Nov 2011 ringworm outbreak at IMHS

As you know, given that we're an organization geared towards caring for stray and homeless animals, the nature of what we do holds that from time to time we'll accept animals into our care who are incubating an illness, but which may not be immediately apparent. Our job as animal welfare professionals is to recognize signs or symptoms of illness as they occur, to respond quickly to ensure the prompt treatment of animals in need of medical care, and to do our best to ensure the protection of the rest of the shelter population. This is a team effort, and in this instance, we've worked tirelessly over the past few days in an effort to try contain the ringworm.

To clarify on what we're coping with presently: we accepted a batch of kittens from a high volume shelter we work with through our transfer program, and discovered the ringworm lesions on them after they were admitted at our shelter. The diagnosis was confirmed Saturday night, and the kittens (4 of them, with lesions) were removed to an isolated medical quarantine room at that time, along with one other kitten and 2 adult cats considered immediately exposed (but with no active lesions). Since Saturday, our medical team (we have 2 veterinarians on the shelter's Board, and one seasoned professional CVT) have been at the shelter often to either provide treatment to the quarantined animals, observe other animals in our care and assess the level of risk to them, and provide ongoing support to the staff on the care of the shelter population.

At this time, all of the quarantined cats (the 4 kittens with active lesions, and the other 3 cats deemed highly at-risk) are undergoing isolation and treatment for ringworm. We have removed all carpeting in the shelter cat housing areas, pulled carpeted posts and fluffy toys, wahsed the curtains, and bleached down the main cat adoption area from ceiling to floor. The cats in the main cattery were dipped Thursday afternoon as a precautionary measure against the spread of spores. In this instance, we have not determined that any recent adopters have animals who may be at risk.

To sum up, we believe we have the RW contained to the medical quarantine room, and have taken precautionary measures to protect the other cats in the shelter. We have no reason at this point to believe the dogs have been exposed. Regardless, and I want to be perfectly clear about this, Intermountain Humane Society is committed to treating 100% of the affected animals, and no animal currently in our care is being considered for euthanasia.

IMHS hopes to get through what we hope is a minor hiccup in operations with no other animals being impacted. We are still open for adoptions but have put cat intake on hold temporarily as we continue to assess the situation daily. However, if there is an escalation in the number of animals affected, you can guarantee you'll hear an update from us, and a call for stepped up support. Our staff and volunteers are deeply grateful to the community for their ongoing support, and the demonstrated level of concern in asking for our needs. I feel fortunate to have joined a community with such obvious compassion for helping homeless animals, and I'm moved by the sense of caring and concern I've encountered in just 4 days on the job.

Thank you again for the thoughtful discussion, and for caring as much as you do. I'd welcome an opportunity to meet 285bound readers in person and further discuss any questions or concerns anyone has, to hear your ideas, and to sign up new volunteers! I am generally here during open hours (soon to expand!) and can be reached at or at 303-838-2668.

Yours for the animals,

Marta Anderson
Shelter Director, IMHS
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