When To Give Dewormer?

Adelei

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 19, 2017
Messages
89
Purraise
71
Location
China
I just brought home a foster puppy who had some very serious injuries and can't walk much. She's also terrified of humans. I was assured she didn't have worms, but I'm paranoid, so gave her deworming medication anyway. Apparently I'm not paranoid enough, because, just going on the claim from the vet that she didn't have worms, I let my cat get close to her (the cat even licked her face several times.) The puppy just pooped for the first time since the dewormer (about 10 hours ago) and it had a nice big worm in the poo! I think it was a roundworm, but the lighting wasn't very good, so not 100% sure. It was definitely a long, fairly thick, spaghetti like pale thing.

I've got Drontal and Revolution for cats on hand. The last time I gave it to her was about 2 months ago. If I give it to her now, will it be wasted? Do I need to wait a week or so? Should I give it to her now and then again in a week or two? If it could prevent an infection from taking hold, that would be great, but I don't know if it works like that.

(Bad cat mommy admission - I did ask the vet if the cat could be around the puppy and she said yes. And the people in charge of the rescue told me the cat might help the dog settle in since she's terrified of humans. But I still should have been more paranoid and not let them be together at all.)

I'm completely grossed out, so any advice would be much appreciated. I've never had a cat with anything other than tapeworm and never had a dog at all, so I'm already completely in new territory just trying to take care of this puppy even w/o worms in the mix!
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,435
Purraise
33,198
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
I don't know why you would want to wait to give your cat Revolution. Give it to her and if she does get/has roundworms from the dog, the Revolution will kill them. I think it can take up to 24-48 hours for the Revolution to effectively rid your cat of these worms.

Also, if I understand correctly, I think the de-wormer for the dog requires at least two treatments, the second one about 7-10 days after the first. It might even require a 3rd treatment.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

Adelei

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 19, 2017
Messages
89
Purraise
71
Location
China
I don't know why you would want to wait to give your cat Revolution. Give it to her and if she does get/has roundworms from the dog, the Revolution will kill them. I think it can take up to 24-48 hours for the Revolution to effectively rid your cat of these worms.
Some worm medication only kills adult worms. If she just ingested eggs within the last 12 hours, she wouldn't have adult worms. If it doesn't keep killing them continuously, then it wouldn't do any good. I looked on Revolution's website but I can't find any info on what life stage it kills or whether it kills continuously like it does for fleas.

Also, if I understand correctly, I think the de-wormer for the dog requires at least two treatments, the second one about 7-10 days after the first. It might even require a 3rd treatment.
Believe me, the dog, the cat and I will all be given multiple rounds of deworming. I just am not sure when to start the cat's (or myself, but that's another matter).
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,435
Purraise
33,198
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
Some worm medication only kills adult worms. If she just ingested eggs within the last 12 hours, she wouldn't have adult worms. If it doesn't keep killing them continuously, then it wouldn't do any good.
Perhaps this excerpt from an article (link below) about Revolution will help -

"The selamectin in Revolution is absorbed through your kitty's skin, and then it enters her bloodstream. From there, it is redistributed to your cat's skin, tissue, fat and organs.

When roundworms come into contact with selamectin, it interferes with their nerve impulses, paralyzing them. The roundworms no longer can adhere to your cat's intestinal walls, and they pass through the digestive tract and out with stool. The parasites quickly die without a host."

How Does Revolution Kill Roundworms in Cats?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

Adelei

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 19, 2017
Messages
89
Purraise
71
Location
China
Perhaps this excerpt from an article (link below) about Revolution will help -

"The selamectin in Revolution is absorbed through your kitty's skin, and then it enters her bloodstream. From there, it is redistributed to your cat's skin, tissue, fat and organs.

When roundworms come into contact with selamectin, it interferes with their nerve impulses, paralyzing them. The roundworms no longer can adhere to your cat's intestinal walls, and they pass through the digestive tract and out with stool. The parasites quickly die without a host."

How Does Revolution Kill Roundworms in Cats?
Thanks. That seems like it kills adult worms then.
 

She's a witch

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 21, 2018
Messages
1,780
Purraise
2,371
Location
Europe/WA, USA
I don't think any dewormer would kill eggs/cysts. If I were you, I think I'd give it to the cat in 10-14 days, preferably at the same time when the dog should get the second dose. And then, if you find any worms in cat's poo, I'd repeat it after 10-14 days (and personally I'd give the third dose to the puppy as well to prevent him from reinfection from the kitty), if not, I'd skip the second dose in cat and third dose in dog.
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,435
Purraise
33,198
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
When it comes to roundworms, from what I know, the eggs develop in the intestine - they can't develop if the worms are paralyzed and cannot affix themselves to the intestinal wall. The eggs are not going to leave the body as they cannot - as is the same with the worms themselves - survive outside that environment.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

Adelei

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 19, 2017
Messages
89
Purraise
71
Location
China
When it comes to roundworms, from what I know, the eggs develop in the intestine - they can't develop if the worms are paralyzed and cannot affix themselves to the intestinal wall. The eggs are not going to leave the body as they cannot - as is the same with the worms themselves - survive outside that environment.
The eggs can pass in the feces. If they never left a host's body then I don't think they'd be one of the most prevalent intestinal parasites, because the only way to transmit them would be to eat a dead animal while the eggs were still viable. From the research I've done tonight, roundworm eggs can survive up to a year in 40 degrees Celsius temperatures (that's very hot) and even the strongest disinfectants aren't completely effective at killing them. So I'm pretty bummed out. Not sure how I can clean my floors with the scalding hot water required to kill them, not to mention other things that can't be washed. Honestly, this is worse than ringworm (fungus), which I've had to deal with due to rescues before.
 
Top