How do you stop rampant Ringworm?

Question

We've got about fifty stray cats roaming the neighborhood. Some of them have Ringworm. Is there anything that will kill that stuff permanently? My two cats go outside but they're old, lazy and fixed so they only go out the back door, sniff and go back inside. Twice now I've had to treat them both for Ringworm and I've NEVER had that problem. I bleached and scrubbed everything last time one of my cats got it. It just keeps coming back. How can I stop it? Two bouts with Ringworm have cost me $300.00 in vet bills and medication. Please tell me there is an easier way. Cat dipping is no small task and I almost needed a vet myself to stitch me up!

Answer 1

As you have already noticed, it is a difficult fungus to be rid of. Ringworm is very mildly contagious. It can be caught from domestic animals (especially dogs and cats) as well as most farm animals.

The infection can be caught from the animal directly, or from anything the animal rubs against. Ringworm can also be caught from other humans, both by direct contact and by prolonged contact with flakes of shed skin (from sharing clothes or from house dust, for instance).

With so many strays recontaminating everything, you may have to track them all down and fumigate thier hideouts in the wild. The only other option is to have the lot of them euphanised. And, if your cats are outdoor cats, you may still have to have all the neighborhood feline hangouts fumigated to keep it from coming back.

Here are a few sites with information on this insidious life form, it's origins, and treatment options.
http://www.medicinenet.com/ringworm/article.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringworm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001439.htm
http://www.drgreene.com/21_756.html

Here are some home remedies that are said to work:
http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/remedy/Ringworm.html

Answer 2

Fast Ringworm Cure?

Answer 3

Ringworm will clear up on it's own in about 4 months, so the strays would be working themselves out of it eventually, but that's no help for your cats at the moment. Can you keep them inside?

Check with your vet about a compounded medicine--ringworm can be treated with a liquid form as well as a cream form, and the liquid is easier to handle and can also get into the fur area around the edges easier. It costs the same as the cream.

The vet creams are usually 2% miconazole. You can get a 4% miconazole in the pharmacy, look in the area with the creams for yeast infections. Yes, that's right. The generic is just called Miconazole, but the brand name is Monistat 3. I've used it, it works. I didn't have to do any dipping either.

Answer 4

Ringworm sucks.
Bleach is the very best way of cleaning areas and surfaces that may have been exposed.
Not letting your indoor kitties outside would probably be best, at least for now.
For humans, I know that monistat (yes, cream for vaginal yeast infections) treats ringworm quickly, but I wouldn't recommend putting that on a cat.
It sounds like you're doing everything possible to control the crazy fungus. I personally hate ringworm, because it is so difficult, and spreads so fast.
Keep kitties indoors, away from the source of the infection, and keep everything clean. That's about all you can do.