6 Things I Learned from Our Ringworm Plague (book length....)

[bunnelina]

Hi Maureen,

I'm very sorry to hear you are going through all this. RosieT is giving you good advice; she went through this not so long ago herself and licked it — we all did. And you will, too. The lime-sulfur dips are a pain, but if you do it right and really soak the cat and then let her air dry, she should be much less contagious and you can relax on the cleaning. It's great that she's never been in contact with your other cats or elsewhere in the house. Often, by the time ringworm is discovered, the cat has been all over the house and with the other animals, so quarantining doesn't make sense, and the whole house has to be cleaned and cleaned.

I hope you found the two articles TheCatSite wrote with me about ringworm. You seem to have a clear idea of what ringworm is, and what needs to be done. So it sounds like you probably know everything you should know... and on top of that you're doing the work, being brave and kind, and not freaking out at ALL the way I, for example, did at first.... But here's a link to the article, which is tricky to find, in case anyone else reading here wants it:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/ringworm-in-cats-how-to-win-the-fight

There's a link to an article about housecleaning there, too. Maybe you can get your husband to look at them so he can understand where you are coming from.

Sporanox and terbinafine are both effective drugs. Still it wouldn't hurt to let your vet know how much worse Rosie is looking in case she wants you to keep giving it after one week. Maybe you can take a photo or two and email it to the office. Also, find out how soon they can start culturing. You will need at least a couple, if not three, negative cultures to know Rosie is cured. The cultures can take a long time to develop or be declared negative, so try to get started as soon as your vet feels the cat has had enough dipping and medication to make a difference. You don't need to wait for one culture result to do another, so you can do them every week and speed the process. And remember, the cat can be cured while its spots are still healing.

I don't remember your saying whether your shelter is no-kill but, a lot of times, if you bring a cat with ringworm back to a rescue, they will put it down rather than deal with it, since they can't risk spreading it around the shelter and the treatment is both expensive and hard. You may well have truly saved a life. 

Finally, my main advice to you is give yourself some BREAKS. You need to de-stress; we all did. Between the heat, the cleaning, the worry about all of your cats, and both of you working so hard, you need down time. Try to get out of the house and forget what's going on inside, even if it's just for a couple of hours. Reread a favorite book or binge-watch something great to take your mind off things as much as you can.

Please keep us posted on how things are going; we rooting for you. And hang in there!

 

[maureen brad]

RosieT and Bunnelina- Thank you both. I have read both articles. Thank goodness for TCS. I seriously would not know what to do without all of the info and support.I have e-mailed my vet and asked about other meds and the dip.I am not sure Rosie is worse per say I think it could be that because she had so much hair around her neck the vet didn't realize she had more going on than what was obvious by her ear.I am going to order the dip.Everyone swears by it and I think using that and saving the shampoo for after she gets a negative culture is a good idea. Rosie was diagnosed 12 days ago. At that time my vet scheduled her first culture for Oct. 16th or 17th. Since then with all the reading I have done I think the first culture should be sooner. I included that request in my e-mail. I am trying to find attachments for my vacuum on Amazon as the wall cleaning attachment is missing.

My vacuum does not have a HEPA. I wish it did. I cannot buy it right now. It is just impossible for a couple of weeks. Isn't that always the way, when it rains it pours .

 I did call the shelter I adopted Rosie from. It is a small country shelter and while they offered advice they offered nothing else.

 I am not angry with  them but kind of miffed because when I adopted her I did notice some yellow staining on her belly also, the hair around her ear had been clipped. When she was found as a stray in April she had kittens. They placed her in a foster home until the kittens were weaned and adopted. They then put her in the shelter. Obviously, they had treated her for ringworm and just didn't tell me.

Oh well, it is what it is and I will not consider giving her back. I am glad to have her, and other people may have given her back or not treat it . That shelter is not technically No-Kill but they have maintained a 99% adoption rate. They have dedicated volunteers. Still they don't seem equipped to quarantine .

Another question. Will a black light show spores in the room or just light up green on her spots? Somewhere in my office I have a black light and was thinking of digging it out.

Another question for anyone who had their cats in isolation, what did you do to entertain the cat for all those weeks? I keep putting new toys in the room and throwing them away after a few days. I thought I had scored with some plastic balls but apparently she is wand toy girl.

 I have decided to calm down a bit.I had been really calm in the beginning but I think that week of hideous heat really got to me. The  humidity  is bad right now and Rosie's room is yucky. I got a dehumidfier and hope that will help.I hope the air purifier is sucking up the spores that the fan blows around.

I did another huge cleaning of her room and there was no dirt at all coming off the walls or furniture.I have a big job with the walk-in closet it that room. It was my sons old room and there is tons of stuff stored in that closet.I am going to start bagging some things while she is in the bathroom and taking it outside, cleaning and storing.

I don't have anywhere to store my paintings so  as I clean I am wrapping them with plastic trash bags and leaving them where they are. In many ways the biggest stress for me is the idea of that poor cat alone up there for to long. That breaks me up. Thanks again for the support. Ringworm is no fun and I hope I don't end up with it. Earlier I fell asleep on the floor with Rosie and when I woke up she was laying across my forehead!

 

[rosiet]

Hi Maureen, 

I bought this black light to screen my cat and it helped a lot. It's not 100% accurate but it does help in figuring out if there are still a lot of spores on the skin. You need a black late that has 365nm wave length (the wavelength that detects ringworm spores) like this one http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=150743998157&globalID=EBAY-US. 

I didn't use it for the room because it will highlight dust, but it was effective for examining her skin and spots.

 

[bunnelina]

As RosieT says, not every black light works. It needs to be Wood's Lamp or similar with the correct wavelength, and it would probably be good idea to read up on how to use it or get tips from your vet. The light has to be the right temperature to detect spores, so it needs to be lit for a while before you use it. I never used one, but I know it's not a simple as turning it on and looking around.

I was content to wipe my place down and keep mopping and vacuuming to the point where we would freak out if we saw a piece of cat fluff on the floor. Boy, those were the days; cat fur is practically all I see nowadays....

 

[maureen brad]

Thanks Rosie, My husband says we have a good black light for that. Owning a carpet cleaning company there are times a black light is needed to search out cat urine.

Bennelina- I already miss cat hair balls! Ha- I cannot wait to stop cleaning. Ya know, I have been freaking out but today I remembered something. When my 28 year old son was 4 -5 he had severe health problems and surgeries etc. He had such allergies and the meds he was on made it necessary that I wash all his stuffed animals( whatever could not be washed went in the trash) I had to have pillows, sofas etc covered and I had to clean all woodwork in my home . I lived in a huge Victorian with wood flooring throughout .I did it for over a year until we moved out of our drafty Victorian and until his 3 allergy shots a week took hold. I thought at the time it would never end but I haven't thought   about those days in years. Not until now. Goes to show you that in the midst it is misery but all things come to an end.

 I did order Health Guard laundry additive. It  should be here by the 17th.  I cannot wait to get that. It sounds great.As a cancer survivor I don't like knowing that its ingredients are in question but I need that stuff. I have not heard from my vet yet. She took the day off.

Funny ( or not ) story, my neighbor knocked on my door today I answered with my swifter in hand. He told me he and his wife were headed to Europe Friday and they need me to spend time with their 3 cats,, feeding etc. I told him what was happening with Rosie and that between the cleaning, the job, my family etc. he should ask someone else. He is a nice man but at one point he asked why I didn't just have Rosie put down! I have read on this thread about others being told that. Oh man, I looked right at him and said " I don't murder for convenience" Gosh, what the heck is wrong with people? I did tell him that I  would also not like to take any chance bringing ringworm to his cats. He said he would take that chance. I replied that I would not, not even if I had the time now that I know that if his cats had ringworm he would kill them.

I feel bad having been short with him. I like him so  much but I was so shocked by him , probably because he is such a great guy,I could not cover my anger at his statement.

Oh well. I have only a little laundry left tonight and then I can rest.

 

[bunnelina]

Holy Cow!  Ringworm is a fungus similar to athlete's foot in humans. If someone in his family gets that, is he going to take them out back and shoot him or her?

I wish I had been a fly on the wall to hear your conversation. I LOVE WHAT YOU SAID. There are times you have to be short with people and hit therm with truth. And hopefully make an impression. I'm so glad you spoke up. His poor cats....

Yes, I shared your ambivalence over the Health Guard Laundry additive. I used it with abandon in the laundry — after all, the active ingredient is in deodorant soap and even toothpaste. But I felt like I was spreading radioactivity when I made a dilute solution in a spray bottle and misted my upholstery and furniture. Did it anyway. Was very happy to throw out most of the bottle when the last cultures were negative.

You've been through far worse than ringworm with a seriously ill little boy. You both made it through that. You can handle this, and you are —  magnificently!  Rosie is SO lucky you picked her!

 

[maureen brad]

Thank you Bunnelina- Yes Tom ( neighbor) visibly flinched when I said what I said. I   am not usually so short with anyone. I just reacted and said what I said.It is 7 am. I woke up , or should say bolted upright at about 5 am. I was in a cold sweat and couldn't breathe.I am so afraid of the other cats getting this. Last night I looked at one of the cats ( Desmond) and noticed a small patch of white fur sticking out of his jet black coat. I went over to him and because the patch was longer than his coat I grabbed it and it just came right out. He has never had white fur.It was a  very small spot and although it came right out I can't see any bare skin. Oh my God, if I had to start bathing him I would be doomed. Rosie takes a bath pretty easily but I just know that Desmond would some how rip out my throat. Lol. He is a very big s, strong boy too. Milo is  such a sweetie and if I bathed him he may faint.All of this leaning has alarmed Milo and he is constantly walking slowly on tip toes through the rooms sniffing around. He has been hiding a lot too. Poor guy. Last night he was sitting in front of Rosies door calling to her. He was pushing his feet under the door.Oh No! I can see the writing on the wall. She is going to try to get out of that room and he is going to try to get into it.

Today we begin Rosie's 2nd 7 day course of Sporanox. It is easy since I just syringe it into a small amount of her food. I use duck because it should be given with a fatty meal. I forgot to mention that I have been adding Lysine powder to her food too. Also Feline Trans Factor. I hope boosting her immune system is helpful. Desmond came to us with FHV and I use the Lysine for him everyday. I just use the Transfactor when he gets sneezy.

Last night I flipped out. Real or imagined my head started to be so itchy. I had visions of being bald with huge lesions so I sprayed some foot fungus medication on and scrubbed it into my head. Bwahahaha. I have lost my mind.

 I am going to go buy a new vac today. Expensive or not a HEPA filter will put my mind at ease.I really hope I hear back from the vet today

 

[bunnelina]

Ah, you are dredging up memories from my Ringworm Days. I was lying on a mat at the gym, trying to distract myself with exercise, when I notice a strange rash on my neck. I raced to the doctor so fast... she didn't know what it was, but she didn't think it was ringworm. I put EVERY kind of cream on it... it went away in spite of me.

I thought griseofulvin (dangerous and not-so-effective ringworm med) had to be given with a fatty meal and not Sporanox, which was safe enough for us to give our little kittens. But it's always good to be on the safe side... and what do I know?

Since you are so worried about the other cats getting it, I have to say that dipping them even once would offer some protection, nasty as it would be to do.... but so would giving them oral medication. Have you asked your doctor about giving everyone Sporanox or terbinafine. I don't know if giving it to an FHV cat puts it at any risk, though. We treated all four of our cats with everything when only two of them had it. 

Hang in there!

 

[maureen brad]

I am hanging in. My vet says that she doesn't think the other cats are at risk. I woke u today and checked on Rosie. She looks soooo much better. Her lesions are clearing up dramatically. Last night was just awful

It was bath night and miss 'easy bather' ripped both my husband and myself to shreds. She got me right between the eyes and this morning I am off to the dr. because I have a large flip of skin hanging off my face.It was our fault. She wouldn't come out from under the bed and like a dumby I dragged her out. My husband didn't have a firm grip on her in the sink and she jumped and hit the faucet turning the water temp and she got hit in the face with a blast of cold water.What a comedy of errors. It made it obvious tho that it is time again to trim her nails.Poor thing.

I was so tired that after the bath I fell asleep in her room again.Then I fell asleep on the couch.As far as dipping the boys, if I have to I will but dipping Desmond will not be easy and I am scared of that.I am going to see if my vets office can do Rosie's bath. My husband does not want to do it again , he will but if he gets torn up again that will be it. I have a feeling he will go into the next bath tense and then it will be bad. I did not get a new vacuum. I wanted a Miel but there is no way I can spend that money now. I did find attachments on Amazon for the vac I have. Att least I will be able to clean the celings and upholstery easier. In our business we also do stone restoration and cleaning so we can steam the floors and bathrooms at very high temps.

 I am off to doc and then of course, work and cleaning.

 

[maureen brad]

Just here to vent a little. No  need to respond. I took a break this morning and was talking with my best friend . She suggested I take Rosie back to the shelter. I am speechless. No wonder shelters are so full. I am actually glad I adopted this cat. It seems that so many would have taken her back or worse. My BF has a cat, she loves her. I am just so surprised . Why would I take Rosie back? I would still have to do this cleaning and then I would have to be depressed on top of it .

 

[maureen brad]

Well, now it is a nightmare. My cat Desmond has been looking odd. He is jet black but there are areas on him that look transluscent, if that makes any sense. These areas are also thinning and running my hands through them I have come up with small clumps of hair. Anyhow, I let my black light warm up for 5 minutes , turned off the lights and -4 bright green patches. Damn!

I haven't checked Milo yet , I can't see anything on him but I have no doubt. Those two are joined at the hip.

I have ordered a gallon of lime dip ( thanks Rosie T) a collar and a sprayer. I know I will have to dip Desi through a dog crate. He hates being handled much and is a big, tough cat he will rip my throat out. Poor Milo will be traumatized.

Rosie is looking a lot better. Her spots are disappearing and the two huge colonies she has are much better. I trimmed her nails making this last bath easier.

 I myself probably gave the others RW.I try to remember to change clothes going in and out of her room but there have been lapses. Mostly it is because I work from home. I put on scrubs, gloves and socks when I go in there, usually I leave my clothes in the hallway and change when I go out. I have a trash can with a lid there and put the gloves in it and my scrubs when they need to be washed BUT when my business phone rings and I am in Rosies room I have to quickly run downstairs into my office where I can access my data base. Sometimes I just haven't changed clothes.Ugh, I thought I was doing well.

 I put her in the hall bathroom, then vacuum her room, wash the walls and bedding everyday. Then I bleach the bathroom she was in.No doubt the boys got it from me.

Rosie is a lot better but I am going to isolate Desmond and Milo in my kitchen/family room and leave her up here The stress of introductions could set her back so I will wait for a couple weeks on that. At least where my guys will be is all laminate flooring,so easier to clean. Do you all think if , for now, I cover the furniture and keep the coverings washed and then disinfected with Health Guard laundry additive that will be ok?

 We do own a carpet cleaning company but are so booked we can't get anything else cleaned here until next Sunday. I guess I have to take both cats to the vet. I will need scripts for Sporanox and I don't think my vet will give them without seeing them. Oh shoot and I guess my five cats trees downstairs have to go too. My husband is going to have a stroke.

I just don't see how I will get through this. I have been scrubbing and disinfecting every room in this house just to be on the safe side. I work at it for 4 or five hours a day and still have three rooms to go. Do all my dry clean only dresses need to be thrown out? Ha, ha it is kind of wacky this ringworm . Oh and just so ya know, if you kiss a cat with ringworm you just may get ringworm surrounding your mouth. Oh yes, I  did.

 

[bunnelina]

Oh, crap. I'm so sorry. Please stop blaming yourself. It's an airborne fungus, not a virus. It travels through the air like pollen. You tried your best but isolation is really hard to do with a fungus rather than a virus. You can stop isolating when the cats have been dipped once or twice and on medication for awhile. As you've seen it gets around. Maybe just close off the rooms that are a pain to keep cleaning and limit the cats to a few rooms so everyone is less stressed. When the whole treatment regimen is well underway you can also relax about cleaning. Remember that you aren't trying to sterilize everything, just gather up and dispose of the spores. Heat and bleach, etc are effective but you can't wreck your place. Can the cat trees be steam cleaned? It's easiest to cover your furniture with sheets and wash them in hot water and fry them in the dryer. That takes care of the spores so animals and you can use your furniture, and it's easier than trying to clean upholstery.

Our cats didn't go in our closets so we left our clothes alone and just cleared out and kept cleaning the closet floor, where dust accumulated. If you have air vents, they could be part of the problem. They need to be cleaned out and that can be tricky. There might be a link in the housecleaning article to Dr Karen Moriello's advice.

Dips should make the cats much less contagious. You can stop wearing gloves and just wash your hands. If you get it, there are plenty of medications to clear it up. It's unlikely you'll get it on your lips because you lick them and that gets rid of spores. Grooming eliminates ringworm in animals, they tend to get it where they can't groom.

I hope this is helpful and not too disjointed. We are gearing up for a move which turns out to be surprisingly stressful and worrisome and I'm just not myself these days. I think I'd rather be dealing with ringworm, believe it or not!

 

[maureen brad]

Bunnelina- Moving is awful. I swear , it is just so stressful. I understand . The last time I moved things fowled up. At one point I went back to the old house to pick up a load of clothing. For some reason I locked the keys in the car with the engine running.I told my DH that unless we become so well off we can hire people to take care of it all for us I will never move again.

Yes, what you said is helpful and I appreciate it so much.I can't wait to get that lime dip . I will have to put the cone on Des and then put him in a big dog crate and soak him down with a sprayer , he is strong and just trimming his nails or putting revolution on him is a struggle.Rosie is very small and that helps. Milo does not glow under the black light but he is getting treated anyway.

As far as my rw, it is at the corner of my mouth not on my lips. It is definitely rw. The only other place I have it is on my upper thigh and small spots on my calf. Lol, that week it was so hot I was cleaning her room barely dressed. I am not worried about it just using miconazole cream.

 I feel badly though. My oldest son has been sick for a few days. He lives in San Francisco and the dr. says his auto immune system is messed . Matt wanted to come here and be home while he is sick and I had to tell him no. If his immune system is out of whack he should not be home. I am using his old room for Rosie's isolation nayway.

Thank you for talking me off the ledge. I think I have everything back in perspective. I am sure Des does have it ( I haven't heard of anything else that glows green under black light) so after the first two dips for the boys and one for Rosie I will begin introducing them.Crossing my fingers they get along.Thanks again. Good luck with your move,Hope it goes smoothly

 

[maureen brad]

I forgot to mention that I don't think the air ducts will be a big problem. We have no air conditioning and in this heat have sure not had that on.I don't usually have to turn the heater on until late Nov. early Dec. In Rosies room, I bleached the grate, power vacuumed the inside and bleached that. Then I put some carbon filters wrapped in a towel in it and closed it up. I am going to do the same throughout the house and hope for the best. My friend told me that having them professionally cleaned in a house my size would cost about 1 K. I just can't see doing that.-

Funny in all this cleaning . Once I hit day 14 I started looking at things I was cleaning and thinking "why do I have this thing?" and throwing it away.

 Today is day 20 and now I look at things and think "I do like this , but don't want to clean it" and throwing that away too. So much stuff bagged out on my back lawn because the trash is full. We can't burn things here in CA so I will have to take a run to the dumps when this ends.

The cat trees can't be steam cleaned. The devices are to big to get the nooks and crannies. One of them is a vesper ( all wood with pads) I just threw away the pads that Velcro on and every day I put a new towel on the perch and in the cubby. I cut off the sisal and can replace that when the time comes. That was Rosie has a place to climb on and look out the window.

 

[maureen brad]

Good news- The vet only saw one tiny little spot on Desmonds nose. She isn't sure it is ringworm but says to be on the safe side I should just dab his nose with the miconazole. The spots on his body that showed up under my black light did not show up under the woods lamp.

Last week I sprayed Desi with the miconazole on his back, this morning I washed him down before taking him in. She said that could explain it. Regardless, when the lime dip comes everyone gets dipped. I am so relieved because I just could not imagine how he could  have gotten it and I was freaking out.

 

[maureen brad]

I have a question . Does a cat who still glows green under black light necessarily still have contagious ringworm. Rosie is on day 26 of treatment. She has not had any new spots but is still somewhat scabby. She is also still lighting up under the light.

The Lime /sulfur dip has not arrived yet. Amazon says it will arrive anywhere from this coming Monday - Fri. So frustrated and want to start dipping. The shampoo the vet gave me is Max 4% Chlorehexidine. I did some research on it and it supposed to be the choice for kittens and lactating mothers. She is neither of those things and having read everything from Dr. Moreillo that I can fine I want to do some dipping.

Dipping may be smelly but sounds more effective ( important) and easier than applying shampoo sudsing and waiting 10 minutes , rinsing and repeating. For awhile Rosie was pretty easy I would wet her down, suds her up and wrap her in a towel, take her out of the sink and just sit with her for 10 minutes. She actually relaxed and purred when wrapped and held like a baby.That doesn't work so well anymore and she is stressed, she is depressed being isolated and it makes me sad.

This Monday begins her last round of Sporanox and I called the vet and got her first culture moved up from middle of Oct. To Monday Oct.5th.This clinic does not use the newest form of cultures and so it could take 21 days to develop.I called today and asked for lime/sulfur dip and they do nt stock it and would have to order for me. I guess I have to wait until my order is delivered.

I have cleaned everything ( and I do mean everything) I have thrown out stuff I loved just because I am exhausted ( Glad the Pope is here emphasizing what is important and what is not, this was I feel virtuous instead of lazy)

I did end up buying a good vacuum on Thursday and I am misting Health guard everywhere.I change her bedding every day, vacuum her room twice a day, swifter the walls in her room everyday. I vacuum  the whole house everyday and swifter the walls every other day.

I am wondering if anyone has an opinion on whether it would be ok to lock my other cats in one half of the house for a couple hours and let Rosie out f the room in the other half? When I put her back in the room I could vacuum and Swiffer and change couch coverings etc. I just feel so bad for her. It is also so hard to spend enough time with her. I see her throughout the day when giving her food, scooping litter etc. I keep her in there with me when cleaning her walls and furniture. I put her in a bathroom when it is time to vacuum. I spend from 7 pm -9-pm with her in the room and then I go back in around 10 pm and stay til 11 pm.

Sorry, maybe I am just exhausted but I feel scared that this could go on forever and while I don't want it all over my home I also don't want to further traumatize a cat that doesn't really know me . I want to build trust with her and let her get to know her new home. Thanks for any advice.

 

[anabelita]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this site and not sure if I'm supposed to start a new thread or just reply to existing comments. I would like to briefly share own ringworm story.

A couple months ago my family (Husband, my 14 year daughter and I) decided to add a second furry member to our household. Our older cat (Zeus) is 8 years old and has been with us for 7 of those years. Given that Zeus is older and not as playful and fun as he once was we decided that is would be a good idea to adopt a cute little kitten to liven up our household which we did. We adopted little Bo and were very happy, Unfortunately Zeus did not take it well and we struggled a bit to get him to accept the kitten which I know is normal.

After about a week of Zeus refusing to be near Bo he started to let him play and things were finally getting better (or so I thought). Around the same time I started noticing a small lesion on Bo's ear (missing hair) and I figured that it was Zeus biting him when they played (they played a little rough at times). The ear did not get better and after about a week I noticed a small (pea sized) spot on lil Bo's lip and that is when I started to think something wasn't right. I took him to the vet the following day and she mentioned that it could be ringworm. Since I had never heard of it I figured the vet would just prescribe something or treat him there and make it go away...Sure thing right?

Vet gave me miconazole spray to treat the areas and took a hair sample for culturing. She casually mentioned that my other cat might get it to and that we needed a hair sample to test as well. So I went home and stared gathering information about ringworm and after a few hours of educating myself online I started thinking that the Vet seemed to talk about ringworm as if was something I shouldn't worry about. I even asked if it's something us humans could contract and she said it is possible but It looks like it's a very mild case so I wouldn't worry about it.

So I figured the Vet was right and did not worry about it much. I applied the miconazole daily while we all cuddled, kissed and loved our little guy...happily swimming in a house full of love...and spores :-(

2 days later my older cat Zeus had a big bald spot on his head between the ears, and one big round lesion on his ear.  I took him to the vet and (same facility, different vet) and the guy said, yeah, definitely ringworm. I asked what else can we do to treat it besides applying miconazole externally and he said I have to talk to the other vet to figure out if there is oral meds you can give them. He did mention Sporanox but said it was very hard to get because only one pharmacy sells it and it's in Canada...bummer
 

Finally last saturday september 26 (3 1/2 weeks after I saw the first sign of ringworm on our kitty Bo) the vet prescribed Terabinafine for both cats and Pythovet Ck shampoo.  62mg for our 5 lb kitty who is 4 1/2 month old and 250mg  for Zeus who is close to 14 lbs and 8 years old. Since I had done my own research and did not trust the vet 100% I had been preparing for the worst, I had already purchased a Dyson canister vacuum with HEPA filter, ordered the laundry additive, a steam mop, and so on...(just in case it gets bad of course) but in my mind everything was fine because none of us had caught it...that is until Sunday morning when I discovered two spots on my daughter, one on her eyelid over her eyebrow and one on her shoulder...I completely panicked and just broke down crying...

It was a war! we cleared out my daugther's bedroom (2 bedroom house so only room we could quaratine in). Everything was taken out, stuff was thrown out (even stuff we needed, I didn't care, I had a whole house to clean and only 12 hours to do it all) I vacuumed, mopped, scrubbed, bleached with 1:10 mixture bleach/water (I know there are alternatives to bleach but it was the only thing I had on hand to disinfect). My husband was in charge of the laundry (and football when I wasn't looking). By 2am the whole house was cleaned, everything was vacuumed, except some walls and ceilings but for the most part the house was the clenaest it has EVER been. It reeked of bleach but I felt safer.

Both kitties were confined to the one bedroom and I felt that things would be ok from that point on...I was wrong, my older cat cried from the moment we put him in the room, he cried through the night (every 5-10 minutes) and the little kitty was frightened. On top of everything, the older cat was annoyed by the kitty and kept growling at him too. I did not get a wink of sleep, I wanted to be with my little kitty but I couldn't.

Monday morning I was a zombie, had to get up early to take daughter to school. Throughout the night I kept thinking of a solution to this awful situation, then it dawned on me that it would be almost impossible to keep both cats confined to that room for days, let alone weeks. My older cat still did not want to be around the kitty. Before ringworm took over my normal life, both cats survived together not because they liked each other but because they would just avoid each other, if one was downstairs in the living room the other would be upstairs in one of the two bedrooms.

Tuesday morning I decided it would be impossible to get through this without placing unbearable suffering on the poor little kitty by having him confined to a prison with an old grumpy cat that did not want him there. I made a very difficult decision to return the kitty to the place where we adopted him (They have a policy that allows you to return the adopted pet if things don't work out. They are one of the most reputable shelters in Chicago and strictly no kill) so I called them and explained that I did not have the space to quarantine 2 cats separately and they were very understanding. The way I see it, it would be very selfish for us to put this baby through such stressful situation by keeping him confined and scared while we fought the ringworm, if the shelter has a state of the art facility, the best staff, the capability to keep him safe and comfortable while he gets treated, and in turn find him a home that will be as good or maybe even better fit than ours.

So why am I writing this long letter?... Because we all miss him terribly, I cry every time I see pictures or videos of him, just this morning I went to grab a roll of toilet paper just to find that he had chewed around the package and it looked like the roll had exploded...I cried again, my daughter cries too. We're a mess, now on top of everything we have to deal with (clean, keep older cat isolated,treat him, pill him, clean, etc...) I have this ugly feeling of sadness and emptiness...I have to admit that at times I'm even upset with my older cat (I should say my only cat) for not accepting the little kitty, but in the end it was all my fault for bringing the little guy into our lives. I feel as though we played with his feelings by bringing him home and make him feel safe and loved, just to have him go back to an uncertain situation. I'm consumed with grief and guilt...Everything happened so fast, we went from being the happiest to now having all kinds of emotions. I wish I could just get him back and somehow make things work, but I don't think that is even possible.

Thank you for reading...

 

[maureen brad]

Oh my . I am so sorry. I am going through the ringworm battle with a newly adopted cat myself. I think that you should bring back the kitten, let your older cat have free reign in the home and keep kitty in the room. You can be in there when you can. I know it is hard. My new kitty was adopted and put right into isolation because I believe in going through the incubation period before introducing cats. Also because cats get along better when introduce slowly. I so understand the stress that made you give the kitten back. I worry that my Rosie is lonely in her room. I feel stressed working, cleaning, trying to spend time with my other two cats etc. BUT, ringworm is not forever. See if the shelter will give you back the kitty. Good luck to you.

 

[bunnelina]

Oh, dear. That is so sad. I agree with Maureen; get him back if you possibly can. And please don't blame your older cat for anything. He's the innocent victim here. It's often difficult for older cats to adjust to a rowdy kitten. An eight-year-old cat is not going to suddenly become playful the way a three-year-old might. I'm surprised the shelter didn't point that out to you. Generally it's better to get a more sedate young adult if you think an older cat needs company. That said, some kittens are more polite and less rambunctious towards adult cats than others.We successfully introduced two kittens to our teenaged cats; they were feral kittens who respected their elders.

At any rate, that kitten was clearly "your kitten" and I really, really hope you can get him back. If you do, please don't throw the two together in a room, but do the kind of lengthy, patient introduction period, with long separations and so on, that people always recommend.

Please keep us posted and hang in there. This, too, shall pass.

 

[maureen brad]

Just wanted to update that the Lime/Sulfur dip was delivered today. My husband helped me dip Rosie and it was easy. I wish I had started with the dip. Far easier than sudsing up a cat with shampoo and waiting 10 minutes to rinse and then repeating. The smell is not as bad as I had anticipated, I put her in a low container in my walk-in shower. We used sponges, put a soft cone around her neck and then put her into a large dog crate.Tomorrow I am dipping Desmond and the next day Milo. Desmond will be a challenge. I am going to have to use the garden sprayer ( Thanks Rosie T) and spray him while he is in the crate What with a spot on Desi's nose fluorescing I want to be safe. Monday was Milo's yearly and he does not have ringworm.He is still getting dipped.

We are going to have time to clean the carpet and upholstery on Sunday, everything else is clean. My hubby is going to use the Health Guard as a pre-spray and then I am going to begin letting her roam in one side of the house while my other cats are in a different section. I find it hard to justify continuing isolation in her room. The room can be her safe zone and I will now begin working toward introducing her to the boys.

She has had 6 baths, 1 dip and this is her 3rd round of pulse therapy with Sporanox, the lesions are going away  and so   she can have more freedom.My vet is checking with the lab to see if we can get the PCR culture. It would be nice to have the results in 3 days as opposed t up to 21 days.

Bunnelina- you are right. You know you have cleaned enough when your house looks freakishly clean.My house literally shines. It will NEVER be like this again. Exhausting. Today I am so sore all I could mage was a deep clean of her room.I will keep it up though.