Hi all,
We adopted to Siberian kittens on November 22nd. Unbeknownst to us, the kittens had ringworm. I took them to the vet the very next day (Nov. 23) after getting them, and we noticed a dry patch at the base of the boy's tail. The vet looked at it under the black light (it did not glow), and said she didn't think it was ringworm. She went ahead and did a culture anyway. On November 25th, I stopped by the vet to pick up Micazole (mitroconazole lotion 1%), as I had found two more spots on the boy, and one suspicious spot on the girl. I began treating topically. On November 28th, I requested a shampoo so that I could treat the cats all over. Spot treating seemed pointless as there could be many more unseen spots. They gave me KetoHex and Limeplus Dip to use. I held off on the dip, because the culture wasn't showing anything yet. I shampooed both cats on November 28th and continued to spot treat with the mitroconzaole lotion. By Sunday, December 4th, both my daughter and I had two spots of ringworm each on us. I shampooed both cats that day and did the dip. I called the vet on Monday and told them that the culture was pointless now that we both had ringworm.
Thankfully, the cats have been isolated in my bedroom and bathroom. We were keeping them in there initially anyway, but decided to leave them there until we knew what was going on. I shampooed and dipped both cats again on Wednesday, December 7th, and took the boy to the vet because I was finding more spots. The vet prescribed terbinafine oral medication for both cats (cut each 250 mg tablet into fourths). We initially tried to get itrakonzole oral solution, but it was going to cost $250 to have it compounded each refill. I started the oral medication that night.
Since my daughter and I both got it (last Sunday), I began cleaning like crazy. I am vacuuming or using a Swiffer daily. I use Spic and Span (claims to kill ringworm) on the bathroom floor and let it sit for 10 minutes, rinse, dry, and then repeat with 1:10 bleach solution for 10 minutes, rinse, dry. Then, I shampoo and dip both cats and leave them in the clean bathroom to dry while I'm vacuuming my bedroom (wood floors) and clean those with vinegar and water. I am washing the floors and bathing/dipping the cats twice a week. I am washing my blanket on my bed daily, as the kittens have have access to my bedroom.
My spots have cleared up completely in one week using Naftin. My daughter was prescribed ketoconzole cream 2%, and hers are slowly going away (Naftin is for ages 12 and up)
Here are my questions:
*How long will this take to resolve?
*Should I keep the kittens contained to the bathroom and not let them in my room?
*Do I need to be this vigorous with cleaning? Or can I chill a little?
*They had a cat tree. I took it out to our back porch, vacuumed it, and sprayed it with Lysol. Then, I used carpet cleaner on it. Do you think the spores are dead on it or do I need to throw it away? Will allowing it to sit in the sun help? It was very expensive.
*How long before the kittens are no longer contagious? In humans, we are not contagious after 24-48 hours of treatment. I am reading anywhere from 4 weeks to 4 months for a cat? Why?? Doesn't the lime dip keep them from being contagious?
*Do I really have to throw away the vacuum bag each time I use it? The bags say they can capture particles as small as 0.1 micron and filter 99.7%. I'm literally vacuuming air, because the kittens do not seem to shed much.
*Any tips you can offer are greatly appreciated!
We adopted to Siberian kittens on November 22nd. Unbeknownst to us, the kittens had ringworm. I took them to the vet the very next day (Nov. 23) after getting them, and we noticed a dry patch at the base of the boy's tail. The vet looked at it under the black light (it did not glow), and said she didn't think it was ringworm. She went ahead and did a culture anyway. On November 25th, I stopped by the vet to pick up Micazole (mitroconazole lotion 1%), as I had found two more spots on the boy, and one suspicious spot on the girl. I began treating topically. On November 28th, I requested a shampoo so that I could treat the cats all over. Spot treating seemed pointless as there could be many more unseen spots. They gave me KetoHex and Limeplus Dip to use. I held off on the dip, because the culture wasn't showing anything yet. I shampooed both cats on November 28th and continued to spot treat with the mitroconzaole lotion. By Sunday, December 4th, both my daughter and I had two spots of ringworm each on us. I shampooed both cats that day and did the dip. I called the vet on Monday and told them that the culture was pointless now that we both had ringworm.
Thankfully, the cats have been isolated in my bedroom and bathroom. We were keeping them in there initially anyway, but decided to leave them there until we knew what was going on. I shampooed and dipped both cats again on Wednesday, December 7th, and took the boy to the vet because I was finding more spots. The vet prescribed terbinafine oral medication for both cats (cut each 250 mg tablet into fourths). We initially tried to get itrakonzole oral solution, but it was going to cost $250 to have it compounded each refill. I started the oral medication that night.
Since my daughter and I both got it (last Sunday), I began cleaning like crazy. I am vacuuming or using a Swiffer daily. I use Spic and Span (claims to kill ringworm) on the bathroom floor and let it sit for 10 minutes, rinse, dry, and then repeat with 1:10 bleach solution for 10 minutes, rinse, dry. Then, I shampoo and dip both cats and leave them in the clean bathroom to dry while I'm vacuuming my bedroom (wood floors) and clean those with vinegar and water. I am washing the floors and bathing/dipping the cats twice a week. I am washing my blanket on my bed daily, as the kittens have have access to my bedroom.
My spots have cleared up completely in one week using Naftin. My daughter was prescribed ketoconzole cream 2%, and hers are slowly going away (Naftin is for ages 12 and up)
Here are my questions:
*How long will this take to resolve?
*Should I keep the kittens contained to the bathroom and not let them in my room?
*Do I need to be this vigorous with cleaning? Or can I chill a little?
*They had a cat tree. I took it out to our back porch, vacuumed it, and sprayed it with Lysol. Then, I used carpet cleaner on it. Do you think the spores are dead on it or do I need to throw it away? Will allowing it to sit in the sun help? It was very expensive.
*How long before the kittens are no longer contagious? In humans, we are not contagious after 24-48 hours of treatment. I am reading anywhere from 4 weeks to 4 months for a cat? Why?? Doesn't the lime dip keep them from being contagious?
*Do I really have to throw away the vacuum bag each time I use it? The bags say they can capture particles as small as 0.1 micron and filter 99.7%. I'm literally vacuuming air, because the kittens do not seem to shed much.
*Any tips you can offer are greatly appreciated!
