Tape Worm Tablets

We just noticed that one of our cats has tape worms. That probably means they all need to be treated. We recently had to treat them for fleas which seem to be gone now. We assume that's how they got the worms since they are all inside cats. It can get pretty expensive getting meds at the vets for 8 cats. I was looking at 1800petmeds.com and found that they have Droncit(Bayer), which is by prescription only and Tape Worm Tabs Feline(Tradewinds), which is OTC. The generic name for both is Praziquantel. The information on both products is identical. Do you think the OTC tablets would work as well as the prescription tablets? I sometimes have to wonder about the things that are sold without a prescription.

Yep, same thing as the prescription. Do you need the doses? You need to know how much each cat weighs. Becky

Good, I think we'll give the OTC tablets a try. I read what the dosages were on the website and we have their weights...we just finished taking them in for their yearly check-ups over the last 4 months, 2 at a time.

The great thing about praziquantel is that it interferes with the integrity of the skin of the cestode, tapeworm, so that they are just digested, in other words, you don't find a bunch of live worms in the litter box.
Becky (who is always curious about how things work)

You know, you don't necessarily have to treat all the cats. They don't give them to each other or get them from the litter box, the only way they get them is by eating prey or raw meat or by eating fleas. So you can just check under tails and treat the ones with "hanger's on" so to speak. But treating them all won't hurt, just expensive. Becky

Just make sure this medicine treats all types of worm, not just tapeworms but roundworms and other worms too.

Personally, I wouldn't risk it. There are to many knock-off and counterfeit drugs being sold over the internet. I would get my vet to prescribe the pills- they need the wieght of the cat. With my vet, all it takes is a simple phone call to tell him one of the barn cats has tapes, give him a weight and he mails the pills right to me.

I completly agree with hissy Dont Risk it. I had the chance to buy them but seen the warning lable. Well I was either gonna spend over $100 on all my cats to be tested and wormed or ask the vet for an alternative way. well I spend $7.75 on a horse wormer that lasts a long time and guess what when I see worms I just gott give a dab of the stuff to everyone. I cant afford a realy good flea control for 12 animals and well I think I will stick to 1-3 monthly worming for everyone. You can ask your vet which wormer you can get from a feed store, my aunts ve and my vet gave me the same brand name to use so 2 ppl cant be wrong and they are both great vets.


Ashley

ashley, please don't use safeguard on your cats! It is not SAFE! It is a horse and cow wormer for heaven's sake, not a cat wormer. If your vet told you it was safe then find another vet!

Ashley, hissy is right. One 25 gram syringe treats 1100 lbs of horse!! That means that there is no way you can adequately measure how much you should be giving. Also, the parasites that Safe-Guard treats are completely different to the worms that cats get. To a cat, this stuff is poison, please don't give this to your cats. I understand your financial difficulty but the health and life of your pets is far more important than saving a few dollars.

I don't think I'd risk horse wormer, although I have 12 cats I am trying to figure the best and least expensive way to treat tapeworms, The vets office said they need a shot, and the biggest problem is that 8 out of those 12 are not easy to get and handle, so I am lost here I want to to the best thing but wow I can't imagne having to go through taking them all to the vet, and the expense omg (overwhelmed again here)

You mention you only found the tape worm segments on one of your cats . . . in the past, when one of our cats got a tape worm, we only treated the one who showed the symptoms, not all of our cats. The ones who didn't show symptoms most likely didn't have the parasite. They don't pass the tapeworm from cat to cat - it needs the intermediary host - in this case, fleas. If the fleas are gone from your environment, why not just give the prescribed treatment to those who show symptoms? It may be that they were the only ones infected. Then, if others begin to show symptoms later, then you can treat them at that time. This way, you are only treating those known to be affected, and if additional treatments are required later, you are spreading the cost out over a longer period of time so it may make it easier to afford.

Conversely, you can ask your vet about the other OTC medication that is listed and get his advice, explaining your financial situation. He may be able to advise you if it is as effective, or if it is more dangerous, or if you do use it what you can expect. It may not be as effective, or it may be the tablets he uses expulses the tapeworm so that you can see the thing is removed as opposed to being dissolved and digested. The thing to keep in mind about all worming medications is that they are a type of poison. Ideally, they are only poisonous to the parasite, but they may also have repercussions on certain animals with lowered immune systems or other conditions, so it is always good to have your vet involved in any de-worming situation.

In case anyone has a question, tape worm medication is specific for tape worms and not roundworms, pinworms or other parasites. If fecal tests show your cats have other parasites, then other medication specific for that parasite should be given separately:-).

Good luck with finding resolution to your situation.

Kathryn

My cat has tapeworms and I gave her the over-the-counter medicine from Petsmart. It is made by bayer but the problem is when you pick her up she cries so hopefully this medicine will take care of the tapeworms and take care of the pain that she is having how long should this take to make the pain go away ?

smokeycat3 said:

My cat has tapeworms and I gave her the over-the-counter medicine from Petsmart. It is made by bayer but the problem is when you pick her up she cries so hopefully this medicine will take care of the tapeworms and take care of the pain that she is having how long should this take to make the pain go away ?

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  Hi   Over the counter remedies from pet shops are not recommended for tape worms. The Vets sell tablets, take once then repeat in a few

weeks. Your kitty needs to get checked for the pain she is having. Any other pets?  they would also need

to be dewormed.

Welcome to the site  

Seventhheaven said:

  Hi   Over the counter remedies from pet shops are not recommended for tape worms. The Vets sell tablets, take once then repeat in a few
weeks. Your kitty needs to get checked for the pain she is having. Any other pets?  they would also need
to be dewormed.


Welcome to the site  

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I have a neighbor that is a vet tech and it has the same ingredients as the one the vets use that starts with a D forgot the name lol. She checked her out and smokey never made a sound with her. So possibly thinking if it doesn't go away in a couple days to have her checked by the vet. She is a young cat so my neighbor is thinking she has fallen because she is a climber.

Yes, Tapeworm Tabs are the same as what the vet will sell you. They're safe and effective. However, tapeworms don't really cause pain. I'd recommend getting her in to see a vet ASAP.

Willowy said:

Yes, Tapeworm Tabs are the same as what the vet will sell you. They're safe and effective. However, tapeworms don't really cause pain. I'd recommend getting her in to see a vet ASAP.

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I called my vet smokey goes in at 10:30 tomorrow morning. Thanks for the information [emoji]128522[/emoji]