First vet visit today

mainecoonmama12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Dec 29, 2015
Messages
80
Purraise
7
Location
Florida
Today we took Chewie on his first vet visit. As soon as the door to the room closed the vet had a thermometer in him and was telling us he had tapeworms. It caught us both by surprise. Once she pulled the thermometer out, she showed us this little white thing and said he  should go on medicine and started talking about all sorts of things. I dunno, it just took us by surprise, because he does not have a single symptom. We clean his letterbox regularly, and we haven't seen anything. He hasn't lost any weight, in fact he's gained about 2.5 lbs since we've had him. And he hasn't had fleas. The vet said that it had probably been there before we got him, but still... Then we were told we shouldn't hold him too much, or let him sleep on the bed. He doesn't normally, but occasionally he'll sleep at the foot of  the bed. I just am not 100% sure what I should be doing. We couldn't afford to get the treatment today, and I'm just not totally sure what to do. I also kind of feel like it's my fault, like I should have known before hand.
 

LTS3

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
19,209
Purraise
19,695
Location
USA
It's common for kittens to have some type of worm. There's usually no symptom at the early stage of infestation. Fleas are common, too. Both worms and fleas do need to be treated. A prescription medicine is best. Follow the vet's instructions on how often to give the medicine and for how long. A few doses is usually needed to fully remove the worms and eggs and the same for fleas.
 

stephanietx

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
14,772
Purraise
3,491
Location
Texas
I've not had one cat or kitten come into my home that didn't have to have more than one worm and flea treatment.  It's very, very important to have the worms treated as soon as possible or else it can impact your kitties health negatively.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

mainecoonmama12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Dec 29, 2015
Messages
80
Purraise
7
Location
Florida
I'm trying to get the treatment done within the next two days.
 

mingking

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Feb 8, 2015
Messages
496
Purraise
110
Is there a specific reason why your vet said not to let your kitten sleep with you? And maybe it will help you make sense of things if you detailed the treatments your vet described. Maybe someone can help explain to you how the treatments work :)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

mainecoonmama12

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Dec 29, 2015
Messages
80
Purraise
7
Location
Florida
It was the vet tech that told us, and the only things she said was that humans can occasionally catch the worms from the cat. So she told us not too much snuggling, not to let him sleep on the bed, and no kisses. It broke my heart. Today was payday, so we were able to pay for everything. He had a vaccine and they gave us some liquid medicine to give him tomorrow and again in 3 weeks. We've been taking him to the Banfield pet hospital, and everyone there seems super nice. They all adore Chewie. We have him signed up for the Optimal Wellness Plan, so once a month we pay $35 and it covers unlimited drs visit, most vaccines, and a lot of other things, including flea treatment. So today he had blood drawn. :( What did surprise me, is that when they went over the papers from the shelter, he had a deworming thing there, although the vet says she thinks the worm had been there for a while. Either way, he's now curled up with me taking a nap after his very long day.
 

mingking

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Feb 8, 2015
Messages
496
Purraise
110
I'm going to assume the liquid medicine is dewormer. It's pretty standard to give it orally once and then again in 3 weeks. Some vets require you to bring in a fecal sample after the last dose to ensure there's no more worms. 

From MY knowledge, the worm that I know that can transfer from cat to human is roundworm. Maybe there is another type of worm but I think most people at TCS will tell you that it's safe to snuggle, kiss, and sleep with your kitty once its known your kitty doesn't have roundworm. Maybe you can speak to the vet again about this to get some more clarity. I'd give them a quick call just to confirm this. 
 

stephanietx

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
14,772
Purraise
3,491
Location
Texas
I am glad you got him treated!  He will feel so much better once those things are out of his system.  It's common for multiple doses of worming meds to be needed to completely get rid of them due to the life cycle of the worms.
 
Top