Group treatment for feral cats

[amy bowers]

We have 4 adults and 5 kittens (about 9 wks old) that need to be wormed. We bought some wormer with piperazine as the active ingredient. I know that piperazine can upset stomachs so I don't want to overdose the cats but how can we treat this group of cats? I've seen where people say to estimate the weight of the cats and then put the appropriate amount of med in the food/water and treat for 3 days to ensure a full dose for all cats but I don't know if that works for piperazine.

 

[ondine]

Found this on the 'Net:

Mix proper dosage with any amount of palatable feed that will be consumed in one serving. If possible, confine treated pets for a day or two so that the droppings can be collected and destroyed. Heavily infested animals may require a second treatment after two weeks.

Consult your veterinarian for assistance in the diagnosis, treatment and control of parasites.

Dosage Table: (Measure accurately)

Body Weight
2 1/2 lbs. or less	1/4 teaspoon
5 lbs.	1/2 teaspoon
7 1/2 lbs.	3/4 teaspoon
10 lbs.	1 teaspoon

It sounds like you'll have to feed them each separately with the proper dosage, which is going to be a royal pain.  The article I read also said it only treats roundworms, so you may need something else if hook worms or tape worms are the issue.  Can you get a general wormer from the vet?

 

[amy bowers]

We have tapeworm wormer and know how we can dose that one but wasn't sure about how best to do the piperazine.

 

[ondine]

OK, then.  Did the piperazine come with dosage suggestions?  Maybe you can ask your vet?

 

[amy bowers]

Oh I think maybe I'm being confusing! Lol! I have the dosing amounts and everything I just don't know how to dose a bunch of cats that can't be handled since they are feral. I was hoping that maybe someone had done a group dosing of piperazine successfully.

 

[Norachan]

How close can you get to the cats? If they won't let you handle them but they will let you get close enough to feed them you could try guessing the weight of each cat and putting the wormer on a treat and giving them one each.

Or could you feed the adult cats and the kittens separately? I guess there won't be much difference in the weight of the kittens so you could mix up a batch of kitten food and a batch of adult food with a stronger dose of the wormer in it.