I have ringworm, does my cat?

I'm so happy I found this site! Hopefully, your help will be able to put my mind at ease.

To begin, I'm young, but I've been having some health problems which have made me more susceptible to some common diseases. I recently came down with my first ever episode of RINGWORM!! It turns out I had an active infection for over a month, but didn't notice because I wasn't exhibiting the common signs for a while. Once I saw the rings, I knew. 

Okay. Fine. I can treat myself. However, I am very concerned for my poor kitty, Vortex. Vortex is short-haired, male, ~4yrs old, and loves cuddling with me at night and has been since I adopted him as a kitten.

Since my rings I have been:

1. Cleaning my sheets, PJs, and clothes worn that day every night before going to bed.

2. I swept, vacuumed, scrubbed my tub with bleach, generally cleaned.

3. For ~36 hours I have been treating my lesions with Lamisil 2x daily and washing my body and hands with Selsun Blue.

4. I have been cuddling much less if at all with my Vortex and he is noticing. But he still sleeps on top of my comforter at night (me under it).

5. I am very careful to keep my lesions away from him. The only way I have spread them on myself was by scratching, vigorously. I haven't scratched since a few days ago once I became suspicious. So far so good.

So my question is, (1) could Vortex have spores on his fur? (2) is He at risk? (3) what are the odds my ringworm can even infect him?

While ringworm is contagious, its far less contagious than a common cold. But, I'd hate to have to quarantine my cat. I live in a studio, so his space would be very limited if I had to block him off.

I'm going into see a doctor today to confirm the infection is ringworm. It's pretty much obvious, but even as a scientist, I'm not qualified to make that call all on my own. $100 says I'm right.

I'm also calling the Vet this morning to have Vortex checked out later this week, hopefully. Currently, he looks as vivacious and healthy as ever, with his beautiful, radiant black coat. We'd both hate to see patches form! 

Help!!!??? I don't want to make my kitty sick!

PS: my new ring popped up immediately and after, my friend gave me a look over. No more latency in ring development and (knocks on wood) no more rings.  

Hmm, I haven't had experience with ringworm in cats (thank goodness) but I would think if you were actively infectious for a month as you said, then surely rings would be showing up on Vortex by now if he were infected.
There have been quite a few members who have had to deal with ringworm in their cats, so hopefully someone else will pop into this thread to chime in.

I am a nurse and can maybe help. As long as you can keep the lesions covered with a bandaid and the fungicide applied while you are with your cat, you should be able to contain it to yourself. Your cat will lose a patch of hair around the lesion so it is very apparent when they have the fungus. A skin culture is needed to determine if it is ringworm, rings of eczema can mimic ringworm so closely that it can be difficult to diagnose. One way to diagnose ringworm I'm afraid is to see if the lesions spread quickly, if they do it is almost certainly ringworm.  If the fungicide doesn't clear it up it could be eczema, I've sent many children home with 'ringworm' only to get a note from the Dr. saying it was eczema, and they were perfect rings with a clear center!  Good luck! 

Thank you for the help!

I had been wearing band aids for the first 24hrs of fungicide treatment, but my doctor informed me to let the lesions be exposed to the air. Air will help to dry out the fungus, which prefers moist environments. I will wear them at night. I do feel better about having them covered when around Vortex.  

Do you know the methods by which ringworm spreads? It appears to only spread with scratching in my case.  I know it is supposed to spread by skin-skin contact, but this doesn't seem to be the case for me. Hence, one lesion on my left bicep (oldest had ~1 month) hasn't spread to my left forearm but rather to my left back and left ankle.....? The spores don't just fly off with my skin, do they?  I've had 3 lesions pop up in ~2days in far apart, random places only on my left side.

I'm having Vortex tested tomorrow morning. I'm probably going to give him sulfur bathes just to be safe, depending on what the Vet suggests. I will post what my Vet suggests in case anyone might want the help. 

Thank you again for your input! I will look into this eczema thing. I actually do have eczema, though not recently and when I did, not in perfectly round circles. Honestly, my circles aren't very empty in the middle, and only one is very red. So, maybe it isn't ringworm.  

Hi everyone,

I have acquired some information on the human to cat transmission of ring worm or tinea corporis (ringworm of the body). I hope this info helps anyone in my situation in which I have contracted ringworm and do not want to pass it to my kitty, Vortex!

So, I learned a few things. First, I took Vortex to the vet, and had him checked for Microsporum canis (the most common ringworm contracted by cats). Well, I had him checked for 50% of the strains out there. This can be done using UV light, a test named Wood's Lamp. I also had him get a tooth brush test during which, a vet uses a sterilized tooth brush to collect skin samples for culture. The cultue will take 3 weeks to show a negative culture (no fungus). I learned that it can take up to 2 weeks for kitties to show symptoms, if at all! So, if you suspect ringworm in the slightest, get your cat tested ASAP. The pills used to treat cats can cause liver damage (and for humans too). If you catch it BEFORE symptoms arise, you can use mainly bathes/dips and maybe avoid the systemic pills. Noteworthy, there are other ringworm species that affect cats, but they are less common.

Additionally, I performed a lit search and discovered this tidbit of info thanks to the University of Illinois College of Medicine:

"It is possible to contract ringworm from your kitty. Studies show that in 30 percent to 70 percent of households where the cat has ringworm, at least one person will get it. However, humans have our own forms of ringworm. Athlete’s foot is the classic example. Only 3.3 percent of all human cases are caused by the same fungus that infects dogs and cats, so you are far more likely to get ringworm from the playground or weight room than from your furry friends." -- ACES College News 12/15/2003

So, for any concerned people out there, very few ringworm species affect both cats and humans! However, you should still be careful if you catch ringworm at the gym or water park etc... You never know. The best plan, according to Vortex's vet is to keep human lesions covered with clothes and to begin your treatment ASAP. Once lesions begin to heal, they can't produce spores because the fungus is simply fighting to stay alive. It's an organism, so reproducing takes energy and effort. A fungus is not a plant, but imagine how a shriveled plant would have trouble flowering? Same concept. So, make your fungus miserable with some antifungal cream and wash wash wash your hands.  

Finally, Vortex was in good condition according to the vet (***knocks on wood***)! I'm still keeping my eye out for patchiness and scratching. I am also keeping my lesions away from him.

PS: I've had my infection for almost 2 months (I didn't know what it was for a while), and he still has no symptoms. So, hopefully, I am looking t a human only case of ringworm.

That's really useful information, thank you for sharing.
I hope your infection clears up soon. Glad Vortex is in good health!