# Cats and ringworm **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 8, 2002, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304 "2002-12-08T14:48:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304/1 "2002-12-08T14:48:17Z")
Well i have a cat again and sure enough my old friend ringworm is back. Any easy or cheap ways to get rid of it on me and the cat? And FTR its actually a skin fungus,i don’t have worms. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304/2 "2002-12-08T14:51:55Z")
I think if you take the cat to the veterinarian, and the treatment is some sort of spray (for the fungus), you can try and use it on yourself. Otherwise you go to a dermatologist who will give you some human medicine with probably the same or very similar ingredients to combat the ringworm. Also, ringworm can clear on its own, but it takes more time. ---
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304/3 "2002-12-08T14:55:16Z")
Anything i can get OTC? ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304/4 "2002-12-08T17:26:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by effac3d \* > \*\*Anything i can get OTC? \*\* You could try Canesten cream which is an anti-fungal cream (yeah, it’s the stuff used for yeast infections.) And this would be for the human, not the cat. While in Panama, I got some kind of fungal infection on my arm (made white patches that looked like Michael Jackson’s vitiligo – I thought it was sun damage). The doc said I could go and pick up a prescription or try and see if Canesten worked. Canesten did the trick. Maybe **Qadgop** will come by with an even better idea. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304/5 "2002-12-08T17:36:06Z")
A visit to the local pharmacy should reveal lots of non-prescription anti-fungal creams, mostly containing clotrimazole or terbinafine. A pharmacist should be able to answer questions about the products. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304/6 "2002-12-08T18:24:27Z")
See? I told ya. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304/7 "2002-12-08T18:39:57Z")
Try Lamisil ™. Works for athletes foot, jock itch and ringworm. It contains terbinafine as Qad mentioned above. It works great for me. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304/8 "2002-12-08T18:44:23Z")
(BTW) On you, of course. I don’t know if it will work on a cat. ---
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2002, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304/9 "2002-12-08T18:52:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jake \* > \*\*(BTW) On you, of course. I don’t know if it will work on a cat. \*\* That gave me a laugh:D Thanks for the responses everyone. And i am not looking forward to a spray or shampoo for the cat as she is as nature intended and fully clawed.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![mapsmith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/848f3c/32.png) [@mapsmith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mapsmith)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304/10 "2002-12-09T01:32:10Z")
Tinactin (R) worked the best for me. (Tolnaftate lotion) The brand Name was a little more effect than generic in this case. But it does take about an entire tube. Seemed to work on the cat too, but does tickle, (burn) so the cat may get pissed. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![richardb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/96bed5/32.png) [@richardb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/richardb)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304/11 "2002-12-09T02:36:03Z")
Self-medicating (yourself or your cat) can be a dangerous proposition. With all due respect to those who have posted, the above medications that people are claiming worked for them may or may not be effective - I have no idea one way or the other - but using a medication for other than it’s intended or labeled use could be problemmatic, or in the worse case, dangerous. Anyways, here’s a veterinary source that says > [@](#): > > Griseofulvin is still the traditional medication for the treatment of ringworm and > [@](#): > > (Itraconazole) is highly effective in the treatment of ringworm but is available in capsules far too large to be useful to most small animals. This means that a special company must reformulated the medication into a more useful size. Nausea is a potential side effect for this medication but probably the main reason it is passed by in favor of griseofulvin is expense. Itraconazole is also effective in treating many life-threatening fungal infections whereas Griseofulvin only treats ringworm. To read more about the causes and these and other treatments of Ringworm, visit: [http://www.marvistavet.com/html/ringworm.html](http://www.marvistavet.com/html/ringworm.html) ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cats-and-ringworm/141304/12 "2002-12-09T03:44:40Z")
My recommendation for your cat is to let time do it’s thang. She’ll be fine as long as she is healthy otherwise (e.g. not immunocompromised). Treating with griseofulvin is not worth the risk of side effects and itraconazole is rather expensive. Just FYI. ywtf, soon–to-be vet