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Eddie (Canada) on 12/11/2017:
I'm sorry to ask a question where I should be writing a review. But my cat has had ringworm for a week and a half, and it's just getting worse. It started as a small patch on his ear and now both his ears are almost totally 'naked' (bare), and below one ear (base of ear, toward the neck) he's now losing big clumps of fur. I've been treating 3x a day with AVC and an antifungal cream.
He's been to the vet and I'll be taking him again. I'm just devastated because a) he's suffering and b) we might have to cancel holiday plans meaning I can't see my family whom I haven't seen in over a year and don't get to meet my new niece until she's a year old.
Is it normal that it gets worse before it gets better? How long does it take? I'm impatiently waiting to hear back from the vet :'-(
My cat Leo contracted ringworm recently. There are a lot of strays in my neighbourhood and the unusually warm winter we are having contributed to damp dark areas in my yard where fungus thrives. Leo must have contracted the day he ran out of the house unexpectedly when I opened the door to let the dogs out. The vet immediately told me it was ringworm and gave me chlorihexidine wipes (an antiseptic) and told me to use Lamisil. I did that for one week and the one spot above his eye spread to his lips, head and neck. I was freaking out because I've had ringworm before and it is itchy, gross, uncomfortable and EXTREMELY contagious. I have 3 other cats and 2 dogs so you can imagine my panic. I turned to Apple Cider Vinegar and, although Leo hates the smell, I have to admit that the raised, angry, red welts of ringworm all over his neck, head and face are quickly subsiding. I have kept him confined to a small room and I keep an e-collar on him to prevent him from scratching or spreading the fungus.
Twice a day, I make a 50-50 mix of ACV and water in a small bowl, wet a couple of cotton balls in it and dab it all over the afflicted spots. I then let the area air dry and immediately apply Lamisil to the spots. So far, it seems to really be working but no matter what you use, it takes about 10-20 days of aggressive treatment to completely rid the animal of ringworm. ACV is great because, despite the harsh smell, you can use it not only treat the ringworm but also to disinfect the room where the cat is being kept. It is extremely important to keep your cat's living quarters disinfected and, just for good measure, I dampen a paper towel and wipe his body down with the ACV mix to make sure that no ringworm spores have been passed to other parts of his body. Also, I have been using an antifungal shampoo for cats/dogs and I wash Leo with it once or twice a week...depending on how slimy he gets with the Lamisil.
I've still got about another 5-10 days to go. It's been a struggle but I honestly cannot recommend a better natural and safe treatment for ringworm (as well as many other ailments) than ACV. It's the best thing for so many applications...especially ringworm!
I've been giving my 12 cats ACV for more than a year now. I put 5 drops of ACV in a gallon of distilled water for their drink. Ever since then none of my cats have fleas, zero & I comb all of them everyday. They actually love to be combed. Saying that ACV can kill a pet is nonsense. I even put it on my eyes when my eyes gets itchy from allergies.
I just wanted to repost my results with the ACV I used! Our cat has completely recovered and has no ringworm! I treated her by using 1/2 tsp water mixed with 1/2 tsp ACV and dipping a cotton ball in it and applying it to the spot 3x daily! I started noticing results after about 2 days! The treatment took 10-12 days top complete get rid of it! After doing this I bathed her one time in Selsun Blue shampoo! I used a very small and amount and washed her entire body except for her face! I made sure to rinse her really well! I read the Selsun Blue shampoo would remove any other fungus from the ringworm that could be lingering in her coat! I then blow dryed her on the lowest setting and with warm not hot air! Before bringing her back in the home I washed everyones bedding and vaccumed vigorously! I also bleached any surface she had come in contact with! (window seals, tile, food bowls, litter box) I threw out her old bed and just bought a new one and new toys! No one in our family got the ringworm and she never had more thanone spot! She is happy, healthy, and won't return to the vet that she got this from! Sanitation is very important and cleaning their surfaces with bleach water would've prevented this from happening! Good Luck and hope this helps someone else! We will happily celebrate Christmas with our kitty inside to enjoy it too!
I've fed apple cider vinegar mixed in food to cats with no problems. It works well to help older cats digest food. The claim that apple cider vinegar ate through a dog's stomach is ridiculous. Stomach acid is a lot stronger than any vinegar.
I tried giving my dogs (9 months, 10 and 12 years old, respectively) ACV in their food. I only gave them 1 tsp. per day. After two days, they all started hacking, and kept my husband and I awake all night. I stopped the ACV, gave them some cold pressed barley pills (three each), and they have slept through the night since. The hacking completely resolved in a day. A friend told me that ACV actually ate through the stomach of another friend's dog and killed him. I am going to try the ACV TOPICALLY and diluted for my 9 month old's ringworm, but would caution anyone against giving it orally to any animal.
After adopting a very sick cat from SPCA, he had ear mites, mange, ring worm. I first tried the borax mixture that I found on here, saw a little improvement but not much. Tried olive oil in the ears, was very soothing but didn't seem to do much.
Then I tried one capful of natural apple cider vinegar to a cup of water. I took a cotton ball, dipped it in the mixture, rang it out good. Then cleaned his ears with a slightly moist cotton ball. Within a couple of days I saw a big difference in his ear grime.
So then I thought I would try it for the mange and ring worm, I took the mixture, and soaked his ear good. I also wet the areas where there was the most flakiness and crusty flakes. Again within a week, big improvement! I highly recommend anyone to try this, but for him I couldn't use full strength. Just the smell made him puke on the spot.
One capful is all you need to one cup tepid water, it worked so well. I imagine you could also use it in a spray bottle and spray around the house, wherever he hangs out. They also liked me, so I used full strength on myself for ring worm and mange mites.
i've used avc for my dog for other reasons in the past so i can testify to the usefulness of it. i was pleased to find out that the solution also worked on my puppy's ringworm within a matter of two days! just rubbed some on a paper towel and rubbed it on the ringworm spots on her belly once a day and its nearly cured in no time
I have an 11 month old English Bulldog named Diesel. He came down with a terrible case of ringworm after being on steroids and antibiotics for an inverted tail. I read on-line that most of the medicine given internally for ringworm can be damaging to their liver. I came across this site and decided to try the ACV. Let me tell you, it works awesome. It's been 2 weeks and his ringworms are completely gone and the hair is already coming back in.
I gave him a bath in Selsun Blue dandruff shampoo and then put ACV (diluted with water 50/50) in a spray bottle and sprayed him all over with it and rubbed it in with my hands and let him dry naturally. I sprayed him with the ACV everyday for the first week, and then gave him another bath in the dandruff shampoo and sprayed him every other day for the second week. He looks amazing! I just started using it in his ears for the chronic ear infections he gets, so I'll let you know if it works!!
I don't have any experience and getting rid of ringworms in pets, but I have gotten rid of it on me! I'm assuming ringworm and athletes foot are the same thing (I'm talking about "frieira", in portuguese).
What I did was soak a cottom ball with ACV and place it on the area (with a bandaid if you have to) a couple of times a day for 30 minutes. I did this while on the computer or watching TV. Once done, clean it with H202. Even better if you can leave H2O2 in the area for a while too.
Do this for a few days and the infected skin will peel of. You can stop doing it once everything is good again, but keep an eye on it as it may take a few cycles to get rid of it.
I did it once, and it never came back.
I also take ACV orally, and I think that is key. Skin problems need to be addressed from the inside as well as the outside.
My 5 week old kitten has a horrible case of ringworm and I have been using Lotrimin ultra on him and it seemed to be slowly working but i am afraid he was licking it off of a spot on his leg and i don't want him to get sick so I tried dabbing on apple cider vinegar. It apparently stung him so badly and he was so upset that he cried and vomited 5 times, poor baby. I was very excited to try it as I know vinegar won't kill him but I don't think I have the heart to put it on him again. I feel horrible that I put the poor little guy through that. I plan to cross my fingers and hope for miracles that it clears up overnight!
Romana Welch (Chaparral, New Mexico) on 07/01/2008:
Apple cider vineger has cured my puppy's bad case of ringworm. Now I will be battling a bad case in a new puppy we just rescued off the streets. Thanks for being here for folks like us. The good ol ways have always been the cheapest and the best cure. R.L.W
After reading posts on this topic I tried using ACV on my cat. She's persian and it spread from 1 ear to the other then her neck in 2 places. Anyway... After trying Conofite for about a week and a half.. it just was spreading and she was looking worse. I thought, while I wait for the vet's "special order" liquid meds, I thought why not try the ACV. I put it on 2 cotton balls and put it on her ears and then her neck. WHY DID I DO THAT?? she HOWLED something fierce, snorted, etc.. I was almost afraid she would attack. (she didn't, she's a good kitty) I'm sure it was the smell along with the burning I guess. the next day, she wouldn't come near me! she cowered in the corner and ran away. She did let me put the old cream on her though. She had two dark "drips" from either side of her mouth. I think as a result of her trying to lick the ACV off of her. I DO NOT Recommend the ACV, but everyone's cat is different. I'll try the vrigin coconut oil, let's hope she likes that smell. Otherwise... PLEASE HELP... is there anything not painfull or smelly that I can do for my cat. The vet says the meds may take up to 2 months or more to clear up the ringworm! HELP!!!!
I've been using apple cider, scrubbed on with a toothbrush with my kitten for about a week now with no success. It appears to cause him some pain because he cries and after I'm finished and he even walks around the house howling for a bit. :( I wouldn't reccomend it.
Also: I thought it would be a good idea to cut the hair of where the fungus was visable (white flakes and scaley skin) so I could treat it better but it only seemed to spread to I'd advise against that as well!!
I remember once as a child I had ringworm and my mom used cider vinegar on it. It burned but it sure beat that ringworm out. We had used it on our cats and other farm animals also. When I was older I worked in animal care and a vet had me take photos of a huge ringworm on a goat and she had trouble curing it. I told her to try the cider vinegar and the goat was cured in no time, she now keeps it on hand. Vinegar is the only thing I will mop floors with now and it also takes the burn out of sunburn!
I recently found a kitten with spots of ringworm on its body. It frantically chewed its paws so I poured a pint of natural ACV in a small dishpan and soaked the kitten twice a day for several days, sponging the liquid all over its body. Within 24 hours, the feet chewing stopped and in a week's time, new fur was beginning to grow on the bare areas. Sure beats typical 3-4 weeks treatment vets want to use.
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i've used avc for my dog for other reasons in the past so i can testify to the usefulness of it. i was pleased to find out that the solution also worked on my puppy's ringworm within a matter of two days! just rubbed some on a paper towel and rubbed it on the ringworm spots on her belly once a day and its nearly cured in no time
