Following are selected posts to the Holisticat (TM) Mailing List on the subject of ringworm. There's a lot of information here, and the posts are arranged in ascending chronological order. If there is a particular word you're looking for, it's probably best to utilize the "Find in Page" function in your edit menu!
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<8/13/98 From Sandy A. Re: Quincy>
Sorry to hear about Quincy's discomfort, Heidi:( I dunno
what ringworm looks like but your vet would have told u if
that's what it is, right?
My friend's cat is supposedly allergic to chicken and beef in commercial foods. But as an experiment, I gave her some homemade raw chicken, and beef another time, and she was perfectly fine. So I agree w/ what Kathy B has said before on this matter - just cuz a kitty is allergic to some meat in commercial doesn't mean they can't eat it raw. I feel there must be something else, like grain (corn in particular) that might bother a particular kitty.
So, I'd go ahead and try a grainless raw diet on Quincy, if that's something u feel comfortable doing; worth a shot.
Meanwhile, aloe vera get sounds good. It's so soothing, I love applying it when I get sunburned. Also you could try cooking some oatmeal and applying it on that spot. Cover w/ gauze, and then the Tshirt.
Another thing to try on Quincy's patch is a homeopathic ointment e.g. Calendula or HyperiCal.
Long ago, Dr Debra Moore on Wellpet gave me permission to forward any
of her posts that might be of help to someone. Although she is on
Wellpet (currently taking a break), I'm sure she'd be on Holisicat if she
had the time. I am sending a post she had on Wellpet about Mange
and Ringworm. Hope it helps. She welcomes questions posted to her
private address from
any and all. Again, "I" am not the author of this, merely the "middle
man".
Release....
Kristy at the Muddy Paw
***************************
Mange and ringworm are basically treated in the same manner holistically. Be persistent.
Mange/ringworm are acquired due to immune dysfunction. Here's what is suggested by Stein.
Avoid the veterinary/chemical drugs for these dis-eases-they tend to prolong the problem.
Diet: Feed a full holistic diet - no preservatives or chemicals. If using Pitcairn's Dog oil, double the amount of cod-liver oil and brewer's yeast, then add lecithin and the vitamins listed later. Give vitamin A daily. Feed raw liver - organic if possible - and egg yolk once a week. Avoid all milk products and fats other than those in the daily oil. A raw food diet is important.
Naturopathy: Start with a 3-5 day liquid fast using beet or celery juice as a detoxer, then switch to optimum diet. Use antibiotic herbs during the fast. Give aloe vera juice w/liquid chlorophyll. Aloe & hydrogen peroxide can be used externally-make sure the babe can't lick any of the external applications. Bathe the animal weekly, or even daily, soaping twice with an herbal flea shampoo or Betadyne (non-soapy). Leave the second soaping on for 10 minutes before rinsing thoroughly, then use a lemon rinse (take 2-3 fresh lemons, cut them up, peel, seeds and all, and put them in a quart jar. Pour just boiled water over them and let steep until cool. Strain and use as a rinse), making sure to wet the sore spots. Use the solution daily while dabbing pure lemon juice (or iodine, only if sores are few) onto the lesions. Make sure the animal's feet are thoroughly soaped.
Add lots of garlic to the food, and put apple cider vinegar in the water bowl. Cider vinegar, garlic juice (not oil) or Betadyne can be used externally. Pure essential oils of juniper and lavender diluted in water - 3 drops each to 1 oz. water, mix thoroughly - may be used externally as well. Vitamins & minerals: Give vit. C to bowel tolerance-500-3,000 mg daily. Give 5-20 mg zinc depending on body size. Vit. E should be doubled. Start with 400 IU and bump up slowly to 800 IU. Use the dry, emulsified E to prevent any risk of overdose. An alternative to hi-dose E is A, giving 10,000 IU daily to a small dog and more to a larger breed; give 400-800 IU of vit. D once a week. 'A' comes in an emulsified form that prevents toxicity. If the pet vomits on either dose, cut it back. Add lecithin to the diet - 1/2 to 3 tsp, and if not feeding brewer's yeast give a yeast-free B complex tablet in higher potency than usual, about 15-30 mg. Add liquid acidophilus daily.
Herbs: Give goldenseal w/echinacea from the get-go of the fast thru the entire healing process for either mange or ringworm. Continue dosing for at least 10 days after symptoms disappear. Tinctures of both herbs can be applied topically as well. Infusions of the herbs can also be added to the lemon rinse. Black walnut extract can also be used topically. Add kelp tabs to the diet, too.
Homeopathy: For mange, the primary prep is Sulfer, lower potencies given twice a day until there are aggravations or improvements, then by the observation method. Some homeo. vets give Sulfer in higher potencies - 30C, 200C, 1M, 10M. It may be alternated with Arsenicum ro relieve furious itching. Where Sulfer & Arsenicum fail, try Psorinum. Sepia is for the animal in convalezcence. It may take time to see results.
Flower Essences: Cotton and Luffa are for skin dis-eases. Cotton more so for mange, Luffa for skin lesions. Self-Heal aids in healing and cleansing of skin toxins. Crab Apple, Tomato and/or Camphor are cleansers,and Salvia supports immune function under stress. Cedar is a detoxer and good for hair loss. Snapdragon is called for when lesions are primarily together around the mouth. It is recommended for mange to use the following: Crab Apple to cleanse, Aspen to calm nerves, and Gorse for hopelessness.
Rev. Debra L. Moore, D.N.
Doctor of Naturology
*******************END*************
I have used the bacillium with very mixed results. Have
saved some posts on it if someone wants them. Overall,
my observations are.....definitely brings the fungus to the surface however
does not then cure it adequately. According to the info I have,
you can use the 30 c strength in the water and the 200 c by mouth for adults.
After approx 3 weeks cat will begin to break with fungus (more than likely).
Supposedly at 4 or 5 weeks you will see new hair growth and the system
is supposedly clear. Have also heard you should continue on this
program with all your cats for a minimum of 3 months and/or for a
maximum of a full coat change.
A couple of years ago, I had a litter start to break w/fungus at abouit 3 weeks of age. The mother turned out to be a carrier but this was her first litter and I had no idea. The first kitten to break was being pushed out of kitten box and died a few days after he broke. However, the other 2 kittens came down with fungus at about 4 weeks. I put them on bacillium and they were covered with fungus about 4 weeks later and started to re-grow coat at about 6 weeks. However, I was not at all happy with the quality or quantity of the coats. I ended up giving both kittens away.
I also put all my adults on the product (by water) and saw similar results. However, my primary male broke with fungus over his entire body. He had a tendency toward stud tail and because he wouldn't let me shave him down, he tended to have sores in conjunction with the stud tail. In his case, he lost all his hair and had terrible sores over much of his body. At about 5 or 6 weeks, these sores began to heal and eventually his coat returned. Amazingly enough his coat quality was good and he never had stud tail again...not even a tendency towards oiliness. Has made me wonder about stud tail and it's origins.
Earier this year, I ordered what I felt was the appropriate bacillium from a homeopath and put 2 litters of show kittens on it as soon as they started drinking water. There was no sign of fungus on them when I started this regimin. They too broke with fungus, some more than others, however, it did not clear using the bacillium. I finally took them off and treated them with 2 x week baths until they cleared. They were about 4 months old before coats began to look "normal".
Barb
In a message dated 3/8/99 10:30:13 AM Eastern Standard Time, dawn.marie@
writes:
<< How much bacillinum do you dose for ringworm in a 10-week-old
kitten? >>
Dose the kitten (30C potency) 1-2 drops twice daily. Or you can add to drinking water.
Elaine
I am a survivor of a ringworm outbreak in my cattery!! It started showing in my then six-week old litter of kittens in April of last year. I never really saw much of an outbreak in the adults, but it was there. After we (my homeopathic vet and I) cleared the ringworm and URI in the kittens (using homeopathy, different remedy for each kitten) and got them out to their homes, I started working on the adults.
While you can use Sulfur (homeopathic), I didn't. I bathed every cat once a week for three weeks. I made my own special mixture of ringworm-killing shampoo of the following ingredients:
In a base of lavender castile soap I added a splash of each of the following ingredients:
In between washing I washed every surface in my house with a solution of water and bleach and sprayed with water and bleach everywhere.
It worked. Every cat cleared of ringworm ... naturally. It took a lot of work and a long time, but it was done without toxic methods.
Michelle
BLAKKATZ Cattery
Can't remember who was asking about Ringworm. One thing you might try is to get *homeopathic* not herbal, Echinacea tincture in 1X potency. I've been using this on a carbuncle and it is really helping. I've seen Echinacea recommended in a lot of homeopathy books, for all sorts of skin problems, including Ringworm.
The brand I use is called "1st Sneeze!" and is made by Trout lake Farm in WA state. I have no commercial interest in this company/product. I suppose one could get an alcoholic Echinacea tincture and then prepare a 1X potency. For instructions on this, go to: http://www.medicinegarden.com
Sandy, owned and operated by the mountain cats
CJ Puotinen recommends clipping the hair from the affected area and exposing this area to as much light as possible as ringworm thrives in dark damp areas. (Be sure to carefully dispose of clipped hair or burn it as it can spread the fungus. Vacuum area in which you do the grooming. Also wash bedding and utensils often w/ hot water & soap--Lee noted to add a little bleach--10 %, I believe.) Puotinen also notes that a bath w/ a gentle shampoo will help. Puotinen notes that Sulphur 6x given once daily for four weeks can help. (This is one of the few times Puotinen makes a specific homeopathic recommendation. I wonder why she made an exception here?)
Richard Allport recommends Goldenseal or Echinacea tincture be applied directly to the area once a day. He notes Bacillinum, Tellurium, Sepia and Kali arsen. can help w/ ringworm. (You'd need to get a better symptom picture to decide which one of these to use, I'd guess.)
Pitcairn and Puotinen both recommend beginning w/ a two-day fast (only chicken broth) and then follow w/ a basic natural diet. Pitcairn says to add zinc chelate (5 mgs for a cat) and 1/2 to 2 tsps of granular lecithin to the food. EFAs are important. Add 1/4 tsp to cat's food once a day. Pitcairn says choose either to make a decoction (boil whole plant in distilled or purified water 5 minutes, let cool, strain), Plantain (plantago major)--a common weed-- OR to make a strong infusion of Goldenseal hydrastis canadensis)-- one rounded tsp of powdered rootstock to a cup of boiling water. Let cool. Either the plantain decoction or goldenseal infusion (the strained liquids) can be massage into skin once or twice a day.
Pitcairn also recommends Sulphur 6x--but he says you can give one pellet once a day or once every two days, or once every three days. No food for ten minutes before or after. Pitcairn says as long as the sulphur is helping, keep giving it. Again, whether or not sulphur is helpful will depend on the kitty's total symptom picture, I suspect.
Frazier notes fasting and a raw natural diet are very helpful in fighting
off ringworm. She also notes animals should not be free-fed. She
mentions adding one tablespoon raw liver or raw organic egg yolk 3 to 4x
a week, and giving 400IU Vit E and a vit A/D cap once a week. I like
her suggestion for bathing kitty. "soaping twice use Betadyne surgical
scrub instead of shampoo. Allow the second soaping to remain on the
cat for five to ten minutes before rinsing thoroughly. While you're
waiting, thoroughly clean the claws and cuticles. The ringworm spores
will be concentrated in the dirt around the cuticles and can
reinfect the cat whenever he scratches.You can finish w/ a rinse of
golden seal or echinacea solution....Bathe on or around affected areas
four times a day with a cotton ball saturated w/ goldenseal or echinacea...
extract in 1/4 cup water." (408-09).
As Lee mentioned earlier, Chlorine bleach will eliminate ringworm spores. Frazier advises us to wash bedding, clothing etc. w/ a bleach solution. She also says to wash floors, windowsills, etc. w/ a 5 % chlorine bleach solution and to "continue adding chlorine bleach to all cleaning water for a few weeks *after* all signs of ringworm are gone from the cat." (409)
In a message dated 6/9/99 10:50:47 AM Pacific Daylight Time, Holdners@
writes:
<< Mary is concerned about spreading ring worm to other people
and was wondering how to clean her carpet and drapes. Any ideas
on how to clean the furniture? >>
She should contact a carpet and upholstery cleaning business and tell them what she needs - they should be able to clean for ringworm, altho it may have to be done more than once. She will also need to wipe down EVERYTHING in the house with a bleach solution, walls, ceilings, everything. Ringworm spores go everywhere, and can live up to 18 months, and bleach is one of the few things that will kill them.
She may have gotten the ringworm from a garden area where plants are badly decaying - apparently this is a good spot for the spores to grow. She should probably clean ALL her clothes in a bleach solution (yes, you lose lots of clothes that way). Most people end up throwing out some of their furniture and clothes that can't be cleaned.
I know this sounds terrible, but I know breeders who have had to do this. Now that the carpet/upholstery business is getting even more advanced, they hopefully can take care of most of the house for her.
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