Ringworm! Any advice for a newbie?

So my foster kittens have ringworm. I took a long lunch to take them to the vet and that was the tentative diagnosis- we're running a culture to confirm, but they glowed bright apple green under the wood lamp!

This is my first bout with ringworm- I've never had any experience at all with it, which is why it took me a bit to recognize that they had something weird going on.

I already plan on getting them out of the spare bedroom and in to the bathroom, as that is easier to clean and keep clean. I will bleach everything in the spare bedroom, and keep all soft surfaces out the bathroom, and bleach in there often too.

The doctors are supposed to give me things for them- topical ointment or pills or something.

Since I had to take a long lunch, I don't have the time at the moment to do extensive research on this, but I intend to when I get home.

Until then, does any one here have experience or advice they'd like to share with me?

One of my biggest concerns is that the bleach will be harmful to the babies (approx 6 wks), is it really ok to use on their stuff? If so, what concentration is safe?

Any other advice? Like how to keep them more comfortable without soft surfaces, or if they itch (they're not scratching, but I don't want them miserable!)? Or if I should throw things away- I have this nice cat tree that they LOVE, but don't know if the bleach will get deep enough to sterilize it.

Thanks in advance!

First advice: Don't freak out... Ringworm is a nuisance, but it will not endanger the kitties in any way.
The correct concentration for the bleach is 10%. Be aware of the pills - they are very harsh on the liver - you will be better off with ointments and treatment baths.
Worst case scenario it should go away on its own in 2-3 months.
Good luck!

Ok, this is MY OPINION only, and what I did.

I researched my head off, and in the end I made the best decision for us.

When I first found out Kizzy had RW, I isolated him because I didn't want my dog who has a tumor, to get it. After doing more research I let him out because just the act of carrying him from the truck, in through the house and into an isolation room left spores all over my house. While in isolation, I would go in and check on him...feed, play, etc. I carried the spores out of the room with me on my clothes. The spores also get into the heating vents.

IMHO isolation doesn't do a thing really....again IMO it can also make things worse because isolation stresses some cats out, which makes their immune system weak and supseptable to more rw.

I treated with topical ointments because the dangers of the oral antifungals were not something I wanted to risk on rw which in itself can at times be cured with no meds at all in about 3mos (on a healthy cat that is). He had a repeat culture done and was still positive so I treated him with Lufenuron (2 doses) and it was still positive (the first 2 tests showed positive within 5 days, the last test took 14 days for it to show up) and treated him with nothing as it was going away on its own.

The only additional cleaning we did was vaccum more often.

I did not worry about disinfecting everything, and Kizzy's immune system has gone down but it hasn't come back.

The main reason I even treated him in the first place was because he was not healthy and my dog's issues.

My dog has never gotten it. I did and my one daughter did, both of us fighting colds when we got it. My husband and other daughter never got it.

That is my experience, and what I did.

At 6 weeks old - they are too young for oral meds. Topicals, from what I have seen - will do nothing for kittens that young. Their immune systems are pretty much non-existant - and they cannot fight it off. It spreads like crazy. We've had kittens that are covered in ringworm by 7-8 weeks of age who had it at 5-6 weeks.

I would be careful with the oral meds too. They are known to damage the liver. According to my vet the topical does not work. If you can find some cheap blankets or something of that sort that you don't mind throwing out that might make them more comfortable.

My Jordan had it when he was like 4-5 months old & was on an oral med. It took a while but it went away. I went crazy cleaning & bleaching & vacumming & you know what he got it again a couple months later. the second time I was not about to clean like that again when it didn't work the first time. Levi was 5-6 months old at that time & never got the ring worm. Then when Isaac was around 4-5 months (just shy of a year later) old he got ring worm. I medicated him, but never really cleaned. He never got it again & Maggie has never had it. There are lots of things you can do, but in my experience it's very hard to rid your house of the spores & as long as your cats are adults with healthy immune systems they should be fine.

hi, my kitten had ringworm when she was 6 weeks old, her hair fell out in clumps, she had it pretty bad, they gave her tablets and a medicated shampoo. one of the things to keep in mind is not to handle the kittens too much, i was always cuddling my kitten and i ended up getting the ringworm too, it is very itchy and uncomfortable so be careful and good luck!

Thank you guys so much! You've helped me feel better about this whole thing. It is spreading on their poor little bodies SO quickly, I wish I could do more for them! I feel like a terrible foster mommy...

You really have helped me get a better handle on this, and I feel a little better prepared. So thanks again!