Roundworms- Again

Hi-
First of all, I want to welcome everybody in this forum, since I'm new here (and so are my 2 kittens I'm writing since I'm having roundworms problem in my 2 kittens. They were dewormed by the vet twice already and one of them passed roundworm again yesterday. Last two times they were given Strongid, every time 2 dozes, two weeks apart. The first time, only one was treated, then the stool was checked and the vet said she is fine. (The other was dewormed before I got him) Then my other cat vomited roundworms, so I took both stool samples to the new vet. Believe or not the cat that vomited roundworms was tested negative!!! Anyway, they gave me medication for both. What suprised me however, that they didn't ask about their weight. From what I know Strongid is given by the weight, isn't it? So they were treated, and I thought they're ok, until yesterday. Now, I don't know what to do. Last time, I paid $25 for each stool testing, and $20 for each dose of medication. If I want to give them 3 dozes, and have them checked again, that will cost me a fortune. I'm 100% sure those are roundworms, but it seems to me that they must give me 3 not 2 doses. I'm kind of aggravated by those vet because I feel they didn't treat them right from the beginning, and now the problem is dragging on. Do you think that the vet will be willing to give me a prescription so I can get medication online, to save me some money? Should I try over the counter medication? I'll call my vet tomorrow, but I would like to know your opinion, because I really want to get rid of those worms without breaking the bank. Any thoughts or adviece would be greatly appricated... Thank You.

I would call the vet and explain the situation. Ask if they are going to charge for the follow up appointment and whether or not you need to bring the kitties or a stool sample in or if they can just prescribe more of the worm meds. My vet doesn't charge for follow up appointments. It doesn't hurt to ask if you can get prescription to buy the worm meds on line, I am just not sure if the vet will give a prescription without examining the stools.

Originally Posted by kotmaciek

Hi-
Then my other cat vomited roundworms, so I took both stool samples to the new vet. Believe or not the cat that vomited roundworms was tested negative!!! Anyway, they gave me medication for both. What suprised me however, that they didn't ask about their weight. From what I know Strongid is given by the weight, isn't it?

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I would recommend that you call the vet (or take the worm in if you happened to save it ). They should be able to give you a prescription. Usually, we will give Panacure if the Strongid didn't do the trick. In the event of heavy worm burdens, 1-2 dewormings just isn't enough.

Also, it is possible that the fecal was negative or (NPS, no parasites seen as I prefer to call it). There are different stages in a parasite's life cycle, and when a fecal exam is performed, we are actually looking for the eggs, not the actual worm itself, so if they aren't passing eggs, then they won't show up in the fecal exam. Which is why as kittens, we like to see a fecal at each booster visit.

Thanks guys for reply. I actually checked my vet papers and it says that the last time they were given NEMEX. Isn't NEMEX usually used for dogs? I'm kind of surprised because that's over the counter medication. Unfortunately, I didn't save the worm (although I think I should have). Anyway, I'll definitely call them tomorrow, and explain the situation. I'll let you know of the outcome.

Ask your vet about Drontal. It is more expensive and your cats will need two doses each but it is a better dewormer than strongid. Strongid is cheap and not too bad for routine deworming but it is one of the oldest dewormers out there and not as effetive as some of the newer ones.

Thank you for advise-I'll ask. It's is good to know. One of my cats passed wormes again and this time I save them, so the vet can give me meds without testing.

Roundworms generally don't go away with 1-2 dewormings, or even 3-4, especially in kittens. I think some people just use the shotgun method and deworm kittens every month for roundworms. There's a stage were kittens become "resistant" to roundworms (their body starts to encapsulate them so they don't travel around freely), and you'll notice a sharp decrease in roundworm "activity", but before that happens the roundworms are just constantly getting pumped out from their bodies so you'll notice them all the time even with deworming.

Wormers only affect adult worms in the digestive tract, so any worms in the lungs, bloodstream, or anywhere else in the body aren't affected. Eggs also aren't affected. The only thing dewormer does is paralyze the adult worms so they loosen their grip on the bowels and pass out in the feces. That's why the dose is repeated in a week, or two weeks, since the first dose only gets the ones in the bowel, and it takes a week or two for new worms to migrate from the lungs to the bowel. Your kitten could also be constantly reinfecting himself when he grooms his rear end.

Also, not to spook anyone, but roundworms are transmissable to humans. The classic roundworm in humans shows up as a migratory worm (a.k.a. lost) in the eye in children (i.e. after they play in dirt, notice it's not cats they get it from). They end up loosing sight in one eye and you don't find out it was a roundworm until after they remove it and find the worm. However, it's very rare that this happens and good hygene will prevent it. So please wash hands very carefully and keep the litterbox spotless.

Chances are, all cats and humans (possibly all animals, even ants) have at least a couple roundworms in their body somewhere, but there's just so few that there are no symptoms.

Sorry for the huge post, but my vet didn't even know half this stuff until I looked it up and told him, thought you guys would like to know.

There are some round worms that have become essentially "drug resistant." It took us over a year to battle round worm out of our (at the time) growing crew of ferals.

As we rescued, the vet gave us the Drontal pills to deworm the kitties. When it became obvious this wasn't working, we tried the Strongid. In the end, the vet had us use Panacur, and this finally did the trick.

Basically, these poisons kill the adult worm, so no matter what treatment you use, it needs to be readministered after a 3-week period to account for the lifecycle of the worm.

After the first dose, you MUST completely empty the litter boxes, bleach them, and refill them with clean litter. Keep the boxes really clean - scoop at least twice a day - until about a week after the second dose, and then bleach the boxes again and refill with new litter. For us, the second dose was always 3 weeks after the first dose, not 2, though most manufacturers recommend "2 - 4" weeks.

If you want to read up on the problem, this has a really good write-up:

http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=761

Thank you both for great analogy. However, I just realized that I gave one of my cats a second dose of Drontal after only 9 days. Is that useless or harmless? I miscounted days, somehow. Does it means that I lost one dose? I see there a big discrepancy about second dosage. Some people say 10-14 days, some say 3 weeks. How is it possible, that their opinions are so different? I'm very upset that I did that, because I really want to get rid of those worms. I have one more dosage at home, but I'm afraid that now, I won't be able to get rid of those worms without another expensive vet visit.