Ringworm... Enough said.

After finding out our new kitten most likely has ringworm I read through some of the posts on here about it, and need in part to vent, as well as whatever advice you'd like to give.

We originally had one cat, Bamboo, until last month (about 5 weeks ago) when my husband found a kitten behind/underneath our apartment. We had been searching for a companion for Bamboo, who's very active and needed more stimulation, and thought this was "meant to be." We named the kitten Lucky. He's a great kitten, gets along well with Bamboo, and is very lovable & playful. Lucky had patches of missing fur above his eyes, on his ears, and on all 4 of his legs. I've never dealt with ringworm with any of my other cats and was totally ignorant about the whole thing, so I had no idea it could be ringworm. We took Lucky to our humane society the next day to get him checked out and vaccinated. The staff there told my husband they thought the bald spots were just a result of being outdoors.

A week later, we took him to our local Banfield for a full exam and to continue his shots. The vet there tested for mites and couldn't find any, but saw some fleas. She said it could be the fleas, but if it didn't get better it to let them know because it could be ringworm. That was the first time ringworm ever crossed my mind. We didn't think too much of it at first... until I started googling it. Lol. (Hubby is laid back about it all though.) After reading some about it was when I started freaking out. I've had cats my whole life and had no clue this was a thing. I started developing lesions. This was all after I had already booked a vacation to visit my parents in MA for over a month, and had planned to take the 2 cats with me. My parents have 4 cats of their own back home.

I flew to MA with the 2 cats because a lot of non-refundable money had already been paid to get them there. I couldn't get into their Banfield to get a culture started for another week (my Banfield wouldn't do a culture because they make you come back in 2 weeks after the culture is done. Stupid, I know). We're still awaiting the results, but I think we can safely say it's ringworm because I got a biopsy done and confirmed my spots to be ringworm. My 10+ lesions are fading with the help of a prescription antifungal cream. Lucky's spots are fading with a Micanazole shampoo 3x a week, except for one spot left on his nose.

So, I'm here in a house with 6 cats total, and because Bamboo is now showing spots (we've started bathing him 3x/week too and he's started looking better as well), he's probably already spread it to the other cats and it'll only show with time. My mom didn't think it was ringworm at first and didn't think it was necessary to quarantine him from her cats (we had Lucky separated at first but have started letting him out, because the isolation stresses him and the damage has already been done). Vet recommended treating Lucky with oral meds (even though to me it would make more sense to treat them ALL). I know I need to clean more, but the magnitude of the cleaning is overwhelming me to the point that I'm freezing up (stress from other events is compounding it, I think).

I've read some people saying you don't need to go crazy over cleaning, and others saying you need to bleach every freaking thing in your house. And honestly, some of the stories on here are freaking me out even more! Thinking it's gone and then it comes back, people dealing with it for months and months... and my husband and I want to start having kids soon, and I DO NOT want this to be an issue then.

PLEASE don't judge me for thinking this, but in all honesty, after reading some other peoples' experiences I've been wondering if I should just give my cats away. I've been flip-flopping back and forth about it, and I know if I take them to a shelter and tell them they have ringworm, who knows if they would just put them to sleep. Like many of you, pets are family for me, but at the same time I don't know if all this extra medical treatment is financially responsible for us in our current situation, and also because we want to have kids. I hate when people think pets are "just animals" and are disposable, but I can't be judgmental anymore after going through this. Am I the only seemingly cold-hearted one that's considered this?

Thank you in advance for your understanding and for any advice you may have! 

Ringworm is no big deal!!! You apply anti fungal cream and let it pass, clean your house and everything very well and it will go away in time. If you surrender them to the shelter with ringworm they are as good as dead

Ringworm is primarily a problem if a) you have a lot of very old or young immune-depressed cats as they are more likely to get it; b) you have a shelter or a situation where you must house a lot of cats on an ongoing basis in a relatively small area; c) you are a bad housekeeper and never clean up.

Some people are more prone to ringworm than others; it sounds like you might be one of those "more prone" people! I am sorry you got it :-(

The main thing about ringworm is that the fungus leaves spores, and the spores can have contact with other peoples' or animals' skin and spread the ringworm.

If it were me I would do a more thorough cleaning of my house and my parents' house, washing all bedding in hot water and (just me) I would toss anything that the cat favored a lot that would be hard to clean. And I would vacuum a lot. If I did any cat brushing I would do it somewhere the spores could not spread or settle where they would have new contact with someone else, like maybe, outside somewhere. And I would advise everyone to wear long sleeves and long pants indoors for a while, at least not lay their bare body on anyplace that cats might have been, until the spores have a chance to clear or are vacuumed. 

For the cats who are infected I would be sure to give them their own fleeces/beds to lay on so that other areas in the house have less frequent contact, and I would disinfect/wash those frequently.

I have a foster cat right now that has scabs, but no bare round spots. I just let her out of her cage recently. Another friend of mine said sometimes ringworm presents as scabs. I hope that is not the case as I have a bunch of cats and I don't really want to deal with ringworm either. 

After saying everything above, I know there are people who are saying this is probably overkill. But I think it is better to be aware there are actual spores associated with this fungal illness and so a lot does depend on cleaning and washing. A friend of mine had this in her house about a year ago, and she swore she must have been immune as she never got it- but then recently she did :-(. Never say never augh!

Sending them to a shelter with ringworm will be their death sentence. I'm so sorry you are dealing with this, but it can be dealt with, without being over zealous. Ringworm is a fungus, not some dangerous disease. 

Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Continue bathing them. Wash your clothing and the linens (you can provide them with easy to wash towels for beds) they lay on, and it will go away. Cats fight it off eventually also. I know you want children. By the time you have any, this will be long gone.

Yes I agree with Katluver4life, it is not any major problem. It is more an inconvenience where you are walking around cleaning, vacuuming, washing, and cursing for a few weeks. After that is it GONE. My friend only got it later because she is #2 on my list- doing ongoing rescue with lots of animals moving in and out of her house from Houston Animal Control.  

It kind of sux that the illness has this name too, because it sounds positively hideous but it is no different than athlete's foot or jock itch- all fungal infections, not fun but part of life http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/fungal/ringworm.html

And don't let the vet spook you, some will keep you coming back forever with your cats for testing bc they can get money out of you that way, based on your fear. A friend of mine kept going back forever with her cats. I knew that vet and I believe they were taking advantage of her :-(. 

I think at some later point when you have kids you will look back to this time and roll your eyes, it will look like nothing compared to kids lol. If you have read the internet, you know the main thing is to simply do lots of washing and vacuuming and airing out the house. Good luck and don't return kitties, you sound too nice -  very laid back and the kind of person who can manage others' fears as well. With that quality, you can keep others from making this worse than it is. I believe you are over the hump too, as far as, it is just a matter of diligence now, and it would be a shame to throw in the towel at this point.