Questions I Have After Our Vet Visit...

I adopted my kitty two weeks ago, and we had our first vet appointment yesterday. The vet and assistant were both very nice, but left me with some unanswered questions...

First of all, she has a tapeworm. So, she got a pill for that, and they also gave her a Paradyne treament. I asked if she was underweight and if I should change her diet, since she's lost a couple of ounces in less than a month. Their response was just that if she has someone eating on her on the inside, that will happen.

My questions are:

1. They suggested I bring in a fecal sample in three weeks to make sure she's all good. Is that necessary? Also, it's $60 at my vet (VCA hospital), but only $20 at the Petco clinics we have in my town....if I get it, which should I go to? (For those who may have seen my earlier posts on microchipping, I decided to just go ahead and get her microchipped at the vet for $40 and the registration was free - so i didn't go to Petco for that). 

2. The vet recommended regular Paradyne treatments. She's a completely indoor cat, and only animal in my household (save for a betta fish, lol). Is it necessary for her to have a monthly treatment, and what should I give her if so?

3. She's a DLH, and as of yesterday weighs 8lb 12oz. She's has a long body, and looots of fur. I can clearly feel her shoulder bones, ribs, etc though, and she just feels very skinny to me, but I'm also used to very large overweight cats haha. How do i determine what a healthy weight for her would be?

1. They suggested I bring in a fecal sample in three weeks to make sure she's all good. Is that necessary? Also, it's $60 at my vet (VCA hospital), but only $20 at the Petco clinics we have in my town....if I get it, which should I go to? (For those who may have seen my earlier posts on microchipping, I decided to just go ahead and get her microchipped at the vet for $40 and the registration was free - so i didn't go to Petco for that). 

Yes, fecal is a necessary follow up. Sometimes one treatment doesn't get rid of the worms and a second treatment is needed. The fecal will let you know that. Where is up to you but you might want to ask if Petco clinic requires you to be an existing patient for that price, if they do then what is the cost of a basic exam to become a patient. You also might want to check into what type of test they do and compare it to your vet. If your vet does a more comprehensive testing for the higher price it might find that there is a specific strain that requires a different medication.  

2. The vet recommended regular Paradyne treatments. She's a completely indoor cat, and only animal in my household (save for a betta fish, lol). Is it necessary for her to have a monthly treatment, and what should I give her if so?

The Paradyne prevents against fleas which are the normal cause of tapeworm. While there aren't any other critters in your house there could be a lingering flea problem once she gets her initial treatment. You'd want to clean, vacuum and change sheets to help with preventing fleas. I'd do the treatment for at least 3 months to make sure you have fully eradicated any in the home currently.

After that.... kinda up to you. The idea of continuing it is because your home isn't air tight so there is a chance of fleas or other tiny parasites coming in on their own or on a critter that comes in (a mouse for example might sneak into a garage and carry them in). They could also hitch a ride on your clothing or something else. So continuing the treatment is to prevent against that chance that they can find their way back in. Some indoor only choose not to and just deal with it if they happen to come back, that is up to you. 

3. She's a DLH, and as of yesterday weighs 8lb 12oz. She's has a long body, and looots of fur. I can clearly feel her shoulder bones, ribs, etc though, and she just feels very skinny to me, but I'm also used to very large overweight cats haha. How do i determine what a healthy weight for her would be?

Ideal weight is always one of those fun ones. In general, you should be able to feel but not see the bones of their ribs. They usually say that when looking straight down you should see a pinching at the waist area (so that you basically see an indent between the ribs and hips). I have one cat that when you look down though she is very round between her ribs and hips there but if you feel it it isn't fat; she is short and compact so everything internal bunches up there giving her that look which is a pain because first glance she is fat when standing. Her fluff hides any muscle definition but she moves very well and I can feel but not see bones of her ribs and spine. My vet said that for her body shape she is a good weight but she doesn't want her to gain. My boy though has a very defined narrowing after his ribs then narrow hips so from above he looks kind like a bowling ball (lol). But I can feel his rib bones and see his muscles so he is good too but he could gain a little weight without problems (he is also a large breed and still growing a smidgen at 2.5 years old). 

With your being long bodied and long hair the silhouette looking down of the pinching though is probably a good indicator. You want to see but not feel the ribs along the side (although you can see the end of the ribs without worry). Another thing is you can feel the shoulder blades and see them as they move but when relaxed siting you shouldn't see them. 

Here is one of the charts. 

Thanks so much for all the great info! I'll definitely have to call and compare the two fecal treatment procedures. 

I should have added - she does not have fleas, and that treatment was given as a preventative. They gave her a flea combing and didn't find anything, and I haven't noticed any little bites on my ankles (I experienced that before with a childhood cat and it suuucked!)

Is there an alternate, less expensive treatment you'd recommend if I decide to continue monthly treatments? My brother does have an indoor/outdoor cat who likes to get into mischief in the warmer months, so I suppose it's always possible if he got something, I could carry it home to my girl. 

permanentruby said:

 
I adopted my kitty two weeks ago, and we had our first vet appointment yesterday. The vet and assistant were both very nice, but left me with some unanswered questions...

First of all, she has a tapeworm. So, she got a pill for that, and they also gave her a Paradyne treament. I asked if she was underweight and if I should change her diet, since she's lost a couple of ounces in less than a month. Their response was just that if she has someone eating on her on the inside, that will happen.

My questions are:

1. They suggested I bring in a fecal sample in three weeks to make sure she's all good. Is that necessary? Also, it's $60 at my vet (VCA hospital), but only $20 at the Petco clinics we have in my town....if I get it, which should I go to? (For those who may have seen my earlier posts on microchipping, I decided to just go ahead and get her microchipped at the vet for $40 and the registration was free - so i didn't go to Petco for that). 

2. The vet recommended regular Paradyne treatments. She's a completely indoor cat, and only animal in my household (save for a betta fish, lol). Is it necessary for her to have a monthly treatment, and what should I give her if so?

3. She's a DLH, and as of yesterday weighs 8lb 12oz. She's has a long body, and looots of fur. I can clearly feel her shoulder bones, ribs, etc though, and she just feels very skinny to me, but I'm also used to very large overweight cats haha. How do i determine what a healthy weight for her would be?

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On you question about the fecal. I would go to the Petco but make sure the records were taken by myself or faxed to your regular vet. The VCA I use is wonderful and I love my vet there but they wanted between 1100-1200 for two spays. I went to another vet clinic and had it done for a third of the cost but made sure my regular vet got the records. And we had a very upfront in person conversation that we just couldn't use 1200 dollars of our funds for spays and she is fine with it. The second fecal is really a good idea.  My cats are tested yearly and no one has every had worms. Including the two kits we have they had two negative stool samples but we opted for the worm meds in the office as an extra precaution. My cats are indoors. I see no need to treat for worms monthly. I'd ask her why.

permanentruby said:

 
Thanks so much for all the great info! I'll definitely have to call and compare the two fecal treatment procedures. 

I should have added - she does not have fleas, and that treatment was given as a preventative. They gave her a flea combing and didn't find anything, and I haven't noticed any little bites on my ankles (I experienced that before with a childhood cat and it suuucked!)

Is there an alternate, less expensive treatment you'd recommend if I decide to continue monthly treatments? My brother does have an indoor/outdoor cat who likes to get into mischief in the warmer months, so I suppose it's always possible if he got something, I could carry it home to my girl. 

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Interesting. Tapeworms are usually from eating a flea, maybe she ran across one a while back and it just wasn't treated fully earlier. I'd still do treatment for a month or two just to be on the safe side in case it is a the beginning of a flea problem and just none were found. I use Advantage II for my indoor/outdoor cats flea prevention and we don't have any problems. I can usually get it online cheaper than in stores. I will say that I have three cats so we aren't as great on flea treatments as we could be because of cost; we usually stop in the winter months and go 6 weeks between treatments unless we notice fleas. Horrible, but otherwise it gets very expensive. NEVER use the cheap flea treatments from grocery stores or not recommended by a vet. They can be deadly. 

Kittens Mom said:

On you question about the fecal. I would go to the Petco but make sure the records were taken by myself or faxed to your regular vet. The VCA I use is wonderful and I love my vet there but they wanted between 1100-1200 for two spays. I went to another vet clinic and had it done for a third of the cost but made sure my regular vet got the records. And we had a very upfront in person conversation that we just couldn't use 1200 dollars of our funds for spays and she is fine with it. The second fecal is really a good idea.  My cats are tested yearly and no one has every had worms. Including the two kits we have they had two negative stool samples but we opted for the worm meds in the office as an extra precaution. My cats are indoors. I see no need to treat for worms monthly. I'd ask her why.

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As to the spay and cost. I had a cat spayed at a low cost clinic and had a ton of problems after. Before the spay she was fine. After the spay she threw up constantly. She also had horrible scaring at the incision site. I can't even guess at the amount of money I paid for vets to check her out and special food. They never could find the reason and one vet said short of cutting her open to see her insides there wasn't much more that I could do. I ended up having her on a sensitive stomach food. While I know it could have been unrelated, that it started within a week of the spay and her horrible (talking jagged and raised) scarring I have sworn off clinics for spaying. I will neuter at a clinic but not spay.

I think Rockets spay was around $650 but she had no complications, healed wonderfully and I can't feel the scar. While I know people who have no problems with clinics for spays I will find the money however I have to for any future cat or dog to be spayed to avoid going through those problems again.

Correction: Links surgery recently was $650, the spay was just shy of $500.

Kieka said:

As to the spay and cost. I had a cat spayed at a low cost clinic and had a ton of problems after. Before the spay she was fine. After the spay she threw up constantly. She also had horrible scaring at the incision site. I can't even guess at the amount of money I paid for vets to check her out and special food. They never could find the reason and one vet said short of cutting her open to see her insides there wasn't much more that I could do. I ended up having her on a sensitive stomach food. While I know it could have been unrelated, that it started within a week of the spay and her horrible (talking jagged and raised) scarring I have sworn off clinics for spaying. I will neuter at a clinic but not spay.

I think Rockets spay was around $650 but she had no complications, healed wonderfully and I can't feel the scar. While I know people who have no problems with clinics for spays I will find the money however I have to for any future cat or dog to be spayed to avoid going through those problems again.

Correction: Links surgery recently was $650, the spay was just shy of $500.

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I didn't use a low cost spay just a vet clinic out here that is a bit more reasonable. They got all the same treatment without the hospital cost.  If this clinic hadn't been available I would have used the VCA.

Kittens Mom said:

I didn't use a low cost spay just a vet clinic out here that is a bit more reasonable. They got all the same treatment without the hospital cost.  If this clinic hadn't been available I would have used the VCA.

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I almost did that too. But Rocket has always been smaller and sensitive. Plus she is the only suvivor from a litter of 5, the others all died suddenly at 4.5 months old. She got sick around then too but I got her to the vet right away. She also has an oddly shapped very compact abdomen. Decided to just stay with my vet who knew her history better.

I tend to warn people away from low cost clinics and apologize for misunderstanding your comment. I just don't want to see someone else have problems like I did