Ringworm And Spaying A Young Cat - Help Please :)

[Shadiouful]

Hi all

I am hoping someone more knowledgable can help. I've had cats my whole life but have never come up against ringworm before!

My partner and I adopted a spayed mother cat and her female kitten 7 months ago and they are fantastic. Unfortunately the little kitten came to us from the shelter with ringworm. We have been treating it for 6 months with oral terbinafine, however we just can't get rid of it! We started off bathing the cats as well in anti fungal wash, but it's just too difficult. They get traumatised and fight us (and its been a very cold winter here which hasn't helped).

We vacuum and wash the floors twice per week but we just can't seem to beat it. We just had a culture done of the kitten's fur and it's still viable. At this point we have spent $1000s of dollars with nothing to show for it.

Even worse, the advice of the vets has been to hold off on spaying the kitten until the ringworm is gone. Unfortunately, this weekend she has just gone into heat (she's about 9 months old now). It's AWFUL. I've never seen a cat in heat before (always been very responsible and spayed all my cats) and she's yowling, crying and urinating everywhere!

Has anyone got any suggestions. I even had my vet contact a feline dermatologist who confirmed that she shouldn't be spayed during a course of ringworm, but I don't know what to do.

How long do heats last for? Is there any hormonal treatment that we can do in the meantime to make our lives bearable again? I've just found some great guides on the site for dealing with ringworm which I'll go and read, but right now I'm just worried about the kitten going into heat!

Once it gets warmer, I will even consider shaving both of them. Thank you to anyone who has read this wall of text

ETA: they are both inside cats and don't go outside.

Oh and here's a picture of my two loves (my avatar is a professional photo the shelter had taken when they were so small!):

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I am not aware of any hormonal supplement you can use to help her get thru this. Did you ask your Vet about that?

As for the ringworm trauma, have you done the Lime Sulpher Dips? From what I've read, that's probably the most important step you can take! (and it's inexpensive to do) Have you seen this particular article on it? Ringworm In Cats: How To Win The Fight

Both your girls are gorgeous, BTW

 

[stephanietx]

When my kitty went into heat while waiting for her spay date, we found that confining her to her carrier with a towel draped over it helped calm her down. We also put her in isolation in a spare bedroom because we have a neutered male cat who kept trying to have his way with her even though his plumbing had been removed several years prior. This worked out best for all of us. We did let her out frequently to play and just be with us, but she was such a hot mess that all she would do is roll around on the floor.

I would talk with your vet about the ringworm dips as that seems to help most people.

 

[foxden]

I have heard of a hormone treatment equivalent to human birth-control pills, but this is not widely used in the US.
I believe some members here have used this for females who are contradicated for the spay procedure because of underlying medical conditions.

 

[maggiedemi]

When Maggie was in heat, it lasted about a week. It didn't really bother me because she was very loving and let me cuddle her. She never peed or sprayed on anything.

 

[lavishsqualor]

I would absolutely start using the lime-sulfur dips. I know they smell wretched and that cats hate them but they truly are the most efficacious in terms of eliminating ringworm. And just as MrsGreenJeans stated, they are super economical!

Just last night I responded to a poster here who was using coconut oil to resolve her cat's ringworm. I kept thinking that even though coconut oil is a mild anti-fungal, she was was choosing to fight a long, uphill and ultimately unfruitful battle when the lime-sulfur was such a better option.

 

[Shadiouful]

Thank you everyone for your replies! Thankfully the heat seems to have subsided and she's back to her sweet, kittenish self. I visited the vet with her yesterday and they have suggested a hormonal implant which lasts ~12 months (surely enough time to get rid of this awful ringworm!) and then can be removed when she is spayed. It sounds great, however we do have to wait 2 weeks to get it done. We also have a 2-week culture of her hair to see if the ringworm is gone at that point as well.

Suprelorin - Cat

 

[Shadiouful]

I would absolutely start using the lime-sulfur dips. I know they smell wretched and that cats hate them but they truly are the most efficacious in terms of eliminating ringworm. And just as MrsGreenJeans stated, they are super economical!

Just last night I responded to a poster here who was using coconut oil to resolve her cat's ringworm. I kept thinking that even though coconut oil is a mild anti-fungal, she was was choosing to fight a long, uphill and ultimately unfruitful battle when the lime-sulfur was such a better option.

Thank you! I haven't heard of the lime-sulfur before (I'm nots are if it's widely available here in Australia). This is the medicated shampoo we've been using:
Malaseb :: Dermcare

Hopefully now we're heading into spring down here it will make it easier to use. It broke our hearts to see our baby kitten shivering every time we bathed her (and of course she would hide under the couch rather than near the heaters we set up for her!).

 

[natalieqianwei]

Hi all

I am hoping someone more knowledgable can help. I've had cats my whole life but have never come up against ringworm before!

My partner and I adopted a spayed mother cat and her female kitten 7 months ago and they are fantastic. Unfortunately the little kitten came to us from the shelter with ringworm. We have been treating it for 6 months with oral terbinafine, however we just can't get rid of it! We started off bathing the cats as well in anti fungal wash, but it's just too difficult. They get traumatised and fight us (and its been a very cold winter here which hasn't helped).

We vacuum and wash the floors twice per week but we just can't seem to beat it. We just had a culture done of the kitten's fur and it's still viable. At this point we have spent $1000s of dollars with nothing to show for it.

Even worse, the advice of the vets has been to hold off on spaying the kitten until the ringworm is gone. Unfortunately, this weekend she has just gone into heat (she's about 9 months old now). It's AWFUL. I've never seen a cat in heat before (always been very responsible and spayed all my cats) and she's yowling, crying and urinating everywhere!

Has anyone got any suggestions. I even had my vet contact a feline dermatologist who confirmed that she shouldn't be spayed during a course of ringworm, but I don't know what to do.

How long do heats last for? Is there any hormonal treatment that we can do in the meantime to make our lives bearable again? I've just found some great guides on the site for dealing with ringworm which I'll go and read, but right now I'm just worried about the kitten going into heat!

Once it gets warmer, I will even consider shaving both of them. Thank you to anyone who has read this wall of text

ETA: they are both inside cats and don't go outside.

Oh and here's a picture of my two loves (my avatar is a professional photo the shelter had taken when they were so small!):

May I know why we can't neuter the cat when it has ringworm?
Thank you ^_^

 

[silkenpaw]

Just a note about the lime sulfur dip: it stinks. I used to strip to dip the cats but I found out afterwards, you can just use a spray bottle to apply the dip (except for the face, use a sponge or cloth and avoid the eyes). I can be so stupid sometimes

 

[maggiedemi]

Vets don't usually like to neuter a cat when they are sick.