Cat has potential nail fungal infection...could it be contagious?

[everariana]

My cat has had some issues with his back paws, specifically his nails on his back left paw (with some inflammation on a right back paw nail too). Long story short, I think it's been going on for over 18 months but I did not realize until a few months ago when I could actually see a brown color around the bed of his nails. Prior to that, he was just really protective of his back paws and I unfortunately didn't think much of it.

He's been treated for a few months now. At first he received an antibiotic shot but it didn't clear so the vet prescribed Fluconazole for 21 days as she believes it may be a fungal infection. The infection started getting better in the first 7-10 days then he resumed to excessively grooming his paws again (while he was still taking the medication). Additionally, the vet prescribed a bottle amount that didn't last for the full 21 days so after a few weeks being off the anti-fungal medication, he's now back on it but for a full 30 days instead of 21.

There hasn't been much improvement with his nails in the past week so I fell down an internet rabbit hole about what the issue could be. One thing I learned is that it could take several months for fungal infections to fully clear, so I'm not unconvinced that it's a fungal infection. However, I read in a few places that fungus infections can be contagious, and my other cat (his biological sister) has shown no signs of any infections whatsoever even though they use the same beds, litter boxes, and often cuddle with each other. So now I'm wondering if it's even a fungus infection now.

I plan on asking my vet this week. My cat has been experiencing some other symptoms (lethargy and low appetite but still finishing meals) that could be related to his medication so that's another layer. Unfortunately the clinic has experienced some staff shortages so they don't have anyone there to get a culture sample and test it. I'm thinking of taking him to another clinic but I really love his current one as his regular vet (who's a leading holistic vet, Dr. Palmquist) is housed in this same clinic (he's not treating my cat for this infection, though).

While I wait for more answers, have any of you had a cat with a fungus infection in multi-cat household, and did other cats get infected as well? I'm also inviting any other pieces of advice or sharing of similar experiences with fungal infections, nail infections, using fluconazole, etc.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Well, some fungi are contagious and some aren't. For instance, ringworm is a fungus and it's very contagious. But from the sounds of it, what your guy has is not.

It might be worth it to take him to another Vet simply to get a culture taken so you know you are on the right tract with medication. For instance, fluconazole is an anti-fungal, but it might not be a fungus. It could be bacterial. Doesn't mean you have to leave your current Vet for future issues. Just means since they cannot do cultures right now, you need to go elsewhere for one visit. Are they referring clients like yourself to someone in particular? I would think so since they can't do it themselves.

 

[everariana]

Well, some fungi are contagious and some aren't. For instance, ringworm is a fungus and it's very contagious. But from the sounds of it, what your guy has is not.

It might be worth it to take him to another Vet simply to get a culture taken so you know you are on the right tract with medication. For instance, fluconazole is an anti-fungal, but it might not be a fungus. It could be bacterial. Doesn't mean you have to leave your current Vet for future issues. Just means since they cannot do cultures right now, you need to go elsewhere for one visit. Are they referring clients like yourself to someone in particular? I would think so since they can't do it themselves.

Thank you for your response. I don't recall them referring me elsewhere for the culture, but I'm definitely going to ask about it again during his next follow up visit at the end of this month if the fungus doesn't clear by the 30 day mark (which is in a week). I definitely want a culture tested before extending his prescription or getting another one.