Cat with worms

[mamabear]

Hi everyone. Been very busy as usual here.

Mom called and said that Buddy has worms. This was the stray cat they found where they live and took him and after no one claimed him they went to vet and had shots,exam and fecal. He checked out ok except had round worms.

Vet gave them STrongid Dewormer and said give one dose at home and it will do the trick. I said they should have given two doses but vet said one.

So that was about 8 weeks ago and mom said that he has been up all night and licking his butt a lot and then she finally saw a worm in his litter pan again. So she will be disinfecting everything but would like to know what she should use. Should she get it from vet again or buy over the counter?

Thanks for the help. She is willing to do what ever she has to to make him better so vet or over the counter either way is fine with her. She is mad that the dose they gave didn't work because he is uncomfortable now.

Also he is sleeping during the day just fine but at night he is up all night keeping her awake. How can she fix this or is this because of the worms? She didn't think it could be due to worms since he seems to be sleeping fine all day long but at night he is up and playing and wants to play with her......(secretly I am laughing)

[Traci]

Is it roundworms now or tapeworms? Does she know the difference? Roundworms resemble strands of spagetti, tapeworms resemble small white grains of rice. Roundworms are usually expelled by vomiting or via stool, usually with watery mucous. Tapes are usually expelled via stools (but can be via vomiting), and are segmented, the worm can be in one tiny segment or one long string of segments. Most commonly, owners notice one tiny segment at a time in the stool or on the fur on the cat's rear.

It could be the strongid was effective for the roundworms yet now he has tapeworms. Or it could be he needed that second dose. Yes, the vet should have given her a syringe with strongid to be given at home, 14 days after the first dose. The reasoning for this is because some cats have a huge burden and one dose doesn't expell or eradicate them, thus the need for the second dose. In cats who are vomiting or have diarrhea, an overburden of worms should be ruled out.

If it's tapeworm this time, she needs to ask the vet for droncit.

NO over-the-counter products. Ever. They are ineffective at best, and dangerous at worst.

As for the nocturnal behavior, good luck. LOL. One thing she can do is try spending at least 5-10 minutes each evening before she retires with kitty during a play session (not vigorous or strenuous, but activity, nonetheless) with toys, playing fetch, chasing toy mice, or dragging a string across the floor etc. He will then be a little more settled when she goes to bed. Try leaving on a nightlite in another room. Keep drapes or miniblinds up for one safe window in the home for him to look out of at night (a favorite for most of my cats).

[mamabear]

Mom has it in a ziplock bag and said it looked like spagetti so it sounds like round worms which is what vet saw during fecal.

They didn't even do a worming in office, the vet gave her the one dose to do at home and that is it.

I told mom not to get anything over counter until i checked with you first. They have 3 ft of snow so she wasn't going anywhere today.

We did go over his overall health over the phone(she's ME I'm in NJ so I couldn't check myself). He is ok and hydrated for now, she is calling vet in the morning about meds and will go get them tomorrow on their way out to an appt, they dug out today so all should be ok for them to go tomorrow. She is keeping kitty home due to road conditions and appt, she doesn't want to get stuck in the snow with kitty in truck stuck in a cage. (i agree with that one, they are headed for more snow so better to be safe.)

She doesn't see any other worms or anything that might seem to be them in the feces or around the anus.

Thank you very much!!!


Now about the night thing... you just hit it on the head. He must be up at night because he hears the mice in the house. It's very cold in ME and they have mice I am sure and he must hear them since they come out at night. I'm going to let her know about playing before bedtime and also remind her that the mice might be the reason as well. He might be meowing because he hears them and wants to get them.
I'll tell her about the window thing too, that might help him too. Maybe a kitty window seat too...(spoiling him while I can Since I can't be there).

Again thank you

[Traci]

Well, just be sure to tell her NOT to use any rodenticide poisoning in the home! Even the most well-intended people forget that the pets can squeeze into the tiniest crevices to find those mice, so that's just one more reason to never use rodenticides in the home.

[mamabear]

Just updating here. Kitty doing fine. No poisons are being used in home(Thank God) and dr. rechecked and it was hook worm AND round worms this time.
Mom cleaned and kitty is doing better and you can clearly see he feels better.

[mamabear]

This cat has worms AGAIN!! Mom washes out the litter pan with a bleach solution, she cleans the urine/fecal as soon as the kitty goes potty. And he doesn't go outside at all. So why is he still getting worms? This is months now and he is not dehydrated thank God.

[Traci]

What type, roundworms or tapeworms this time? Or both?

Get a fecal exam, to determine which one(s) for sure.

The last time, did the vet give droncit for tapeworms? It wouldn't be too unusual to have to give droncit again about a month apart.

If by chance neither the roundworms nor tapeworms (nor even the hookworms) have not been eradicated at this point, tell mom to ask for Drontal, it targets all three. That might be what the vet gave a few months ago, but may need another dose. A fecal exam should be done first. Monitor kitty closely, because vomiting or salivation might occur with Drontal.

Is there any chance he has fleas? Is there any chance there are mice somewhere in the home that he's catching? If so, then he is getting re-infected on a regular basis.