Kitten with ringworm

Hi there.  I just joined.  I was hoping for some advice regarding our kitten 's ringworm.  Which has also become mine and possibly my husband's and possibly our other cat.

So we found Gizmo approximately 6 weeks ago at the edge of our house and our neighbor's.  He was all alone and meowing as loud as he could.  He was feral and about four weeks old.  He was underweight and very thirsty.  When the vet saw him, she found hair loss on him but thought it was maybe a bacterial infection he had gotten.  When we brought him back for his first vaccination, she told us it was ringworm.  (By this point I'd already developed an odd spot or two.)  She prescribed an oral medicine for him that he takes twice a day.  He also got a couple baths at the vet's.  He's starting to look a lot better.  His fur is growing back.  He's about ten weeks old now. 

I saw the doctor as well and he prescribed me clotrimazole cream, however, I keep getting more spots.  And my husband now has suspicious marks.  And our other cat I've noticed his ears starting to look not right.  Unfortunately, this is Saturday and I can't contact the vet or my doctor until Monday.  I'm worried about spreading it to our dog as well.  I'm wondering if it's best to keep her mostly confined to her crate.  But at the same time I worry about her loneliness.  I tried so hard to keep others from being infected.  And I thought we were fortunate that we kept the kitten quarantined in the bathroom away from the other animals to begin with. 

Both the vet and the doctor didn't seem to think it was too big of a deal.  Now I'm starting to worry more about us passing it back to the kitten.  Aside from vacuuming and the constant laundry I was hoping for advice on other things I can do.  I worry about using bleach around the kitten.  I don't want him or any of our other animals get sick.  How safe is it?  I've been cleaning with vinegar instead.  Also not sure what to do about his toys.  I went ahead and replaced them all once.  Not sure how paranoid I'm being.  But the current toys.  How safe would it be if I just tried to keep them clean?  He does have this catnip filled chili pepper toy that he adores and I'm not sure if I can replace again and not sure the best way to go about cleaning it or if I should.  

Also, I've heard about people using lysol.  Not too sure about it's safety around animals though.  But I was wondering if anyone else has had success cleaning surfaces before if they've had ringworm.

I just want to be sure that anything I do can't end up harming the kitten or any of the rest of us.

Graywing said:

 
I just want to be sure that anything I do can't end up harming the kitten or any of the rest of us.

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You will hear all sorts of things about RW, some extreme some not.  I've had it, i've treated cats with it, and my newest adopted cat is recovering from a case now.

Terbinafine is probably the best oral med so hopefully your kitten is getting that.  Your other cat is also likely infected and should be cultured and I would discuss starting your other cat on treatment right now, before the culture comes back which can take 2 weeks.  You can also treat the cats topically with anti fungal cream like Lamosil, but its the oral med that really does the job.

Dogs don't get it as easily as cats so your dog is probably ok, but discuss with vet.  And isolating the cats is a bit like closing the barndoors after the horses have left.

You and husband cat start treating yourselves with Lamosil cream.  It probably says twice a day but i like to saturate the spots under a bandaid so the lamosil is there all the time, seems to speed healing.  If you have an animal with RW in your home and strange reddish welts appear on you out of the blue, trust me its RW

RW is not dangerous to animals, nor to people with normal immune systems, but young children must not be exposed.

Some people freak out about RW.  Vacuuming, bleaching, etc.  I'm not one of those people.  I just treat the animal and move on with my day.  If i catch it, then i treat myself.  If you;re concerned, your personal doc may be able to do more for you.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/ringworm-of-the-skin-topic-overview?page=1

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/ringworm-in-cats/335

Thank you so much for your advice. 

The vet prescribed griseofulvin to take 1 ml twice a day.  I'm going to call my doctor first thing in the morning and let him know what's going on with me.  And then I'll try to get our other cat in to the vet.   I've heard that ringworm is weak to sunlight? I've been trying to encourage our older cat's sunbathing just in case it might help. 

If I do use a cleaner, I was wondering if petco or petsmart might have some sort of cleaner specifically for ringworm.  Or if bleach really is the answer.  I've been hearing 10%?  And if I do clean the bathroom with 10% bleach where the kitten is being kept, are there any precautions I should take?  Like should he be kept out of the room for a certain length of time after it's applied?  (I'd definitely have him out of there during the middle of it.)

Graywing said:

 
Thank you so much for your advice. 

The vet prescribed griseofulvin to take 1 ml twice a day.  I'm going to call my doctor first thing in the morning and let him know what's going on with me.  And then I'll try to get our other cat in to the vet.   I've heard that ringworm is weak to sunlight? I've been trying to encourage our older cat's sunbathing just in case it might help. 

If I do use a cleaner, I was wondering if petco or petsmart might have some sort of cleaner specifically for ringworm.  Or if bleach really is the answer.  I've been hearing 10%?  And if I do clean the bathroom with 10% bleach where the kitten is being kept, are there any precautions I should take?  Like should he be kept out of the room for a certain length of time after it's applied?  (I'd definitely have him out of there during the middle of it.)

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Terbinafine is newer than griseofulvin and while newer doesn't mean better, in this case less side effects so i wold discuss that with your vet. This is discussed in the article i linked you to.

I have no idea about sunlight and RW, but its not a standard treatment and in humans getting too much sunlight on RW welts can lead to scarring.

Bleach works, its cheap but nasty and yes its 1 part bleach to 9 parts water, 10 minutes air dry to kill ringworm. Better, safer by far, and faster (5 min air dry is Accel) but costlier.  See links.

http://www.viroxaccel.ca/


http://www.revivalanimal.com/Accel-Disinfectant.html

We use it in our shelter everywhere, and you can get it on your hands and its safe.

I'll see if I can get the Accel but I'll use bleach for the time being.

I've been trying to do more reading up on ringworm but I've been feeling a bit confused on some of what I've read.  One of the things is immunity.  That pets and humans will become immune?  But at the same time I've read that if it's not taken care of properly it can keep coming back.  Also, that cats with ringworm even after it appears gone can become carriers?  So does that mean it never really goes away in the end if that happens?

Until I got my Penelopy a few weeks back, I never had a cat with ringworm. She has a small spot on her back leg. We're using a topical on it (forget the name at the moment).

I personally have had it quite a few times, so there is a possibility of being a "carrier", although I'm not sure if it's that or some folks just seem to be more susceptible to fungal infections for various reasons. Summer is when I usually get it. I also have only on rare occasions actually treated it in my case. Not saying that is the right thing to do, just that I usually don't because it almost always seems to clear up on its own for me.

Graywing said:

I'll see if I can get the Accel but I'll use bleach for the time being.

I've been trying to do more reading up on ringworm but I've been feeling a bit confused on some of what I've read.  One of the things is immunity.  That pets and humans will become immune?  But at the same time I've read that if it's not taken care of properly it can keep coming back.  Also, that cats with ringworm even after it appears gone can become carriers?  So does that mean it never really goes away in the end if that happens?

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I have never had it come back. Yes while hardy in the environment I think people overrate how a single case of RW can be more contagious than it need be or is. It's always case by case but I just believe in treating it and forgetting about it. I have never disinfected my home after a case and it seems not to matter.

I use Accel and so far it's been great! I spray it on everything! Couch, bar stools counters, any where the cats go. I've also been using Pure Oxygen shampoo once a week on all the pets.