Roundworm...

postfetalphase

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One of my cats had a large worm hanging out of him the other day, took him up to the vet yesterday, vet gave him a de-worming pill for roundworm (I think), and we have pills for the two other cats that we are going to give them today. We found cat vomit out in the garage this morning, and we think it was the one who got the pill yesterday. Would the pill have been effective in killing his worms, if he vomited it up that night?

Also, would you suggest we get regular worm pills for them?

And one last one... My mom thinks it best, for some reason, to stagger the pill-giving (i.e. wait a day or two between each cat). I think this would just re-infect them since they aren't all being de-wormed at once. What do you think?

The main reason I am so concerned is because roundworm can be spread to humans.
 

gizmocat

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Roundworm is a fungus. It is not actually caused by worms. If your cat had a 'worm' hanging out of him, it could be tapeworm or worse. You should give the cat the recommended dose of medicine; if you halve it, as your mother recommends, the medicine might not work.
I'd also get a fecal flotation done at the vet. You don't need to bring the cat, only one of its 'deposits' and they check for the worms.
 

baldkitty

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Originally Posted by gizmocat

Roundworm is a fungus. It is not actually caused by worms. If your cat had a 'worm' hanging out of him, it could be tapeworm or worse. You should give the cat the recommended dose of medicine; if you halve it, as your mother recommends, the medicine might not work.
I'd also get a fecal flotation done at the vet. You don't need to bring the cat, only one of its 'deposits' and they check for the worms.
Actually, roundworm is an intestinal parasite. Ringworm is a fungal infection. You are doing the right thing by having them de-wormed. If your cats have come in contact with fleas it is possible that they have tapeworm. Tapeworms look like small grains of rice around the anus and on the stool. Roundworm looks similar to an earthworm.
 

yosemite

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As the above poster said, Ringworm is the fungal infection. If your vet gave you medication for roundworm then your kitty probably has roundworm as opposed to tapeworm (which they get by ingesting fleas). With tapeworm you would probably see what looks like little pieces of rice rather than a live worm. I do think all the cats should be treated at the same time and cannot see your mom's reasoning for staggering the dosages.

I'm not a vet so don't take my word as gospel. I would suggest just phoning the vet where you got the medication and confirming with them whether to stagger the doses or do them all at once.
 

gizmocat

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Sorry, my mistake on the ringworm.

But if your vet has given you medication, it's best to use the meds as prescribed.
 
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postfetalphase

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yeah, it is now two days since the one got the pill and the others still haven't been pilled. We've been pretty busy the last few days and my mom is being lazy about giving the pills. I would give them to them myself but I don't know how, since I guess you have to kind of force the pills down their throats.

I think my mom is annoyed at how "pushy" I'm being about it, she thinks I'm over concerned or something.

I personally would also like to see them all on regular (monthly?) worm pills now, since IMO there's nothing stopping them from getting worms again, but I can't drive to go up to the vet or anything so I'm stuck nagging my mom.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by PostFetalPhase

yeah, it is now two days since the one got the pill and the others still haven't been pilled. We've been pretty busy the last few days and my mom is being lazy about giving the pills. I would give them to them myself but I don't know how, since I guess you have to kind of force the pills down their throats.

I think my mom is annoyed at how "pushy" I'm being about it, she thinks I'm over concerned or something.

I personally would also like to see them all on regular (monthly?) worm pills now, since IMO there's nothing stopping them from getting worms again, but I can't drive to go up to the vet or anything so I'm stuck nagging my mom.
You can buy "Pill Pockets" at the pet store. These are soft cat treats with a hole in the centre where you place the pill and roll the treat around the pill. The cat eats the treat and gets the pill at the same time. We did that for Bijou and Mika when they had their Drontil doses.

As for worming on a monthly basis, I wouldn't advise you do that. Worming medication is basically a poison to kill the worms and giving your cat doses of poison each month in not something I would recommend.
 

gizmocat

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I recommend giving the cat the pill yourself and not depending on your mother.

I put Gizmo next to me on a high backed sofa with arms. She is boxed in and can't back out.

Put your left arm around the cat's body and your hand gently on top of its head behind its eyes. Tilt the head back while exerting gentle pressure on the jaw and the mouth should open. Put the pill as far back on the tongue as possible (the Pill Pockets are a great idea if you can get one); then close the cat's mouth and wait for it to swallow.

There are some good cat books that demonstrate how to give a pill to a cat; I recommend the CAT OWNER'S MANUAL by Dr. Bruce Fogle.

Good luck.
 

jaycee

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its pretty important that they are all wormed at the same time.

if you use the pill pockets, be careful and pay attention because some animals will actually eat the treat around it and spit out the pill so just watch and make sure they actually eat it.
 
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