Roundworms & Strongid

My 5-month old kitten, Chucky, has roundworms and it has been suggested to get hiim on Strongid.

A few questions...

1 - I have a total of 7 here, does this mean all should be treated for roundworm..even the adults? None show symptoms...Chucky threw-up and basically, I found the worm.

2 - How can this be? All of my kittens were dewormed months ago and have no symptoms whatsoever. Chucky has NEVER thrown-up except for tonight. Sounds strange on my part...but because I volunteer with Humane Society/adoption center, I am in the habit of checking stool...I have never noticed any creepy crawlers in my crews litter pans.

3 - No chance on getting to a vet. until Tuesdsay but can get my hands on Strongid immediately since I am a member of the Humane Society. How effective is Strongid?

Thanks for any input.

Lisa

Myself, I would not self-medicate my kittens for worms. Worming meds are toxic and if you give to much, you could really make them sicker. One of my kittens that I have had for quite awhile threw up a round worm the other day. Surprised the heck out of me. I called the vet and talked to him, he said that if they are kittens, and one has them the other littermates will have them as well. But I waited until I could get the proper meds from the vet versus buying over the counter.

Thanks for such a quick response Hissy.

I have no intentions of purchasing over-the-counter meds. The Humane Society has a "somewhat" resident vet. that will give me instructions on proper dosage, etc.

Chucky does have a "blood" brother here...Chip...who shows no signs of worms. Should I be concerned about Chucky & Chip (both 5 months) or all 7...ranging from 4-months to 2 1/2 years old?

I would treat everyone. I am getting ready to give everyone here Strongid, except I was too short of medication! Darn. Definitely use the vets recommendation, but I have been told several times that Strongid is pretty safe. My vet has even said that a double dose won't harm them, so that reassures me that it is safe at prescribed doses.

I just read that it is even safe in pregnancy. If (when?) I get another pregnant foster, I think I will dose with Strongid to get rid of the worms before the babies are born. Luckily, the kitty will be seen by a vet through the foster agency, so the vet can give exact recommendations for dose. I just hate seeing tiny babies with pot bellies. Honestly, when I bottle feed Midnight, I think about how fat and healthy his worms are getting off the food! LOL!

The vet said that roundworms are really only a concern with kittens. I have 5 kittens at the moment, only two are littermates. I dosed the two littermates and not the others. I figured I could keep a good enough eye on the rest to see if they picked up the roundworms as well. I am hoping they did not.

Sorry I misunderstood. Strongid is a wormer that I use on my horses through the Spring and Summer. I can buy the strongid at the feed store which I do for my horses.

The horse strongid is the same med, but a different strength. It can't be used on small animals, obviously. But my vet gives the kitty strength strongid for kittens, cats, and even our dog. (Same strength but different dose for dogs and cats.)

Kittens get roundworms in utero, through the milk of an infected mother and also from coming into contact with infected feces.

The pregnant adult cat usually has dormant roundworm cysts that become active when her immune system is compromised (by pregnancy). The roundworms then go to her intestines, mature into adults, and start laying microscopic eggs which show up in the stool. These eggs can infect any cat that comes along and sniffs and swallows a small amount of feces. The only time you will see a worm in the stool without a microscope is when an adult worm dies via natural causes or a dewormer. That is why you can never assume that just because you don't see worms in the stool, that the cat is parasite free. An animal has to have three negative fecal analysis in a row in order to declare it parasite free.

Part of the life cycle of the roundworm is the larval stage. The roundworm larvae enter a systemic migration where they enter the body tissues (lungs, liver, eyes...). When this happens the larvae can infect the kittens in utero through the placenta. After the kittens are born the larvae will continue to infect the newborns as they nurse through moms milk, increasing their parasite load every day!

As you can see kittens have very little chance of being born parasite free. Almost all cats carry roundworms in the cyst form, thus almost all pregnant cats pass roundworms on to their offspring. Anyone with a pregnant cat, litter, or a new kitten needs to speak with their vet about a deworming protocol. When you have a whole litter, all of the cats including the queen need to be treated, otherwise they will continue to re-infect each other. Deworming often requires more than one treatment so make sure to give all the doses on schedule in order for them to work.

Lisa - to answer #2, "how can this be?" dewormers only kill adult worms. They could have been infected with larvae at the first deworming which then matured and are what you discovered. That's why, as already noted, multiple dewormings are often necessary.

Thank-you for the information.

Chucky has not thrown-up since last night (1st time I've ever seen him throw-up in his little 5-months of life).

Any experience with Strongid? Is it very effective or is there something else I should be giving Chucky & his sibling?

Slight hyjack here but what is the basic worming protocol for kittens??

At three weeks old, I take a fecal to the vet for testing. He will then give me the proper dosage of the medications to give the litter IF they have worms. Not all kittens are born with worms though in my experience. If the kittens are pot-bellied, or have bloody diarrhea or a poor appetite, then it is more than likely a worm infestation. But I always run a fecal to the vet first.

OK -- spoke with vet. today and picked-up Strongid.

He recommended the kittens (3) get .50 dosage and the adults (4) get a larger dose. All should be treated since this can be transferred through sharing of litter pans. All will be treated again in 3-weeks and hopefully that will be the end of the roundworms!!

It wouldn't hurt to give everyone Strongid. The dose is 1 cc per 10 lbs of body weight. I give it to my guys a couple of times a year whether they need it or not!

Originally Posted by semiferal

It wouldn't hurt to give everyone Strongid. The dose is 1 cc per 10 lbs of body weight. I give it to my guys a couple of times a year whether they need it or not!

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I may be the one who is wrong here, but I disagree with giving worm medication "whether they need it or not". I tend to believe that all medication is toxic in some form and that if it isn't needed it is doing more harm than good and personally would NEVER EVER give my animals anything without first seeing a vet and getting his/her go-ahead on the medication.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

I may be the one who is wrong here, but I disagree with giving worm medication "whether they need it or not". I tend to believe that all medication is toxic in some form and that if it isn't needed it is doing more harm than good and personally would NEVER EVER give my animals anything without first seeing a vet and getting his/her go-ahead on the medication.

Click to expand...

That is why I was hesitant on giving all 7 of my crew the Strongid. I didn't want to give it to them if it wasn't necessary...but...again, going on my vets advice...all 7 will be given the Strongid and the repeated 3-weeks from now.

My kitten Otis also has worms we discovered on sunday morning, he threw up in the hallway. So i called the lady who gave him to me( she is a vet tech)
and she gave me some deworming (it starts with a C) and he will have to have another pill 3 weeks from now. I couldnt get to the vet, as he is gone until jan 9th.
I am just alittle concerned, because he has lost some weight. What are we supposed to expect for kittens with worms?

Hi! I'm new on this board. I've been volunteering at a local cat rescue for several years and I am a vet tech (hoping to eventually move on to veterinary school!) but yes, I would expect some weight loss since the worms are eating away at nutrition that your cat should be receiving. Maybe you should try supplementing for what calories/nutrients your cat is losing until the worms are all dead. You'll also notice a somewhat distended or bloated belly making it sometimes hard to see the actual weight loss. It is a very common issue in cats (especially rescues) and is usually easy to treat. You should keep in regular contact with your veterinarian and follow their instructions (they know exactly what is appropriate for your cats situation)as I am not licensed to diagnose or give treatment recommendations, plus I don't know your cats so your best bet is to follow your vets deworming regime and all should be fine. If possible, try to use multiple litterboxes and limit them sharing them to help keep others contracting it. Although, a fecal sample should be taken from each cat so you know who to be treating and who to protect from it. Good luck, I hope he starts feeling better fast!

My kitten has had round worms since June I have tried nemex, drontal tabs, and profender. Everytime I give her something she is fine for a week then they come back. What else can I do please someone help!

Everything came from the vet to by the way

Im piggy-backing on the same subject. I'm fostering 2 kittens that was given dewormer the day I got them. I don't know what meds they used. The next few days, there were a few round worms in the litter box but that was it. They are also being treated for coccidia and have some diarrhea related to that. One of the kittens had a bulging belly. It's always very full and he eats a TON! The rescue tells me he's just fat because he eats so much. He's only 3-4 months old. I wonder if he still has more round worms making his belly bulge like that?