Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 8/10/2010

Question
QUESTION: I took in a kitten 3 weeks ago.  She was very sick and infested with everything.  I was not financially ready to care for this kitten but have found ways to get her the care she deserves.  She came with fleas, worms, ringworm and her eyes were infected.  I have cleared up everything but the ringworm.  I had been using a topical treatment for the ringworm called miconosol and bathing her every 3 days.  This was not working so I've changed my regamine.  I was told by a cat rescue person (whom I trust) to bathe her in nizoral shampoo and treat her ringworm with 10-1 bleach.  Her ears and face are affected badly with ringworm.  her ears are completely bald.  Now the tips of her ears seem to be curling back a bit.  I do not see her scratching at it much.  She also has a minorly dirty ear but the other is fine.  Yet both ears are curling.  Is the bleach solution causing the ear curl?  What can you suggest for the ringworm?  Unfortunatly I am not in the financial state to incur huge vet bills with testing and such.  I do know it is ringworm because I have caught it and it glows bright green under blacklight.  

Thank you for your time.

ANSWER: Well bleach doesn't really kill ringworm very well at all. We use Betadine solution and scrub on the spots before we treat with an antifungal.

The curling is usually from the ringworm itself because the fungus affects the cells on the skin surface. It scars it sometimes and scarring is what makes the ear tips curl.

I would not be using bleach on a cat at all. Even diluted it's very toxic and especially to kittens. You can use an antifungal from the drugstore on the spots but clean them first with the betadine scrub. Then dab on the solution and then later some fungus cream.

The dirty ears are most likely ear mites. You can help destroy them by gently cleaning out her ears with some warm water then swap some alcohol in there to dry them out. Only use a small amount and use a 70% solution. Then when they are dry put a few drops of mineral oil in her ears to smother the mites. Clean that out later and repeat it.

It's not a sure fire way to kill them but it will help. We use a drop of ivermectin in the mineral oil and I do mean a DROP, but you will have a hard time getting that.

What are you treating your ringworm with?
I will tell you that one of my concerns about a kitten that is that down and out is that she might have leukemia, FIP, or FIV. All the things she had usually only overwhelm a cat or kitten with a depressed immune system.

When you get some funds I suggest you get her tested for that before you spend money on getting her spayed etc.

I hope this helps some. Please let me know how she does. Oh by the way, you can buy Betadine scrub at the drugstore. I don't know about the solution however.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I have been treating my ringworm with a 2 percent ketoconazole cream after a vinegar wash.  I'm also taking 200 mg tablets once a day.  mine is clearing up and not spreading as fast.  I read somewhere that I could cut a 200mg tablet into 8 pieces and give it to the kitten for 5 days in wet food.  are the human pills the same as animal pills?  can I treat my adult cats with this as well?  I have 2 who may have it on their eats...but no loss of hair yet.  may I also use the ketoconozole cream on the kitten?  or would it be too strong?  do you think I could clean her spots with the vinegar I have been using?  that in combination with everything else has been working for me.  

as far as the FIV and such, why would it not be worth getting her spayed if she has it?  I realize its serious but spaying seems like a separate issue.  in any case, the rescue will spay her, test her and give her all the shots at the same time.  I hate to drop her at a shelter so she will be euthed right away.  

Thank you for your time.  

Answer
I don't know what kind of pills you are taking, you didn't say. We treat with Griseofulvin or ketoconazole if the cat is systemic. For just spots here and there it's safer to treat with the scrubs and creams. I have no clue if vinegar helps kill the fungus but we do know that the betadine scrubs and solutions do. And no, human pills are not always the same- most of them are severely toxic to cats and will kill them very quickly- depending on the drug of course.

You would need to call your vet to get the dosage for ketoconazole pills if that is what you are taking. Make sure you weigh the kitten. The cream is the same as what is used on cats.

As far as spaying her, what I meant was that it's very hard to put a lot of time, money and affection into a cat that is not going to live a long life due to a potentially fatal virus. Even if these cats aren't sick themselves, they are carriers and will spread these diseases to other, formally healthy cats.

I thought you were keeping her is why I said that. It's so easy to get attached to them so quickly!

Here is an article from a breeder that had ringworm and how she battled it.
http://www.pandecats.com/x/ketoconazole-and-ringworm.shtml

Good luck!