Deworming a kitten...

maxcat08

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How important is it?? Of my four cats, my latest one is the only one that I actually dewormed.

My first kitten, I took directly from its birthhome...and I never dewormed him..perhaps the Vet gave him something. My two pet store kitties received StrongT (?) dewormer before I took them home. I never dewormed them after that. Nor did the Vet inform me that he did either.

Now, my newest kitty. I have given him 2 deworming pills from the Vet...and have 3 more to give him a month apart. Is that overkill? He's never thrown up any worms, nor have any come out the other end.

Is there any harm in over-deworming him....does anyone feel that he really needs three more pills after already taken 2? The pills are Interceptor Yellow. The two previous ones were Interceptor Green.

I really don't want to give them to him if he really doesn't need them.

Thanks for your ideas on this topic!
 

laureen227

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i've never given a wormer to my cats... altho 3 of them have been given wormers by the vet. the last one was Firefox - she got 2 shots at different times - i think it was Droncit, but i'm not totally positive...
 

jen

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I deworm all my cats yearly, I do this myself. I always routinely deworm any new cat or kitten. Adults get 2 doses about 2-3 weeks apart (unless I see symptoms of worms or the worms themself or if the cat has fleas I definitely deworm for tapeworms), kittens get 2-4 doses of dewormer 3 weeks apart. That usually does it.
 

laureen227

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well, mine are indoor only, no dogs, no catching/eating live prey, etc... so they stay flea & worm free.
 

jen

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Originally Posted by laureen227

well, mine are indoor only, no dogs, no catching/eating live prey, etc... so they stay flea & worm free.
Don't forget fleas can still get in! On you or through the open windows... But a flea comb works wonderfully to just check on occasion.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by Jen

Don't forget fleas can still get in! On you or through the open windows... But a flea comb works wonderfully to just check on occasion.
well, i don't usually open the windows... because there aren't any screens on them.
but, yeah - i check them occasionally, just in case.
 
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maxcat08

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Thank you for all your answers! My cats are indoor only, as well. Not one of them has ever had fleas, nor have I ever seen evidence of worms. I didn't even know that all kittens and pups are born with worms...according to my Vet...yikes!

I'm just wondering about the validity of giving him the next three tablets if he doesn't need them? If he doesn't have worms now...why more de-worming pills? He only eats canned food.

I don't want to over-dose him, that's all. He has enough to contend with....all those vaccinations and his whole world to discover...
...
 

jen

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I would stop deworming after 2 or 3 doses. What kind of wormer is it?
 

white cat lover

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Shelter here does Strongid de-wormer. 3 times, 2 weeks apart each time.

Strongid doesn't cover tapeworms, however.
 

sharky

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Kittens typically dewormed 3 times ... after that my vet says DO you see worms in stool>>?? I have stool samples done about yrly... Other signs butt scooting ... REMEMBER wormers are POSIONS
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

Shelter here does Strongid de-wormer. 3 times, 2 weeks apart each time.

Strongid doesn't cover tapeworms, however.
THAT'S what it was! yeah, i can recognize tape symptoms - that's what Pixel & Mouse had as kittens... think perhaps Cable did, too - i know she was covered in fleas when found, anyway.
 

maxiecat03

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Originally Posted by Jen

I would stop deworming after 2 or 3 doses. What kind of wormer is it?
He's received two doses (pills) of Interceptor Green....and Vet gave me three more doses of Interceptor Yellow (pills), to be given one month apart starting July 28 (one month after his last treatment).

Perhaps I should just give him one more dose....that would make three. There have been absolutely NO signs of worms in him at all!

REMEMBER wormers are POSIONS

That's what I thought...why put more poison into his system than he needs!!
 

jen

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Sorry, you did say that already... my bad.

I have never known a clinic to use Interceptor for cats. IT does hook/round and heartworms. Cats are not likely to get heartworms. It would have been better to give him a dewormer that kills tapeworms instead.

If you want to give one more dose then go for it. I would not give all of them though personally.
 

cc12

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I have only ever done one dose and then 2 weeks later a second. The only time I had to do it longer was when a cat I had had been flea infested and worm infested.
 

maxiecat03

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Originally Posted by Jen

Sorry, you did say that already... my bad.

I have never known a clinic to use Interceptor for cats. IT does hook/round and heartworms. Cats are not likely to get heartworms. It would have been better to give him a dewormer that kills tapeworms instead.

If you want to give one more dose then go for it. I would not give all of them though personally.
Thank you for the information. He received a earmite killing/dewormer on his second visit. It was administered on his skin between his shoulder blades. That stopped his head shaking and ear scratching almost in one day. I asked about the heartworm as well because I know it is spread by mosquitos...and that is what the Vet said...a mosquito could come into the house and if it's a heartworm-transmitting mosquito...then the cats could get a heartworm. Well...Phoebe is in the house as well.....and she's not on de-wormers!!! So..I didn't understand the logic of that story!

What dewormers kill tapeworms? How does a cat get a tapeworm. These are two totally indoor cats...fed from cans and bags of cat food only.

Since he's received two Interceptor dewormer pills, and one dose of a liquid dewormer...I will not give him these three more pills...unless I know that he actually has worms.

Thank you!
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by maxiecat03

What dewormers kill tapeworms? How does a cat get a tapeworm. These are two totally indoor cats...fed from cans and bags of cat food only.
tapeworms are usually gotten by ingesting fleas, altho they can also be ingested w/live prey.
 

jen

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Originally Posted by maxiecat03

Thank you for the information. He received a earmite killing/dewormer on his second visit. It was administered on his skin between his shoulder blades. That stopped his head shaking and ear scratching almost in one day. I asked about the heartworm as well because I know it is spread by mosquitos...and that is what the Vet said...a mosquito could come into the house and if it's a heartworm-transmitting mosquito...then the cats could get a heartworm. Well...Phoebe is in the house as well.....and she's not on de-wormers!!! So..I didn't understand the logic of that story!

What dewormers kill tapeworms? How does a cat get a tapeworm. These are two totally indoor cats...fed from cans and bags of cat food only.

Since he's received two Interceptor dewormer pills, and one dose of a liquid dewormer...I will not give him these three more pills...unless I know that he actually has worms.

Thank you!
Praziquantal is one ACTIVE INGREDIENT that kills tapeworms. It is usually the brand name Droncit which just kills tapeworms or Drontal which kills tape, round and hook worms that many vets use. The place I work uses Marquis which is a livestock dewormer and it kills tapes also.
 

maxiecat03

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Thank you Laureen and Jen for your answers. Since my cats are strictly indoors, and there have never been fleas in the house...chances of either one of them getting a tapeworm is slim to none.

I do have one other question....because Samson was showing signs of earmites, he was given a dose of Revolution. Is this also a dewormer? The dose did stop the head shaking and ear scratching.

On the receipt for the Revolution, the description did say 'Pup/kit' I thought that was odd. Do you think it's okay to be giving kittens the same medication as they would a puppy?

Thanks for all your help.....have a great day!!
 
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