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How to Treat Ringworm in Cats

How to Treat Ringworm in Cats—Symptoms, Pictures, Prevention and More

Updated on February 03, 2023
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Reviewed by Petco’s Animal Care
Education and Compliance (ACE) Team

How Do Cats Get Ringworm? | Signs of Ringworm | Diagnoses Of Ringworm| Treating Ringworm | Can Humans Get Ringworm? | Ringworm Prevention | What Do I Do If My Cat Has Ringworm | Ringworm Recovery

Ringworm might sound a little intimidating, like something out of a sci-fi movie. Fortunately, ringworm in cats is a highly treatable condition and doesn’t involve actual worms. Surprisingly, even indoor cats may be at risk of contracting ringworm, meaning all cat parents should develop a basic understanding of this common disease—including ringworm symptoms in cats and how to treat them.

What Exactly is Ringworm?

Despite the name, ringworm does not mean little worms are wriggling beneath your cat’s skin. Ringworm is a fungal infection. The vast majority of ringworm cases in cats are caused by a specific type of fungus called a dermatophyte. The species of dermatophyte most often involved is called Microsporum canis. This fungus is commonplace and easily transmittable, making many cats at risk of infection.

How Do Cats Get Ringworm?

Cats can become infected with ringworm when they come into contact with fungal spores. This can happen in a variety of ways, including spending time outside, interacting with animals that have ringworm or even just using bedding or drinking from the same water bowl as infected pets. This is why ringworm can spread rapidly in animal shelters or households with multiple pets. To further complicate matters, the dermatophyte spores can remain dormant for as long as 18 months, meaning items such as grooming tools, food bowls, furniture, carpet and more can harbor infective spores for long periods of time.  

What Are The Signs of Ringworm in Cats?

Cats are most likely to contract ringworm on their front legs or head—though ringworm can show up just about anywhere on their body—and belly ringworm in cats is possible. It can take a while for early symptoms of ringworm to appear in your cat after exposure. The incubation period for ringworm typically ranges from one to two weeks, but symptoms have also been known to pop up three weeks after exposure.  

The fungus that causes ringworm feeds on keratin, a substance found in the hair, nails and outer skin layer of your cat. Over time, the disease causes red, scaly lesions that can sometimes—though not always—form a ring, which is where the disease gets its name. The fungus also attacks hair follicles, weakening the hair and causing fur loss.  

In most cases, the first indication of ringworm will be discovered when a pet parent feels the hard, bumpy lesion while petting their cat. A closer inspection may reveal a bald patch and red lesions on your cat’s skin. Because the bald patch may not be apparent in long-haired cats, their pet parents need to perform regular inspections. 

The tricky thing about ringworm in cats is that the symptoms can vary. Some felines are asymptomatic carriers of the spores and can infect other cats and animals. While some cats may show only mild symptoms, others experience a much more severe form of the disease. Severe ringworm in cats can result in bald patches across the cat’s entire body. In rare cases, ringworm can also infect your cat’s claws and cause deformities in the claws.   

If you notice any ringworm symptoms in your cat, make an appointment with your veterinarian immediately. The fact that ringworm can be difficult for pet parents to notice in cats with mild symptoms is another reason why regular vet appointments are critical to the health of your feline even if they seem perfectly healthy.

How Your Vet Will Diagnose Ringworm in Cats

It’s important that your vet confirm that your cat has contracted ringworm before you begin any ringworm treatments. That’s because several different conditions can look similar to ringworm, including fleas and mange. Even allergies may cause your cat to lick and scratch their skin, mimicking the redness and fur loss that may seem like ringworm. 

Vets have many ways to diagnose ringworm in cats. One of the most common first steps is for your veterinarian to examine your cat’s fur in a dark room using a special tool called a Wood’s lamp. The lamp shines an ultraviolet light that will cause most cases of Microsporum canis to glow a yellow-green color.  

The Wood’s lamp doesn’t work for all types of fungus that cause ringworm, and certain products on your cat’s skin and fur can fluoresce under the light, creating a false positive. For this reason, many vets will take extra steps to confirm your cat’s diagnosis. 

A common option is for your veterinarian to take a sample of your cat’s fur and skin and send it to a lab to grow in culture. If dermatophytes are present, they will grow in the culture, confirming the presence of ringworm. While culturing is very accurate, it can also take a week or more to get your results.   

Your vet can alternatively perform a biopsy, which involves cutting out a small piece of your cat’s skin and sending it to a lab for analysis. This option is more invasive but will get you a diagnosis in a matter of days. 

A new method of diagnosing ringworm that is growing in popularity is a PCR test. Your vet will take a skin and hair sample of your cat and send it to a lab that will perform a polymer chain reaction (PCR) test on the sample. Results from this non-invasive test usually take a few days.  

Ringworm will usually go away on its own after about three to five months. However, treating your cat’s ringworm is almost always the right call because it is so contagious. If your vet comes back with a ringworm diagnosis, it’s time to talk treatments.

How to Treat Ringworm in Cats

While a ringworm diagnosis is no pet parent’s idea of a good outcome, the bright side is that treatment is widely available and can be highly effective.  

It’s best to work directly with your vet to develop a customized treatment plan for your feline. Standard treatment for ringworm in cats usually includes a combination of anti-fungal oral and topical treatments—in addition to environmental disinfection.

Topical treatments can take the form of creams, ointments or shampoos. Several oral therapies are available, including itraconazole and terbinafine. Your vet can discuss different treatment options, including the side effects of specific oral and topical medications. In addition to oral treatments, various creams and ointments containing miconazole or clotrimazole may also be prescribed for your pet.  

Make sure you follow your vet’s instructions on how long to continue treatment. It often takes at least six weeks to kill the fungus that causes ringworm. Stopping treatment early—even if your cat’s symptoms disappear—can cause the ringworm to come back, requiring you to start the entire treatment cycle again. 

As a pet parent, you have options on where to purchase and fill your pet’s prescriptions. Petco’s pet pharmacy offers many of the same prescription cat medicines that you can find at your vet’s office. We even offer antifungal cat medication.

Can humans get ringworm from cats?

One of the reasons it’s so important to treat ringworm aggressively is because it’s a zoonotic disease. This means it can spread from animals to humans. Ringworm is most likely to infect adults with compromised immune systems and young children. Your felines can also spread ringworm to other pets in your household.

How to Prevent Ringworm in Cats

While it’s impossible to completely protect your cats from ringworm, you can lower the risk of infection with a few important actions. First, keep up your guard—especially if your cat or kitten has just come from a shelter or spent time with a lot of other animals. Be on the lookout for red, irritated skin and the scaly lesions that are a prominent ringworm symptom in cats.  

Keeping your cat indoors can help prevent them from interacting with other cats in the neighborhood that may be carrying ringworm. Keeping your house clean and washing your hands before and after handling your cat are also good measures to help prevent disease transmission. Finally, if any humans in your family have ringworm, they should avoid handling your cat or other pets until the condition is fully treated.

What Do I Do if My Cat Has Ringworm?

The absolute best thing you can do if your cat has ringworm is to start treatment immediately and follow the advice of your veterinarian. The next step is to prevent the spread of ringworm in your home, especially if you live with children, immunocompromised adults or other pets. 

First, try to limit your cat’s contact with these individuals. Wear gloves when handling your cat and wash your hands afterward. The reason ringworm is so contagious is that fungal spores cling to the fur that your cat naturally sheds throughout the day. Do your best to isolate your cat to certain areas of the house and clean those areas daily. Vacuum and mop floors and sanitize surfaces. Diluted chlorine bleach can be an effective fungal killer for home surfaces. 

With treatment, your cat will still be contagious for around three weeks. After the three weeks are up, you should continue treatment, but you may begin interacting with your cat more and allowing them full access to your home. Keep up the cleaning—ringworm spores can continue living in the environment for up to 18 months, and re-infection may be possible.

Recovery From Ringworm

Ringworm in cats is certainly no picnic, but almost all cats can make a full recovery from ringworm when given appropriate treatment. If symptoms persist even with treatment, contact your vet for additional guidance.  

Learn about other pet skin problems so you can keep your furry friends happy and comfortable. The Petco pet pharmacy is here to help you give all your pets the appropriate treatments.

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