Will I ever get used to her again?

mewdrop

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TL;DR (Too long don't read) Reenie Weenie went to the vet and now I'm paranoid about hookworms and touching my cat.

If you have the time to read: Thank You if not, the short version is above.

I've had cats before and taken them to the vet and made sure they were taken care of before any problems would happen. But this time a friend decided to give me another cat, I have two now. First things first, visit to the vet. This poor thing had everything known to man. She had tape worm, hook worms, fleas. It made me really sad to hear all this since I've been used to my cats being well taken care of. So they gave her a de-wormer for the month as well as the medicine that takes cares of fleas, worms and mites for the month. I'm absolutely scared of this cat now. I go back for reapplication for the worms in two weeks.

The doctor told me that the medicine will take care of the tape worms but then he told me that the hook worms don't really go away but can be controlled. Then I researched hookworms and I was extremely scared at what I was reading. The way they come to be, the hatching from the stool, the attaching to the skin etc.... How they can live without any blood in the stool and the thousands of eggs hatched randomly.

Obviously prevention is keeping the kitty clean, cleaning the litter box daily, vacuuming etc. My cats are inside cats so hopefully once the medicine takes care of those nasty things, she'll be back to normal. The vet told me since my cat has thousands of eggs ready to come out (shudder) that I would not only have to change her litter every day (I'd usually just take the poop out,) that I would have to throw everything out everyday. The litter and the poop!

He told me, not until she gets better. I feel horrible because I don't even want to touch her anymore, I'm scared of her. These worms can get on humans and while not deadly, can cause brain problems etc.

The thought of keeping her very clean everyday is fine but fleas are everywhere! What happens if she swallows another one and the cycle happens again? I have a feeling I'm going to have flea powder all over the place. I want to hug her because I know she had a horrible day today at the vet. She had her shots, three different types of medicines. I just want to give her a hug. My boyfriend scoffed at me saying before knowing all this, I was playing with her just fine. Am I just paranoid about all this? Will I ever feel safe again?
 

carolina

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Awww... I hope you feel better about it soon...
I would suggest to do monthly applications of Revolution, that will treat the worms, ear mites, fleas, etc...
It will not kill tapeworms, but I believe you already took care of it anyways... It will kill hookworms, roundworms, and prevent heartworms.
The only thing is, you will need to test her for heartworms before starting treatment, since she can have a bad reaction if she is already infected with it. It will also kill fleas larvae and eggs, which is really great.
Talk to your vet about it - it is IMO the easiest way to go...
Here is the site
 
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mewdrop

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yup! That's the medicine she's on actually. I'm taking her in two weeks for her second application. I wonder if I can get it cheaper at pet meds, I need to research.
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by mewdrop

yup! That's the medicine she's on actually. I'm taking her in two weeks for her second application. I wonder if I can get it cheaper at pet meds, I need to research.
I will PM you with the info of where I get it. I pay $29.75 for 3 applications, free shipping. This is the second time I bought from them, and it is absolutely legit...
 

yosemite

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I'm a bit concerned - you mentioned "flea powder" on everything! I cannot imagine any vet giving someone "flea powder" and if you didn't get it from a vet, for heaven's sake don't use it.

The best thing you can do would be to get some diatomaceous earth (human/food grade) to sprinkle into your carpeting and even furniture. You can buy it online (I don't know the exact location but if you do a search on this forum you'll find much information on DE). Diatomaceous earth is not "earth/soil" - it is finely ground diatoms which are a tiny crustaceon and it is like a fine powder. It is perfectly safe around humans and animals. If they ingest any, the worst it will do is kill any internal parasites the animal may have.

Meds from your vet are better than any over-the-counter meds and I personally trust them more than any meds purchased on-line. On-line meds are not always the same strength as those received from a vet and thus are not as effective. When I'm dealing with health issues with my pets, I prefer to deal with my vet.

During warm months, both Mika and Bijou are treated with Advantage and Revolution respectively. Mika had a bad reaction to Revolution thus she gets Advantage.
 

carolina

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Same here - Bugsy can't get Revolution, so he is on Advantage instead... Lucky is on Revolution... I give to them monthly as the outside patio/garden is infested with fleas, and I live on the ground floor...
Gosh - I missed the flea powder thing - DO NOT DO IT!!!!! That is poison!! Don't give anything over the counter, or use any of those poisons, collars, etc.
IMO they should be banned!
Diatomaceous Earth is the way to go - just make sure it is food quality, 100% pure.
Good luck to you!!
 

marleyandme

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Yes, you will feel safe to hug her again, and soon!! When my dog came home from the breeders, he had hookworm. I too researched on the internet, and I too got freaked out! I wasn't sure where to let him in the house or not. After a few weeks, everything was fine. As long as she doesn't have it on her feet, where in turn you step on it, or she poops on your floor, or you eat her poop...haha, you will be fine!! Keep things really clean for a few weeks and all will be well again!! Good luck, I know how creepy it can be!
 
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mewdrop

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Thank you everyone for your warm wishes. I'll need to find the receipt for the flea powder I bought then because buying that made me feel a lot better. It's the Hartz Ultra Guard Flea and Tick Carpet Powder. Thanks for the information for Diatomaceous earth. It sounds a lot better then the poison I was thinking of using. And yes, creepy was the word that fits this situation.

carolinalima~ Thanks for the link for the medicine. The vet told me he's charge me 16 dollars for each visit so I'll let him do it in two weeks, then I'll order from the site.

I'll keep everyone updated as she keeps getting better.
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by mewdrop

Thank you everyone for your warm wishes. I'll need to find the receipt for the flea powder I bought then because buying that made me feel a lot better. It's the Hartz Ultra Guard Flea and Tick Carpet Powder. Thanks for the information for Diatomaceous earth. It sounds a lot better then the poison I was thinking of using. And yes, creepy was the word that fits this situation.

carolinalima~ Thanks for the link for the medicine. The vet told me he's charge me 16 dollars for each visit so I'll let him do it in two weeks, then I'll order from the site.

I'll keep everyone updated as she keeps getting better.
You are welcome!!! I always order from them, and they are 100% legit - it comes up to $10/application, which is pretty good!
As far as the Hartz thing... Stay away from their products - lots of people have lost their cats to it, or have cats with severe neurological damage... I don't even know how that is still being sold... Good luck to you - she is going to be fine, and you will get over it
 

laureen227

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here's a link for food-grade diatomaceous earth: food-grade DE
you can order online, altho i found some at a local feed store.
as far as the tapeworms go, i wouldn't worry too much about them - i've had at least 3 cats w/them in the past, & never had any kind of health problems related to the cats' worms affect me.
that said - Firefox had a bacterial skin infection that she passed on to me - but she was a feral kitten, had all kinds of problems.
 
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mewdrop

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Originally Posted by laureen227

here's a link for food-grade diatomaceous earth: food-grade DE
you can order online, altho i found some at a local feed store.
as far as the tapeworms go, i wouldn't worry too much about them - i've had at least 3 cats w/them in the past, & never had any kind of health problems related to the cats' worms affect me.
that said - Firefox had a bacterial skin infection that she passed on to me - but she was a feral kitten, had all kinds of problems.
Thank you for your help! I was trying to look for it online, but was confused by all the products, I didn't know which one I needed exactly. Thanks to you, through that website, I found a local distributor of the stuff. Only 30 minutes away from me in the next town. Thank you! All of this information is making me feel better. As long as I keep clean, do her regular doctor visits, everything should be fine. <3 So many hugs to you all.

Yikes! @ your skin infection. I'm glad that got healed and if you got through that, I'm sure I will too.
 
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