Ringworm! Help

nekochan · Aug 6, 2010

I am freaking out and I don't know what to do... I just got the results back of the ringworm culture on my cat (he had lesions which my vet thought were eosinophilic granuloma complex and allergy symptoms) and it is positive! I don't know what to do! My vet gave me a lime sulfur dip for the cat but we have 6 other cats here plus a large dog and small caged animals plus I have a lot of furniture and other fabrics/clothing/etc (plus several fabric carriers, pet strollers etc) that cannot be bleached. I am afraid I will never be able to clean/treat everything well enough to get rid of it!

carolina · Aug 6, 2010

Well... First thing... Calm down

It is bad, but it is not life threatening, painful, or anything like that... it is a nuisense more than anything, but ultimately it is just a funfus and your pets will be fine

Second thing: For how long have your cat had these lesions? If the other pets haven't got it by now, there is a chance they will not catch it. Inspect tham and see if they have lesions. The key is to keep the stress level at the house at a minimum, and their immune system in top shape. I would put them all on L-Lysine, and also plug in Feliway on the walls.

Because you are at a multi-pet environment, you might want to treat everybody, and I would also consider oral treatments (if your cats are healthy and have no liver problems).

Lucky had Ringworm and Bugsy never caught it - neither did I. I only treated her topically for a little while then I treated with Colloidal Silver - that was actually what worked better on her sensitive skin.

Good luck!

nekochan · Aug 6, 2010

Mr Grey's lesions started early this spring, but my vet diagnosed him with eosinophilic granuloma complex(EGC) and allergies, so I don't know if he actually had ringworm that whole time...most likely the lesions were caused by allergies and EGC, and the ringworm just got on the bandwagon.,, My vet said the ringworm probably flared up because of the steroids he was on for the EGC/allergy issues so it may be a new thing he picked up or he may have been a ringworm carrier already (or one of my other cats may be) and just not had symptoms. The vet also suggested treating all the cats with an oral anti-fungal.
I did the first lime sulfur dip today and poor Mr Grey has been hiding and acting scared of me ever since the dip, so now he's stressed out too which is not going to help him get better...
I felt so bad when I gave him the dip, pouring it over didn't work well so I had to dunk him in it (except his head) and then afterward I had to put him in a cage with a 'cone' and a wrap because the dip has to be allowed to air-dry, no toweling or blow drying and it is harmful if ingested so I had to make sure he didn't lick it off.

Unfortunately I can't do Feliway because for some reason it freaks one of my other cats out! He acts very jumpy/nervous/scared when around Feliway, starts hissing at everything. Go figure.

nekochan · Aug 7, 2010

I read that the spores can live in the environment for over a year, and that only bleach kills them and if they are not killed the cats can keep getting reinfected after they have gotten rid of the fungus. The spores can live in the carpet/rugs and any other surfaces or furniture they come in contact with. I don't know what to do! I can't see how I can get rid of it if I can't bleach everything, and there is a LOT of stuff in the house that cannot be bleached.

kittymcg · Aug 9, 2010

Cleaning the house is Key. I went through this in April - July this year. There is no quick fix. Like Carolina said, your pets will be fine.

This website has excellent resources which really helped me.

Check out this thread from this site which really helped me: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=210789
This doc will help too. http://www.giveshelter.org/resources/dermatophyte.pdf

IMO you need to get going. Quarantine the cat. Wash everything. Be aggressive. If it's a hard surface bleach it - you can wash down with water afterward. Bleach fabrics, if you can't bleach some then wash them in very hot water with a laundry additive.
Getting rid of my little guy's ringworm was so tiring. But we didn't catch it and neither did our other cat (we quarantined the cat that had it in an empty room with no carpet and cleaned the room daily). The lime really works and instead of dipping him which he hated, we sprayed it on with a rose sprayer (you'll need another pair of hands though), I dabbed it on his head/ chin - avoiding his eyes, with a small cosmetic sponge. Saves on the lime too.
Lots of people are scared to do the lime dips for fear of ruining their relationship with the cat, but from my own experience - the cat will forgive you. With some cats this isn't an option, but it sounds like you've managed it once - keep it up. If you can treat the one who has it with itrafungol (oral), do so, it speeds recovery up.

You should test the others. You can use a new tooth brush per animal, brush them all over with it for a good 5 minutes. Make sure you get hair and any dry skin too. Place in a ziplock bag and label. Your vet can culture them. This will save taking every animal to the vet. For now if you can I would keep those animals out of any carpeted areas and off of fabrics that can't be washed (i.e. beds/ mattresses) and quarantine the affected one until you know who does and doesn't have it. Just my opinion though.

When I found out my little guy had this I had never heard of it and I was desperate for help, advice and information. I hope this helps.

nekochan · Aug 9, 2010

My vet is going to put all of them on Fluconazole (oral antifungal medication), she said the one typically used is itraconazole but that would cost over $1000 to treat all of them which I cannot afford.

What do I do about all the surfaces and items that cannot be bleached? We have antiques, collectibles, and lots of books as well as other things that can't be bleached OR washed in hot water. We have a very full house...
As far as quarantine I'm not sure how to do that, there are no extra rooms. The only room that I can separate him in would be my bedroom but it is carpeted... The only thing I could think of would be to crate him but for how long? Wouldn't the stress make it worse? He has never been alone before, or separated from his litter mates.

Any suggestions would be very appreciated!!

carolina · Aug 9, 2010

Originally Posted by Nekochan

My vet is going to put all of them on Fluconazole (oral antifungal medication), she said the one typically used is itraconazole but that would cost over $1000 to treat all of them which I cannot afford.

What do I do about all the surfaces and items that cannot be bleached? We have antiques, collectibles, and lots of books as well as other things that can't be bleached OR washed in hot water. We have a very full house...
As far as quarantine I'm not sure how to do that, there are no extra rooms. The only room that I can separate him in would be my bedroom but it is carpeted... The only thing I could think of would be to crate him but for how long? Wouldn't the stress make it worse? He has never been alone before, or separated from his litter mates.

Any suggestions would be very appreciated!!

I am against quarantining for a couple of reasons:
1- the microscopic spores go on your clothes, air vents, and spreads through the air anyways -
2- increased stress, which is counter productive to the treatment.

Also, since you are treating them all, I do not think it is necessary.

For the other surfaces, do a 10% bleach solution and spray the house with it - it will not stain, but it will help to kill the spores.

kittymcg · Aug 9, 2010

When I quarantined our little guy we were totally militant: changed clothes after going in his room, washed our hands in surgeons soap, washed the clothes in bleach, if I spent a long time with him I wore a shower cap. I'm not saying this is necessary but we got rid of it and other people I talked to during our experience said they didn't get rid of it until they got aggressive with it... If you think separating your cat would cause him a lot of stress and you will be treating all the rest then quarantining might not help....

It sounds like your situation is tough. If you can keep the animals off beds/ sofas, carpets etc until you know who has it , it will help with the clean up.

Wipe everything. Cleaning the environment will remove many of the spores. The bleach kills whatever is left. I purchased an antifungal cleaning product (Life Brand from Shoppers Drug Mart) I used that on anything I couldn't bleach it probably isn't as effective as bleach but is better than nothing. Luckily we have many extra rooms and no carpets.
If you intend to vacuum then you'll need to bleach the vacuum and throw out the bag. The spores can survive in your yard too so get it straight in a trash bag and away from the house.

Are your pets indoor only?

kittymcg · Aug 9, 2010

Another thing to mention is that no lesions doesn't mean they do not have it. Only a culture can tell you that. Your vet may be able to run a simple in-house culture to tell you if fungus is present: rather than sending the culture to a lab. It'll take 10 days or so.

Glad to hear they are on an oral treatment. I can imagine treating them all will be tiring. One was enough for me. Hopefully you have someone at home to help.

nekochan · Aug 9, 2010

I'm really stressed, trying to get everything cleaned and vacuumed... We have a lot of furniture so there are a lot of corners and underneath areas of cabinets and things like that where dust and fur tends to accumulate...with 7 dogs and a cat they shed a LOT and I am not the best about keeping up with vacuuming so I am sure there are plenty of dust bunnies and things hiding behind/under furniture (not to mention all the books in the bookcases etc) that I will need to reach and clean out! Plus I often use the areas under furniture as storage so there are boxes and thing that also hide fur! Not to mention all the pet toys that get batted underneath/behind everything and left.
I've started methodically going through every area but it's going to take a lot more time to even get all the nooks and crannies vacuumed out, and then I have to work on the bleaching...

Originally Posted by kittymcG

Are your pets indoor only?

Yes the cats are all indoor only. I do have a dog also though.

bunnelina · Aug 10, 2010

Nekochan;2912715 said:
I'm really stressed, trying to get everything cleaned and vacuumed... We have a lot of furniture so there are a lot of corners and underneath areas of cabinets and things like that where dust and fur tends to accumulate...with 7 dogs and a cat they shed a LOT and I am not the best about keeping up with vacuuming so I am sure there are plenty of dust bunnies and things hiding behind/under furniture (not to mention all the books in the bookcases etc) that I will need to reach and clean out! Plus I often use the areas under furniture as storage so there are boxes and thing that also hide fur! Not to mention all the pet toys that get batted underneath/behind everything and left.
I've started methodically going through every area but it's going to take a lot more time to even get all the nooks and crannies vacuumed out, and then I have to work on the bleaching...

Hi there, you poor kid.

I've been through this with four cats, and I hope you read my long, long post about dealing with this, which someone else mentioned:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=210789

Forget bleach. You can't spread enough of it around your house. The only things I bleached were my cat carriers (then rinse like mad). The 10% solution that kills the spores will ruin practically any furniture it touches, and it's unhealthy to breathe for you and your pets. Get yourself a fancy vacuum cleaner with a filtration system and self-sealing bag, and a HEPA filter. You can get a refurbished Miele cheaper than new. Think of the fungus as dust mites and vacuum the heck out of every surface you can find. Honestly, you can't kill the spores, but you CAN vacuum them up and eliminate them that way.

Quarantining doesn't make a lot of sense, because it's an airborne fungus and travels everywhere.....

Like you, I had tons of storage bins under my bed, where my kittens liked to hide. I took them out, wiped them down with a microfiber rag and a solution made of Health Guard Laundry Additive from RevivalAnimal.com. It contains triclosan, which can apparently kill spores, but it may also be a carcinogen, so weigh your decision carefully. (I was so freaked out by the ringworm I didn't hesitate to spray my whole house â€” incl. upholstery â€” with a fine mist of properly diluted solution), and I used it in laundry, too. After all, the stuff is in our soaps and toothpaste already.

After I took the bins out, I kept them stacked up in one spot, which made vacuuming and mopping everywhere else much easier. I also took my rugs to the cleaner and kept them there. I took down curtains, packed knick-knacks, etc. and basically cleared the house for cleaning â€” I washed the curtains about 4 times before storing them. This made daily cleaning much easier. I dry-swiffered walls, ceilings, and windows, for example. I live in 800 square feet and it sounds like you've got more space. I feel for you! But you can get through this. Covering furniture with sheets means less vacuuming (but more laundry).

Yes, my house looked like a disaster area for several months with sheets over everything, stuff piled up, and no curtains, rugs, etc. But it was a very CLEAN disaster area.

The lime sulfur dip is somewhat disgusting but it's very important. It kills the spores in the fur and that makes the animals much, much less contagious. I found a groomer to do it, thank heaven. Even if you can't afford that, you might call a few, or local shelters, and see if they can at least give you tips. There are ways to make it less unpleasant for the cats, I'm sure.

You WILL get through this, this too shall pass! You might even look back and laugh about it some day.... I never thought I'd get through it but I managed, and grew stronger in the process. In the meantime, divert your nervous energy to vacuuming EVERYTHING!

Good luck! Many people here are pulling for you!

white cat lover · Aug 10, 2010

I had ringworm in a multi-pet household (two dogs + a whole lot of cats, including my own & foster cats).

Fluconazole, IMO, is the best oral med to get rid of ringworm. We use it at the shelter & treat for 6 weeks - and since we switched to Flucon we haven't had any relapses after treatment.

As for cleaning - if you stress, the pets will stress. So try not to freak out. Cover what furniture you can in sheets/blankets & wash them often.

kittymcg · Aug 10, 2010

There are so many different ways to tackle this and it really depends on your situation and the other pets and environment factor. I think there are so many great ideas that have been shared, the main thing is to get going with the first clean sweep.

The kitten that brought the ringworm into my life had had very limited access to the whole house before we found out (a couple of days). As we had another cat we had planned a very slow introduction so he was camped out in one of our larger bedrooms anyway, ultimately we kept this area as a quarantine room for him, it meant only really cleaning that room every day after weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d â€˜decontaminatedâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] the rest of the house heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d accessed.

I chose the spick and span method: swiffered the floors, washed with soap and water to remove as much of the hair and spores as I could. I then sprayed dilute bleach and let sit for 15 minutes, then rewashed everything again to get rid of the bleach residue â€“ then aired the room. I even gave him cheap toys I could throw out daily (corks, drinking straws, ping pong balls). Basically anything that came out of his room sat in a bucket of bleach and water and was then well washed in soap and water and well rinsed.
While I did this the kitten was in a carrier in the bathroom â€“ tried to coordinate with feeding times so he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t get bored. I did this every day for two months.

If you do not have carpets in the house I would recommend this method (as a bottle of bleach and a Swiffer mop is cheaper than a vacuum cleaner). HOWEVER, I did not have to deal with carpet and I concur with much of what Bunnelina said, her posts were really useful to me. If you can restrict the area that the animal population in the house have access to it will make regular cleaning of the house (after the initial decontamination) much easier. Packing up a lot of stuff is a good idea as well.

It is very tiring and stressful but you must try not to let the pets feel your stress and donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t let it get you down. You cannot get all the spores, but the more you do get the sooner youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll be rid of it. You will feel an amazing feeling of accomplishment when it is over.

Keep us posted

nekochan · Aug 10, 2010

Originally Posted by Bunnelina

Hi there, you poor kid.

I've been through this with four cats, and I hope you read my long, long post about dealing with this, which someone else mentioned:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=210789

Thanks! I did see your thread, when I did a search for ringworm and it popped up. I'm leery of using the Health Guard stuff though after I read about the whole cancer thing...
I'm going to look into that type of vacuum you mentioned although I don't know if I can afford it. The vacuum I have now is a very old Dirt Devil bagless. I was going to bleach it out when I'm done with the first full vacuuming of the house...
Most of the house has hardwood floors, but there is a large rug in one room and 2 bedrooms which have carpeting.

Originally Posted by Bunnelina

After I took the bins out, I kept them stacked up in one spot, which made vacuuming and mopping everywhere else much easier. I also took my rugs to the cleaner and kept them there. I took down curtains, packed knick-knacks, etc. and basically cleared the house for cleaning — I washed the curtains about 4 times before storing them. This made daily cleaning much easier. I dry-swiffered walls, ceilings, and windows, for example. I live in 800 square feet and it sounds like you've got more space. I feel for you! But you can get through this. Covering furniture with sheets means less vacuuming (but more laundry).

Yeah it is bigger, the main floor is over 1000 sq feet plus there is a 2nd floor (a family member lives up there but he lets his cats downstairs and my cats up) and a basement. That is going to be the hard part because we have so much stuff in this house, lots of books and knick-knacks and things like that. We have two knick-knack shelves ans 2 bookcases in the living room, plus a breakfront with more knick-knacks and a large china cabinet in the dining room. Not to mention all the shelves of stuff in my bedroom and the antique dolls and things! Ugh!

The worst part is I was already stressed because poor Mr Grey has been doing so badly... He's gotten very skinny, my vet thinks it is allergies/immune issues/eosinophilic granuloma complex that are causing his problems but those issues (and the steroids he was on) gave the ringworm as a secondary infection an opportunity to take hold. The backs of his hind feet are basically big sores from just above the paw pads to the ankles, he also has rodent ulcers and pulled out all the fur behind his wrists, and he has not been eating well... This is why I am trying to be really careful about not stressing him out more because he's already not doing well... We haven't been able to get the allergies under control at all so far.

Ringworm! Help

nekochan

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carolina

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