How Long To Quarantine Cat With Ringworm (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 2 To 3 Weeks

Domestic pets, especially cats are quite prone to the infection, ringworm. When a cat is infected with ringworm, some reddish-pink circles appear around the infected part. If not cured at the right time, these infections. Cats are treated for ringworm either by topical or oral medications. 

How Long Does It Take To Quarantine A Cat With Ringworm?

Ringworm is a highly contagious infection that can be spread by direct or even indirect touch with the fungi. When any domestic pet, such as a cat, gets infected with ringworm, it becomes extremely important to quarantine that pet. When a cat shows symptoms of ringworm, one should not just start the quarantine phase of the cat, but also start medications and from time to time medicated baths as well.

Although when talking especially about cats, they are capable of self-healing themselves and fighting against ringworms. When cats are left to self-heal, such as in the case of street cats or wild cats who have got infected with ringworm, it takes anywhere from a minimum of 2 months to a maximum of 4 months to self heal themselves when kept under quarantine period.

However, the option of self-heal does not only take quite a long duration of time, but it becomes quite risky for the surroundings as well. The reason behind that is that these cats have a higher chance of spreading the infection as the fungi are on the cat for a prolonged duration of time.

While on the other hand, if the infected cat is provided proper care, medications, medical attention, and all the required care, the period for the cat to get healed from the infection of ringworm decrease to a significant extent of time. Consequently, the period for the cat to out under the quarantine phase also decreases. In this case, the time for which the infected cat should be quarantined is only about 2 to 3 weeks.

Why Does It Take That Long To Quarantine A Cat With Ringworm?

The period for which the infected cat should be quarantined depends upon many factors apart from the fact that in what state the cat is left to be quarantined. These factors could be the immune system of the cat, medications provided to the cat, the age of the cat, and the care taken of the cat.

If the immune system of the cat is stronger and the cat has a higher rate of metabolism, then the cat would be able to fight the infection in a shorter period. In fact, in such cases, there are chances that the cat would not even catch the infection. While, on the other hand, if the cat has a weakened immune system and a lower rate of metabolism, then it would take more time for the cat to fight against the infection. Consequently, the period for which the cat should be quarantined increases as well.

Apart from this, it is also quite obvious that if the effectiveness of the medications and care provided to the cat is more, then the cat would recover from the infection in a shorter duration of time. As a result, the quarantine period would decrease as well.

Lastly, if the cat is either very young or too old, it would take a longer duration of time for the cat to recover from the infection. The reason behind that is that the immune system of young cats and elder cats is quite weak. Such cats can easily catch all the germs, bacteria, and other such agents from the environment which might be harmful to their health. Moreover, these cats would not be able to recover faster from the infection as well. 

Conclusion

One can prevent the growth and spread of ringworm in their pets by just following simple precautionary and safety measures, such as washing all the utensils and toys of cats using a disinfectant liquid, cleaning the surfaces, washing your hands after you touch the cat, doing time to time medical check-ups of the cat and other such measures.

References

1. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11046-008-9101-8.pdf
2. https://www.nature.com/articles/182476a0