tapeworms with indoor cat - help !!!

hi all my Mookie seems to have tapeworms which I just found out last night - he's 10 & 1/2 - and an indoor cat - how does this happen? Are meds expensive ? I have a 15 month old daughter - is she & us ok to be near him? Please help ! My heart is breaking thank you in advance !

The meds themselves are not expensive.  I always got dewormers from the vet so there was also the office call.  I or my children never caught worms from our pets so I don't think it's a huge issue as far as that is concerned.  I think transmission to humans is more common with giardia than with the common parasites like roundworms..  Did your kitty have fleas anytime recently?  Even an indoor cat can get fleas mostly because we bring them in, they don't attach to us but will attach to our pets.  Fleas are a common source of tapeworm.

Hi -

there's two "P" words to remember about worms with cats (and dogs).

You can get these two active ingredients over the counter in most pet stores and stores like Tractor Supply,

either separately or together.

Praziquantel treats Tapeworms (looks like rice - little segments rather than a longer worm appearance)

Pyrantel Pamoate treats Roundworms (looks like spaghetti in their stool)

One will not treat the other, and vice versa.

I buy a product like Sentry's "Worm X Plus" (the "Plus" means it has both ingredients) for small dogs because it's the right dose for an adult cat too,

and a rounded pill goes down easier than a jagged cut up piece, (some folks buy the large dog size to save even more $).  I haven't seen a cat specific product that has both ingredients, but I haven't looked lately- I don't know why they don't market the dual ingredient option for cats too.

Treat them 2 weeks apart since immature worms likely still are in your cats' system and aren't killed by the first treatment alone, and be sure to wash their litter box with hot bleachy water, soaked for a couple minutes, too.

There is also topical Ivermectin for roundworms (you can buy from Tractor Supply the "Pour On" for cattle) but that only treats roundworm and mites, not tapeworm.

The vet could also give you something with other active ingredients, or something like Drontal Plus, which is the same as Worm X Plus.

I just don't like dealing with the vet for something I already know what it is, since lately they mark up their drugs, and insist on doing a stool sample to confirm what to treat, and charge accordingly.

And yea- for tapeworms, you must also treat for fleas, since it is the fleas that are part of the life cycle for tapeworms -

the fleas eat the icky rice segments which contain the eggs, and it goes from there to your cat when they swallow fleas or shed eggs while grooming. Rodents also carry another spp. of tapeworm.

Don't feel bad, as fleas can creep up on your situation - I treat all my pets for fleas, and generally think of my household/pets as FLEA FREE but there was a time or two where I didn't get the product on at exactly one month apart, and a flea showed up while I was cuddling - that was my reminder- crap! the 1st of the month went by. 

That's all it might take for my cats to then become infected with tapeworm.

Both worms aren't known to infect humans easily, but it is possible if a human ingests a flea/egg or a child plays near the litterbox or in the soil around your home.

Cats acquired roundworms I think from eggs in the soil, mother's milk, or by ingesting rodents who have it.

Good hygiene, keeping up with litterbox duty, and monthly flea treatment should give you peace of mind.

Don't worry too much about getting them from your cat,  the fleas on the rodent (usually a rabbit) eats the eggs and gets infected, then the cat eats the fleas. You won't get tapeworms from your cat, but from eating a flea from a 'host'.  I freaked out too when I saw my cats had them. I use Profender, a topical treatment that you put on the back of the neck, it is a LOT easier on ME! It only needs one treatment and you can get it on the Internet ( they will call and get permission from your vet) It covers several types of worms including tapeworms. Just be very careful to get it high enough on the neck that the cat can't lick it, I have one acrobat that I practically have to put it between the ears because it causes bad foaming at the mouth if they get to it. 

maeghanblum said:

hi all my Mookie seems to have tapeworms which I just found out last night - he's 10 & 1/2 - and an indoor cat - how does this happen? Are meds expensive ? I have a 15 month old daughter - is she & us ok to be near him? Please help ! My heart is breaking thank you in advance !

Click to expand...

you can get it cheaper elsewhere but this is what you want:

http://www.petco.com/product/106501...t-Tablets.aspx?CoreCat=LN_CatSupplies_Wormers

http://www.petsmart.com/cat/digesti...catid-200042?_t=pfm=category&pfmvalue=faceted