Roundworms!!!

First! EEEEEWWWW!

Now that that's out of the way...I woke up this morning and heard Oliver vomiting, I didn't think anything of it, thought it was probably a hairball, but when I looked at his vomit there was a wriggling long spaghetti looking worm in it! Oh my god, disgusting! Of course this would also happen on a Sunday when I can't get into the vet. So I went out and got Sergeant's VeTSCRIPTION Worm Away (for cats of all ages) The label says, one tablet for kittens weighting 1-5 lbs and the last time I was at the vet with Ollie he was over 2lbs.

Does anyone know if this product is safe to use?

I'm taking him to the vet tomorrow of course, but the idea of those worms wriggling inside him makes me sick, poor little baby.

And what's odd is I've had him to the vet like four times and they said he didn't have worms and I'm right up in his litter box cleaning it every day and I've never seen any sign of worms in his poop, if he hadn't puked it up this morning I'd never have had any idea he had worms at all. He's eating fine, no distended belly, no vomiting until today, zero diarrhea. He was constipated when we first got him and then he had a little URI which has cleared up. Why no visible worms in the feces? Why wasn't this picked up at the vet. I'd have to assume he got the parasites from his mom, but if so why wasn't this found a while back...and if he hasn't had them all along, where/when did he get them? He's definitely not caught any critters and we only let him out on the patio on a leash, NOT on the ground.

Roundworms are contagious right? How concerned should I be for my household? The dog, the cat and myself?

And again...EEEEW! That was not a pleasant way to wake up this morning....

Hi there and sorry about finding a worm! 

I am usually pretty wary of a lot of the OTC worm and flea meds (e.g Hartz which has been known to kill cats). I did a google search on the  Sergeant's wormer and didn't come across anything too scary. But I do always advise in kittens it is probably best to have a vet supervise so good you are taking him in. I do find it a little strange your vet didn't worm him before it is pretty standard to do for kittens. 

You know I thought so too...I thought is was standard practice to worm strays. They asked me if I saw anything in his stool and I said no, which is true, I STILL don't see anything in his litterbox, nothing. Though now it's obvious he has them. Blech.

I think I'll just see what the vet has to give me...I'm pretty wary of OTC's too. It just completely freaked me out to see that huge long worm is his vomit. Ohhh gross. Why does everything happen on Sundays?

OK, that's weird of the vet to ask if you saw anything in his stool, because the VET looks at the stool in a microscope to see if there are oocysts, eggs, larvae, whatever they're called. That's how "normal" parasites - like roundworm - are found - a regular fecal float. So you might want to consider using a different vet based on just that experience, because obviously this person isn't... very thorough, let's say?

The Sargent's stuff shouldn't harm your cat, but it doesn't do much other than cause them to expel the adult worms - live. So reinfection is an issue unless you keep those boxes pristine. Your kitty needs either drontal (which treats round worms and tapeworm) if the round worms aren't resistant to it where you live (they are here) or panacur. Both can only be gotten via the vet.

I'd have your dog's stool sample checked for worms. If you wash your hands after scooping the litter box, I wouldn't be worried about yourself. I'd also wait until a few days after you've started the panacur, and dump all the litter, bleach the boxes, and put in new litter. Also, in case your vet doesn't know this, even the panacur doesn't kill the larvae. So it WILL need to be readministered in another three weeks, to allow for the lifecycle of the roundworm. We always go for a third round (again, after 3 weeks) with rescue kitties, just to be sure.

I'm not sure he looked at the stool under a microscope at all. He certainly didn't take a large sample back and check it, but he may have gotten something off of the thermometer and looked at that, not sure.

I'm beginning the think all the vets in my immediate are are useless. There are two vets here in town which are beyond useless. The first one nearly killed the dog by overdosing him on anesthetic during his neutering, and I hold the second one responsible for Squeaker's death due to lack of knowledge about the correct course of treatment he was supposed to be getting. This new vet is fifteen minutes away which  bugs me if there was a serious emergency you know...and there just aren't any other vets without going even further away, which is inconvenient, but okay for routine things, but again...during an emergency that driving time matters.

I'll get something good from the vet tomorrow...and I'm going to ask why he wasn't wormed the first time I brought him in too. I think I'll pose a little test and see whether he mentions needing to bring him back for another dose...if he doesn't then he's incompetent...and I don't know what I'll do about another vet....*Sigh*

Keagan is on Heartgard Plus and the box says it treats and prevents roundworms and hookworms along with heartworms, so I expect he's fine.

I'm also going to ask about a worm prevention for Ollie, I don't know if he's old enough to use it yet but I want him on something like that when he is. Something like Advantage Multi or Revolution so all the bases are covered! No more worms!

I remember when I got squeakers he had Giardia, that was awful but I never had to see any worms from that...blech.

Yes I have come to the conclusion all of the vets near me are pretty much akin to criminals. One killed my sisters cat by putting him under anesthesia even though he had an URI for an x-ray- and they did this without our permission. After that I switched vets and the new vet charged me $900 for when Frank was throwing up hairballs and I had to fight with them to get the proper treatment. This time I used a vet ratings website (http://www.vetratingz.com) and found a vet in the suburbs- it is 25 min away but they are a lot cheaper and actually have an emergency number to call them anytime and seem to be more willing to consult me for my opinion on treatments.

It makes you wonder how some people even became vets doesn't it?

I took him in today and he got his first dose of wormer, they sent the second dose home with me and the date to give it to him on and then I'm supposed to bring him back when it's time for his new vaccinations and bring in a stool sample for them to check at that time. They didn't charge me an office visit because they forgot to worm him before now. Once his tummy is all better we're going to start him on Revolution.