Ringworm Extravaganza at my House

Newbie here. I'm a volunteer with a rescue in NYC. On 4/26 I accepted a kitten foster who had ringworm. I had no idea because it did not look like what I knew ringworm to look (it was flakes encrusted on her tail with hair loss - I thought she was biting and aggravating it). So, about three or four weeks later I get ringworm and realize who I got it from. All that time she's been all over my apartment, me and my two other cats.

At this point she has gotten three dips from a vet in three weeks. Now one of my cats has a ringworm on his eye. I went to the same vet that is handling my foster and she gave him an antifungal.

So here's my situation. I'm diabetic and the ringworm is popping up on my arms, hands, and torso. I got cream for my dr last week. I live in basement, one room apartment so I could not isolate them. At this point I would like to do sulfur lime baths for both my cats and also an additional weekly bath for the kitten in addition to the one the vet is giving her.

My question is can I give them baths and let them dry in the bathroom with a electric heater or should I have the vet do it? I don't have much money so I wanted to do it myself. My other option is to get crates for my two cats (the kitten has hers) and just isolate them all in my one room apartment for three weeks until the situation gets better. I would hate to do that but the kitten and my cats have free roam of the place and are all over me.

Raffaella said:

 

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Normally I don't get very concerned about ringworm, i also work in shelter environments, but your situation is different.  I would return the kitten to your rescue group immediately, this is their problem not yours, and you have a significant case of your own.  The kitten should probably be getting oral Terbinafine (the oral version of the topical anti fungal Lamosil) I would do the pill covered in a pill pocket (liquid version tastes awful).  Ringworm can take weeks, months to clear up and I don't think you should expose yourself or your other cats for that long.  You're a foster home, not a medical clinic.

I hope you are seeking treatment for yourself.  Topical Lamosil for people works well but your doc may have other ideas.  Sun exposure to ringworm can result in scarring so cover up.

Stephen

Stephen, thanks for responding. I was the first to get help because I realized it was ringworm on my skin. The following day the rescue gave approval for the kitten to have dips. She had her third on this past Saturday morning and that evening proceeded to jump into a bucket of vinegar and water mop solution. Ugh!

Raffaella said:

Stephen, thanks for responding. I was the first to get help because I realized it was ringworm on my skin. The following day the rescue gave approval for the kitten to have dips. She had her third on this past Saturday morning and that evening proceeded to jump into a bucket of vinegar and water mop solution. Ugh!

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Excellent.  Dips are very helpful, but all the vets i work with like to do a multi pronged attack and as i said previously, oral terbinafine can be very helpful as it works systemically on the infection, while the dips work topically.  

stephen

Thanks. I'll talk to the vet on Monday when I take her for another dip.

UPDATE ON THE RINGWORM EXTRAVAGANZA: Ok, aou know I had a late diagnosis of ringworm with my foster because she had no lesions and was only missing a bit of hair at the end her tail and I have heard different stories from different people and vets. So where I'm at is:

1. Foster kitten got third dip today and vet wants one more next week (total 4).
2. Both my cats had their first dip today (one has ringworm) the other doesn't.

Now, I live in a studio where there is not a lot of room. Should I crate the foster for three weeks and crate my boys for the six? Or crate them all for six weeks?

Oh, and my vet gave me Griveofulvin (sp?) for my boys and I'm going go give it to my foster because the rescue's vet did not give her anything.

I see that your last post was three weeks ago but I hope things have gotten better for you Raffaella! My cat got ringworm from my fosters too and I am sure I have spores all over the house now. She is confined in my bedroom now(carpet ugh). I hope I can get it cleared up and put behind me. 

One thing to note(although it might be hindsight for you now) is that the ringworm spores are airborne so crating them will not help. If you confine them then it should be to a bathroom that can easily be wiped down everyday or every other day. I have not done that with my cat because she's newly adopted and I think she has herpes and the stress is making her sick

Hope you guys are all cleared up! It's definitely a learning experience huh

​Thanks for responding. I guess what frustrates me most is that I don't have help and I'm living in a studio. The situation is bad for all: one cat in the bathroom, one loose, and foster kitten in the crate. Not sure what to do at this point except treat them all and hope for the best.

I really recommend searching for a thread in this forum called something like "6 things I learned from our ringworm nightmare". Written by a user named bunnelina. She lived in an 800 sq ft apartment when her two new kittens got ringworm and she did not isolate them. She and her husband and their two senior Persians never got it. The thread has hundreds of replies and tons of terrific information about dealing with ringworm. The biggest thing with ringworm is that the spores are airborne so generally confining doesn't really help unless you have never let your cat have run of the space. Cleaning along with the combo or oral medication and sulfur lime dips is key. Bunnelina vacuumed every day, had her rugs and curtains professionally cleaned and stored till the ringworm was gone, and wet mopped constantly.

Just keep at it and keep your chin up! It takes time- not a few days or a week... it takes weeks to conquer. 

alh071 is right! This site has great info. Don't let the info stress you out though. 

I have been dealing with ringworm since the end of April so I feel your pain. Take care of yourself along with your cats. Take your vitamins(vitamin D is what I call a happy pill/gummy haha), enjoy a bubble bath, listen to your favorite music, on and on! Don't let yourself get discouraged. 

If I was treating my cats orally then yes, I would treat all of them. Same with the sulfur baths, all three would get one. Everyone benefits from the cleaned space. 

Is your ringworm cleared up? are you keeping it bandaged?

Hang in there!