2 m/o rescue kitten with Ringworm and Coronavirus

[slifermobile]

Hi guys hope this is in the correct format.

So about 2 weeks ago I rescued a kitten off the streets and decided to adopt him. Before bringing him home I went to a vet and got a consultation. The kitty unfortunately has ringworm, coronavirus positive and was a bit malnourished weighing only 700 grams at 2 months old.
He prescribed a tube of lysine gel (To give twice a day), Miconazole cream (To apply twice a day) and an anti bacterial shampoo (To use twice a week). He said the kitten was too weak for oral antifungal treatment and to come back in two weeks (Which would be today) to start that treatment.

After that I proceeded to research ringworm and found that the dangers of it spreading were severely understated b the vet and made a little quarantine spot in the corner of my bathroom in a studio flat and the kitten has been stuck there ever since. I've been giving him baths every 3 days and at the same time disinfecting the entire bathroom with a 1:10 bleach solution and water followed by hosing down everything and drying it with a mop (which i then disinfect with more bleach). I've also been washing his dishes daily, using gloves to touch him or anything in his area and giving him short playtime periods with toys and treats. His meals so far have consisted of Hills Vet Essentials dry food for kittens (Free fed) and a variety of kitten wet foods (80g packets fed in 3 meals with the morning and dinner meals having a pump of lysine gel in them).

In the beginning the poor kitty only had maybe 1 or 2 obvious lesions and a few dry patches on his skin but then every day I just kept noticing more and more lesions show up all over his body to the point that he has over 15 lesions right now … He's also started to scratch the back of his ears which makes me think maybe he had ear mites that the doctor missed but It could also be the lesion that's in between his ears.

Yesterday I decided to take him to another vet to get a second opinion who told me that the cream is useless (Because he'll lick it off) and oral antifungals are dangerous for the liver and kidney so I should just stick with the baths but do them every two days instead. He also barely looked at his lesions and just confirmed that yes he has ringworm.

At this point I’m getting super confused and feel horrible that this kitten has been stuck in a tiny corner for this long. I really don’t want him to be imprisoned for months until he gets over this issue and It doesn’t feel like the baths are actually making a difference.
With only baths I'm not sure if his body is strong enough to fight off both ringworm and coronavirus without the virus turning into FiP (Maybe doing a lot of research wasn’t the best idea)… I would really appreciate any advice that you guys can give because these vets aren’t even properly examining him and I don’t know if they’re taking the issues seriously …

The kitten is a Male, 2 month old kitten (approximately), weighing 700grams (1.71 lbs)(second vets weight was broken so this isn't up to date), not Neutered, mixed breed named Umbreon.

[Mollycat]

First of all the feline coronavirus is incredibly common in cats, some estimates between a quarter and 90% of different cat populations, and the FIP mutation is very rare. It just isn't something that's worth worrying about because the mutation is completely outside our control.

Ringworm I've been reading about because my cat gets a bald nose when it all moults at once, she has a nasty brown tide mark, then it all grows back, but for unrelated reasons I have to be 100% sure the dog had no skin infections this week so thought I'd look it up. It glows apple green under UV light and apparently that's a good enough diagnosis for most vets, it can be cultured but apparently most of the time this only confirms the glow test. Has the kitten been checked for fleas? If those are out of control they will be making him itch quite possibly to the extent of bald patches.

I'm not sure that amount of bleach is very good for a kitten. Who and what else do you have in the house, other people and pets? Socialising is critical for young kittens so being isolated is quite serious, so a definitive diagnosis and rapid treatment would be really important here. Others with more experience of a ringworm infection will be able to advise but handling is also very important so how to do that safely should be high priority.

[slifermobile]

Thanks for the info about FiP, I just thought that with the new environment and all the baths and medication he gets super stressed and stress really weakens a kittens immune system so there's a possibility of it mutating but its good to hear that its rare.

Kitten has not been checked for fleas but I've looked at his skin and haven't noticed any fleas present nor any flea droppings. Hopefully thats not something else that we have to worry about.

Also here's my cleaning process: I empty out the bathroom first, then take the hose and wash the floors and walls with water to get rid of all the hairs, once all the water has drained out I proceed to use a spray with a bleach solution in it (1:10) and let it sit for 20 mins, then I again wash everything with the water hose and finally mop up the water. I don't think any bleach residue is left behind after the second wash so it should be safe.

I know this is a critical age for socializing and It breaks our hearts to see him grow everyday and not to be able to let him be free in the house and play with him but my girlfriend and I currently stay in a studio flat with no other pets and we cannot afford to have either of us get ringworm. With covid-19 I was made redundant and she's still going to work so if either of us catch it we'll have to quarantine and might risk her losing her job as well. Plus I can manage the spores in the bathroom but if it spreads through the house we're gonna be risking reinfection as ringworm spores can lay dormant for up to 18 months.

This amazing little kitty has unfortunately also been super expensive so far and we can barely continue to afford him with all the vet trips, medication and supplies but were refusing to give up on him because before he was stuck in an industrial are around my girlfriends place of work and used to hide in the engine compartments of cars (due to the cold). We genuinely didn't think he would survive out there so we decided to adopt him and take care of him. If anyone else has any advice or recommendations I'm ready to try just about anything if it means getting rid of this ringworm.

[mustafa811]

never thought a ridiculous infection like the ringworm could be sooo exhausting and resistant to fight .

my cat caught it too recently , apparently it is not life threatening or even bothering the cat but the task of getting rid of it is so bothersome , we cannot touch the cat without disinfecting our hands and clothes ??!! we have to constantly disinfect every place she sits in , and despite all of these measures you still cannot guarantee its eradication .

but from what i learned that despite ringworm might be highly contagious usually healthy individuals will not catch it except when they have a crack in their skin and a weak immune system , and it only inflicts a small skin lesion that is easily treatable .


wish you best of luck there , i feel your agony .

[slifermobile]

Correct healthy individuals will have a hard time getting it but if you spread the spores around your house then you risk the kitty getting it again plus if you ever catch a cold or your immune system falls you'll risk the spores activating and getting ringworm. Unfortunately they can stay dormant for upto 2 years ... We're going for our covid vaccinations too in a week and we're worried that it's gonna weaken our immune systems enough to get ringworm too so we're trying to take as many precautions as possible.