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Ringworm in Cats

Ringworm in Cats

Dermatophytosis

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Updated on September 26, 2024
SUMMARY OF CONTENT
A highly contagious fungal infection of the skin that often results in hair loss in cats, requiring labor intensive management.
SEVERITY:
Severity is typically mild when symptoms are identified early, and treatment is started in a timely manner
  • Time to Cure
    Resolves within months
  • Treatment Icon
    Treatable by a veterinarian, by the pet parent
  • Spread Icon
    Transmission is possible and highly contagious to other animals and people
  • Lab Icon
    Diagnosis requires physical exam, fungal culture, Wood’s lamp exam or PCR testing
VERY COMMON IN
Very young and older cats, or those with pre-existing health conditions

Symptoms & Signs

Most cats with ringworm develop hair loss, either in a small patch or spread across their entire body. Other clinical signs associated with ringworm infections are highly variable. Some cats develop any combination of redness in the areas of hair loss, scaling or crusting skin and itching; these signs all vary widely in severity.

Diagnosis

A Wood’s lamp may be performed during a physical exam when ringworm is suspected. However, this test is far from definitive, as many species of dermatophytes will not fluoresce, or glow, an apple-green color under a Wood’s lamp. Another method of ringworm diagnosis is performed by plucking hairs and performing special stains so that they can be assessed microscopically. The most definitive method of diagnosing ringworm is by performing a fungal culture of the affected area to attempt to grow any organisms present in the lab. However, these results can take anywhere from 10 to 21 days to obtain. PCR testing may be recommended by your veterinarian for initial diagnosis as results can often be received within a few business days. Unfortunately, there are limitations to PCR testing such as fewer species of fungal spores will stimulate a positive result compared to a fungal culture and a PCR test may not distinguish a harmless fungal spore from one causing infection. In severe cases or those with other concurrent skin diseases, your veterinarian may require a skin biopsy for diagnosis for better insight on how to guide an efficient treatment plan.

Causation

Contrary to the name, ringworm is a fungal infection rather than an actual worm. Several different fungal species, referred to as dermatophytes, can cause ringworm infections. This fungal infection develops by acquiring an infective fungal spore either directly from another animal or human, exposure to infected items (blankets, brushes, clippers, etc.). or through contact with spores in the soil. Some cats can harbor spores on their hair without ever developing a ringworm infection. Generally, some degree of skin barrier is compromised, or skin damage occurs in order for this infection to develop. Skin damage can occur during a  grooming or when parasites like fleas or mites are affecting the animal. Fungal infection can take several weeks to develop after exposure to infectious fungal spores.

Treatments

icon AT-HOME CARE
Managing ringworm at home is quite labor intensive, particularly if shampoos or dips are used. Environmental decontamination is critical to the management of ringworm infections. Confining the infected cat to a single room until ringworm has resolved is ideal. A thorough cleaning of all hard surfaces followed by disinfection with either accelerated hydrogen peroxide cleaners or diluted bleach should be performed regularly during ringworm treatment. All soft surfaces (beds, blankets, clothing) should be washed in the hottest water temperature allowable for the given material. Dry cleaning should also kill any fungal spores on dry clean only clothing. Hair should be removed from all surfaces in the house (hard floors, electronic screens, etc.). Carpets and rugs should be professionally steam cleaned, because shampooing alone can actually increase fungal spore formation.
icon SUPPORTIVE CARE
Trimming hair around the affected area can be performed to remove spores present on the hair, but this measure is not often necessary with topical anti-fungal therapy, except for in longhaired cats or widespread infections.
icon MEDICATIONS
Oral antifungal medications (itraconazole, fluconazole, terbinafine, griseofulvin –rarely used) and/or topical antifungal cream, spray, mousse, wipes, shampoos or dips (lime sulfur dips, miconazole, climbazole, etc.,) are used to treat this fungal infection. Different medication protocols may be chosen depending upon an individual’s age, concurrent disease conditions, temperament and cost considerations, as all options can have side effects or inconvenient administration. The key with any medical therapy is to continue medication until at least two negative fungal culture results have been obtained. While many medications are often administered for ‘off-label’ or 'extra-label' use in veterinary medicine, it is important to know that off- or extra- label use of a medication can only be done by a veterinarian when there are no other more appropriate medications for a particular pet's circumstances. Your veterinarian must also know all vitamins, supplements, medications etc. your pet is taking to help avoid complications. You must also be sure to follow all instructions provided by your vet carefully and consult your veterinarian with any questions or concerns if they arise.
icon Medical Procedures
Generally no medical procedures are necessary, however, in severe cases your veterinarian may require a biopsy of the affected area.
icon SPECIALISTS
A general practitioner veterinarian can manage nearly all cases of ringworm, but rare cases may require referral to a specialist in veterinary dermatology.

Cost Of Treatment

While cost of veterinary care can range for a number of reasons, small, localized lesions may cost less than $100 to treat, however more serious or long-term cases may cost as much as $500+ to resolve.

Recovery

Full recovery from a ringworm infection typically takes 1 – 3 months, but can take longer in some cases.

Monitoring

Ideal monitoring consists of fungal cultures performed weekly, but this can be cost-prohibitive. Oral itraconazole therapy also requires monthly blood testing to monitor liver enzyme values.

Prevention

Thorough cleaning (as described above) and isolation of affected pets is critical to prevent the spread of ringworm to other pets or people in the household. People should wear disposable gloves, change clothing and wash their hands immediately after cleaning or handling an animal with a ringworm infection. (Disclaimer: The information contained on this page is for educational purposes only. Anti-fungal medications should only be given under the advice of a veterinarian who has examined your pet under the laws applicable to your state of residence.)

Questions about Ringworm

My puppy had parvo virus. If I bring a fully vaccinated dog here, can it infect the new dog? Is there still a risk?

If they new dog is a year old and you are completely sure that that it is 100 percent vaccinated there is a very minimal risk that it will be infected. However, that being said, vaccines are never 100 percent effective so there is always a 0.09 percent chance that the new dog could get the virus. But you should be safe bringing the new dog home. I would make sure that the home environment has been cleaned as thoroughly as possible (this means with bleach to all surfaces) and make sure that the outdoor surfaces have been cleaned as well. Parvo can live in the environment for an annoyingly long time (up to 6 months) so it wouldn't hurt to apply a safe mixture of bleach product to your yard as well. This is probably going completely overboard, but you know how scary parvo can be!

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I have a cat that as a kitten was very ill. We got him from 7 months old. We knew he’d had cat flu prior to him coming here. He is now nearly 5 yrs old. He picks huge fights with our other cat. He keeps urinating and scratching at doors and windows around the house. We allow him to go out via the cat flap unlimited. What is happening to him

I'm glad to see that Pippin has been neutered because this eliminates that possibility of hormone-fueled behavioral changes and aggression. Behavioral changes in cats can occur at any point in time, and could be related to anxiety or stressful situations (even rearranging furniture or introducing new people to the home can be stressful to cats). Without a lot more information and observing Pippin's behaviors, I can't precisely tell you why these changes are occurring. It may be best to consult a veterinary behaviorist in your home so that they can observe everything firsthand. You can also try using calming pheromone collars or diffusers (Feliway is one example), and discussing the use of anxiety medication with Pippin's vet. I hope that all goes well!

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Hi! My cat was recently diagnosed with diabetes. He’s taking insulin and taking antibiotics for a Uti. It’s been 4 weeks and he wobles when he’s walking. He can’t jump up on the bed like he used to.He’s blood sugar is 250 it’s better than it used to. I don’t understand why he’s so wobbly.

Cats can develop what's called diabetic neuropathy, where their hindlegs become progressively weak. The best thing to do is try to get his diabetes under control as quickly as possible. Here is a link describing the conditon: http://www.diabeticcatcare.com/DCCCOK/Neuropathy.htm

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My senior cat has metastized cancer.17 yrs old. My vet gave her predizone1 and one half tabs a day.i wanted to know if i can just stop the meds.

Is there a reason you want to stop the prednisone? I would recommend not stopping it and if you feel it is better to stop the prednisone then I would recommend weaning off of the prednisone. I would discuss how to wean the prednisone with your veterinarian. Thank you for using Boop by Petco.

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My dog has an ear infection

Sorry to hear Marley isn't doing so well with his ears. It is not possible to tell from tge picture tve exact nature of the irritation but if it is indeed infected (typically red, hot, painful and smelly), he will need prescription medication from his regular vet. In the meantime I recommend gently cleaning tge outer war with cotton wool and a pet safe ear cleaner to reduce the build up of wax/discharge

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My dog vomited a pinkish colour. Does this look like blood vomit? She doesn’t have diarrhoea or anything else. Yesterday i fed her plain chicken with rice.

That is very red vomit, however, this color could be linked to a number of things including blood in the vomit, inflammation of the GI tract, having chewed on a toy this color, eaten a food item this color, or gotten into a plant or other item this color. If the vomiting continues, worsens, or other symptoms appear such as a painful or bloated abdomen, diarrhea or blood in the stool, or severe distress, I would schedule a veterinary appointment right away to rule out more severe issues. In the meantime I would continue the bland diet for 24 hours, and monitor for any additional vomiting or illness symptoms.

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Disclaimer

The information contained on this page is for educational purposes only. This medication should only be given under the advice of a veterinarian who has examined your pet under the laws applicable to your state of residence.