Ask Dr Claire

My new kitten has ringworm. How long is she contagious for after I start treatment?

We usually say a kitten is clear of ringworm infection after the results of two ringworm cultures come back as negative, taken one month apart. This is important because a kitten will often be lesion free before resolution of the infection i.e. she’s still infectious.

Just checking in that environmental decontamination is included in your kitten’s therapy, otherwise, even in the face of two negative culture results, the kitten could potentially become re-infected from spores that remain in the environment. The spores of ringworm can be infective for months, even up to a couple of years. This includes vacuuming, and bleach cleaning for a duration of 10 minutes on appropriate surfaces. Infected clippers and brushes can also pass on the infection.

If you’d like to chat in person, you can book a live video call or start a chat to discuss in more detail, as soon as possible.

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Chat soon,
Dr Claire