new kitten with ringworm

[Nukemom]

We recently adopted a 12 week old kitten from a shelter. Three weeks later he had what the vet called "early ringworm".He gave him one Program  pill and a "dip"treatment and told us to keep him isolated at home. How can that help since he has been sleeping with all of the family since we got him? Isn't it too late for that precaution? I can't keep him in the room and not socialize with him. This vet told us to just practice good hygiene and wash our hands after we handle him. Is this man crazy? I work at a hospital and don't know is I should dress up as is the kitten has MRSA?No one at the vet was wearing gloves when they handled him. Is the entire world full of ringworm spores? Obviously I am losing my mind...

[nancyjac]

There are ringworm spores in the environment all the time both in the air and on surfaces, just as with other fungi.  You can remove some of it from the environment by using a bleach solution on surfaces, but some will always remain.  Animals and humans with under developed or weakened immune systems are more likely to be affected.  The incubation period is 4-14 days.  Commercial hand sanitizers are basically alcohol in a glycerin base, effective against bacteria but not fungi.  There are anti-fungal shampoos and dips or you can use or OTC treatments for athletes foot (lotrimin, tinactin, etc.).  The bad news is that it is persistent. The good news is that it is usually pretty self limiting and rarely results in serious illness, except as a secondary infection when other chronic immune or skin disorders are present.  

[Nukemom]

Thank you all for your swift responses. I am thinking of letting him out with all the doors to the bedrooms and bathrooms closed-except for his isolation room and the powder room where his other litter box is. I don't have a small enough t-shirt for him to wear. His lesions are small.One is next to his left ear, one on the tip of his ear and one small area on his left front leg. The vet said it was early and that it may look worse before it gets better. I have washed all the linen and clothes he came in contact with, We feel so bad because he is only a baby, weighs 3#10 oz. and purrs so loud as soon as we come in the room. Now,he is trying to figure out how we use the doorknob to get in and out. I have vacumned the house multiple times already and we all wash our hands before and after, I feel like he already had this when I adopted him. Should I call the shelter and warn them? I saw a lot of people holding the kittens and cats there.I was trying to use their hand sanitizer often but I am kind of a freak about that stuff.

[opus88]

Use hot water with soap and 1 part bleach to the 10 parts water to clean all areas the kitty has been in contact with.
Get a bottle of Colloidal Silver from a health food store. be sure its 100ppm(parts per million) min..can be as high as 500ppm for topical use.
Dab the ringworm site 5-6x daily in most cases the ringworm shuld be gone in a few days, while treating you can also put a T-Shirt on kitty.
This is NOT MRSA!!! but never the less precautions need to be followed, when I worked in a hospital setting and had a 'suspected' spot, I was just told by a doctor to wash often and also put a small dressing on the spot on my arm....(turned out to be something from one of the patients and not ringworm, however similar)
good luck to you and kitty, keep us posted.
♥Opus

[nancyjac]

Actually yes, the entire world is full of ringworm and other fungi. Hot water will not kill it, but a bleach solution will (about 3/4 cup to a gallon of water for hard surfaces and normal as directed for laundry).  Kittens are more prone to ringworm and all infections because they don't have fully developed immune systems yet.  Hand sanitation should be standard practice not only after, but before handling kittens.  

[zodiacqueen]

OH NOOOOOO, your vet is NOT crazy!!  You can definitely get ring worm from your cat!!  Take it from one who knows!!  Actually, I got ring worm from a tanning bed.  Apparently the people that work there didn't clean them enough.  I counted about 50 lesions on each arm.....EACH arm, no exaggeration here!  AND, I gave ring worm to my cat.  So, yes, it can go back and forth!

I know it's gonna be hard, but until the kitten is all cleared up, don't let him/her sleep w/ anyone in the family.  Ringworm is NOT fun at all!!!

[Jade59]

HI Nukemom and welcome to the cat forum :)

I'm not sure of your question, but would think since kitty has been sleeping with all the family, everything should be washed in hot water wherever this kitten has slept.  Once that's done, isolate him I think meaning don't let him sleep with you until the ringworm is gone and of course, wash your hands whenever there's contact with him.  This is very contagious and y'all are lucky to have avoided it so far.

I would imagine the vet went and immediately washed his hands once he was out of the room.  I got ringworm once years ago simply from having a stray kitten in our house for just a day - my husband, too.