Worms and Parasites?

happyliz

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Mittens is a year old and titan is 3 months old. I'm worried that they might have worms. The other day I saw diarreah with a little blood in the litter box I'm not sure whose it was since sometimes titan likes going into mittens litter box. If one of them has worms can they transfer it to the other through the litter box? Should i have them both checked for worms?
 

jennyr

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Have they been dewormed? All cats and kittens get worms and should be treated regularly, even if they are inside cats. A 3 month old kitten certainly has them and should be treated as soon as you get him home. It is no big deal - but please do not buy dewormers from anyone but a vet. Some OTC brands have been shown to be extremely harmful, even fatal, to kittens especially. The vet will weigh them and prescribe treatment against round worms and tape worms, plus anything else that may be endemic in your area.
 

hazmat

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Just have the vet give you dewormer to use. There is no point in going through the old bring in stool and have it checked routine. Dewormer will cost a couple of dollars. Having the stool checked cost 4 times that can be wrong and is a hassle.

ps. one time blood in stool in a young cat is probably nothing.
 
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happyliz

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Mittens has never been dewormed and titan was at 6 or 8 weeks. So I shouldnt take in stool to have them tested? Will any kind of dewormer work for all types of worms and parasites?
 

denice

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When my kitty was treated as a kitten, which was almost 11 years ago, he got two different dewormers.  One was for roundworm the other for tapeworm.  I think there may be one now that treats both.   Those are the most common ones, there are others that aren't as common and require different medications.   They found roundworms in the fecal which is the most common.  He was an orphan and had fleas when I got him.  Tapeworm and fleas pretty much go together.  They didn't find tapeworm in the sample but went ahead and treated him for them.
 

jennyr

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There is usually no need for stool testing, but depending on the type of wormer used, it is a good idea to weigh them to get the dosage right. I would phone your vet and ask what they want - if the kitten has not had a vet check they may want to see him. There are wormers that treat both round worms and tapes, but often vets prefer to give them in single doses, usually a week apart. Some dewormers need to be repeated three weeks later.
 
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