Ringworm is a fungal infection and is highly contagious to both cats and people. If you detect red lesions or one or more bald patches on your cat’s skin (sometimes accompanied by scabs or scaling i.e. looks a bit like dandruff but isn't), take your cat to a veterinarian. Her veterinarian will take skin scrapings, and perform a culture test to confirm a diagnosis of ringworm.

Long-haired cats especially very young or elderly cats with a weak immune system are particularly vulnerable to ringworm. Diet is the cornerstone of health; raw-fed cats are less prone to catching stuff, and upon exposure have an easier time fighting it off. Please consult our "Keeping-Cats-Well-Fed" section for diet help.

CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT

The conventional treatment for ringworm is clipping, whole body dips and antifungal medication given internally. Steroids, which are sometimes prescribed for this condition as well as for allergic dermatitis, should be avoided as they can suppress the immune system. There are far gentler ways to deal with ringworm because inhibiting the immune system with steroids can foster an environment for the fungus to thrive.

ENVIRONMENT

Before starting topical applications for ringworm, first carefully clip the hair over the spots of ringworm so they are exposed to air and light as ringworm thrives in dark damp areas. Dispose of clipped hair carefully or better yet, burn it as it can spread the fungus. Clip claws as well collecting them carefully, then dispose of them right away.

Make sure you vacuum the area in which you do the grooming. In addition, wash your cat’s bedding, utensils, floors, tiles, and any areas your cat comes into contact with such as window sills often with hot water and soap along with a diluted (one part bleach to ten part water) bleach solution. Diluted Grapefruit Seed Extract works well too, but be careful around areas that can stain. If you have access to large enough amounts of reasonably priced colloidal silver, use it instead of bleach which even diluted can be so hard on a cat's lungs.

TOPICAL

Colloidal Silver

One of the most effective yet gentle ways to deal with ringworm is to apply undiluted colloidal silver topically in high concentration e.g. 100ppm, 150ppm or better yet 500 ppm. This will need to be applied at least five to six times a day to the affected areas. In most cases, the ringworm should clear up in just a few days.

This is the brand I used in 100ppm and this one in 500ppm; NCI on both. Other than this, I don't know of any reputable brands that do not contain silver proteins. I used these higher ppms to great effect on rescue cats in my pre-Web days. For the record, I'm not one of those people who thinks CS cures everything under the sun. At the same time, I am unwilling to pooh pooh something that used judiciously can be very beneficial. YMMV.

Herbal options

You can use any combination of these Western and Indian/Ayurvedic herbs (can get locally at Indian shops or bulk section of Wild Oats/health food store):

Dry (Powders )

• Turmeric powder (this will stain the skin, but will not harm it; over time, the color will fade)
• Holy basil (a.k.a. Tulsi). I grow tulsi at home and use crushed tulsi leaves on skin problems but can use either powder or capsules
• Neem (powdered form in bulk or open up capsule)
• Goldenseal
• Echinacea

Mixing mediums

• Soft edible fat - ghee, butter,or pure coconut oil
• George's brand aloe vera gel (Note: this is the only cat-safe brand because it has no dangerous preservatives. For those with aloe concerns, George's removes the laxative part of the plant).
• Herbal extract or tincture - not essential oil (which will burn the skin); good brands include Herb Pharma and Herbalist & Alchemist
• Colloidal Silver, which has been shown to possess antifungal effects.
• Strong tea brewed from above-mentioned herbs (2 tsp dried herb to 1 cup of just-boiled water; steep for 20-30 minutes)

Instructions

Use any combination of the herbs, and make a paste with ghee, butter,or pure coconut oil or with aloe vera gel/juice or herbal extract or strong herbal teas.

Dab on lesions/spots and leave on. Neem is bitter and so are both the Western herbs so doubtful if they'll lick much off.

Non-herbal alternative home remedy

If availability is an issue, you could try cooking oatmeal and applying it on the spots, then covering your cat’s body with a T-shirt. This is soothing to the skin but will not really treat the problem. To get rid of the ringworm, colloidal silver and/or herbs such as Neem are usually required. These two work as well if not better than harsh (to cats) conventional treatments.

There are several studies showing how excellent Neem is as a fungicide, some even talk specifically about ringworm. Here's an example:
Kaushik Biswas, Ishita Chattopadhyay, Ranajit K Banerjee, Uday Bandopadhyay, "Biological activities and medicinal properties of neem (Azadirachta indica)", Curr Sci, 2002, vol. 82, n^o11, pp. 1336-1345

INTERNAL

Daily, and strictly short-term with the exception of fish oil which can be continued at a reduced rate:

Supplements

• Vit B-complex: 1/8 capsule - Jarrow B-Right Low Odor B-complex
• Vitamin E 100 IU: Carlson's Gems, Natural Factors, or NOW Dry E capsules
• Cod Liver Oil softgel e.g. NOW or Carlson's unflavored - 1/3 softgel providing approx 700IU Vit A and 80-100IU of Vit D
• Zinc: 5 mg
• Omega-3 fatty acids: Carlson's or Nordic Naturals fish oil - 1-2 softgels a day
  OR
  Krill oil: NOW or VitaCost - 1 softgel
• Borage or Evening Primrose oil both contain GLA which has been shown to great for skin issues - 120mg of GLA (which matches up with 1/2 of the 1,050mg total amount listed on NOW's Borage oil bottle)

Herbs

• Astragalus - 1/2 - 1 capsule with higher end indicated for more immune-compromised cats
• Pycnogenol or Grape Seed Extract* - 50mg
• Neem - 1/2 capsule 2x a day
• Holy Basil - 1/2 capsule 2x a day

*No info on cats. Closest I could find is this book - Botanical Medicines by McKenna DJ, Jones K, Hughes K. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Herbal Press 2002 pp. 923-986, listing a study on Grapeseed Extract which found "no toxic effects at 60mg/kg/day for 12 months in dogs"

Caution: Grape Seed Extract can have an anticoagulant effect, so should be avoided prior to surgery (which a cat shouldn't have anyway until s/he's fully recovered). Here's an interesting reference for this:
"Inhibition of platelet aggregation and arachidonate metabolism in platelets by procyanidins." Chang WC, Hsu FL. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids 1989 38:181-188

If dealing with ferals, clearly pilling and external treatments are a challenge. In cases like that, you can hide any non-homeopathic options in Pill Pockets (yeah I know, ingredients are icky but if it's a choice between it and 0 treatments..?), and give a single customized homeopathic remedy away from food/pills.

Homeopathy

There are lots of homeopathic remedies available in tincture form that are very effective against skin afflictions: http://www.homeoint.org/books4/boerirep/index.htm

Homeopathy is gentler than conventional treatments, and ideal for ferals (and all cats really) because remedies do not taste bad, can be given in a dew drops of water/high-fat dairy e.g. cream or half-and-half, there is no re-dosing schedule, etc.

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