can I worm them myself?

we used when I was kid w/our dogs...I never had to worm any of my cats
and the SPCA said they were wormed

lynn




One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly
making exciting discoveries.
~A. A. Milne

wrote:
we used when I was kid w/our dogs...I never had to worm any of my cats
and the SPCA said they were wormed

lynn

You should never worm them with an over-the-counter wormer. They are
very toxic and can make them sick and they often don't work anyway. Do
you have reason to believe they have worms? If not, they don't need to
be wormed. Only get worm medication from your vet.

Candace

Candace wrote in message
oups.com...
wrote:
we used when I was kid w/our dogs...I never had to worm any of my cats
and the SPCA said they were wormed

lynn

You should never worm them with an over-the-counter wormer. They are
very toxic and can make them sick and they often don't work anyway. Do
you have reason to believe they have worms? If not, they don't need to
be wormed. Only get worm medication from your vet.

Candace

I don't know what it's like in the US but most people in Aus worm cats with
a powder, paste or tablet bought at the supermarket. They are fine as long
as you buy a quality one and weigh your cat first. The ones prescribed by
the vet are slightly better quality, but I've found supermarket ones easy,
cheap, quite comprehensive and keep my cat (and dogs) healthy. I would
prefer one from the vet, but better a supermarket one (as long as you follow
the instructions and weigh your cat first) than none at all.

wrote:

we used when I was kid w/our dogs...I never had to worm any of my cats
and the SPCA said they were wormed

lynn


The SPCA probably only wormed for the most common worms in your area. The
vet will check for less common parasites too and will prescribe something
appropriate. The pet store wormers only work on a few types of worms.

My Max was got the standard worm treatment at the shelter but still had a
problem. The vet found out he had Giardia, which isn't even supposed to
be in this area. Max had very few symptoms, he was just a bit lethargic.
I hardly even realized that anything was wrong. But after the treatment
he turned into a much more active cat (he was just under a year old at
that time).

I'd take the cat and a stool sample to the vet. It's best to have the stool
analysed to identity the parasite and have the appropriate med prescribed.

wrote in message
oups.com...
we used when I was kid w/our dogs...I never had to worm any of my cats
and the SPCA said they were wormed

lynn




One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly
making exciting discoveries.
~A. A. Milne

I'd like to share a story-

Tuffy (RB) was a Siamese mix - long hair, white feet, and husky. Like 15
solid pounds husky. And strong? Forepaws like steel bands. One day I
noticed a "grain of rice" hanging off his backside. I called the vet and
said "Tuffy has a worm. Can I come and get a pill?" (The vet knows me well
from my several cats and long years acquaintance, and said yes) so I went
and got the one, very large, pill. I brought it home and said to myself
"Tuffy hates taking pills. I'm going to have to finesse him" so I cut the
pill in quarters, and coated a quarter in butter and offered it to him.
This usually worked, but not today. Tuffy wouldn't take it. So I grabbed
him by the scruff of the neck, popped his head back, and shoved it in. I
closed his mouth (bear in mind I have Flailing Claws of Death windmilling by
my hand, Laser Beams of Death coming out of his eyes, and Cat Curse Words of
the Highest Order being snorted out his nose during this whole process) and
held it shut for a minute or so, stroking his throat and telling him what a
good cat he was. He gave me a baleful look and spat the damn pill out as
soon as I let him go.

I grabbed it and shoved it in again. This time he was ready for me and I
didn't get it past his tongue. By this time the 1/4 of the pill was almost
dissolved, so I moved on to the next 1/4, hoping that 3/4 would be good
enough. This one I smeared in canned cat food, which Tuffy licked off and
left the pill, lonely and soggy, on the plate.

So I got the big gun - baby food with beef flavor - out and smashed the
remaining 1/2 the pill. Offered it to Tuffy, who turned up his nose and
sauntered away. Eek! Cat 3, worm pill 0.

So I called the vet's office again. "Tuffy wouldn't take the pill. Would
you guys pill him?" It's a testament to Science Diet Adult Maintenance dry
that my several cats make very infrequent trips to the vet. This gal didn't
know me, and didn't know Tuffy. That explains the scorn in her voice when
she said "You mean you can't pill your cat?" I said (meekly) "No, he's
fighting it" and she said "Okay, bring him in" (you lame-o)

So I popped Tuffy in the carrier and went to the vets office. I put the
carrier up on the counter and announced "Here's Tuffy". He was crouched in
the corner (the only other time he'd been to the Vet was for the Big Snip
and he knew nothing good happened at this place, no matter HOW friendly they
act) looking pretty harmless, and Assistant #1 said, we'll go into the exam
room and give him his pill. I agreed and we went in the room and shut the
door. She swung open the door of the carrier and cooed "Come on, Tuffy" and
reached in to grab his paw. He set the brakes, and she could NOT pull him
out of the carrier. I started giggling at this point and decided to just
enjoy the show. She tried a couple more times - grabbing both forepaws and
pulling, tried his scruff. No success. She admitted defeat and called for
the lab assistant. (I'm not laughing out loud - yet)
The lab assistant held the cage on end (so the open door was facing down)
while #1 tried to get all four paws cornered so they could get him out. No
go. The lab tech shook it. Tuffy just rode it out. Finally they dismantled
the cage (undoing the screws holding it together) and took the top off.

You've got him out of the cage, now what?

They've finally recognized that they have encountered a Totally Superior
Species at this point. They call in a third set of hands. One holds the
front paws, one controls the body, and one cranks his head back and inserts
the pill. All three of him hold their appointed body parts with a
seriousness that is almost scary for a minute afterward. It is determined
that he has swallowed the pill.

The first girl gathers her dignity and says to me "I can see why you had
trouble. HE HAS A VERY LONG MUZZLE."

Lady, that cat is better than both of us and you'd just better admit it. It
took 3 of you to overcome him.

Fortunately, that was Tuffy's second and last encounter with the vet. He
went to the Rainbow Bridge at the ripe old age of 15, having ruled the block
and every cat and dog on it for all of his life. I still miss his swagger
and his pretty blue eyes.

Short answer is, yes you can worm them yourself, IF you get the pill from
the vet. The stuff you buy over the counter is crap and not worth the money
and may make your cat sick. Know what kind of worm it is (be able to
describe it - the most common either look like little wires or grains of
rice) or worm for more than one kind. According to my vet, "most" kittens
have worms at birth (which I have not found to be the case but who am I to
argue with the expert) and cats can pick up worms from eating fleas or
eating birds/rodents that they catch, which pretty much takes in everybody.
Sorry to go on so long, but I love this story and thought you would too.

Cinbad

C Schmidt wrote:

Short answer is, yes you can worm them yourself, IF you get the pill from
the vet. The stuff you buy over the counter is crap and not worth the money
and may make your cat sick. Know what kind of worm it is (be able to
describe it - the most common either look like little wires or grains of
rice) or worm for more than one kind. According to my vet, "most" kittens
have worms at birth (which I have not found to be the case but who am I to
argue with the expert) and cats can pick up worms from eating fleas or
eating birds/rodents that they catch, which pretty much takes in everybody.
Sorry to go on so long, but I love this story and thought you would too.

Cinbad

Very cute story, nicely written.

Candace