Ringworm in Cats Infection Symptoms and Treatment

Ringworm in Cats is one of the types of worms in cats. If we decide to have a cat as a pet we should be aware that just giving them a little love and some food is not enough. Therefore as a responsible owners we must take care among other things, take responsibility for their health. For example one of the most common skin diseases in cats is dermatophytosis or ringworm.

When you suspect that your pet may have ringworm. Do not think twice and go to the veterinarian to perform the necessary tests as soon as possible. Because this skin disease caused by a fungus spreads very quickly through the body and is spread very easily even to people.

Keep reading this new article by catsfud in which you will find everything about ringworm in cats this is like a tapeworms in cats. Also discover some tips and home remedies to help and overcome this problem to your faithful feline companion, with this you will know how to cure ringworm fast.

Contents

Ringworm in Cats: What is Ringworm?

Ringworm or dermatophytosis is a fungal skin disease that is, it is a skin disease caused by fungi. This health problem is highly infectious and contagious as it affects a large number of living beings including cats, dogs, and humans. So that also transmitting to people is a zoonosis and therefore with more reason. We must highlight the importance of its prevention and speedy treatment if detected.

The fungus that causes this condition is Microsporum Canis, which affects the skin, hair and nails of animals know more about trimming cat nails. That it parasitizes since it feeds on the keratin found in these parts of the body. When ringworm also affects the nails of our feline. It is known as onychomycosis and we will know that it is acting on our cat when we observe broken and brittle nails.

As the dermatophytes cannot live in inflamed areas or in areas with hair, we will observe that hair falls in the areas of the body of our cat where the fungus lives this may occur due to the cat dandruff also. The areas without fur are one of the most characteristic symptoms of the disease.

Due to the high contagiousness and reproduction of this disease. It is vital that if we detect it in one of our animals we start with the treatment and isolate. It from the rest of the pets that could be infected. For this reason, it is very common to find cats suffering from dermatophytosis in places where many of them congregate. For example, in colonies whether controlled or not and in breeding sites in shelters and kennels etc.

The case of ringworm will be more serious or less depending on the time. It takes the disease acting on the affected animal and also according to the previous state of health that the cat had. We must think that a weak state of health favors the appearance of opportunistic parasites and that is how ringworm often manifests itself.

Factors Favoring Dermatophytosis

As with any disease there are both internal and external factors that favor it, that is help the disease to spread to other animals and spread within the body already infected. A domestic cat will be much more likely to get dermatophytosis or ringworm according to their health and environment, for example these are some factors that favor ringworm in our pets:

A system of defenses under
Malnutrition
Other previous diseases or parasites
A lot of stress
Unfavorable conditions, both life and health and the environment (excess moisture, lack of hygiene, excessive heat, lack of sunlight etc)

Contagion of Ringworm in Domestic felines

Cats are the animals that have the greatest facility to transmit ringworm and get infected with it, if infected we need to get treatment for ringworm. This disease being fungal uses the spores of fungi to spread through the environment and from animal to animal.

Due to this type of reproduction of fungi, felines that do not suffer from the disease can get very easily. When they interact with another cat that is sick and when in contact with objects such as blankets, food, sandbox, toys etc. That an affected individual has used the more possibilities.

The environmental and health factors that we have discussed in the previous section are key to the appearance of the ringworm in cats. This spread more quickly in the body of the cat that has already infested. Therefore if we have a cat we must ensure that these factors that favor ringworm are the least possible in a normal way. But especially if our friend already begins to show symptoms and thus avoid that the situation worsens.

In the case of small kittens, ringworm can appear more commonly, by poor nutrition that lowers the defenses in addition to poor or no deworming. On the other hand in the case of adult cats, the presence of these fungi usually indicates something more serious than poor deworming or poor nutrition. Since these cats the most frequent causes of low defenses are other diseases or health problems. Whether cold pneumonia or a serious viral disease such as feline leukemia that seriously affect the immune system of cats.

Symptoms of Dermatophytosis in Cats

The symptoms begin to be visible between 2 and 4 weeks after infection and we doesn’t know what does ringworm look like. Some of the most common symptoms in domestic cats when suffering from dermatophytosis are the following:

Licking, chewing and frequent scratching in the affected areas. Although they do it with the idea of alleviating what really happens is that in this way it facilitates the spread to the disease pro the rest of the body. So we should try to make our cat scratch or lick as little as possible.
Circulatory lesions of alopecia either focalized or generalized
Scabs and flaking of a yellowish color
A peculiar smell that comes from the skin of the affected animal
The appearance of cysts, which are cutaneous nodules that produce a strong pain in the area in which they occur.
The first parts of the feline body that are affected by ringworm are the ears and limbs. But due to the fast reproduction of the fungus surely in a few days the head and other areas will begin to be affected as well.

Treatment for Ringworm in Cats

It is vital that the veterinarian perform all the necessary tests to ensure that it is ringworm and above all, to make sure that there is no underlying disease that has caused ringworm. These diseases such as feline leukemia and feline immuno deficiency are usually very serious and weaken the cat’s immune system. And it’s Favoring the appearance of secondary diseases and parasites.

Can I Get Ringworm From My Dog or Cat?

Once the veterinarian has already done tests such as cultures, trichograms or using Wood’s lamp and can confirm the presence of fungal ringworm. It will indicate the best treatment to offer our cat. When the veterinarian decides what the appropriate treatment will take into account the age of our cat other possible diseases and parasites may occur.

The state of their immune system and the risk of contagion to other animals, then from there will deduce the most appropriate treatment to the existing needs. With this you will know how to treat ringworm in cats. We must perform cleanings of the affected areas with iodine or another similar antiseptic product that is anti infectious and antifungal. Which serves to disinfect and heal the skin of our pet.

Then once we have cleaned the area we can proceed with the application of the most common and main treatment is the topic. Either powder, cream, ointment, emulsion or liquid. There are oral treatments but they are much more aggressive and toxic for our feline organism. So we always try to get ahead with topical treatments. Even so if the dermatophytosis persists a lot it will be necessary to opt for systemic treatment in order to eliminate the disease at all.

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Conclusion

With this we will know about the ringworm treatment for cats and how to cure them easily without effecting humans. These ringworm cat is the most common disease that occurs in the feline. If you want to know more information about the cats health then simply see our catsfud site.