Fungal Infections

Fungal infections or “Ringworm” are frustrating and can be contagious to humans. Fungal growth is slow. It is scaly at the lesion and non-itchy. If we can recognize it quickly and treat it, we can usually resolve the problem with only a spot or two of hair loss.

What to do:

When you have a hair loss spot on a young puppy or kitten, treat it immediately with Vet Basic’s ChlorConazole spray for a puppy or wipes for a kitten. Lesions on kittens start around the mouth and head so ChlorConazole wipes make treatment easy and fast. Lesions can show up anywhere on the body for puppies. When fungal spores are released, the infection spreads everywhere, much like dandelions spreading seed. You can see why early treatment to keep the spore spread minimal is important. Chlorhexidine and Ketoconazole is a very good combination to kill the ringworm and minimize or kill the spores.

Bath the litter, if weaned, with ChlorConazole shampoo. This will help kill spores that have not yet started growing on the skin. We want to get fungal spore off the weanling as soon as possible. Lime sulfa dip is also effective against fungal growth at 8 oz. per gallon concentration (twice the normal rate).

If you are fighting ringworm in a cattery, bathing the mom before giving birth will minimize spreading it to babies. Moms may have resistance to fungal infection and not show signs of ringworm but still may be carrying spores on her coat that she will spread to kittens with no resistance. Bathing before giving birth breaks the cycle.

The materials, information and answers provided through this website are not intended to replace the medical advice or services of a qualified veterinarian or other pet health care professional. Consult your own veterinarian for answers to specific medical questions, including diagnosis, treatment, therapy or medical attention.

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