I think my new cat has given me ringworm what can I do?

[jodevizes]

I have just seen a ring mark on my skin which I think is ringworm. How do I get rid of it, especially as I have a lot of throws and scatter cushions.

Cat shelters should really look after their charges better.

Umm go to the doctor. It's probably not ringworm btw. But the generic worming treatments treat ringworm as well as threadworms - I think it's called Ovex.

Maybe cat shelters should get more donations in order to look after their animals. Maybe new owners should worm their animals when they adopt them.

ringworm is a fungus, not a worm.

Yep, althlets foot cream usually sorts it out. Thrush cream would do the trick too.

Thank you every body. I will be going to the doc and the cat will go to the vet but I have been reading that you have to clean everything with bleach but I have a lot of cushions and throws which would not last from a bleaching. Is there anything else I could use instead?

I thinks that's unnecessary.

i had ringworm once and i just Savloned it and it disappeared in a few days.

It's itchy but not paticularily gruesome or upsetting.

Oh, from what I read, it was just short of the Black Death in seriousness. They said to hoover everyday and throw away the bag and then steam clean every other day. Clothes and bed linen should be washed every day and all surfaces cleaned with bleach.

Gogle has a tendancy to over-dramatise illnesses and parasites.... you should see what comes up when you google threadworms

Google even...

Don't use the hideous G but have found this on other search engines. The spores can live for up to 2 years in carpets, bedding fabrics and clothes.
So even if you clear it up, you can easily get re-infected.

Some of those sites though, would use nuclear weapons on their houses if they could.

Have heard that borax is good for killing the spores and also fleas in the carpet but I cannot find any. I have tried Boots and other chemists plus Wilkinsons, B&Q, Homebase and some horsey type shops (they use it for the hooves) but I have been unable to track it down. My mum told me that you used to be able to get it at the local hardware store but that closed ages ago. It is available on the net at grossly inflated prices but I don't want to wait. Anybody know a place in the East London/Essex area please?

If you have ringworm, you just need an anti-fungal and to to wash your towels and bedding. It's a fungus. Same as athlete's foot.

I don't think you need to paint a cross on the door or bleach your eyeballs just yet.

Just thought I'd let you know, it is the EU that has banned Borax (used by women for hundreds of years) and only permits Borax substitute.

Despite using medicine and anti fungal shampoo, the cat has got re-infected. I had hoovered and steamed the carpets, have had a couple of air filters with ioniser running non stop and still he gets it.

Now trying coconut cream and Apple Cider Vinegar to try to rid this horrid thing.

My old cat had a terrible case of ring worm all around his neck, and he also had a compromised immune system and couldnt to shake it. He also scratched the area alot and as he was a white persian it looked like a blood bath daily!

In the end i paid an extortionate amout of money to get him right, he spent two days at the vets boarding with round the clock treatments. Meanwhile at home, i replaced every carpet in my house, bleached every surface, and boil washed everything i could, and if i couldnt do that i threw it away. But this was pre kids, and my cats were my babies

He made a full recovery Im glad to say, although no longer with me. I never caught it though, which was amazing as he was having medicated baths everyday and i was clawed to pieces, i was actually asked if i was self harming at one point !

Really hope you can get it under control

Oh, i also replaced my matress, as my cats were allowed in the bedroom and used to walk under the bed, the spores might have been on the underside of the matress so it had to go. God i sound like a fruit loop now

Would you know if your cat had it? Would they be itching too?