Please help! Indoor/outdoor cats and constant worms. Please help!

I have four rescues..three are indoor-outdoor and one strictly indoors. If I could do it over again I'd have kept them all indoors, but when I've tried to transition the three to staying in, they become miserable.

It seems that every few months one or two come down with worms. I give them medicine from the vet when this happens, but I'm scared that the repeated dosing will either have long-term consequences or they'll become immune to it.
Not to mention that they hate taking medicine and I'd rather keep them parasite-free than constantly pill them:-(.

I've talked to my vet about this and he reassures me that while worms are tricky, the meds will help. They've received both the pill version and I've even opted for the injections against parasites. I also Frontline them every month.

Guys, is there a daily vitamin or supplement I can give them to make them more resistant to this? I've read about garlic but also read that too much garlic can poison cats.

I'm so frustrated I could cry. I worry about my babies' health and feel like a POS pet-mama.

Please advise me. I know Keeping all of them indoors would be ideal, I just don't know how to do that without causing them major distress. In the meantime, CAN I supplement their diets against worms? Is there anything out there to help us?

Please help. I could seriously cry right now. ANY advice on keeping them worm-free would be humbly appreciated.

Have you tried using Revolution or Advantage Multi on your cats? It's a flea/tick/heartworm/parasite topical medication (put on like Frontline.) This is what I would suggest first and foremost.


I do not know of any supplement know to prevent parasite infections. I know there are a few people that feed their animals *Food Grade* Diatomaceous Earth, though I've never tried it myself and have heard mixed reviews about its effectiveness.

As far as converting your 3 into indoor only, it can be done; but, you need to provide alternatives indoors for them to keep them happy...cat trees, window perches with bird feeders outside, cat grass/catnip plants and playing with them daily using interactive toys (Da Bird and Neko Flies are good options.) And, if you have the space, you can build them and outdoor enclosure where they can still enjoy the fresh air. You can build it with a solid floor so that they do not have access to soil and it will also keep them from eating other animals which will prevent the parasite issue.

Thank you so much:-). I'll talk to my vet about the topical stuff and research the food. I can't build a run at the moment, but I'll discuss it with my mom ( I live with her right now while I try to get on my feet...she's been amazing ) and see how she feels about it.

I keep a cat-tree by the back door for my indoor girl. All three seem to love it. My big dream at the moment is a two-bedroom apartment with a screened-in porch so I could fill a room with entertaining things for them to climb on and still have a place for them to get fresh air.

There is nothing dangerous about repeat deworming. I live in Florida and the parasites are active year round. Heartworms are so common. Everyone, cats and dogs gets dewormed on a monthly basis year round. Even my indoor cats get dewormed for heartworms as it only takes one mosquito to cause an infection.

Many years ago, before preventing heartworms became popular many dogs died from it. Both my dogs as a child had it. We couldn't treat the dogs, as the treatment back then would kill your dog. They did test positive though. Later on we treated one dog for it and he very nearly died.

I would suggest heart guard or revolution. Keep some Fenbendazole on hand as a backup.

I deworm monthly year round with heart guard and treat once per year with Fenbendazole to get anything heart guard misses.

Cats can get heartworms, but it's not as common.

Topicals are easiest, but expensive. If those aren't an option financially, do you think they would prefer a liquid? Might be easier than pilling. I agree there's nothing wrong with de-worming once every 1-3 months.

i recommend Revolution first and then Advantage Multi second. you need a prescription from your vet for it, but you don't have to buy it from your vet. if you buy online, i would recommend getting it from a vet-vipp, which is an accredited online pharmacy. 

http://www.nabp.net/programs/accreditation/vet-vipps/find-a-vet-vipps-online-pharmacy/

Honestly, I think they are not getting completely rid of the worm infestation with a single treatment.

If it is not repeated every two weeks, the worms will continue to live.

When a cat has a decent amt of worms, it can take many treatments to get rid of them actually.

This is not uncommon!

While I agree that revolution will work for them, it's expensive for 4 cats and must be continued for several months as well.

If you are trying to get on your feet you likely can't afford doing this.

My advice from experience is to go online and buy a bottle of pyrantel pamoate. (pyrantel for short) No prescription needed. If you aren't comfortable doing this then call the vet and ask if they agree it's a good thing to do. It's basically impossible to overdose them with too, as it is so mild yet effective.

You can get a good sized bottle for under 20 bucks. This will treat them all many times.

0.1 ml pyrantel per pound of weight.

10 lb cat gets 1/2 ml, or 0.50 ml.

mls are same as cc's.

It is extremely mild and very safe. Tiny kittens get pyrantel with no prob.

Liquid, tastes like banana.

Treat them all every 2 weeks faithfully. Treats roundworms, but not tapeworms. Tapeworm is caused from fleas mostly, so be sure to treat for fleas with a topical too.

How do you know they still have worms?

Hmm, my vet says to use 1 ml of 50-mg pyrantel for a 10-lb cat. I suppose it's all in range, as dosage recommendations vary from 2.5-10 mg per pound, depending on the source (Merck manual says 20 mg/kg, which would be a bit less than 10 mg/lb, other sources say less). It's pretty safe so a bit extra won't hurt. I don't know if I'd keep up a 2-week worming schedule all the time, but definitely do that for the first 3-4 treatments, then maybe once a month would do.

The pyrantel is usually sold for horses or humans. Here's an example, but there are lots of places that sell it so you don't have to buy from this place: http://www.allivet.com/showproduct.aspx?ProductID=114&SEName=pyrantel-pamoate-suspension

You'll also want to get some needleless syringes for easier dosing. Most brands have 50mg/ml but always confirm that before giving any to your cats so you ddon't overdose or underdose them.

Willowy said:

Hmm, my vet says to use 1 ml of 50-mg pyrantel for a 10-lb cat. I suppose it's all in range, as dosage recommendations vary from 2.5-10 mg per pound, depending on the source (Merck manual says 20 mg/kg, which would be a bit less than 10 mg/lb, other sources say less). It's pretty safe so a bit extra won't hurt. I don't know if I'd keep up a 2-week worming schedule all the time, but definitely do that for the first 3-4 treatments, then maybe once a month would do.

The pyrantel is usually sold for horses or humans. Here's an example, but there are lots of places that sell it so you don't have to buy from this place: http://www.allivet.com/showproduct.aspx?ProductID=114&SEName=pyrantel-pamoate-suspension

You'll also want to get some needleless syringes for easier dosing. Most brands have 50mg/ml but always confirm that before giving any to your cats so you ddon't overdose or underdose them.

Click to expand...

You're correct, I was too, 0.1 ml per pound, but then got distracted and wrote the wrong thing! Technically pyrantel is just under 0.1 per 2 lbs, however I have never gone by that, I give 0.1 per lb.

Thanks for pointing that out!

I do agree, there are a variety of dosing opinions, but as safe as it is, I don't worry too much, but don't try to give incorrect info just because it's what I do. Thanks.

catwoman707 said:

 
Honestly, I think they are not getting completely rid of the worm infestation with a single treatment.

If it is not repeated every two weeks, the worms will continue to live.

When a cat has a decent amt of worms, it can take many treatments to get rid of them actually.

This is not uncommon!

While I agree that revolution will work for them, it's expensive for 4 cats and must be continued for several months as well.

If you are trying to get on your feet you likely can't afford doing this.

My advice from experience is to go online and buy a bottle of pyrantel pamoate. (pyrantel for short) No prescription needed. If you aren't comfortable doing this then call the vet and ask if they agree it's a good thing to do. It's basically impossible to overdose them with too, as it is so mild yet effective.

You can get a good sized bottle for under 20 bucks. This will treat them all many times.

0.1 ml pyrantel per pound of weight.

10 lb cat gets 1/2 ml, or 0.50 ml.

mls are same as cc's.

It is extremely mild and very safe. Tiny kittens get pyrantel with no prob.

Liquid, tastes like banana.

Treat them all every 2 weeks faithfully. Treats roundworms, but not tapeworms. Tapeworm is caused from fleas mostly, so be sure to treat for fleas with a topical too.

How do you know they still have worms?

Click to expand...

Willowy said:

Hmm, my vet says to use 1 ml of 50-mg pyrantel for a 10-lb cat. I suppose it's all in range, as dosage recommendations vary from 2.5-10 mg per pound, depending on the source (Merck manual says 20 mg/kg, which would be a bit less than 10 mg/lb, other sources say less). It's pretty safe so a bit extra won't hurt. I don't know if I'd keep up a 2-week worming schedule all the time, but definitely do that for the first 3-4 treatments, then maybe once a month would do.

The pyrantel is usually sold for horses or humans. Here's an example, but there are lots of places that sell it so you don't have to buy from this place: http://www.allivet.com/showproduct.aspx?ProductID=114&SEName=pyrantel-pamoate-suspension

You'll also want to get some needleless syringes for easier dosing. Most brands have 50mg/ml but always confirm that before giving any to your cats so you ddon't overdose or underdose them.

Click to expand...

catwoman707 said:

 
You're correct, I was too, 0.1 ml per pound, but then got distracted and wrote the wrong thing! Technically pyrantel is just under 0.1 per 2 lbs, however I have never gone by that, I give 0.1 per lb.

Thanks for pointing that out!

I do agree, there are a variety of dosing opinions, but as safe as it is, I don't worry too much, but don't try to give incorrect info just because it's what I do. Thanks.

Click to expand...

and in addition to treating roundworms, pyrantel also treats hookworms

by weight of drug, the dosing for pyrantel is 9 mg/lb.  for comparison, Drontal has 72.6 mg of pyrantel for a 4 to 8 pound cat. 

4senuff said:

Thank you so much:-). I'll talk to my vet about the topical stuff and research the food. I can't build a run at the moment, but I'll discuss it with my mom ( I live with her right now while I try to get on my feet...she's been amazing ) and see how she feels about it.

I keep a cat-tree by the back door for my indoor girl. All three seem to love it. My big dream at the moment is a two-bedroom apartment with a screened-in porch so I could fill a room with entertaining things for them to climb on and still have a place for them to get fresh air.

Click to expand...

they get tapeworm from killing live prey, this deworming is separate from revolution