kittens with ringworm

[jennifer19]

*sigh* so I'm a sucker... we have taken in a 5-6 week old kitten that my fiance's coworker found in a box in a dumpster behind their job. :-( There were 4, three were immediately placed and 1 came home with us this evening. He is quite possibly one of the cutest things I have seen in a long time. :-) ANYWAY, we took him to the vet this evening

Comments

[jennifer19]

soon as my camera charges i'm taking a ton of them so i def. will. :-)

Thanks!

[staceyloobug]

Your vet will probably best guide you, as he will have actually SEEN the cat, but I might be wrong, but I think I read somewhere that ringworm is RIDICULOUS hard to get rid of once it's in your house. And seriously, I might be thinking of something else. So don't fret just yet.

Try hopping over to www.thecatsite.com. They are AWESOME over there. Do a search on that, and I'm sure you'll find tons of info on that site.

[jennifer19]

I've heard that but my fiance just told me he had ringworm about 2 years ago now and I didn't even know. I didn't get it and my adult cat didn't get it, his cat (who passed about 2 months ago now) didn't get it, and our roommates and their 3 cats never got it so.....yeah I don't know what to think anymore. lol.

My other concern, besides my adult cat, is my 2 year old nephew who lives with us. Mostly because I don't have a lot of sick time accrued at my new job yet and it would SUCK to have to take off for that because he can't go back to daycare for a few days....

[staceyloobug]

Hmm. The best case, I think, would be for you to keep him confined until the doc calls you back...I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful. :(

[avenginglioness]

I think it just varies. Growing up while I was quite young I was always playing with the farm animals and taking in stray cats. I got ring worm often, but it wasn't a constant thing. I was able to get rid of it from my own body and from any cats that got it.

But then as I grew and developed some immune problems and one of my cats started getting older and started also developing immune problems, well... it was hell to get rid of. And the fact that my cat and I were kind of quarantined to a very small room probably didn't help too much. But, yeah, constant prescription baths for him, tons of oral and topical prescriptions for me. Constant washing of all clothing and bedding in hot hot water and running it through the drier on high. I think I suffered from that bout of ringworm for nearly two years. And it didn't get better for some time after we put my kitteh to sleep.

He had so many problems. Bless.

[blueyz72]

On humans have had luck with coconut oil(and tea tree oil too) but not sure if it would work or simple make the kitten want to lick it off, lol!

Yay on rescue kitty though :)

[suidae]

The cat clinic I work for treats cats for ringworm fairly regularly. We usually shampoo the area with medicated shampoo to get most of the scaley parts off, but you can use warm water and baby shampoo & keep the area clean. From there your vet will give you the appropriate medication to treat you kitten (we usually use pills, but there are also topicals). Ringworm can be a nightmare for some to get rid of- I highly suggest cleaning your cats bedding and living space fairly often, with hot & soapy water.

I'm sure your vet told you, but the culture can take 5-14 days to grow, which can seem forever, lol. In the meantime, keep that area clean, as well as minimizing contamination on yourself and others by washing your hands & keeping things clean :)

Good luck!

[suidae]

Oh, and yes I did want to add that tea tree oils are big no no's (although you've already said it, I did want to restate it since people are probably going to suggest it, lol).

[rocza]

Thymol is supposedly a decent antifungal (plus bonus antibacterial applications), and comes in an alcohol-diluted form. The Merck Vet Manual indicates that this is safe for topical application in cats - altho, of course, you should double-check with your vet!