Ringworm

[gbgcat]

Hello,

Somehow, my oldest cat (6 months) contracted ringworm. At first me and my girlfriend didn't know what it was, so we took it to the vet.. the vet did nothing and said to wait to see if it gets worse. A week later I had ringworm all over and I am just now seeing it disappear on myself from the cream. I then knew it was ringworm.. took him back to the vet, again- they did nothing!!! No cream, no sulfur dips, nothing. Needless to say we found a new vet immediately.

The new vet gave us anti fungal shampoo and also an oral liquid that we have to give to them each day. 

Our younger kitten also got it (3 months) but not near as bad as our older one. The younger one has maybe 2 small bald spots, while the older one has several all over his head and legs..

It has been a week since we started treating them both- but the older one is not showing any signs if improvement really.. it looks like his hair is growing back on his head but the lesions look no different than they did a week ago. This oral liquid is running me $80 a bottle and since I have to use it to treat 2 cats I'm going through a bottle a week.

How long does it take before I start to see noticeable improvements? They are locked in a spare bedroom and my girlfriend has cleaned and bleached anything and everything throughout our apartment. We have spent $500 in a week trying to treat these little guys and I just want to see some improvement... at 22 and 20 years old and in school we can't afford to keep spending this kind of money, as much as I wish I could. $1000 rent every month and all other bills makes it tough.

I just want them to get better, and I feel awful for my girlfriend who just wants to play with them and cuddle with them but can't.

 

[detmut]

2-4 weeks

Ringworm in Cats

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2134&aid=223

http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/int...hytosis/dermatophytosis_in_dogs_and_cats.html

if the oral medication is too costly, ask your vet if you can treat with the topical only, or at least treat the less affected cat with the topical only. 

 

[pushylady]

I'm sorry you're going through this as I know it can be difficult and expensive to treat. Quite a few members here have had to deal with it through the years.

Here are a couple of threads that you might find useful:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/226109/ringworm-nightmare

And this epic thread:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/210789/6-things-i-learned-from-our-ringworm-plague-book-length/210

Good luck with your kittens.

 

[reikitty]

Depending on the kitty, the level of the fungus, the severity of the fungus....

It can clear up in as quick as two weeks and up to 6 months. If its caught quick and doesn't spread on the kitty and they only have one spot usually it clears up in two weeks if you do a topical treatment. Kitties heavily 'infested' with ringworm can take 6 months to get cleared.

The rest here is totally personal experience and I highly recommend talking to your vet.

But stop using the oral meds on all the kitties, except maybe the older one, and since his hair is regrowing maybe finish up the bottle you have and stop. The only time I use the oral meds is when the kitty has tons of spots and just can't seem to shake the ringworm. I've actually had kitties I've treated naturally and gone to the vet and they're like "See how the oral meds work?" And I'm like the oral meds I didn't give them?

In my experience baths and on spot treatment are the best ways to attack the ringworm.

Keep bathing both kitties as often as the shampoo directs. If you aren't already spot treating start it right away. You can use Lamsil, or the over the counter creams that are for humans as long it's somewhere the kitties can't lick it off. I've treated spots with white vinegar too and they seemed to clear up pretty quick. (The kitten had a spot on her front paw, it was gone in like two weeks with only white vinegar treatments.)  There are other natural treatments for ringworm so you can look into those too (DO NOT USE TEATREE OIL!)

Your kitty with the most spots, if he's long hair or a dense coat cat you may want to consider shaving him. One guy I had I couldn't get the RW beat until I shaved him, and when we did we found tons more in his undercoat. Even though he was getting baths it wasn't penetrating his thick under coat. (He didn't have lesions, he just had hair that was positive under a black light.)

I foster kitties and I get ringworm every so often. One year was the year of ringworm and since my house was 'infested' the group I volunteered for just kept giving me all the RW positive kitties. I think I had RW positive kitties for over 6 months one year. In that time period I got one tiny spot of RW and one of the residential cats did too (but the other 5 were fine).

Just keep sticking to it and it should clear up soon. Feel free to message me too