Profender - Is it safe?

Hello everyone!

A few days ago my cat had some issues with roundworms. She took Drontal but it wasn't easy to make her take the tab.

After some online search I found that there is a spot-on product called Profender. It looks much easier to administrate, but I read some bad and terrible reviews (cats becoming lethargic, loosing hair in the application area and even some fatal cases).

Does anyone have experience with this product?

Hi @dexterie

I've been using Profender on my cats for about 7 years now. I take care of a large colony of cats, 23 of them at the moment, and I've never had any problems. I think there is always a slight chance that an animal might have an allergic reaction to something no matter how safe it is for other animals. (It's like some people are allergic to peanuts while most people aren't.)

Make sure you use the correct dosage of Profender for your cats size. If in doubt use the one that's suitable for cats of her weight and under, rather than of her weight and over. Put it on the skin at the back of her neck where she can't lick it or reach it with a paw.

Some of my cats get a whitish patch in their fur a few days after I use the wormer but this soon brushes out. I haven't noticed any other side effects.

Thank you for your reply.

It also stunned me that could be so many bad reviews for the product. I mean..it had to be tested and so. And it's not like it was just released.

I just wanted to have more feedback before I ask for it from the vet or so. It just seems so much easier to use than Drontal...

dexterie said:

Hello everyone!


A few days ago my cat had some issues with roundworms. She took Drontal but it wasn't easy to make her take the tab.
After some online search I found that there is a spot-on product called Profender. It looks much easier to administrate, but I read some bad and terrible reviews (cats becoming lethargic, loosing hair in the application area and even some fatal cases).


Does anyone have experience with this product?

Click to expand...

i took my kitten to the vet after beating fleas and noticing she obviously had an infestation of tapeworms. They gave me profender. Three weeks later almost to the day i noticed her back legs seemed like they were semi paralyzed. She shakes now all the time too. She STILL had tapeworms. I then got droncit and she went to the bathroom and hour after giving it to her and all these worms were in her poop. I haven't seen another tapeworm since. I wouldn't ever give profender again. Stick to drontal and Droncit. Trust me. Anyone else noticed their cats legs back legs on my cat she was 2 months old when i was given profender. Please let me know. Thank u

It's hard to remember when reading reviews that people with positive experiences of things rarely say anything, anyone with a bad one will be out there complaining. It is concerning how many bad reviews there are sometimes but I guess you have to remember a lot of these bad reviews are written about all kinds of flea and worming products and the sheer number of people using them is probably huge in comparison to the amount of reviews left. Yes, these products have to be tested, like any medication though, there are no guarantees on how any individual animal will react.

I haven't personally used this product but I ummed and ahhed for 12 months about using comfortis for fleas for my itchy cat. When I finally did I only gave a half dose followed by the other half 24 hours later and I can say that 8 months on, I wish I'd tried it sooner. It's been magic for us. Give it in daytime hours when you can get to a vet if need be and a time when you'll be home for at least 4 hours or so afterwards to monitor your baby for any adverse reactions.

You're right that ppl that have the problems w the meds will be the ones I'd rather say speaking out than "complaining". Bc that make me think it was to be brushed off. No offence but if you saw my kitten now vs. Before profender.... u would know why I'm "speaking out". .my kitten is now 3 months 2 weeks. She was given droncit after the profender episode and i researched it far and wide. No worms, dead rice things on her legs etc. I hope she is done w tapeworms. I bought her from a pet store. She was (and I've had kittens and cats for a long time (over 30 years) I've never seen anythinf m

Sorry i didn't mean to hit send. I was just saying the profender didn't seem to really get rid of the worms it helped but due to infestion she had to then 30 days later take Droncit. She hasn't had a worm since! I'm happy. I'm sad that my now 3 1/2 month old still a kitten, i guess doesn't walk right, falls over all the time etc. My boyfriend and daughter (who is 20) have noticed. They are my sounding board. Btw she is on advantage multi, never had a flea collar, and a smart cat we are hoping and praying she gets better.

I know this is many years after your experience but I wanted to ask you a question. We rescued barn cats and treated them with pro fender about two months ago and as far as I know it all seemed OK. And this week I found a nasty tapeworm so we treated them last night. One cat did fine but the other ones seem to totally respond just like you experienced. I noticed within five hours the back end of the cat was so wobbly. I immediately took dawn dish soap and we washed her neck off. So I don’t know if it was on long enough to actually kill the tapeworms. And now I don’t know what is safe to give her in the future give in this reaction. They are outdoor cat so we need to figure something safe out. What were you told about all this and what products did you find a safer ? Thank you so much for sharing any ideas for our little Bettykitty.

Mabel & Betty said:

I know this is many years after your experience but I wanted to ask you a question. We rescued barn cats and treated them with pro fender about two months ago and as far as I know it all seemed OK. And this week I found a nasty tapeworm so we treated them last night. One cat did fine but the other ones seem to totally respond just like you experienced. I noticed within five hours the back end of the cat was so wobbly. I immediately took dawn dish soap and we washed her neck off. So I don’t know if it was on long enough to actually kill the tapeworms. And now I don’t know what is safe to give her in the future give in this reaction. They are outdoor cat so we need to figure something safe out. What were you told about all this and what products did you find a safer ? Thank you so much for sharing any ideas for our little Bettykitty.

Click to expand...

Normally it is advised to not wash the area for 24 hours. From what I can tell, it kind of depends on the cat how long full absorption works. In 5 hours she must have gotten some of the medicine for sure but we can't know if it's enough amount to take care of the tapeworm(s) inside.

For future reference, there are pill form dewormers, some exclusively for tapewormer. Bayer has one too. With pill pockets this might be even easier than spot-on but of course only if the cat swallows the pill without spitting it out.