# recurring ringworm :(



## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

At the start of April both Kiki and Lulu had Ringworm flair up on their ears. We took both to the vet and they were checked over to confirm this was the only place. We treated it and at the end of 2 weeks it had gone having had another check under the black light.
At home I cleaned down everything. Had our air coditoning cleaned, washed bedding, their and ours and washed toys or threw them and replaced.
Since then Kiki has been fine but my lovely Lulu has had recurrences twice, both on her ears. What have I missed cleaning or could it be because she was very sick after her recent vaccination and it has caused the ringworm to flair again. I am treating using a shampoo and cream from the vet. Thanks for any advice


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## builder (Sep 2, 2012)

Wow I never heard of this before. I had ringworm when I was a kid and the Doctor said it was from the dog although my parents never found any evidence of it on the dog. This is the first I’ve heard of it on cats. Are your cats indoor cats or are they allowed to roam outside?


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## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

Indoor only. The vet thinks the kitten had it when we first got her but it just took a few weeks to show. Apparently lots of cats carry it but may never show any symptoms. It started by looking like a small bald spot on Lulu's ear then it rapidly ( like 48 hrs) was the crusty dry skin. When we took both to the vet bc I suspected Kiki was the carrier she had a little spot on her ear.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

If I remember correctly, ringworm spores and survive in the environment for a year or more. Unless you disinfected every inch of your home, including every inch of furniture, floor, wall, and every possession with which your cats could have possibly come into contact, it's unlikely that you have managed to eliminate ringworm from your home. Of course, the disinfectants/cleaners would have had to be effective in killing the ringworm fungus, or all of that cleaning would have been in vain.

Laurie


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Jenny bf-

I'm so sorry to hear about the recurrence.:sad:

I believe Laurie is indeed correct. I've seen a foster mom take care of a litter of_ 10 kittens_, with a ringworm infection! Unfortunately, it was a constant uphill battle to have to decomtaminate their "safe room" (bathroom), minimize all toys and bedding to something disposable or easily cleaned with bleach, perform strict hand hygiene, use protective gear each time she went in (gown, scrub pants, and shoe cover booties), for feeding, weighing, and having social interactions with them. She used to bleach her entire bathroom weekly, and the kitties each had to be taken in for a sulphur dip a couple of times! Yes, it was an ordeal to watch! I don't think you need to go this far, but I do think you need to seclude them in a bathroom for some weeks while being very consistent, mindful, and _stringent_ in cleaning _all _of the infected areas!

Perhaps this website can help you learn more about ringworm if you didn't know already:
Ringworm in Cats | VCA Animal Hospitals

Hope you eradicate the ringworm with success this time around!


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## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

Hi. I used the bleach mix everywhere it was possible to do so. We have tiled floors so could get quite a lot done. The sofas and beds were professional cleaned ( I work for a furniture company so had contacts who could do a good deal luckily) and soft furnishings were washed so I thought I had done as much as I could. We kept the girls in a safe room while treating so that once they were better we could release them safely back out but also so we do this level of clean. The website was really useful Tabbcat. There are a couple of points in there that might help this time. Luckily only Lulu this time and the two patches are less than pea size so it is much less. I think I will ask the vet for an oral treatment to give her as well. Thanks for the advice. Keep fingers crossed this is my lovely girl's last bout of this.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Jenny,
Since cats are more at risk from ringworm, if they don't have a strong immune system, I would suggest adding L-lysine to their diet!
500mg. Per cat, per day!!
I've been using the lysine that comes in 500mg. Gelatin caps...
The powder is tasteless, so the cats won't even know it's there.
I'm planning on checking on Amazon for just the powdered formula of L-lysine...it may be cheaper!


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## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

10cats 2 dogs, that's a good idea thanks. For sure Lulu has a low immune system as her reaction to vaccinations as a kitten and again 2 yrs later was poor. My vet and I have decided as she is an indoor cat all the time not to do the vaccine again unless we move country. She even picked up an unknown virus after going to the vets for grooming. I hasten to add our vets are an excellent practice as that makes it sound like they are unhygienic or something.
I will try and find the L-lysine tomorrow but will also look on amazon too and hopefully I can get it into Dubai in bulk.


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## Venusworld21 (Oct 23, 2012)

When my fosters had ringworm, the vet put them on oral meds and I did sulfur dips once a week for a month. The oral meds were for 40 days. They moved into the house after about 2 months and none of my 5 cats in here ever showed signs. Perhaps 2 weeks just wasn't a long enough treatment time? I think the oral meds would be a good way for you to go, and dips, if you can get them done. That should kill a lot more of the spores on the cat herself than just cream on her ears. Lysine is a good suggestion as well. Good luck!


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## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

Hi Venusworld21. Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree with you, I carried on the treatment for an additional week but that obviously wasn't enough. I think we thought we had struck lucky that it had cleared up quickly, how wrong was I! I am seeing the vet today, for Kiki to have her spay stitches out so I will ask him for oral treatment and also the bath for Lulu. I think I will also ask him if its worth giving Kiki the same treatment just to be on the safe side.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Oh, I hope everything works better this time, Jenny! Sending well wishes to both Kiki & Lulu! I'm glad you found more info here to ask your vet about!


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## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

Thank you Tabbcatt, your best wishes are gratefully received. Poor Lulu I think she is sick of having her ears treated, she is getting very good and folding them in and holding them like that, very tightly. Thats what I love, love, love about this forum is that someone else has always been there and you get great ideas and advice and information you never thought or knew about.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Jenny, i was wondering of you have a photo of the infection on your Kit's ear? I found a red spot on my own cat yesterday and now I'm paranoid it could be ringworm, too! :-( 

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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Here is what it looks like, and if you can tell me if it looked like this at the beginning, it would be very helpful. Thank you.

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## koshechka (Jul 14, 2013)

Jenny bf said:


> At the start of April both Kiki and Lulu had Ringworm flair up on their ears. We took both to the vet and they were checked over to confirm this was the only place. We treated it and at the end of 2 weeks it had gone having had another check under the black light.
> At home I cleaned down everything. Had our air coditoning cleaned, washed bedding, their and ours and washed toys or threw them and replaced.
> Since then Kiki has been fine but my lovely Lulu has had recurrences twice, both on her ears.


I think 2 weeks is way too short a time. 

I had a somewhat similar experience - except my kittens were treated for longer and more aggressively. 

At the end of last November I adopted two kittens - Hansel and Gretel. They looked fine when I adopted them, but soon went on to develop lesions - on the ears, face, near the eyes and on the feet. They lit up under the Wood's lamp, so even though the culture came back negative, the vet was sure it was ringworm based on clinical signs and Wood's lamp test. 

They were treated for 6 weeks with Lime Sulphur dips and oral meds. After 6 dips, the black light test was negative so the vet said just finish the med (it was for another week to the total of 6 weeks) and that's it. 

A week after I stop the meds, the Gretel has gotten a lesion on the inside of one of her ears. I took them back to the vet, and Gretel's lesion lit up, everything else was clean. Hansel was clean. The vet felt that given as it's only one isolated lesion, there is no need to dip again, we could just use topical Conofite lotion (the same active ingredient - miconazole - as in Monistat 3, but the lotion gets in better I guess than cream, but on the other hand Monistat 3 comes in stronger concentrations). The vet also prescribed oral meds just so it doesn't spread - for both kittens so that Hansel doesn't get it.

The following month at a recheck, Hansel was still clean, Gretel's ear healed but a tiny spot still lit up and so did another tiny spot above her second eye. The month after, everyone was clean except for a tiny spot inside Gretel's ear. 

At that time, I questioned the vet about the oral meds: they were on itraconazole that was compounded because the human phramacies refused to sell anything less than a huge human-size bottle. I read on the web - many vet websites - that itraconazole compounded from bulk chemical which is what this pharmacy did is at best not as effective as a human prescription product and at worst - useless. The vet organization in North Carolina wrote to pharmacy board there to stop compounding itraconazole from bulk chemical. The prescription product - both brand name and generic - has little coated beads for absorption, without these beads itraconazole isn't absorbed. So the vet switched to fluconazole which doesn't have this problem.

At the last recheck both were clean, but the vet wants me to keep them on meds for additional 6 weeks, then stop and schedule a vet visit to make sure it's not coming back. I am ambivalent about it - I worry about side effects, but so far they had none; their liver values are perfect and their appetites and energy levels are fine. 

I am not sure if the reason it came back is my lack of cleaning given the location. I suspect that they missed the spot inside the ear - given it's inside - when they did the dips or maybe 6 dips wasn't enough, and that the meds weren't effective. 

Keeping my fingers crossed now....


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## koshechka (Jul 14, 2013)

TabbCatt said:


> Here is what it looks like, and if you can tell me if it looked like this at the beginning, it would be very helpful. Thank you.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


It looks somewhat similar to what Gretel had. I think you may want to visit a vet. You could try miconazole or clotrimazole, but what if it isn't ringworm? If it is, it could spread.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

koshechka said:


> It looks somewhat similar to what Gretel had. I think you may want to visit a vet. You could try miconazole or clotrimazole, but what if it isn't ringworm? If it is, it could spread.


Yes, I know, it's a tiny spot, but I'm worried it could get worse if I wait. I'm taking him in tomorrow and talking to the vet anyway, because of another issue I have going on with him. :sad: 

Oh, gawd, I hope it's NOT ringworm...I would hate to do a thorough disinfection because my place is almost all carpet and I won't really be able to contain my kitties very well...bathroom is waaaay tooo tiny, so I'd have to keep them in my bedroom. :crying Geez, do I have to move everything out of there now?

Guess what I'm researching all about it now. If anyone has suggestions, I'd appreciate them all.

And Jenny, if I find something useful, I'll let you know too. Wish me luck!


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Oh No TC! 
Keeping all paws crossed, that it's not ringworm!!
Sharon


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## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

Hi Tabbcatt, sorry for not coming back sooner but a busy day at work. I have an earlier thread with photos on showing lulu's ear. This might help you. It was the only place she had it or has had it. I took her with me to the vets last night and it has again cleared. No sign under the light anywhere on either of them. Hurrah!!! So the vet and I have decided not to treat her unnecessarily but I will watch her intently and if it makes another return we'll go for oral long treatment. I will be putting her on L-lysine though to help her build better immunity. Keep fingers and paws crossed we are through this


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## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

Tabbcatt sorry the last post was a bit rushed as I was jumping on a plane. I hope it is not ringworm as the clean is a bit of a nightmare to do. For sure I would be interested in anything your vet has to say or recommendations on the subject. I am continuing the bathing of Lulu's ears and the cream for a little longer just to try and be sure it's the end of the ringworm, just not adding anything for the moment. 
Koshecka thanks for sharing your experience. I am sure we should have treated for much longer the first time as it would have prevented the return, even if only a very small amount, if there is such a thing as small with ringworm. If we get yet another return then it will be longer, oral treatment.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

10cats, Jenny, koshechka~
Thank you. This morning I was in an upheaval when I discovered this:

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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

HooBoy...It does look like something's going on, TC...
A vet check for sure...
Sharon


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Do you see that bald spot? 

I was quite devastated to find it, so off I went to the vet. Those spots didn't glow upon examination, but that didn't mean anything, as "half of the time it never does", my vet said. She asked more questions, like if I'd been around other cats, etc, but upon glimpsing inside "G's" ear deep inside, she got a few culture (cotton) swabs, cleaned out his ears, and came off with some light brown debris. I told her he'd been scratching his ears lately, and she said those debris were looking like "the very beginnings of a bacterial infection", and said with just a daily ear cleaning for a week should be able to clear things out! In other words, those "spots" I found on his ears were more likely due to his scratching rather than the dreadful RW!! You can imagine my relief, and thanked her so much because my mind was off to preparing for the dreaded sulfur dips plus rigorous cleaning I would have to do daily! I was ecstatic! :jump

However! I'm still keeping a watchful eye for any signs his spots increase, get scaly, or worse,_ I _get the darn red circles. But hopefully that will_ not_ happen this time around. G's already been through fleas, roundworms, giardia, rodent ulcer, and now whatever is causing his GI upset to have the runs, so this RW scare was truly upsetting for me! All this in _one_ kitten this past 8 months has been well...I don't know, felt like a hypochondriac mom-cat if you know what I mean. I'm still waiting for his test results from his GI panel we had done last week. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the results, but that's a different thread.

Anyway, I feel so much better now, but I will keep posting here if anything does turn up looking like RW again. Ah, that vet exam was worth the visit today! Whew. Thanks all for your support. I'm still gonna look up RW stuff though. Just can never know enough. :wink:


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

TC, That is some good news!
Good thing you still took him to the vet, because you're able to handle his ear issue now, before it got bad!!
WHEW!! 
sharon


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## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

Thats good news Tabbcatt, I am relieved for you. 
With Lulu's bald spots they very quickly went from bald to a little bit pink into dry skin a bit like eczma ( thats the closest description). It felt almost like overnight. 
With all your kitty has been through the ear infection is so much less of an issue than the RW. Hope the infection clears up quickly.


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## koshechka (Jul 14, 2013)

It's good news, I am happy for you. Hope everything clears up soon.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

10cats2dogs said:


> TC, That is some good news!
> Good thing you still took him to the vet, because you're able to handle his ear issue now, before it got bad!!
> WHEW!!


You're right, 10cats. I'm cleaning it daily now.



Jenny bf said:


> Thats good news Tabbcatt, I am relieved for you.
> With Lulu's bald spots they very quickly went from bald to a little bit pink into dry skin a bit like eczma ( thats the closest description). It felt almost like overnight.


Jenny, thank you for the info. I've checked those spots today, and it doesn't seem any different. No new spots either, but I'll continue being vigilant.

koshechka, I hope so too. I hate not knowing it's definitely not RW, but I'm hopeful. They're indoor kitties only, and I've no other pets.


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