Maddy
,@mbates19
0
Friends
Hi! We’ve adopted an old cat who was previously a stray, he has hyperthyroidism and is underweight (6.5 pounds at last vet checkup a month ago). He’s been getting better in most aspects (his labs are normal now, no FIV, etc), but he’s been fighting ringworm consistently since January. We’ve done regular rounds of lime sulfur dip, miconazole spray and baths, and pretty constant environmental spore cleaning (regular laundry, Rescue antifungal spray, cleaning/vacuuming) for 2 months but he keeps picking it back up. We’ve been UV lighting him often, and when it finally seems to be going away a new spot pops up!! Any tips? We were initially discouraged from getting the prescription oral antifungal med for him due to his health fragility at first, but with his labs more normal and a higher weight would the systemic medication help?
Hello,
There are a few things here to discuss. First the black UV light as a diagnostic test is not confirmatory. Second if he is not responding as expected I would be concerned that there is another problem making this lack of response difficult. Lastly in my experience it can take months to resolve.
If you feel like your cat isn’t doing as well as you hoped you can ask for a referral to a dermatologist.
If you would like to try the oral antifungal medication you can also ask for this to be considered again by your vet. In some cases it does help patients but we are always trying to avoid potentially causing any adverse reactions by taking the most conservative approach to every condition.