Deworming question...

We have had Deuce for only a month now and we just got back from the emergency vet. Two weeks ago she had an eye infection and now she has worms Not too serious, but our older cat, Kitty, will most likely need treatment too.

The vet told us that without an exam and stool sample from Kitty, she could not prescribe the deworming medication for her. She also said, though, that Kitty *will* need it - just that without actually *seeing* Kitty she is not allowed to prescribe the medication.

So, I just gave Deuce her dose of medication (Strongid) and added up how much I will need to give her the full course. There is MORE than enough in the bottle of medication to give a full course to Kitty, too.

So, should I medicate Kitty also? I will take Kitty to the vet if necessary, but if I could avoid the expense and stress of a separate vet visit for Kitty just to get the medication that I already have, I'd be thrilled.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Elizabeth

Not sure where you live...but here in florida...and in most states, there is no law that mandates a vet have any special test results for prescribing medication. Infact, generally all that is required is that the cat is an established patient of said veterinarian.

Strongid is only going to get a few types of worm....Drontal or similar would be a better choice IMO.

I would suggest exploring the possibility of getting a second opinion from a different veterinarian. But I wouldn't do anything with either cat without the approval of a veterinarian.

Please keep us posted,

Spotz

My vet is so used to my cats getting worms as 2 of them hunt and they share the four litter boxes. I always have Drontal in the house-I give all my cats 3 times a yr. For my newby Baker I have a liquid Nemex which I give every 2 weeks for 5 weeks. They give me a big bottle so if I'm between medications I would give it to Bobber. I haven't had to do that stool sample for a long time as we have actually seen the worms ( thats pretty gross though)My vet would let me bring in the stool sample as they only need a tiny bit. I'm lucky as my vet clinic has 6 vets & I've been going there for over 15 yrs so they know me and my cats pretty well.

The vet did do a stool sample and Deuce has roundworms (and only roundworms - no evidence of tape or hookworms). We DID see them and they were HUGE (>4 inches long) and numerous. Since I have seen that many clinics and shelters routinely deworm with strongid, I've assumed it's safe to give to Kitty (the older cat) at least prophylactically. She does not yet have a regular vet here (we moved just about a year ago) so it would necessitate a complete visit. I will take her soon, but I figured it's better to treat the two cats at once now, rather than waiting for evidence that Kitty also has worms, as the two share two litter boxes. Perhaps I am wrong to do so?

It's just that Kitty gets extremely upset about the vet, so I try to keep the visits to the minimum number required to keep her up to date on shots etc.

Thanks for the help - any other information would be welcome!

Elizabeth

I think you would be fine just going ahead and deworming your other kitty too. For both our rescue and my personal cats we just go ahead and deworm all of them with out doing a fecal. Its less expensive and many are already so stressed out or get really stressed out at the vet that it makes things a lot easier.

We take our cats to a few vets. One that we stopped going to sounds a lot like your vet. Kept saying it was illegal to prescribe anything without seeing the cats (we took one kitten in who had 5 other siblings and they would only prescribe for that one even though anything she had everyone else was going to have). they made life very difficult. the two we go to now require a visit for serious prescriptions but not for things like dewormer. there are also a couple of pet medical supplies companies that you can order dewormers from without a prescription (it depends on the type of worms).

I saw my first tape worm segments on little Cissa today, just about freaked out. But they gave me a pill for both to take and also a pill popper (be sure to ask for one, it makes it so much easier.)

I also have both of them on Revolution for fleas, though neither has fleas, I do live in a warmer climate where I doubt they ever die off totally.

BTW, less than 3 hours after taking her meds, Cissa pooped and passed a big piece of something, and it was definitely wormish, with segments. I scooped it out of the litter box immediately, but it has clumped too much to tell. I looked up the pic of the tapeworm online and feel confident she expelled it, or at least part of it.

Ah the joys.