My 5 month old kittens have been dewormed 3 times, and they still have them.

[jimpix3000]

My kittens are 5 months now and they have a chronic roundworm problem.

They were dewormed 3 times in about a month but I just saw an actual worm in one of their stools.

I clean the litter box a few times a day, is there something I'm missing that's causing them to be reinfected? Does having two at the same time make it more difficult to get rid of?
They are exclusively indoor cats by the way.

What can I do to get rid of them for good, and will I need to give them something monthly just to keep them away?
Thanks

 

[nansiludie]

What kind of wormer have you used? Are you absolutely certain they are roundworms and not tapeworms or another kind even? Have you gotten something from your vet or just bought something over the counter? And no, you should not worm them every month as a preventative. I only worm my outdoor ones twice a year. 

 

[jimpix3000]

When I took them to the vet the first time to get their shots, I didn't bring a stool sample, but I had a picture and the vet said they are round or hookworms.

Also I'm pretty sure the medication she gave me was one that treats for most types of parasites.

When they were first given the medication, they passed them in their stool for a few days afterward, I'm wondering if they can become reinfected by using litter that has contaminated soil... And if so how can Iavoid it?

 

[nansiludie]

Did the vet only give you enough to treat them once? I have always had to treat once and then again in two weeks due to having to kill any hatched eggs. I hadn't ever really thought about them contracting it from the used litter but its a possibility for sure. I suppose if you use clay clumping, perhaps you could switch to non clumping and put just enough for them to use it then dump it daily and scrub with hot water and soap, no bleach though.

 

[jimpix3000]

Yeah, I dewormed them once at the vet, then a second time at home, and when I went for their follow up shots, they were dewormed a third time.
All in about 4-6 weeks

 

[stephanietx]

I would ask the vet to treat them for tapeworms. That's a different deworming med, not the one that usually treats hookworms and roundworms.

 

[jimpix3000]

I'm pretty positive they don't have tapeworms though. They've never had fleas, they've been to the vet many times for examinations and I specifically asked them to see if there's fleas.
Plus I've never seen segments or rice looking things.

But you never know so either way I'm taking in a stool sample to be tested, maybe there are another type of parasite that hasn't been treated.

 

[catwoman707]

Order a bottle of pyrantel pamoate online, it's very inexpensive and safe to repeat several times.

They clearly have a bigger infestation that the average, and it takes repeated dosing not more than14 days apart consecutively to get rid of them.

I had a little girl foster years ago who had the worst ongoing problem I've had to deal with.

My standard deworming for kittens is pyrantel usually about 6 weeks old, then again in 2 weeks. That does the job.

Occasionally it does not. 

This girl I would treat 3 times in a row, nope, 3 weeks later she vomits a worm, I couldn't believe it, so on again for 4 treatments, not enough, and didn't finally get rid of them until I had treated her like 7 times consecutively.

Pyrantel is very safe though, nearly impossible to overdose them.

BTW, how do you know they still have worms?

 

[jimpix3000]

They both have diarrhea, which makes me think they still have worms.
But also, one of them had an accident outside the litter box, which was my fault really, because I closed the storage room door and forgot to open it which is where the litter box is.
Anyway, I was cleaning it up and there was something stringy in it.
I'm pretty sure it was a worm.

 

[catwoman707]

Yes I'd say it was a worm, roundworms aren't round, they look like super skinny spaghetti noodles basically.

They don't come out until they are dying or dead too so that's a good sign.

Have they had a fecal float ran on their poop checking for a parasite other than worms?

When was the last deworming done?

 

[stephanietx]

Cats also pass ingested hair in their stool, so could've been a hairball.  Just because they have diarrhea doesn't mean they have worms. They could have an issue with what they're eating.

 

[Buster799]

Order a bottle of pyrantel pamoate online, it's very inexpensive and safe to repeat several times.

They clearly have a bigger infestation that the average, and it takes repeated dosing not more than14 days apart consecutively to get rid of them.

I had a little girl foster years ago who had the worst ongoing problem I've had to deal with.

My standard deworming for kittens is pyrantel usually about 6 weeks old, then again in 2 weeks. That does the job.

Occasionally it does not.

This girl I would treat 3 times in a row, nope, 3 weeks later she vomits a worm, I couldn't believe it, so on again for 4 treatments, not enough, and didn't finally get rid of them until I had treated her like 7 times consecutively.

Pyrantel is very safe though, nearly impossible to overdose them.

BTW, how do you know they still have worms?

Hi, I know this was from a while ago but what do you mean by consecutively? I’m having the same issue along with diarrhea so I’m pretty much just actively trying to keep these poor babies alive. They finished their last does of safeguard a few days ago but I’m wondering if I should treat again.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi, I know this was from a while ago but what do you mean by consecutively? I’m having the same issue along with diarrhea so I’m pretty much just actively trying to keep these poor babies alive. They finished their last does of safeguard a few days ago but I’m wondering if I should treat again.

Was their stool checked for worms/parasites? Diarrhea can be other things, so the next step would be to have a full fecal PCR done to see if it is bacterial or viral in nature, either instead of or in addition to worms.

 

[Joelle and the kittens]

My foster kittens' diarrhea issue was finally diagnosed last week as coccidia, which isn't treated by the standard anthelmintics (fenbendazole and pyrantel pamoate) or antibiotics (metronidazole) prescribed for diarrhea. They were on sulfa for 5 days and that seems to have cleared it, although I've heard ponazuril/toltrazuril are more effective. Coccidia oocysts should show up on a fecal smear so bring in a sample of their diarrhea at your next appointment. If they are positive for it you'll need to sanitize all their bedding and carpeting, soft toys, furniture, etc. with bleach and a steam cleaner. I've basically steamed every surface of the room my kittens stay in (luckily they are too small for the whole house!).