Topical treatment for tapeworm

Hi,
We've been trying to treat our 2 cats for tapeworm. We tried crushing the
tablets and putting it in their food but they could obviously taste it and
therefore didn't touch the food. We also tried mixing the crushed tablets
in some milk and using a syringe to "feed" the mixture to them. This was
slightly more successful, but as the powder didn't dissolve in the milk
they didn't get the full dose.

My question is this, I have seen topical "spot-on" type treatments for
tapeworm but am not sure how effective this is, i.e. how can a treatment
applied to the outside be effective for an internal problem. Can anyone
comment on the effectiveness of this type of treatment?

Thanks,
Steve.

"Steve C" wrote in message
news
Hi,
We've been trying to treat our 2 cats for tapeworm. We tried crushing the
tablets and putting it in their food but they could obviously taste it and
therefore didn't touch the food. We also tried mixing the crushed tablets
in some milk and using a syringe to "feed" the mixture to them. This was
slightly more successful, but as the powder didn't dissolve in the milk
they didn't get the full dose.

My question is this, I have seen topical "spot-on" type treatments for
tapeworm but am not sure how effective this is, i.e. how can a treatment
applied to the outside be effective for an internal problem. Can anyone
comment on the effectiveness of this type of treatment?

Thanks,
Steve.

Hi Steve,
Revolution is a topical treatment for fleas, which are an intermediary host
for tapeworms. It also prevents heartworm, treats earmites and intestinal
hookworm and roundworm.
You put it on once a month.
The vet who prescribed the tapeworm medicine should be able to tell you if a
topical treatment is available for tapeworm. He or she should also be able
to show you how to pill the cats. If you absolutely can't do it, you could
take the cats in and have the vet do it. If my memory is correct, it should
only take two doses. I don't remember how far apart they are.
If you don't control the fleas, your cats will continue to get tapeworms.
Annie

Steve C wrote:
Hi,
We've been trying to treat our 2 cats for tapeworm. We tried crushing the
tablets and putting it in their food but they could obviously taste it and
therefore didn't touch the food. We also tried mixing the crushed tablets
in some milk and using a syringe to "feed" the mixture to them. This was


I pill cats. I pill (some) feral cats, too. It's never been easy, but
it's never been any more difficult than clipping nails or combing out
mats or expressing anal glands. If you have cats, you need to learn how
to do these things WITHOUT traumatizing the cat, or else you can pay the
vet to do it.

Of course, you can also buy a "pet piller", but if you can't pill a cat
with your finger, you probably won't do much better with a piller.
They're cheap, it might be worth a try.

http://www.1800petmeds.com/pgroup.as...ller%20Singles
--
John Kimmel


I think it will be quiet around here now. So long.

On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 00:04:51 -0800, guynoir wrote:

Steve C wrote:
Hi,
We've been trying to treat our 2 cats for tapeworm. We tried crushing
the tablets and putting it in their food but they could obviously taste
it and therefore didn't touch the food. We also tried mixing the crushed
tablets in some milk and using a syringe to "feed" the mixture to them.
This was


I pill cats. I pill (some) feral cats, too. It's never been easy, but
it's never been any more difficult than clipping nails or combing out mats
or expressing anal glands. If you have cats, you need to learn how to do
these things WITHOUT traumatizing the cat, or else you can pay the vet to
do it.

Of course, you can also buy a "pet piller", but if you can't pill a cat
with your finger, you probably won't do much better with a piller. They're
cheap, it might be worth a try.

http://www.1800petmeds.com/pgroup.as...ller%20Singles


Thanks for the info, I've ordered a "piller" and will try again, once it's
here. To be honest this is the first time they haven't taken ground up
pills in the food (but it's also the first time we've given them this
brand) and I haven't tried giving them pills whole, mainly due the trauma
you mention. But they DO need to learn to take their medicine!

Thanks again,
Steven.

I don't know of a topical treatment for tapeworm. Cestex is what we use
to treat tapeworm, combined with Advantage or Revolution (to kill the
fleas that brought the tapeworm in the first place).

You probably know the dire warning about NOT using any of the "spot-on"
treatments found over-the-counter. Some of these products are quite
dangerous to cats (read up on Hartz).

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats
Seattle

On Sun, 4 Dec 2005, Steve C wrote:

Hi,
We've been trying to treat our 2 cats for tapeworm. We tried crushing the
tablets and putting it in their food but they could obviously taste it and
therefore didn't touch the food. We also tried mixing the crushed tablets
in some milk and using a syringe to "feed" the mixture to them. This was
slightly more successful, but as the powder didn't dissolve in the milk
they didn't get the full dose.

My question is this, I have seen topical "spot-on" type treatments for
tapeworm but am not sure how effective this is, i.e. how can a treatment
applied to the outside be effective for an internal problem. Can anyone
comment on the effectiveness of this type of treatment?

Thanks,
Steve.

Steve C wrote:
On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 00:04:51 -0800, guynoir wrote:

Steve C wrote:
Hi,
We've been trying to treat our 2 cats for tapeworm. We tried crushing
the tablets and putting it in their food but they could obviously taste
it and therefore didn't touch the food. We also tried mixing the crushed
tablets in some milk and using a syringe to "feed" the mixture to them.
This was


I pill cats. I pill (some) feral cats, too. It's never been easy, but
it's never been any more difficult than clipping nails or combing out mats
or expressing anal glands. If you have cats, you need to learn how to do
these things WITHOUT traumatizing the cat, or else you can pay the vet to
do it.

Of course, you can also buy a "pet piller", but if you can't pill a cat
with your finger, you probably won't do much better with a piller. They're
cheap, it might be worth a try.

http://www.1800petmeds.com/pgroup.as...ller%20Singles


Thanks for the info, I've ordered a "piller" and will try again, once it's
here. To be honest this is the first time they haven't taken ground up
pills in the food (but it's also the first time we've given them this
brand) and I haven't tried giving them pills whole, mainly due the trauma
you mention. But they DO need to learn to take their medicine!

Thanks again,
Steven.

My friend's cats were just treated for a tapeworm infestation. The vet
gave all five cats a one time only injection of Droncit. Is there a
reason you can't take the cats to the vet to get the injection, since
they are hard to pill?
-Yngver