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Cleaning up after worm infestation?

post #1 of 8
12/23/09 at 2:46pm
Thread Starter 
I recently made a post about my wife's 5 month old kitten, who it turns out had tapeworms. She has been treated, along with our other 2 cats (they will undergo another round of meds in a little less than 2 weeks). In that first post, though, someone had mentioned that our home would need to be thouroughly cleaned to prevent the kitties from getting them again. I have vaccummed, swept and mopped, wiped down all hard surfaces, etc. I have also scooped litter boxes and washed the inside of each one but I did not completely replace the litter (we have 5 litter boxes that hold a box of clumping litter each, so replacing the litter would add up quickly). Is it neccessary to replace the litter altogether? Also, is there anything I need to use on the carpets or furniture to make sure they don't come back?
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post #2 of 8
12/23/09 at 3:08pm
I know this isn't what you want to hear, but my vet has always told me the #1 most important thing to do after a bout with worms is to dump all of the litter in the house, wash the boxes and replace it all with new litter. Otherwise the worms will reinfest.

The last time we had worms here I switched temporarily to the cheapest non-scoopable I could find and dumped the whole boxes every day until after the last worm treatment, then I scrubbed out the boxes again and replaced with the good litter. But my cats are very accepting of litter changes, a lot of cats this wouldn't work with.

Often times buying litter in bulk is much cheaper, if that helps.
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post #3 of 8
12/23/09 at 3:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by CruiserMaiden View Post
I know this isn't what you want to hear, but my vet has always told me the #1 most important thing to do after a bout with worms is to dump all of the litter in the house, wash the boxes and replace it all with new litter. Otherwise the worms will reinfest.

The last time we had worms here I switched temporarily to the cheapest non-scoopable I could find and dumped the whole boxes every day until after the last worm treatment, then I scrubbed out the boxes again and replaced with the good litter. But my cats are very accepting of litter changes, a lot of cats this wouldn't work with.

Often times buying litter in bulk is much cheaper, if that helps.
Can changing the litter wait until after the second round of treatment, or should it be done right away? I will do it anyway because changing the litter is certainly cheaper than another trip to the vet and more meds, but I can't afford to change it everyday like you did because our cats are very particular about the litter so I wouldn't have the option of temporarily using the cheaper litter. Flower JUST started using the box again so I wouldn't want to give her any reason to revert back to going on the floor now that she's healthy again. If I change it now I will have to change it again after the second round of dewormer. Hopefully if I wait I can change it only once, or will we still be at risk for reinfestation?
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post #4 of 8
12/23/09 at 4:59pm
I've have dealt with tapes just about every winter when my indoor/outdoor cat come inside for the winter...I treat him thought the summer when he is "hunting"...but he usually still has them when he comes in for the winter...I've never thought or was told to change the litter....I haven't noticed any other cats with tapeworms.....so they can some how get them from the eggs in the litter box ? Hmmm maybe I need to be looking more closely at my other cats...
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post #5 of 8
12/24/09 at 1:01pm
CruiserMaiden gave good advice. Dump the litter and keep tossing it out.

If you don't you risk reinfecting the cats and having worms growing at different parts of their life cycle. Then you'd need to do yet another treatment to kill any that would have been eggs and missed.
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post #6 of 8
12/25/09 at 11:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WifeyLovesCats View Post
Can changing the litter wait until after the second round of treatment, or should it be done right away? I will do it anyway because changing the litter is certainly cheaper than another trip to the vet and more meds, but I can't afford to change it everyday like you did because our cats are very particular about the litter so I wouldn't have the option of temporarily using the cheaper litter. Flower JUST started using the box again so I wouldn't want to give her any reason to revert back to going on the floor now that she's healthy again. If I change it now I will have to change it again after the second round of dewormer. Hopefully if I wait I can change it only once, or will we still be at risk for reinfestation?
You have 5 litter boxes for three cats? Is it worth taking the chance? I have never used a clumping litter, but when one does they need to regularly disinfect and change the litter anyway. Especially when it comes to something like this.....
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post #7 of 8
12/26/09 at 1:08pm
Since you can't use the cheap litter and dump every day (which I know is a little OCD but I hate bugs...) I would say clean the boxes and replace with all new litter immediately after the first treatment, then do it again after the second treatment. As you said, even though litter is expensive it is still cheaper than having to re-treat for worms!
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post #8 of 8
12/27/09 at 12:40pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheylink View Post
You have 5 litter boxes for three cats?
Haha, yeah. They don't like to share, so we need at least 3 but when my wife got sick we added 2 more so we could go a little longer between scoopings.

I have changed the litter, and will change it again after the second round of treatment.

Thanks so much for all the help everybody.
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