I need worming advice please :)

[CultureJunky]

Hello all,

I am thinking of worming Jack, as he has been sick a few times and seems to be losing weight continually, he's very thin.
I have looked at worm treatments on the net on online pharmacies, and there are a few, which do you think would be the best?
I don't want to use tablets as he doesn't like taking them and gets quite stressed.

Any info or help would be greatly appreciated.

There are a few, Panacur paste, droncit spot on tubes, and also panacur granules and small animal oral liquid, though I'm unsure of how that works.
The are all on this page below.

What do you think would be the easiest and most effective?

http://www.petfleas.co.uk/acatalog/Dog_Cat_Wormers.html

Kate

[Freedom]

Sorry I haven't any idea, Kate. My cats are indoor so once they are de wormed as kittens it is never an issue after that. I always let the vet handle it.

[tonnerrebird]

Even indoor cats can get worms. Parasite eggs of common worms like roundworm are found in the soil and can be carried in on your shoes. It doesn't hurt to worm an animal. I worm my cats and ferrets annually. A commonly used broad-spectrum wormer is called pyrantel. It's a liquid that you administer on a dosing schedule of first dose, and a second dose two weeks later. Some people recommend to do a third dose two weeks after the second just to be sure. The dosing instructions are on the wormer. If you're not exactly sure about how much your cat weighs, you can always err on a little more - it won't hurt them. One sign of worms - a swollen belly. Also, vomitting up worms (they kind of look like broken rubber bands) is another obvious symptom. But if you aren't sure, using this dewormer certainly won't hurt any.

Droncit is specifically for tapeworm. It's a nice drug because it's a one-time pill. If you find small, white, soft, cooked-rice-grain like pieces found stuck to your pets fur, that is a sign of tapeworm. These are gravid proglotids, an end segment of a tapeworm that is full of eggs. You usually only see one or two of these segments at a time, and are often mistake as a piece of some other debris. If you haven't seen any segments, hold off on this drug for now.

Panacur & Albon are two dewormers that are used when an animal continues to have moderate to severe diarrhea, or bloody diarrhea. Panacur powder is measured out into three doses, one a day for three days. Usually the powder is mixed with a small amount of canned food so that the pet consumes the whole dose. After the three doses, there is no further dosing. Albon is a liquid that is provided on a similar dosing schedule of one dose a day for three to five days. I can't remember off hand which does which, but one dewormer is also effective against coccidia and other intestinal parasites, and the other dewormer is effective against giardia and other flagellates and intestinal parasites. For cases of severe diarrhea and/or bleeding, our practice at the shelter is to give both Panacur and Albon.

As to which you should use? See a vet. If your concerned about cost, many vets will let you bring in a fresh stool sample, for a smaller fee, that they can examine for parasites and then recommend or prescribe the required dewormer. However deworming is just a first step you can try to discover the cause of your cat's illness. I would recommend bringing your cat to the vet regardless, because vomitting and weightloss can be caused by a numerous amount of other more serious reasons. From my experience many cats who have worms are often healthy weight and normal demeaners, unless they have other compounding health problems.

Again, you can start with a general dewormer, pyrantel, and if you haven't found tapeworm segments, and if your cat doesn't have diarrhea, I would recommend just taking your cat to the vet. The vet can check a stool sample for other parasites, as well as check your whole pet over for other causes of the vomitting and weightloss.

I hope this helped!

[CultureJunky]

Tonnerrebird thanks for the ton of info, that was a great help. I thought I would sound out the PT forum just for some advice. I have booked an appointment for Jack for Wednesday to see the vet, and will post what happens here for general info purposes.
I thought of worming him first before going to the vets as he finds it very stressful riding in the car in the carrier and usually has a panic attack. I hate putting him through it so wanted to avoid going, but I am concerned about him too much and have to take him, I am going with my fiance this time instead of my mother so I can sit with him in the back of the car and my fiance can drive. I think he may be a bit calmer if I'm with him and he can see me.
He has continually lost weight over the last two months, and usually vomits saliva a few times a week. He's eating normally, his toileting is normal though very smelly, and he's fine in himself. But his coat is getting quite bad and he's becoming very thin. His stomach gurgles a lot I've noticed, like has wind (gas) or indegestion.
Before we adopted him, he was left to starve, and was very malnourished, so I think it may be a intestinal problem with him.

I'll let you know how he got on on Wednesday.

Thanks again
Kate