Ringworm Quarantine Question

[VagueDinosaur]

I adopted a kitten that ended up having ringworm and he has been quarantined since then (4 weeks).

The first week he got miconazole cream 2-3 times a day. Then the next 3 weeks he was on oral Itraconazole and miconazole cream. He received about 12 medicated baths over that 4 week period. His room was cleaned/sanitized every 2 days.

He had an appointment at the vet today and the dr said he looks great. His fur is almost all grown back in and no more oral meds were prescribed. I asked about quarantine and the dr said he could be let out as he shouldn’t be contagious anymore.

I am very concerned about letting him out early and giving ringworm to my 2 other cats. His fur has grown back but some of his spots are still flaky. Should he be quarantined until his spots are completely cleared up or am I being too paranoid about it?!?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! If you and he are more comfortable with him being contained a little longer, I personally would go ahead and do that

This article may be helpful for you if you haven't seen it already, as well as for other readers/lurkers.

Ringworm In Cats: How To Win The Fight

 

[Jem]

My boy was put on pretty much the same medication schedule as yours when he had ring worm and he was able to be out of quarantine after 5 weeks. Because our other two have compromised immune systems we thought it best to keep them isolated for the extra week. He still had patches where the fur had not grown back yet but he never infected our other kitties after the 5 weeks. My understanding is that by the third week of medication, even if the skin still has patches, they are no longer shedding "live spores" that can infect others even if they still have mild flaky skin. That was just my experience though.

 

[VagueDinosaur]

My boy was put on pretty much the same medication schedule as yours when he had ring worm and he was able to be out of quarantine after 5 weeks. Because our other two have compromised immune systems we thought it best to keep them isolated for the extra week. He still had patches where the fur had not grown back yet but he never infected our other kitties after the 5 weeks. My understanding is that by the third week of medication, even if the skin still has patches, they are no longer shedding "live spores" that can infect others even if they still have mild flaky skin. That was just my experience though.

Thanks for your reply. I have a 16 year old cat with a compromised immune system, so he has kinda been my main focus through all of this...I just don’t want him to get it. I will probably just go with my instincts and keep Finley quarantined for another week or two.

 

[silkenpaw]

For what it's worth, when my cats had ringworm, they had 6 weeks of Itraconazole. Of course, that was 10 years ago, practices might have changed.

Good luck and let us know what happens, please.