My cat may have roundworms...not sure what to do!

Yesterday afternoon, my boyfriend found cat vomit with a live worm in it. After looking it up, we're assuming that it was roundworm. Earlier in the day he had let our cat out in our tiny backyard, where she likes to chew and eat the grass. I'm wondering if she may have eaten the worm and threw it back up? That doesn't explain the fact that it was still alive though. My problem is that I don't have a lot of money and a vet bill would come up to about $175, including the appointment fee, medication, and stool sample test (I already spoke to the vet office). I really can't afford that at the moment.

Although I really do want a vet to see her and give her the right medications, my mother (who happens to be very frugal and all up my ass about my own expenses ;P lol) thinks that taking her to the vet is unnecessary and that there are OTC meds you can get at petsmart that are just as effective. Her spouse has apparently experienced this and backs her up on this....to my knowledge his pets have lived to be pretty old, so who knows ?

I have read some previous posts on here and mostly see the same exact answers, such as "OTC meds are poison/the wrong dosage/ineffective/the devil" or the ever so typical "take her to the vet". I know that vets are like demigods on pet sites and stuff, and I really do trust and respect their knowledge, but when you have limited funds, it's difficult to not try more affordable resources FIRST.

Does someone know how an OTC drug for deworming affects the cat?

As of now, my cat seems completely fine. She eats, pees, poops, no diarrhea, no vomit since yesterday (she never vomits), no weight loss, she's generally very playful (in fact, she's running after her little catnip toy thingy at this moment) and she follows us everywhere. Am I over analyzing this? Could it be that my boyfriend didn't describe it right? And that he pointed to a google image that wasn't exactly what he saw? My cat isn't really showing any of the other signs that Dr. Google says.

Have you experienced roundworm in your cat before? How was your cat before and after treatment?

I know vets are expensive but it's really the safest route.  I know I grew up on a farm and our animals were routinely dewormed with stuff that my dad got over the counter.  We didn't have an animal get sick but we may have just been very lucky.  We only dewormed the dogs and they were a gel pill that the dog would have to swallow whole, we always had larger dogs so he had to take several.  My dad would put each one inside hamburger and the dog would swallow it whole.

Someone that does rescue might have some ideas on a cheaper way to get the medicine, I know they get it in bulk and routinely deworm kittens.

My experiences with OTC dewormer are that they simply don't work as well.

When was the last time your cat saw the vet? If it has been within the last year, pethaps you could just take a fresh* stool sample to the vet and letting them test it and give you the needed medication instead of taking your kitty in? They would need an accurate weight on your cat to dose appropriately. But, it would save you some money by not needing an examination.

**By fresh sample, I mean get it to the clinic within 30 minutes of it coming out of kitty. =)

If it was a roundworm, she would not have just eaten it and thrown it up the same day. Vomiting roundworms means she picked up the eggs sometime in the past and now has an infestation.

With dewormers, you just need to know what active ingredient to look for. Note: I am not a vet or any kind of expert, just sharing what I've learned and have done for my own pets.

Treatments for roundworms that you can get over the counter are typically either piperazine,  pyrantel pamoate or fenbendazole - piperazine is considered the least effective of those, from what I've read. Many people (breeders and rescuers who deal with a lot of kittens) use over the counter meds that contain pyrantel pamoate (Nemex or Strongid or various knock-off brands), or they use Panacur, which is fenbendazole. For pyrantel you can just give an amount that would equal the dose in Drontal (prescription only) http://www.1800petmeds.com/Drontal-prod10073-10073.html (click the "ingredients" tab)

You can read more about these drugs here: 

http://www.petmd.com/pet-medication/pyrantel-pamoate 

http://www.petmd.com/pet-medication/fenbendazole

If this is too complicated, definitely go to the vet instead. 

I remember my little boy was rescued by a co-worker when he was about 3 weeks old.  I took him shortly thereafter.  I took him to the vet for the first time when he was about 7 weeks old and he got two different dewormers that I gave over time at home.  Shortly after he started the dewormers I saw a live worm hanging out of his mouth and it completely freaked me out.

Buy some OTC deworming medication and dose your cat according to age/,weight, whatever the instructions say to do.
It's not difficult. Once vets did not do stool sample testing and thus cat owners routinely wormed their pets every few months or as needed, if they saw evidence of infestation. Change the cat litter after deworming. It's still done that way (OTC dewormers) in other countries outside the US. Your kitty will be fine.