Holy Ringworm, Batman!
Yes. I uttered the word possibly most-dreaded in a cat rescuer’s vocabulary. Ringworm. We hate it because it spreads. We hate it because it just sounds icky. We hate it because people can catch it too, and nobody wants to have ringworm. Blech.
I believe one of my foster cats at the animal hospital where I work has the hated RW. Which, by the way, isn’t a worm at all, but a fungus. Don’t know if that makes it better or worse, but I think it needs a new name. FunRing? Maybe we would hate it less if it didn’t sound so gross, but I doubt it.
Poor Scout, a handsome brown tabby cat, just can’t seem to catch a break. He got adopted 2 years ago, but then a couple of weeks ago he found himself back with Save Our Strays when his family had a human baby. A lot of people seem to find having a baby an acceptable reason for getting rid of their pets. Just a sidenote - babies and animals can live quite happily in the same home with a modicum of supervision and some common sense. But I digress. Scout has been staying at the animal hospital where I work for the past couple of weeks. The first week he spent in complete terror, hiding behind the litter box in his cage and trembling if anyone touched him. The second week he started to settle in and accept his new surroundings - and then today I discover suspicious scaly, crusty patches on his face. The verdict from the vet isn’t in yet, but I’ve seen ringworm a “few” times before, and I’m pretty good at spotting it now. If it is ringworm, Scout will have to endure baths and daily bouts of being smeared with medication that he’s surely not going to enjoy - especially in his current stressed out state.
Sigh. Perhaps worst of all is that this will set back his chances for adoption, since we can’t very well adopt out a cat with ringworm. He’ll have to get better first, which can take weeks. He’ll have to be isolated from other cats, alone in a cage. I just hate it for him.
Often, being a rescuer means dealing with a lot of sickness. These cats come to us from all kinds of situations, where they’ve been exposed to all kinds of things. Currently I’m treating my own cats for giardia, which they picked up from a foster cat of mine. Pills twice a day. I’m treating a couple of my senior cats for upper respiratory infections. Liquid meds and eye drops twice a day. I have two unpleasant holes in my thumb where one of them chomped down on me while vigorously opposing the medicating process, and my arms look like a roadmap of scratches.
Yet, I still love what I do. Yep. Love it. Don’t ever plan to give it up. The rewards are worth catching ringworm and having my doctor ask me if I have a cutting problem (yes, both have happened). It’s even worth cleaning litter boxes twice every single day. And that’s really saying something!
Anti-fungal wishes to all,
This crazy cat lady
Update! Scout *may* not have ringworm! The vet thinks it might be a skin infection, which isn’t exactly great either, but preferable to ringworm in that it’s not so contagious. He’s still being isolated for now just in case while we see if the antibiotics clear up the lesions.
A bit of education… If a cat in your care is diagnosed with ringworm, the first step is isolating them from any other pets in your home. It’s also best to keep children away from them since it is contagious to humans. Your vet may prescribe a variety of different treatments, from baths to anti-fungal creams to oral medication. It’s important that you follow your vet’s instructions to the letter, since ringworm not treated properly can worsen and make your cat very uncomfortable. To prevent the spread of ringworm to yourself and others in your home, it’s best to keep a smock right inside the door of the isolation area that you can wear while handling the infected cat (disposable latex gloves are a good idea too). Ringworm is spread by spores which are shed by the infected cat, and these can cling to clothing or shoes or human skin. I also buy a cheap pair of slippers that I can wear in the isolation area, then just throw away after the ringworm is gone. As soon as you are finished handling the infected cat, be sure to wash any exposed skin thoroughly with soap and water. Also because of the shedding spores, it’s a good idea to vacuum the isolation area daily if carpeted (and throw away the bag/empty the canister outside your home). If not carpeted, cleaning the isolation area with a 1:10 bleach/water solution daily can kill the spores and prevent their spread. Of course be careful kitty is contained safely away until the bleach-water is totally dry!