Need Urgent Medical Help for former stray cat(not life threatening)

I have a former stray cat,caught Feb1,supposely given all kinds of medical care,shots,fixed,etc and i took into my care/home 3 weeks ago. A cat shelter paid for his medical treatment at a Vet, i do not really trust. (what i mean is i trust the cat shelter but not the vet the stray was treated at,post for another day i guess).

2 hours ago,he had 2 worms on his tail. I immediately confined him to a seldom used bathroom,with a tub,and a large cat carrier for him to nap in til i fiqure out what to do.

How do i handle it? i went out and bought:shampoo,gloves,liquid wormer,cat no-water wash cloths. i gave him a small amount of wormer,washer him head-to-toe as much as possible(he's scared by the somewhat quick,rough treatment he is getting....not really rough ). i have read wormer dont really work.



ALSO, he has nasty cough,choking spells about once a day that i was getting ready to look into as possible hairballs. i post this as a possible symptom although i think its a separate health issue going on.

If he was living outdoors as a stray and given medical care, he was probably wormed at the time. The problem is that worming once is not sufficient. The wormer kills the adults, but it doesn't catch the eggs or those in a juvenile stage. So, as those grow into adults they re-infest the cat again, so they should be rewormed approximately every 2 to 3 weeks for at least twice, and probably three times. Now, you didn't describe what the worms looked like. If they were white and flat segments, they could be parts of a tapeworm - which often infect cats who have had fleas. The flea is the intermediary host for the tapeworm. You need to get a special medication from the vet to remove a tapeworm as otc wormers won't do a thing.

You don't need to worry about shampooing the cat and that will probably make both of you much happier. If he is coughing, it could be a symptom of serious round worm infestation - which is possible if he is a young cat, but unlikely if he is holder - or it could be a symptom of something more serious. I suggest it would be a good idea to make a vet appointment for this cat. Advise the vet of all of his symptoms, his history and bring the wormer that you gave to him. That way the vet can assess if his coughing is just hairballs or something more serious, as well as identify the parasite and make sure you have the correct vermifuge for that particular beastie.

It won't hurt if you give him some hairball paste as well. If he has a hairball, it should help, and if he doesn't, it shouldn't hurt.

Please do take him to a vet for both his and your peace of mind. What you are describing doesn't sound like an incompetent vet, rather part of the ongoing needs of caring for a former stray who is still adapting to his new home.

Kathryn

I had almost the same issue 2 days ago. My kitten had tapeworms by his anus 2 days ago and i totally freaked out, called the vet and they calmed me down. When I initially got him, he was infested with flees, which i immediately had treated by the vet before bringing him home but appearently he digested one and it had eggs. It was a full month later it showed up in his stool. I didnt know that could happen. I made an appointment (yesterday) also monitored his stool (which had worms). I did leave him with his sister and let him roam around the bedroom. Becuase i combed him for flees and he didnt have any, the vet said it was ok to leave him and let him roam about with his sister. - now he is cured.

I wrote all of this to say that although it did freak me out at first, its really nothing to freak out about. Just make an appointment to get it treated and have him checked out before it gets worse.

good luck with everything

first of all,thanks everyone for helping


I was able to pick up 'drontal cat' at the vet,which is suppose to be a 'cure for all worm types' as i could not identifly the worm found(my daughter found it). the pills were $5 a piece.

If like you said Kathryn,he was likely wormed at the vet on Feb1 when he brought in by the save stray organization, he must have to be treated again.

His coughing was going on before i gave him OTC wormer. he is a fluff ball type cat(hairball i hope), so until i get the wormer thing on the right track for the cat(s),i am going to wait a couple of days to address that health ailment. i wish i could bring them to the vet for everything,but i just cant afford it.





(bytheway, i am running a separate post on 'do wormers work')

My cat has used drontal twice and it's been successful. For some reason we have a hard time getting rid of fleas. If she goes longer than a day or two between scheduled flea treatments she gets fleas and ends up with worms. I believe I bought two pills each time, at $5 a piece, gave one one week then the other in two weeks.

Maybe the cat has asthma? I know that coughing is a symtom in people, but I have no idea if it is in cats. Just a thought.