Sonny's Ringworm

tracie holladay

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OK so today is 27 November. I've been dealing with Sonny's ringworm for about six weeks now.

He is on miconazole, 2 applications a day - lime sulfur dip 1x a week (with occasional spot treatments between full body dips) - and 1x daily ketoconazole. 

Hubby and I have been cleaning the house with bleach and other strong cleaners throughout the week. 

Our 8 year old cat Gustav seems to have a little of it on one side of his neck/behind his ear. I'm treating him with miconazole 2x daily; I'm hoping his immune system, stronger than Sonny's, will be able to fight it off better. Sonny is 4 months old; he'll be 5 months on 3 December. 

During the day, when I am home, Sonny hangs out on my screened porch up here in the 3rd floor. I'm in Florida so it's nice and warm for him. I figure the sunlight will help kill spores on him too. I provide water, food, litter, and shade for him. And a big fan. 

Right now I'm taking comfort in the fact that ringworm DOES resolve itself in time. But for now it's really crazy. 
 
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tracie holladay

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Sorry....had to restart my laptop. Updates. 

What I think I'd like to do is find some fairly inexpensive clippers and keep Sonny shaved in that area where the ringworm lesions are. I think the medicine gets to his skin better without fur there. Does anyone have any advice on pet clippers? I don't think it's a good idea to use  my  husband's human clippers that he uses on his beard on this cat. 
 
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mrsgreenjeens

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You are right in that human clippers do NOT work well on pets. (been there, done that
)  Just go to Amazon and key in pet clippers.  You'll get some hits. 

that you can finally get rid of this menace
 
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tracie holladay

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Just curious...does anyone know if miconazole lotion stings when applied to the ringworm site? Sonny YOWLS when it is first put on him.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Just bumping this up for you.  I've never used it, so really don't know.  Can you call your Vet and ask them?  From what I just googled, it's not supposed to sting, and that could be from an allergic reaction to an ingredient in it
  Maybe there is something else you can use.  I thought many people use Lamosil, which has a different active ingredient.  Maybe you can ask about that. 
 
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tracie holladay

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Maybe it just kinda stings on the areas he's scratched raw. Poor boy. I'm sure he's miserable. 
 
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tracie holladay

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Well, we're nearly at 2 months of dealing with this ringworm. It seems to be spreading. I can't seem to get any information on whether this is typical - ringworm to spread on a kitten even as said kitten is being treated for it. I'm ready to bathe him in bleach to kill this fungus; I swear it must be the only effective thing. Nothing else we're doing is working. 

What else can a vet do, if lime sulfur dips and miconazole and ketoconazole don't work? I can't imagine what we're doing wrong. 

Do I need to not bring him out of that bathroom EVER? Is allowing him to hang out on the porch a bad move? Since ringworm is airborne, is he being reinfected by spores outdoors? 

I also worry that my yarn is infected - I have a LOT OF YARN - and if I work on a project and then handle Sonny, I'm bringing it back to him by way of my shirt. 

I can't set fire to my entire apartment. 

My husband thinks he sees improvement. I don't see improvement at all. It's just moving AROUND his body, not GOING AWAY. 

I do not understand this at all. Not in the least. I feel like giving up. 
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I don't honestly know if you might be reinfecting him or not with your clothes.  I think it's probable, but am going to see if someone who has  experience with it to come to your aid  It seems like I remember reading a thread whee the people changed their clothes before going in to visit with their isolated cat, then changed back into their other clothes after the visit, but can't remember if that was ringworm or not.  Am thinking it was. 

Here is a thread about stubborn ringworm that might help.  There is a link within this thread that does mention that ketoconazole isn't the preferred treatment.  They recommend Itraconazole, which I have heard is the INTERNAL drug of choice (from other Ringworm threads)  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/318187/help-stubborn-ringworm
 

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How frustrating!  I've never had ringworm on my cats (knocking furiously on wood) so don't have any personal advice.  There is a terrific ringworm thread on the site: 

[thread="210789"]6 Things I Learned From Our Ringworm Plague Book Length​[/thread]  

If you haven't seen it already, check it out.  It is full of ideas and tips from people who have suffered this scourge, including those who had extremely stubborn cases.  Somewhere in there, there might be a remedy you haven't tried.  

As for the ringworm getting into your yarn, it might indeed be a source of reinfection.  Blankets and sweaters are often contaminated.  Be careful while knitting - you don't want to catch this yourself.   
 

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Spores could definitely cling to yarn (towels, blankets, sweaters, etc.), so any textiles should be boil washed or discarded, and you should either be covering your clothing while interacting with Sonny or changing immediately.

If you let him out on the porch, that also has to be thoroughly cleaned (and perhaps disinfected) every time he uses it. At the very least, you need to Swiffer it thoroughly, plus any furniture on it.
 
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tracie holladay

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I have been to that thread several times. 

Updated photos of Sonny (who saw the vet and vet says he's looking better so keep at it)




So there is improvement. We have added miconazole shampoo to his treatment regimen. 

I talked to the doctor about internal medications and their impact on a cat's liver; he told me they all could have an effect. He said to keep an eye out for vomiting, refusing food, lethargy, etc - and Sonny has shown none of that. He also has water available at all times. 

Here is my older cat, Gustav:


Yes, they're a matched pair. The difference is the tail; Gus has a long tail, Sonny has a stumpy tail like a Manx.

He got his first treatment today (Dec 11). He has one tiny spot on the side of his neck. He was tough because he's 8 and rather settled in his ways. He got spot-bathed with the medicated shampoo and treated with lime sulfur. I can't really bathe his whole body because he'd fight so damn hard, and he's STRONG. But I took it slow, stayed very calm, talked to him softly and got him through it. He was such a little trooper!

I think he's forgiven me. 

So I think we're making progress. 
 
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tracie holladay

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Still slogging along. When will this go away?
 

margd

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I wish I knew - just wanted to offer some moral support.
  This is such an awful thing to deal with.  How long did the vet say to expect before Sonny is fully recovered?  
 
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tracie holladay

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Vet didn't say. He did tell us he knew of one case where a woman had 15 cats and she had 6 months of it.
 

jcat

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It could take 6 months, but that's generally when the cats are seniors, FIV+ or live in very crowded conditions. Others can recover in a matter of weeks, depending on how widespread the ringworm is on their bodies and how diligent the caretakers are about cleaning to prevent reinfection. Our shelter has had young and young adult cats that were completely clear of ringworm within 4 - 6 weeks after getting oral and topical medication. We also had a senior FIV+ cat who had it for around four months.
 
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tracie holladay

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I am washing and bleaching things like mad. It is improving so that is good.
 

jcat

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It can seem like you'll never be rid of the nightmare, but it does end! The shelter had four guinea pigs (from a hoarder) with ringworm, and no sooner had they been pronounced clear of it than we got five cats (two kittens and three adults) with it from a kill shelter. Everybody caring for them was paranoid about spreading or getting it at first, but by the time we got four kittens with it the following year, it was simply, "Here we go again!" and somewhat routine.

Obviously it's harder to deal with in a home setting, that is, isolating and disinfecting, but people manage it all the time. It's great you're seeing an improvement!
 
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tracie holladay

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I just had a horrible thought. We live in Florida. I often put Sonny on our sunny porch during the day, because the idea of him staying closed up in that box of a bathroom (which has no windows so he gets no natural light or has anything to see but four walls) seems like it'd be mentally torturous to him. He could be boxed up for six months. 

But I am not sure if I've made a terrible mistake to take him out on the porch. Florida is still WARM and HUMID at this time of year - the kind of environment spores LOVE. Fungi of any kind absolutely THRIVE here. Today was a very gray, very humid day and when I took Sonny inside, he was wet but there had been no rain. Is this delaying the healing of his ringworm?? 

I really have no idea what to do other than follow the doctor's instructions, which we're doing. But I haven't had instructions on controlling humidity here, which is VERY hard. We don't have a dehumidifier, although I think I can get a small one to keep in that bathroom for night-time when he sleeps in there. 

I thought of toweling him dry and reapplying the miconazole lotion to him but I'm afraid that by rubbing him with a towel I'll spread the spores all over him. 

Have I done something wrong? Have I made it worse? Have I delayed the healing process? Anyone have experience with ringworm in a subtropical, humid environment? 

Oh, and I'd really like to step up the frequency of shampooing with the miconazole shampoo. How much is too much with the shampoo? Hell, I'd do it every day for him if I could!
 
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