- Joined
- Jul 16, 2020
- Messages
- 1
- Purraise
- 0
I adopted two very sweet little kittens about a month ago (into a home with an 8-year-old cat), and about a week after getting them I noticed some scabby areas on the head of one of them. Took him to the vet who checked him out and said it was probably not ringworm, just an allergy or from playing too rough, and sent us home with instructions to just keep an eye on him and that was it. A few days later I started getting a couple of spots on my arms and legs that I first assumed were mosquito bites, but have since grown into what pretty clearly looks like ringworm, Meanwhile, the lesions on the kitten have not really gone away at all, and the other kitten looks like he has some as well. I took him back to the vet last night and they're not running more tests but the vet agreed that it probably is ringworm and gave me a fungal cream to apply to everywhere I see it on both of the kittens - 2-3 times per day for up to 3 months. And said they need to be separated from my older cat for that whole time.
I feel totally blindsided and overwhelmed. I've had cats and dogs for most of my life and never had to deal with this or any illness with a treatment of this magnitude, and the idea of having to apply this stuff multiple times per day to two kittens as well as keep them locked up (my apartment isn't huge so there's only so much space I can give them while keeping them away from the other cat) for 2 months is really freaking me out.
I've read a bunch of articles about how to deal with this, and talked to the rescue org that I got the kittens from, and everyone seems to say something different - the rescue org said that their vet usually prescribes oral medication for cats over 8 weeks (mine are about 4 months); the vet last night said oral medication can be bad for cats this young. Some places online say that vacuuming is fine for cleaning the apartment, others say deep cleaning by professionals is needed. Most say I'll need to change and wash my bedding every night, which I'm having trouble imagining I'll be able to maintain. Some people say this is not a huge deal, lots of cats get it, it's manageable, while lots of other people describe months and months of battling with the ringworm; the vet last night literally said "this is the worst thing that can happen."
I've vacuumed nearly everything in my apartment several times, including their cat tree (which they're currently secluded from and not using), but is that enough? Do I have to just get rid of the cat tree altogether and get a new one when they're finally ringworm-free? What about their toys? Should I clean or throw out all of those? How much can I touch and handle the kittens in general over the next few months? Is it okay to pick them up and play with them, or will I get more ringworm spores on myself? Is it okay to handle my older cat, or will I pass my ringworm to her?
Long story short: feeling totally overwhelmed, feeling like getting the kittens ringworm free + constantly cleaning my apartment is going to be a full time job for an indefinite amount of time and not sure how to handle this.
I feel totally blindsided and overwhelmed. I've had cats and dogs for most of my life and never had to deal with this or any illness with a treatment of this magnitude, and the idea of having to apply this stuff multiple times per day to two kittens as well as keep them locked up (my apartment isn't huge so there's only so much space I can give them while keeping them away from the other cat) for 2 months is really freaking me out.
I've read a bunch of articles about how to deal with this, and talked to the rescue org that I got the kittens from, and everyone seems to say something different - the rescue org said that their vet usually prescribes oral medication for cats over 8 weeks (mine are about 4 months); the vet last night said oral medication can be bad for cats this young. Some places online say that vacuuming is fine for cleaning the apartment, others say deep cleaning by professionals is needed. Most say I'll need to change and wash my bedding every night, which I'm having trouble imagining I'll be able to maintain. Some people say this is not a huge deal, lots of cats get it, it's manageable, while lots of other people describe months and months of battling with the ringworm; the vet last night literally said "this is the worst thing that can happen."
I've vacuumed nearly everything in my apartment several times, including their cat tree (which they're currently secluded from and not using), but is that enough? Do I have to just get rid of the cat tree altogether and get a new one when they're finally ringworm-free? What about their toys? Should I clean or throw out all of those? How much can I touch and handle the kittens in general over the next few months? Is it okay to pick them up and play with them, or will I get more ringworm spores on myself? Is it okay to handle my older cat, or will I pass my ringworm to her?
Long story short: feeling totally overwhelmed, feeling like getting the kittens ringworm free + constantly cleaning my apartment is going to be a full time job for an indefinite amount of time and not sure how to handle this.
. I believe your answers are in these articles. And you might want to consut with another Vet about whether or not 4 mouth old kittens should take the oral meds. Did your Vet at least look at this with a black light? That's another way to tell if it's ringworm. Not 100%, but pretty close, I'm told:
