Question on Ringworm cure…..

Hello, newbie here. I am glad I stumbled on this site. We just got our cat (our first pet) a little over 2 months ago, so we are still learning along the way and this site has been very helpful and the people here seem so friendly. He is a 9 month old, red mctabby Ragamuffin.

My husband and I got ringworm just a few weeks after we got him. It didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t occur to us back then that it was ringworm since the cat didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have obvious symptoms, until we saw our doctor a month later. So we took the cat to the vet.

The vet used woodâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s lamp, and since nothing fluoresced, she took hair samples for culture and it came back negative after 2 weeks. So after scrubbing, cleaning with bleach and doing laundry A LOT, not to mention the weekly baths with anti-fungal shampoo, it was a relief that it was negative.

Then we noticed that his hair on his ears got thinner (though itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s always been a little on the thin side since we got him) with very very tiny spots, like someone sprinkled very fine pepper on his ears. So we took him again. And this time, the vet said it definitely looks like ringworm. So she took hair samples again and took some blood –I guess to determine if heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s healthy enough for the meds.

My question is (since we have now spent over $400 just trying to determine this problem) is it possible to have false negatives?

If this is not ringworm, any ideas as to what it could possibly be?

Also, she said she HAS to shave to cat if it does come back positive, in addition to oral medication and bathing frequently with the anti-fungal shampoo. Is shaving necessary? Or can this be treated without having to shave the cat. We prefer not to have him shaved. His symptoms seems very mild, no sores or crusties, just balding on his ears and I know that I can diligently clean our place until it goes away.

If we do shave him, how long does it usually take for hair to grow back?

Thanks very much. Sorry for the long post and gazillion questions. I appreciate any comments and experiences you guys have with this.

You should only have to shave suspected spots, so the ears would have to be shaved, but not the whole body. Oral meds, an antifungal cream to go on his ears, and bathing him in anti-fungal shampoo should get rid of it.

There is absolutely NO reason why he should have to be completely shaved... just the spots that are causing the problem, and you'd shave it so that you can clean it better, the fungus doesn't have any hair to cling to.

Thanks so much Plebayo- I suspected that shaving him all over seemed a little extreme.

Here are pictures of his ears –sorry if both are blurry (hope these images are not too large):






And here he is – he was playing with his collar (he just had a bath here so we took it off)

Sampson and Vanna both came to us with ringworm. The vet never said anything about shaving. They had it on their ears and toes. Our vet also recommended the shampoo and over the counter Lamisil.

It is a long process to treat and cure ringworm. You have to very diligent with baths and medication. It took almost three months for us to completely clear it out of our house.

Good luck.

Thanks snosrap5 - glad to hear that you got rid of it through ointment and baths alone.

Our cat (Mischief) is the only cat in the household so I'm hoping we can get rid of this without the drastic measures. I'm also concern that she took blood tests to check if his liver is okay enough for the meds. I wouldn't want him on meds if there is a risk to his liver etc., esp. if this is something we can just take care off without meds.

Mischeif is adorable and looks... michevious

I'm sure he'll get rid of it in no time, I got ringworm from annoying rescue cats [well the rescue is annoying, not the cats LOL] and it took forever to go away, but I wasn't very diligent about taking care of it either.

Originally Posted by Plebayo

Mischeif is adorable and looks... michevious

I'm sure he'll get rid of it in no time, I got ringworm from annoying rescue cats [well the rescue is annoying, not the cats LOL] and it took forever to go away, but I wasn't very diligent about taking care of it either.

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Thanks Plebayo, I was at your comment on the rescue being annoying not the cats lol


Besides the baths and clean up, I've been putting an otc anti-fungal cream (Micatin) on his ears and they seem to be getting better. (but I could be imagining things as I'm really hoping it is going away)

But now....we just discovered balding spots on his inner arms -ack!

can I also put this ointment on his now balding arms? I am worried that he will lick it off while grooming since he can easily reach the spots and therefore he will ingest the ointment. Is this harmful to him?

I did a search regarding ringworm on this site and many suggested the otc anti-fungal cream but I couldn't find what the posters used to cover it up once it is applied, or if they did not cover it up and just let it dry.

Thanks in advance for any advice on this.....

Originally Posted by Mischief

Thanks Plebayo, I was

at your comment on the rescue being annoying not the cats lol


Besides the baths and clean up, I've been putting an otc anti-fungal cream (Micatin) on his ears and they seem to be getting better. (but I could be imagining things as I'm really hoping it is going away)

But now....we just discovered balding spots on his inner arms -ack!

can I also put this ointment on his now balding arms? I am worried that he will lick it off while grooming since he can easily reach the spots and therefore he will ingest the ointment. Is this harmful to him?

I did a search regarding ringworm on this site and many suggested the otc anti-fungal cream but I couldn't find what the posters used to cover it up once it is applied, or if they did not cover it up and just let it dry.

Thanks in advance for any advice on this.....

Click to expand...

Hi! I use the Lamisil spray or drops. The spray does dry pretty fast and I apply the drops with a cotton swab. After it's dry and he licks it, he won't be harmed. I apply it as a spray a day for 2 weeks when they are over 5 months old. As kittens, I use a spary every other day. I'm using it on 3 weeks old kittens and I was using it for 4 weeks on 5 week old (now 9 week old) kittens and they are just fine. Hope that helps!

Originally Posted by ChrissyR

Hi! I use the Lamisil spray or drops. The spray does dry pretty fast and I apply the drops with a cotton swab. After it's dry and he licks it, he won't be harmed. I apply it as a spray a day for 2 weeks when they are over 5 months old. As kittens, I use a spary every other day. I'm using it on 3 weeks old kittens and I was using it for 4 weeks on 5 week old (now 9 week old) kittens and they are just fine. Hope that helps!

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Thanks ChrissyE! I'm buying Lamisil first thing tomorrow....I'm glad it's not harmful to cats

I hope we kill these nasty spores once and for all and asap.....

be prepared to see more affected spots. It will be 2-3 weeks before the the ringworm stablised and stopped spreading, that is with topical application of cream. I suggest not to use oral medication, cos your kit is still young. Read somewhere that even without any remedy, ringworms will go away by themselves after sometime, but of course u will get faster results with medications.

Originally Posted by boxedfish

be prepared to see more affected spots. It will be 2-3 weeks before the the ringworm stablised and stopped spreading, that is with topical application of cream. I suggest not to use oral medication, cos your kit is still young. Read somewhere that even without any remedy, ringworms will go away by themselves after sometime, but of course u will get faster results with medications.

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Hi boxedfish –Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m glad you informed me that, because this morning, I noticed that the side of his forehead (from his earlobes to his eyebrows –dangerously close to his right eye) has now balded with some redness. Will ringworm affect the eyes? I sure hope not

Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s always had thin fur in this area, so it wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t too drastic of a change but it is still a cause for concern and the redness is scary. I assume its okay to put lamisil on that area, close to the eye? (though I will monitor him after I apply it of course)

On and thanks for the heads up re: oral meds!

dun think ringworm will affect the eye, but if u are worried that the lotion will cause any discomfort in that area, dun apply there.. i think it;s perfectly ok... my cat used to get ringworms and for the first week, i see new areas being affected everyday.. scary, but it will be like volcano, once it had blew it;s top, the infection will dies down. U just need a lot of patience dealing with ringworms. And ringworm affects the skin of the cat only, will not affect on health and internal body functions.. u just have a patchy looking little fellow for 2-3 months.. best of luck to u and your cat!!!!