My half-adopted kitten has ringworm
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| Wed, 06-22-2005 - 10:01am |
I just talked to the head of the rescue organization. She said the foster home had the kittens in a room that was too warm, with it being 90 degrees outside. They put in an air conditioning unit that night, but it was apparently too late. All the cats have ringworm. They're treating them, but she actually asked if I still wanted him!
Ringworm doesn't scare me. When I adopted Chalimar from the SPCA, she didn't have any spots, but she gave ringworm to Bad Annie and myself. So I've treated a cat both with baths and an oral treatment. And I know what it looks like.
So I have a decision to make: wait for them to completely treat him, I bring him home and treat him myself, or I let them treat him half the time and then I bring him home and finish it. Decisions, decisions. I WAS planning on keeping him in a seperate room for awhile, thus segrigated from Bad Annie and Chalimar. I know what is involved in treating him, so I could probably handle it. I knew this was going to happen, though. I told my mom, I was afraid I'd bring home another cat and it would have ringworm. ARGH!
** Noelle


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Awww, that's too bad.
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The head of the rescue group said it takes 4 weeks of bathing the cats. I'm trying to remember, because I think I bathed Bad Annie for 3 weeks, before going back to the vet and saying "isn't there a better way to do this?" My vet gave me pills and topical cream, at that point. I can't remember how long I had to give Annie pills, because it was around 7 years ago.
I CAN tell you that I've had horribly sensitive skin since I had the ringworm. I can't even wear a watch or bracelets, because I break out in stupid rashes from them.
** Noelle
I'm sorry Noelle.
William Matthew December 6, 2004


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That really sucks. Tasha had it when I got her, and it took her a very long time to kick it. It even came back a couple of times. But the vet never gave us any pills for her, we just bathed her and gave her Program, the flea med, which at the time was just starting to show promise for fighting ringworm (more recent studies show now that it is practically useless). No wonder it took so long. Thankfully DBF and I never caught it ourselves.
As much as I would hate it, perhaps you should wait. You don't want to risk spreading it to yourself and your other cats.
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Noelle,
I'm really sorry to hear that your kitten has ringworm now. What a bummer and you're right you do have to decide whether to leave him there for treatment or bring him home and treat him there.
I know that there is no way I would bring a kitten or cat home that I knew had ringworm as it can be difficult to treat and it's highly contagious. Ringworm is a fungus and the spores can be spread and drop of cats very easily. You could be infected or you could infect your kitties just in the process of treating him. Disinfection is key for control especially in multicat or cattery situations and I just can't see wanting to get that started.
I had ringworm years ago when I managed a pet store and got it from vaccinating a group of kittens. At the time griseofulvin was the drug of choice and it was not pleasant as it had a tendency to make you sick to your stomach if you're not careful. I'm sure now with the new antifungals on the market there are others but they all carry significant risks some involving liver damage so I wouldn't want to get it again that's for sure.
See link for a good FAQ sheet on ringworm in cats.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_ringworm.html
What ever you decide to do, good luck.
Lynn
Thanks. I'm still trying to figure out what to do. When I caught ringworm from Chalimar, my doctor told me to use Lotrimin AF, which took awhile, but did finally clear it up. For Bad Annie, the vet first had be bathe her. That turned into such an ordeal, that he then gave me pills and a cream for her. I don't remember what they were, as it was 7 years ago.
My mom thinks I should bring him home and treat him myself. I admit, I'm concerned he'll get re-infected easily, being in a room full of cats with the disease. Plus, they're bathing him to treat it. I called my vet, to see how they would treat him, and they said it would be pills and a cream. I've heard the pills clear it up faster. I'm also concerned that if I let them treat him, they'll bathe him for 4 weeks, I'll bring him home, and I'll STILL get it. When I brought Chalimar home, the SPCA said she'd just gotten over a skin disease. She had no bald spots at all. And yet Bad Annie and I caught it.
Honestly...this was my biggest fear about adopting a new cat. That we'd all get something like ringworm. I'm still adopting him, don't worry. I just have to figure out what to do about this.
** Noelle
I agree. I talked it over with my mom, who helped me treat Bad Annie 7 years ago. Mom helped me the whole time, and she never caught it. And Chalimar was playing with Annie, and didn't get re-infected. So I think what I'll do, is call the rescue group, find out when I can pick him up, and then call my vet and make him his first appointment. That was my pre-ringworm plan anyways. I'll keep him in a seperate room for awhile, before slowly introducing him to my other cats.
Just to be safe, though, because I KNOW I'm susceptible to ringworm, I'm going to pick up some hypo-allergenic surgical gloves tonight. And some bleach for the laundry. That should hopefully stop my own paranoia from going into overdrive.
** Noelle
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