New baby kitten and ringworm question

Hi there,

I'm new in the forums and need some advice.

Situation:
I adopted a kitten a few weeks ago and within days of gettinig her into my house she started losing fur around her eyelid and it was red. After taking her to the vet and running a battery of tests we're not sure what she has.

Medications:
We put her on a topical antibiotic and steroid and moved her to itraconazole as her brother (located in another city) developed the same symptoms and is being treated for ringworm with this anti fungal medication. Her mother and father both don't have any sign of ringworm and yes she is from a wonderful breeder. I am not sure if this is relevant but she is also sneezing a few times a day. Again - new cat owner. Not sure what is "normal". Other than the scratching of her ear (see below) she's acting normal - eating, playing, sleeping, etc.

Question:
Her symptoms have now spread - she's losing fur on both ears (and scratching them so they're red and raw) and behind her neck.

1. My question is the fungal test came back negative for ringworm and I haven't seen any results from the itraconazole (but realize it's only been a week)...is it possible it might not be ringworm? :confused:

2. My vet is advising a biopsy of her skin but it's expensive ($700) and she's so young (about four months old). Any thoughts? :sad:

:2cents: As a new kitten owner I only want what's best for her but am unsure what to do. Especially as I already spent about $600 on testing and medications since I've had her (and I've only had her for 4 weeks). I love her so much but as I've never had a cat and am a single girl living in Toronto I can't afford to take her and run the tests again somewhere else. Advice greatly appreciated. :2cents:

If this post is in the wrong section my apologies to the Mod's. Please move. :)

Many thanks,

~
alisaan

This may have already been checked,but if it's localized around head could also be an ear infection.Constant scratching will leave ears red and sore as well as the face if left untreated.Ringworm in the beginning looks like rings bare circles of skin,it is also a zoonotic disease so you can catch it!!been there.Did your vet suggest a skin scrape as opposed to a biopsy 700$ is pretty expensive maybe a second opinion.

Thanks for your reply :)

Yes - we did a skin scraping first, and a fungal test and a cytology or something. All negative.

So he suggested a biopsy but I heard her brother is responding well to the antifungal and he was only tested with a woods lamp - no fungal test was done whereas I had a fungal test and no woods lamp.

Thoughts?

~
alisaan

Thanks for your reply :)

Yes - we did a skin scraping first, and a fungal test and a cytology or something. All negative.

So he suggested a biopsy but I heard her brother is responding well to the antifungal and he was only tested with a woods lamp - no fungal test was done whereas I had a fungal test and no woods lamp.

Thoughts?

~
alisaan

I know in humans the definitive test for ringworm is the wood's lamp test. I'm actually surprised your vet didn't suggest that to you before recommending the biopsy. Your vet might have his practice's best interests in mind and not yours...

Otherwise the symptoms seem to fit with tinea, especially if her brother is presenting with the same symptoms. Try to find out what medications her brother is taking (I know the human drug is griseofulvin), just to make sure you have the right anti-fungal. Otherwise get the wood's lamp test done (the lesions will glow under the light) and make sure you wash your hands every time you come into contact with your kitty as you can catch ringworm too!

Thanks for all your help everyone. She is on the same anti fungal as her brother (itraconazole) but on a smaller dosage (which I may ask the vet to change soon...she needs to be taking more I think). I'll see how it goes and post you an update!

Thanks

~
alisaan