Hi all, my name is Laurs and i am a newbie here and mother of Peppie and Cookie, 2 gorgeously sweet 5 month old turkish angora kittens, rescued from a middle eastern pet market. Peppie started scratching an awful lot 2 weeks ago, got bald spots on het neck so i went to the vet with both of them. He suspected ringworm and took a bit of skin/hair from both of them for a culture. Will get results tomorrow. The day after my visit, i got ringworm myself and with the help of Lotriderm cream it was dissolved in a few days. I contacted the vet again, got the instruction to put them in a separate room and start them on Itrafungol for the duration of 6 weeks. It's one week administering the liquid once a day, one week off. Cleaning the room vigorously every day and now hoping for the best that this way we eradicate the ringworm. I feel terrible though for them being locked in one room for such a long time and as much as i can i go in and play with them as well as put on healing 432 Hz tones on the ipad. My question: does anyone want to share any tips, experiences etc regarding kittens with ringworm or the medicine Itrafungol? I would be very interested. Thanks already, cheers
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Ringworm and Itrafungol
- Thread starter laurs
- Start Date
We have had great luck using a shampoo of chlorhexadine and ketaconozole (KetoChlor) which requires a prescription from your vet, at least in our state it does. You put it on them straight (ignore the directions about wetting the coat first, get them totally saturated with it, then wait (I think we wait 5 minutes) and then rinse. Usually that stops it in its tracks. We then repeat in a week for good measure. We hesitate to use the itraconozole orally if we can get it done with the shampoo as there can be side effects, and why wait six weeks if it can be gone in two? We did confine them for the first week and cleaned the environment well, but after the second bath they were allowed to merge back with the gang. In my experience, cats that are not stressed do not usually break out with ringworm, but kittens whose immune system is not fully developed are most susceptible.
Do explore the possible side effects of Itrafungol (itraconozole) by googling it so you know what to watch for. Ringworm will not kill them, although its a nuisance, but if they are sensitive to the medication, sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
We do have one long and ongoing thread here I always recommend to folks who are dealing with ringworm:
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/210789/6-things-i-learned-from-our-ringworm-plague-book-length
Do explore the possible side effects of Itrafungol (itraconozole) by googling it so you know what to watch for. Ringworm will not kill them, although its a nuisance, but if they are sensitive to the medication, sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
We do have one long and ongoing thread here I always recommend to folks who are dealing with ringworm:
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/210789/6-things-i-learned-from-our-ringworm-plague-book-length
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Hi, I see you care about Peppie and cookie to invest in their health. I have gotten so much support from TCS with the same problem(ringworm). The oral and shampoo medicines are vast. Ranging from old to newer brands. I do find that googling , can /in many instances worsen my understanding of treatment. Feel free to look at my Post-Quarantine Behavior. Post. And please add any thoughts about kitten behavior after isolation.
I have thought to ask my vet for terbinafine Lamisil. I got that brand from this site. It comes recommended. Cost less and generic is ok. The intraconazole from what I have read must be Sponanox or Onmel trade name. The brand is a broad spectrum medicine, meaning kills a lot of different "germs". I am finding that people are having success with various antifungal oral and shampoos. I had hoped
to find an experiment vet who is up to -date and aware of the tried and true methods. I find that pet isolation and poorly qualified vets are the most stressful parts of this business. So I agree with RED TOP rescue. Minimize the stress.
I have thought to ask my vet for terbinafine Lamisil. I got that brand from this site. It comes recommended. Cost less and generic is ok. The intraconazole from what I have read must be Sponanox or Onmel trade name. The brand is a broad spectrum medicine, meaning kills a lot of different "germs". I am finding that people are having success with various antifungal oral and shampoos. I had hoped
to find an experiment vet who is up to -date and aware of the tried and true methods. I find that pet isolation and poorly qualified vets are the most stressful parts of this business. So I agree with RED TOP rescue. Minimize the stress. 
Our shelter has taken in several cats/kittens from Romanian kill shelters that have had bad cases of ringworm. They're isolated for several weeks in the quarantine section to prevent the spread of spores throughout the shelter and treated with Itrafungol (one week on, one week off, just like your vet recommended). We haven't observed any side effects. In addition to the oral Itrafungol, they're treated topically once a week with Imaverol. That involves a thorough sponge bath, that is, wetting them down to the skin. Some people, not cats, have a reaction to the Imaverol (skin rash), so it's best to wear gloves when applying it. It can also be used to clean surfaces and to soak any textiles you plan to wash and keep (we discard them). Swiffers (dry)are recommended for cleaning floors and other surfaces before disinfecting.
One thing that should be done when using Itrafungol is to weigh the cat/kitten on a weekly basis and adjust the dosage accordingly. At 5 months, your kittens could rapidly gain weight from week to week.
I'm in favor of isolation during the course of treatment, because practically every cat we've taken from a particular shelter has been infected, and two other shelters that I know of have had the same experience. It was also true of guinea pigs from a hoarding situation that were placed in several different shelters.
One thing that should be done when using Itrafungol is to weigh the cat/kitten on a weekly basis and adjust the dosage accordingly. At 5 months, your kittens could rapidly gain weight from week to week.
I'm in favor of isolation during the course of treatment, because practically every cat we've taken from a particular shelter has been infected, and two other shelters that I know of have had the same experience. It was also true of guinea pigs from a hoarding situation that were placed in several different shelters.
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- #5
Thank you red top rescue. I went to the vet today and she confirmed that after 5 weeks, 3 of which administering the Itrafugol, she could not detect any more ringworm. Just to be on the safe side, i have to keep them isolated for one more week. Now, what i did those 5 weeks was vacuuming the room every day with a hepa filter vacuum cleaner, then cleaning with clorox, thereafter cleaning with hot water and a cloth. Everything. I washed the towels on which the kittens lie every day on 95 degrees C as well as my outfit. I gave the cats cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil every day as well as some sardines in olive oil apart from their regular Royal Canine foodstuff. The vet shaved the furry spots she detected 2 weeks ago and again today to make sure the ringworm is gone. Okay, so one more week of thorough cleaning and getting rid of the ringworm on my leg (using Lotriderm cream) and then we are hopefully through this episode, yay!! Thanks again for your kind reply.
Laurs
Laurs
My Olive was on Itrafungol for a week and her ears looked great. I made the mistake of taking her with me for an overnight visit to my parents house last night, and as soon as I got there, her ears had turned red again, which I assume was from the stress of the hour drive.
This is Day Four of her first off week. Since her ears are so red again, should I start the second ON week early?
My vet originally told me to medicate Olive for 30 days straight with the Itrafungol, but when I read the insert, it said she should be medicated every other week. I told my vet, but she persisted to recommend giving it to her for 30 days straight. Surely the company is recommending the pulse therapy for a reason, right?
This vet is not my main vet. She works in his clinic and usually does pet dentistry, which is why I was seeing her, as Olive had had some teeth out. While there, I pointed out that she had ringworm again. I know I could call my main vet, but I was just curious if anyone else had been told by their vet to use Itrafungol for 30 days straight.
Thanks!
Mary Ann
This is Day Four of her first off week. Since her ears are so red again, should I start the second ON week early?
My vet originally told me to medicate Olive for 30 days straight with the Itrafungol, but when I read the insert, it said she should be medicated every other week. I told my vet, but she persisted to recommend giving it to her for 30 days straight. Surely the company is recommending the pulse therapy for a reason, right?
This vet is not my main vet. She works in his clinic and usually does pet dentistry, which is why I was seeing her, as Olive had had some teeth out. While there, I pointed out that she had ringworm again. I know I could call my main vet, but I was just curious if anyone else had been told by their vet to use Itrafungol for 30 days straight.
Thanks!
Mary Ann
Sorry to be slow getting back to you, but our site migrated right after your post and then I had company, so I am just checking up on it now. Yes, I do believe that the pulse therapy is the appropriate way to dose. It is hard to know what to do when your vet says something that directly disagrees with the company'recommendations. If you aren't familiar with this vet, I would be inclined to believe the company. If it were me, however, I would be doing a LOT of internet research so I better understood the product and what it does and what possible side effects might occur. You are the ONLY thing between your cat and a mistake or bad judgment, so for that reason over-educating yourself is a good thing. Some vets don't like educated clients, especially if the client is ahead in new knowledge, but we know they don't have time to do a lot of research themselves in a busy practice, so I do think that's up to the owner.
