Does your cat have ringworm?

Feline Ringworm

Just as in humans, ringworm is not aworm but a fungal disease that infects skin, hair, and claws by one ofthe three types of fungus: Epidermophyton , Microsporum, andTrichophyton.

These fungi are found worldwide, and all domesticanimals are susceptible. Ringworm in cats is the most common form ofringworm in pets. Second most common is ringworm carried by rodents andpicked up by curious dogs digging into rodent burrows. The third formis a soil fungus.

Ringworm in cats generally appears as a red, crusty,rough area of skin with broken hairs and hair loss with hardly anyitching. Ringworm can, however, present itself in many ways which arenot typical.

Due to the susceptibility of young animals, the disease is more common in puppies and kittens.

How does a cat get ringworm?

Cats can pick up ringworm in several ways:

Contact with hair, fur and skin from infected animals
Contact with contaminated bedding, grooming equipment, toys or environment
Contact with soil containing fungal organisms

Ringwormis spread by contact with animals which already have ringworm, and bytouching objects that the infected animal has touched; such as bedding,brushes or grooming equipment, saddles and other tack, furniture, rugs,etc. Not every animal or human who touches infected animals or objects willbecome infected; the age, immune status, skin condition and groominghabits of the animals influence if the fungus is actually able to growand infect.

In animals, the classic Ringworm lesions are patchy areas of hair lossand scaliness, usually with very little inflammation or redness.

Animal/Human transmission of ringworm

Some ringworm in cats can be contagious to people (zoonoticdisease), especially children. Studies show that in 30 percent to 70percent of households where the cat has ringworm, at least one personwill get it. People with the highest risk for catching ringworm fromtheir pet are young children who have never been exposed, the elderly,or people with a depressed immune system.

Oncea person has been exposed to a strain of ringworm, most developimmunity and rarely get the same strain again. If a person developsringworm, your pets should be examined, although many times the sourceof infection is actually another person and not a pet.

Cat Ringworm

Infected dogs generally always have a skin lesion at the site of infection, whereas infected cats can carrythe fungus and transmit it without actually having a skin lesion. Inother words, cats can have the fungus on their coat or transmit thefungus to other animals and people and not have any noticeable lesionsthemselves.

Diagnosis of pet ringworm

Diagnosis of ringworm requires a fungal culture from a sample of hairplucked from the edge of a lesion. This can take several days to a fewweeks for growth and a diagnosis.

Catsthat are suspected of carrying the fungus but have no lesions can bediagnosed by culturing a sample of the coat after brushing the cat. Anultraviolet light can be used to diagnose about 30% of the ringworminfections.

Although the disease is considered to be selflimiting in most healthy people and animals, treatment of infected catsand dogs is usually recommended to speed recovery and prevent passingon the fungus. Most animals will "outgrow" the Ringworm fungus as theirbody's immune system fights it off over the course of a few weeks.

Old animals and kittens

Due to the susceptibility of young animals, the disease is more common in kittens.

Animals that are immunocompromised or very young or old are less likely to rid themselves of the condition without treatment.

To some extent, infection may be persistent and widespread in longhaired breeds of cats.

Symptoms of Ringworm in your pet:

Lesions, either single or multiple
Scaling or crusting
Patches of hair loss that may be circular
Minimal to no itching
Nodules with ulcers or draining tracts are rare, but may occur.

Treatments for Animal Ringworm

Topical treatments involve clipping the hair, bathing with antifungalshampoo and rinses that decrease transmission immediately. Some casesmay require systemic antifungal therapy that has been shown to shortenthe course of the disease. A ringworm vaccine is also available for usein cats in catteries or multi-cat households where treatment ofindividual cats is difficult. The anti-fungal drug of choice in cats is Itraconazole. Oral medications aregenerally reserved for severe and/or chronic infections and can beexpensive and with side effects.

Treatment must continue until the culture results arenegative, even though the animal may look better. Hair re-grows longbefore the fungus is exterminated. In a single-cat household, treatmentcan last 3 to 8 weeks and may be needed for longer periods in amulti-pet household.

Localized infections may be treated with topical therapy alone.
Systemic antifungal in combination with topical therapy shouldbe used for generalized infections or in dogs with multiple lesions.
Thoroughly disinfect and vacuum the pet's environment.
All in-contact animals should be evaluated for possible infection.

Home Treatment for Ringworm in pets

Treating your home is also important. Fungal spores can persist in yourcarpet for up to 2 years, so re-infection is a concern. The moreanimals in the house, the longer the treatment must go on before theenvironment is clear. Getting rid of the hair in the house, kennels andpet sleeping areas are the best way to rid the fungus from theenvironment. This is why veterinarians recommend clipping the pet’shair (alert the groomer). Fungus likes to grow in dark spaces on hairand debris.

Ifyour pet has ringworm, change the bag each time you vacuum. The partsof a bagless vacuum can be soaked in diluted bleach water between uses.The only reliable killer of the ringworm spores is a 1:10 dilution ofbleach in water. Use this with care because it will stain.

Sunlight and Ringworm

Sunlightalso kills ringworm. Items that cannot be thrown away can be left inthe sun outside to rid them of ringworm contamination.