OTC Wormers?

Hi everyone,
This is my first post here. I will properly introduce myself later, but right now I was hoping some of you experienced cat owners might be able to help me out with something. I am wondering if there are any safe and effective over-the-counter worming meds...or if there is something I might be able to order over the internet. I am feeding some ferals, who I am fairly certain have worms, and I was hoping I might be able to worm them easily myself. Can anyone recommend anything? TIA.

I worm my farm cats, ferals, strays, etc regularly. I get Strongid or Pyrantel Paomate (I know I spelled the 2nd part of that wrong) from my vet.

I do not recommend OTC wormers, as many are not safe. Would your vet give you some?

Most of them are not safe.
I would get something from the vet.

Depends on where you live Strongid, Drontol, Ambex etc. are all OTC over here, or available on most pet care supply websites.

I'd also recommend talking to your vet. Often the OTC wormers are not as effective as the meds from a vet so are a waste of money in the best-case scenario or could cause death in the worst-case scenario.

I personally would err on the side of caution and ask my vet about meds for the ferals. He might also give you a good discount to assist you in your care of the ferals.

I get mine from the vet. I buy it from them over the counter. it is not expensive.

I'm pretty sure feed stores carry proper wormers (like Strongid, Drontol, Ambex) over the counter, but I would consult a vet about proper dosage.

I'm in the U.S. I do have a couple feed stores nearby...if I were to find something there, would the packaging not give the proper dosages? Would they be likely to carry any of the same meds as a vet? I guess Strongid, Drontal, and Ambex some of the meds typically prescribed by vets? I have 6 cats here to worm...I guess I'll just give some vets a call tomorrow to find out how much it would be to get something for all of them.

Or, this is a little OT, but has anyone ever heard of using Ivomec to worm cats? I have some on hand anyway, so if I knew the proper dosage, I could just inject it into their food. That way I could treat them for worms and ear mites all at once.

Originally Posted by *KitKat*

Or, this is a little OT, but has anyone ever heard of using Ivomec to worm cats? I have some on hand anyway, so if I knew the proper dosage, I could just inject it into their food. That way I could treat them for worms and ear mites all at once.

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NO! Ivomec is for earmites, not worms! And you don't put it in their food...it goes in their ears! As others have stated, you can usually just drop by your vets, OR if you have no regular vet...they will still give you a basic, thus safer, wormer for your cats. Please be careful!

Sorry! It's just that I've read several different things saying that you can give Ivomec orally, SQ, or even just apply it topically between the shoulder blades, for both ear mites AND worms. (It is a cattle wormer, after all). I'm not sure if using it that way is *correct* though, which is why I asked. I probably will just go to a vet, but I'm trying to see what all my options are first. I'd like to save some money if possible -- but *not* at the expense of the cats.

Originally Posted by *KitKat*

Sorry! It's just that I've read several different things saying that you can give Ivomec orally, SQ, or even just apply it topically between the shoulder blades, for both ear mites AND worms. I'm not sure if that is *correct,* which is why I asked. I will probably just go to a vet, but I'm trying to see what all my options are first. I'd like to save some money if possible, but not at the expense of the cats.

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I totally understand! Just how feral are these kitties? Will you know for sure that each one will get the proper dosage if you put it in their food? Will you be able to feed them seperately to make sure?

It's wonderful that you care enough about these kitties to want to help them!

Hi, I use Drontal for my cat and I get it from the vet. It works and I know it is safe. Not expensive either, I suppoes your difficulty though is getting the feral cats to have the right dosage equally when put in food. Good luck!

Originally Posted by mbjerkness

I get mine from the vet. I buy it from them over the counter. it is not expensive.

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"Over-the-counter (OTC)" means medications NOT obtained from a vet, i.e., over the counter at the local feed store/pet store

Originally Posted by *Pepper*

I'm pretty sure feed stores carry proper wormers (like Strongid, Drontol, Ambex) over the counter, but I would consult a vet about proper dosage.

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Sometimes the feed/pet stores do carry those wormers but they are not always the same strength as what you get from a vet. Also the vet knows the correct dosage in relation to the size/weight of your cat which is imperative.

If they are true ferals your best bet is to buy Profender from your vet. It is a topical wormer for cats and gets rid of ALL worms and because you swipe it on their neck, it is lots easier to give to ferals and strays. I use it and have had great success with it. It is new and made by Bayer.

Originally Posted by hissy

If they are true ferals your best bet is to buy Profender from your vet. It is a topical wormer for cats and gets rid of ALL worms and because you swipe it on their neck, it is lots easier to give to ferals and strays. I use it and have had great success with it. It is new and made by Bayer.

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MA, thanks for this. If anyone has experience with ferals and strays it is you.

Thanks everyone. I'm just going to get something from a vet. I am not sure yet how I will go about dosing them individually --I can't get near them, and I certainly can't touch them to apply anything topically -- but I'll make some calls tomorrow and see what some vets suggest. I may be able to feed them separately.

I did stop by the feed store today just to check out what they had, but the only choices were Strongid horse wormer (I have no idea if this is the same as what is used for cats?), a dog wormer called D-Worm (active ingredient was Pyrantel Poamate), and a cat wormer called EZ-Worm, whose active ingredient I don't remember, but since it wasn't one I recognized I would be scared to try it.

Sorry about that, i hope i did make it clear that i got drontal from my vet and that i wouldn't buy from anywhere else.