HELP!!!!??? My cat has Ring WORM!!!

[Oonna]

Someone or something left my little monster (His name is Monster Yoda) on my porch on July 1st, so i dont know this little guys history. I think he was about a week to 10 days old. So i took monster to the vet today, he needed his shots and his skin was kinda funky but i didnt have a clue what it was. The doc said its Ringworm, and he really freaked me out. He said i should keep my baby in his pet carrier all the time, (I just dont think i can do that, hes about 7 or 8 weeks old now and just all over the place, i have a dog, but i took him in and hes fine, and no kids live here) and told me to put Lamisil on his little funky spots. Ive never dealt with anything like this, does anything know of any other treatments that might have worked for you? I looked it up and found something about a sulfer bath or something like that, has anyone tried that?

Any vets out there???

Help me please!!!!!

 

[Dagna]

No sulfur baths! Really bad for your kitten and really pointless for a simple case of ringworm. And calm down! Ringworm is not a big deal. It's just a fungus, it will go away with treatment with no permanent damage of any kind. Lamisil is a good start, you can also get something from your vet called Program. It's a pill, originally made to treat fleas, however it works better on ringworm than it does on fleas. It does need to be combined with a topical treatment though, like Lamisil.

Depending on how old your dog is, I almost wouldn't worry about leaving the kitty in a carrier all the time. I had three cats at one point, one had ringworm and none of the other pets got it at all. It should clear up in a couple weeks, just make sure you follow your vets instructions for treatment. Oh and if you end up getting it, a little lamisil and bleach will knock it out pretty quickly.

 

[Oonna]

So its not a real big deal, cause he made me think it was the end of the world. Like i said, i never had anything like this before. 1 site i read says shave the cat, the other says that might make it worse. Sorry if im crazy, i was supposed to go see my baby niece in the next couple weeks,(shes a premie) but the vet said i shouldnt go. Im really freaked out by this. Ive been cleaning like crazy...

 

[Oonna]

Oh yea, what about kids? My moms 70th birthday is this weekend and i wanted to have my friend over but she has 2 kids, 7 and 9, how easy is it for young kids to get it???


And my dog is about 9

 

[Dagna]

No ringworm is no big deal at all. LOL. I took my cat into the vet freaking out because it looked so bizarre, but it's nothing really. To get down to the basics, your cat has Athlete's Foot. That's all it is really.

Some people say ringworm is highly contagious, I question that personally. Like I said, I had three cats at the time, only one of them had it, I did get a little spot on my leg, but my husband didn't get it at all and the other cats were fine. I didn't even bother to treat myself with anything when I got a spot and it went away on it's own. I would certainly not let the kids touch the kitty, but past that, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Especially since you've been cleaning (hint: use bleach, lots of it) And I wouldn't worry that much that your dog would get it if he's healthy. That and it sounds like he was around the kitty before he was taken to the vet, so figure you'll know if the dog will get it in about 4-10 days. (Incubation period for the fungus to start causing symptoms)

Now seeing your neice, that's not something I wouldn't want to risk saying anything about one way or another. Now normally, since she wouldn't be in your home, as long as you didn't let the cat get near your clothes and you washed your hands, I wouldn't worry about it, but because she's a preemie...well. I would hesitate on that one. If the cat's ringworm has cleared up by then, you may be ok, but if it's not clearing up, I probably wouldn't get too near her.

Oh an about shaving. I did have the area on my cat shaved and it didn't spread. There's two schools of though on this one. First, the infected hairs, as they fall off the cat & into the environment can cause infection in other animals/people, so shave it off before it can do that. It also can make treatment easier. The second is that if you shave it, it can spread to another part of the cats body, may make it worse, etc.
Me personally, I say shave, but that's just from my experience and me trusting my vet.

 

[Oonna]

Hey Dagna, thanks alot. You really helped me during my "FREAK OUT"...lol I ended up calling another vet office and they sold me some stuff i can spray on him, and on my way home from there i got ahold of my friend thats a vet and she really helped me understand what i was dealing with. Maybe you know her, she told me just about the same thing you did... I did end up shaving him. For a 7 week old kitten he did great, actually for any cat he did great, i had some problems getting his tail and around his legs but mostly i just held him and he let me shave him. Hes such a good kitten. He looks pretty funny though. I think its better to have him shaved though, he is long haired and i found several spots i would have missed.

Im actually pretty mad at my Vet, i hate to change vets, ive been going there for so many years, (My family has been going to him for close to 30 years) I would think he could have done a little better by me. He didnt give me any options, like the spray and they had a shampoo too. He just told me to go to walmart and get the lamisil. Not to mention he freaked me out. He told me to "Keep him in the carrier, and dont let him out untill its gone" Which he said would be 4-6 weeks. If i was to do that, i might at well have the little guy put to sleep, how could someone keep a 7 week old kitten locked in a car carrier for 4-6 weeks?

Well thank you, You really helped me out today,

 

[alwayz_remember_Calvery]

i don't think your vet ment to freak you out. When my cat had it they gave me Program and told me to up an anti-fungal cream on it. I've never heard of shaving the animal or a spray. I've delt with it a few times and it is a good idea to keep the animal with it away from others, just in case. We picked up 4 kittens from my aunt and they all had it, so we locked them up in their own building for a few weeks until it cleared up, just to make sure it didn't spread

 

[Dagna]

I'm glad you ended up shaving him and found the other areas that needed to be treated. With the long hairs, it is a good idea to shave them since all that hair can hide spots.

With the vets, I hope you find one that works for you. I know it's difficult since you get so used to a vet and you're comfortable with them, but not all have the best "bed side manner". I've dealt with it myself numerous times and finally found a vet that I both trust and like, so I got lucky.

All in all, I'm glad you're kitty's going to be ok and that you're not as worried now. I know what it's like panicking as I've done it myself quite a few times. Good luck!

 

[Oonna]

I'm glad you ended up shaving him and found the other areas that needed to be treated. With the long hairs, it is a good idea to shave them since all that hair can hide spots.

With the vets, I hope you find one that works for you. I know it's difficult since you get so used to a vet and you're comfortable with them, but not all have the best "bed side manner". I've dealt with it myself numerous times and finally found a vet that I both trust and like, so I got lucky.

All in all, I'm glad you're kitty's going to be ok and that you're not as worried now. I know what it's like panicking as I've done it myself quite a few times. Good luck!

I wish i could take him to my friend, but shes a couple hundred miles from me and not in a practice right now, she has lupus and i guess its really effected her hands. I dont know what i would have done withour her. When i took Monster to the vet the 1st time he didnt even barly look at him, he just threw some pills and some liquid at me with a recipe on it and told me to follow the directions and feed it that stuff. When i told Ruth (My vet friend) She had never heard of it and from what she could tell it didnt have any of the nutritional things a baby kitten would need. And i feel if he would have taken the time to at least examined him, maybe we could have nipped this ringworm thing in the bud. I think i will ask Ruth who she would take her pets to if she still lived here. Ruth also told me i should go get some antibacterial kitten shampoo for him.

I hope im not one of the people who will get this, but i think if i was gonna get it i already would have had it. The little monster insists on sleeping with me, last night was a real hard night for me, i think he was cold so he wanted to be right next to me. I dont have the heart to lock him up. I will just have to keep myself and my bed clean and hope for the best.

 

[Tamara77777]

The only problem is that you and your family can get it...it is awlful...as my friend had a kitten we all cuddled on and we all got it...it has to be the worse thing yet.....you have to get the dr. to perscribe some special cream, can't think of it...but it takes a bit to get over...so you best think about leaving the little thing in the carrier, till he is healed up..or you could suffer all the worse for it...just thought I would let you know...I didn't read all the other posts due to time..but just sharing out of my experience.


Take care...

 

[Tamara77777]

The only problem is that you and your family can get it...it is awlful...as my friend had a kitten we all cuddled on and we all got it...it has to be the worse thing yet.....you have to get the dr. to perscribe some special cream, can't think of it...but it takes a bit to get over...so you best think about leaving the little thing in the carrier, till he is healed up..or you could suffer all the worse for it...just thought I would let you know...I didn't read all the other posts due to time..but just sharing out of my experience.


Take care...

 

[Dagna]

The people most at risk for getting ringworm are young children, old people & people with a poor immune system caused by things like HIV or cancer. The incubation period is about 4-10 days and from what I've heard you can only get it once and after that you essentially become immune. I don't know how much truth there is to that, so don't hold me to it, but I've dealt with other cats in cat rescue that had ringworm and I've only had it once. It itches like mad, but it's not so bad really. Just end up with a red dry/scaly circle somewhere. Anything that you would use for Athlete's Foot can be used to treat ringworm on yourself if you do get it.

I took one of my cats to a vet like yours once. It was at the same clinic I usually go to, but it was a different vet that looked at my cat. He had conjunctivitis and usually we would just get the eyedrops, but she gave me this little tube of gunk for some reason. She wouldn't listen to me so I finally had to talk to the clinic owner and explain to him that I would really prefer the eye drops so I don't end up poking my cats eyeballs out. Needless to say, I only see 2 of the 5 vets there at that particular clinic now. You have to really shop vets sometimes and some are better for some things than others. My cats go to one place for their vaccinations (it's cheap), then there's the emergency clinic that we go to if necessary. And of course the regular clinic for checkups and if they get sick and it's not an emergency.

 

[Gardenia]

My fiance had ringworm once. He had to use a cream for several weeks, and it took him a long time to get rid of it. It is possable to catch it, and some people do more easy than others, so id just play it safe and not let anyone too close to her while she is on a cream. I once also heard (maybe from him) that if the ring worm touches an object you can catch it from also touching it? He washed his bed sheets a lot, but he is sort of paranoid as well. I dunno about that one, you may also want to wash things she touches often?

 

[alwayz_remember_Calvery]

Dagna-from my own personal experience, you can get it more than once. Your body will become immune to viruses that enter it, but because you don't have white bloodcells on you skin, how would you become immune to a fungus?

 

[Dagna]

Beats me, like I said, that's just what I heard, but don't hold me to it. I questioned it myself, but at the same time, there is a vaccine for cats to prevent ringworm. So who knows really.