Fungi in cats – Symptoms and treatment

Cats are strong, long-lived and independent animals, but as with humans, they are also susceptible to multiple pathologies, some of them caused by microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria or fungi.

Despite the independent nature of felines, as owners we must monitor their health status to be able to act when our pet manifests any alteration. Being attentive to the symptoms that you can express or check your legs regularly will be a good way to detect them.

In order to know more about the diseases that can affect your cat, in this article we talk about the symptoms and treatment of fungi in cats.

Fungi in cats

There are several types of fungi that can infest your cat and in any case they will cause a topical condition, since the fungi that originate the infection colonize and reproduce in the superficial and dead layers of hair, skin and nails, causing a diverse symptomatology, as we will show next.

If it is true that in 90% of cases ringworm in cats is caused by fungus Microsporum Canis. It is a very contagious situation, not only for the animals that surround the cat, but also for humans, hence the importance of knowing the symptoms of fungal infestation, also known as dermatophytosis or ringworm.

Symptoms of feline dermatophytosis

If your cat’s organism is being attacked by fungi, you will soon be able to begin to perceive in your pet the following symptoms and manifestations of this disease:

• Circular lesions on the head, ears and legs
• Hairless areas in areas where injury has occurred
• Skin flakes and shows symptoms of inflammation
• The cat may have nail lesions
• The itching is constant

Diagnosis of fungi in cats

If you notice any of the symptoms mentioned above in your cat, you should go immediately to the vet since the first step to follow is to confirm the diagnosis, given that the characteristic symptoms of ringworm in cats can also be due to other pathologies.

In addition to performing a complete physical examination, the veterinarian will be able to observe damaged hair under the microscope, use a UV lamp or perform a fungal culture not only for the purpose of confirming the presence of fungi, but to determine which fungal strain is causing the condition.

Treatment of fungi in cats

The veterinarian is the only person trained to prescribe a pharmacological treatment to your cat, in the case of the affliction by fungi will resort to antifungal active principles, such as for example ketoconazole, which can be administered through different routes:

• Topical treatment: Generally used whenever there is feline dermatophytosis, the topical treatment will not only be carried out by applying lotions or ointments, but also the veterinarian can indicate a body hygiene product with antifungal components to bathe the cat periodically.

• Oral treatment: The antifungal drugs can have different adverse reactions therefore oral treatment will only be used in those more severe cases or when there is no therapeutic response to topical treatment.

Antifungal treatments require a long application time to eradicate the condition completely, hence it is of great importance that the owner commits to perform a adequate therapeutic compliance.

Other tips to treat fungi in cats

• Use gloves to manipulate the cat, wash your hands exhaustively and periodically.

• Perform a cleaning of the entire environment, passing the vacuum cleaner to destroy the spores of the fungi.

• Get rid of all the possible accessories, because on these surfaces we could also find fungi.

• The fungal infection affects to a greater degree those cats that do not have a competent immune system, to increase the defenses of your pet you can resort to homeopathy for cats.

This article is merely informative, in .com we do not have the faculty to prescribe veterinary treatments or make any kind of diagnosis. We invite you to take your pet to the veterinarian in case of any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Fungi in cats – Symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter in our section of Infectious diseases.