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The things one learns
Dec. 27th, 2005 11:12 amI bet most of you thought that ringworm is caused by a worm. Wrong: it is a skin fungus similar to athlete's foot. Why do I know this interesting holiday fact? Because about 6 weeks ago, one of my cats developed a little hairless patch on her ear. So I hauled the whole pack to the vet.
Due to a slight miscalculation on my part, I have 3 cats. I dunno... there I was on the Merritt Parkway and I must have missed an exit, because next thing I knew I was on the Cross Bronx ... anyway, three cats.
So I hauled the pack of them to the vet and yes, it was ringworm, and yes it is contagious. The treatment for ringworm, it turns out, is one of those life-transforming things like the summer in high school when you earned money by painting houses, and one horrible client wanted her closets painted dark blue, in oil paint, in August. Or you were hitchiking around the Mediterranean and unintentionally wandered into a cholera zone, and had to get cholera innoculations once a week for what seemed to be months, and your arm swole up and turned blue and ...
Treatment of cats for ringworm involves this:
First you put ointment in the cat's eyes because the ringworm solution stings. Then you wet the cat down in the bathtub. Then you sponge the cat all over with a bright yellow sulphur solution that smells like sulphur. It is important to sponge the cat all over, thoroughly. Then you towel-dry the cat.
Then you do the same thing with the other two cats.
You do this once a week for 6 to 8 weeks.
I know it sounds fairly simple, to anyone who doesn't have cats. My neighbors have begun to eye me as if I were Mengele.
Meanwhile, you send all your carpets to the cleaner to be cleaned and stored, at shocking expense. You vacuum the whole house heavily every two days, and mop the floors with bleach, and scrub the cat box with bleach. You wash everything you can in boiling water with bleach, which does wonders for your decorating scheme, your skin, and the environment. By the time you're done with that, it's time to soak the cats again.
Due to the lack of carpets and upholstery and the transmissibility of the spores, it's not a great idea to have friends over, especially those with kids or pets.
On the plus side, the white cat is now the color of lemon vodka and we are all very very clean. We smell a bit odd, but there are worse smells in New York than rotten eggs.
Happy holidays, everyone!
Due to a slight miscalculation on my part, I have 3 cats. I dunno... there I was on the Merritt Parkway and I must have missed an exit, because next thing I knew I was on the Cross Bronx ... anyway, three cats.
So I hauled the pack of them to the vet and yes, it was ringworm, and yes it is contagious. The treatment for ringworm, it turns out, is one of those life-transforming things like the summer in high school when you earned money by painting houses, and one horrible client wanted her closets painted dark blue, in oil paint, in August. Or you were hitchiking around the Mediterranean and unintentionally wandered into a cholera zone, and had to get cholera innoculations once a week for what seemed to be months, and your arm swole up and turned blue and ...
Treatment of cats for ringworm involves this:
First you put ointment in the cat's eyes because the ringworm solution stings. Then you wet the cat down in the bathtub. Then you sponge the cat all over with a bright yellow sulphur solution that smells like sulphur. It is important to sponge the cat all over, thoroughly. Then you towel-dry the cat.
Then you do the same thing with the other two cats.
You do this once a week for 6 to 8 weeks.
I know it sounds fairly simple, to anyone who doesn't have cats. My neighbors have begun to eye me as if I were Mengele.
Meanwhile, you send all your carpets to the cleaner to be cleaned and stored, at shocking expense. You vacuum the whole house heavily every two days, and mop the floors with bleach, and scrub the cat box with bleach. You wash everything you can in boiling water with bleach, which does wonders for your decorating scheme, your skin, and the environment. By the time you're done with that, it's time to soak the cats again.
Due to the lack of carpets and upholstery and the transmissibility of the spores, it's not a great idea to have friends over, especially those with kids or pets.
On the plus side, the white cat is now the color of lemon vodka and we are all very very clean. We smell a bit odd, but there are worse smells in New York than rotten eggs.
Happy holidays, everyone!
