My two Maine Coon kittens have ringworm. I am treating them with Serolan and bathing them once a week in Betadine. What do I have to do in my home to get rid of this? What about carpets etc?

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2000

Answers

Our 11 month old silver Maine Coon also has ringworm. I took him to the vet because of what looked like some kind of infection between his toes on his left rear foot. The vet said it was ringworm and shaved the foot, bathed him with Miconazole shampoo, gave him a Depo-Medrol injection and sent him home with instructions for me to spray between the toes with a Miconazole spray twice a day and he gets a pill (Ketaconazole) every other day for 14 days.

We are just about done (2 pills left). The ringworm has not spread and looks like it's gone. I also sprayed his hammock with the spray and wash my pillowcase with bleach often. He sleeps on my pillow or my head. No one else in the house caught it so I guess what the vet did was right. Now I have to take him back for a final check and a ringworn vaccine shot to prevent another episode. The vet said he has seen a lot of ringworm this year. No explanation as to how he got it. He's an indoor only cat and I clean his catbox twice a day and bleach it once a week.

I hope you took him to the vet because this is VERY contageous.

Best of luck.

Linda

-- Anonymous, March 31, 2000