for you to manage and they need to acknowledge that. :hugs:
 

Laurie77

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I have made the extremely painful decision to rehome the foster kittens with another home. As I sit here holding a sweet purring baby I am heartbroken. I don’t feel I have the energy for at least 5 more weeks of the cleaning/medicating plus working full time in the office. Cat detail is all I do when I come home and the rescue leader continually downplays my efforts and concerns as ringworm is no big deal. Telling me I’m cleaning too much, dont worry about spores getting into my home (and other 3 cats) etc. trust me, i am not neurotic. Just cautious wearing gloves, wet swiffering, changing clothes etc. But 2 rooms to do those things to plus feed/medicate/socialize does take all bloody night. She told me not to start the other two on treatment and wait and see…which i did and 2 weeks later a second infection.

I feel horrible but also tired and burned out. She is angry.
I empathize with you. It’s so hard, because your open heart lead you to help these kitties. I am new to the situation, but I don’t think you’re over cleaning. I was absolutely meticulous about keeping my rescue kitten separated from my others, changing my clothes, washing my hands, etc., and still somehow, it got through the rest of my house. I would never downplay this. I know that it’s not a life-threatening situation, but the extra time and effort it takes to cope with this is unbelievable, as well as expensive. I despair sometimes that I’ll never get my house fully free of it. You made the decision that you needed to make.
 
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