Tapeworm question

Willoughby has tapeworm, I saw them around his butt yesterday. I am going to pick up some dewormer tomorrow. But I was wondering about something. I have had two fecals done on him at two different vet clinics and they both came up negative for any problems. Both were done in the last month. What is the chance that he had them even though the test came up negative? Do you if he doesn't have them too bad then maybe the test would be negative for that reason? What's going on? I KNOW he has them since I saw them.

Not everything shows up on every sample. IIRC, tapeworms are among the hardest to diagnose from a fecal exam. He could have had tapeworms, but not had any eggs present in the piece of poop used for the exam.

Originally Posted by Lorina

Not everything shows up on every sample. IIRC, tapeworms are among the hardest to diagnose from a fecal exam. He could have had tapeworms, but not had any eggs present in the piece of poop used for the exam.

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That's exactly it...and a fecal will not pick up tapeworm if none of the segments have been expelled through the anus or in the feces yet.

Typical OTC de-wormers will not do anything for tapeworm. Your vet will give you 1 pill (can't remember the exact name of it), and you will have to pill your cat orally...perhaps you could have the vet pill your kitty if this makes you nervous.

I think they are fairly easy to get rid of..good luck!

You need the vet medicine for tapeworms, the store brand doesn't work. How did he get them?

Originally Posted by wookie130

Typical OTC de-wormers will not do anything for tapeworm. Your vet will give you 1 pill (can't remember the exact name of it), and you will have to pill your cat orally...perhaps you could have the vet pill your kitty if this makes you nervous.

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I figured a fecal would pick up the eggs or something. And that is why I had two done just in case. I was suprised the second one came up negative too. I was sure he had worms.

Drontal is what I need and I am just going to order a bottle. It is for tape, hook and round worms. Seems every cat I get in has some sort of worms and if one of mine have it now then they all do most likely. It will be cheaper that way.

I took in, I think 5 samples, with visible worms in them (both round and tape) and none of the exams came up positive. I was getting so fed up, "Negative. Negative. Negative." "I'm watching worms crawl out of her butt right now." "The exam says she doesn't have them." "They're slithering out of the litter box." "Maybe they're dead ones." "She has worms." "The exam says she's negative." I was tempted to just bring in a bag of worms instead of bothering with the poo. So, in summation, yes, I would says it is highly likely that the test just didn't pick them up.

Sounds like you need a different vet.

Originally Posted by gailuvscats

Sounds like you need a different vet.

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ya oh well, I am just going to deworm him myself anyway. I just was curious why the test came back negative but now I know why. I saw the worms, I know he has them, if he does then so do the rest so I will just treat them myself, no need for another vet visit

Originally Posted by Jen

ya oh well, I am just going to deworm him myself anyway. I just was curious why the test came back negative but now I know why. I saw the worms, I know he has them, if he does then so do the rest so I will just treat them myself, no need for another vet visit

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If you are using OTC de-wormers chances are pretty good they won't work - just so you know.

our vets use drontal , i didnt know you could order that over the internet.? and also when was the last time your other cats were wormed? tape worm can sometimes be a sign that they have had or have flees , i would check through there coats to make sure.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

If you are using OTC de-wormers chances are pretty good they won't work - just so you know.

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I agree. Best bet is to get the pill from the vet. I also wasnt aware that you can order Drontal online. My vet has told me the OTC meds dont work and some even do more harm than good.
You dont really need a fecal for them to give you the pill. I never have. They usually know that you cant test for tapeworm so you describe the worms to them and they'll give you the proper med. Normally they just want to see the cat so they can weigh them and make sure they give the proper dose. One dose is all you need, it kills them pretty much instantly.

Originally Posted by XxtashaxX

our vets use drontal , i didnt know you could order that over the internet.? and also when was the last time your other cats were wormed? tape worm can sometimes be a sign that they have had or have flees , i would check through there coats to make sure.

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Yes, if you have a reoccuring tapeworm problem then you most likely have a flea problem as well. They normally get tapeworms from ingesting a flea. I use Advantage or Frontline. Even though they're indoor cats they have still managed to get tapeworms a couple of times.

oh yea all it takes is for 1 flee to get in the house lol

Yup and especially since I have two feral cats that hang out on my patio, and I am only able to put flea meds on one of them!

Ours get Revolution treatment every month from April through October.

Revolution is a good way to go, didn't think about that. I absolutely agree that OTC dewormers along with flea meds do more harm then good in most cases. I am not using OTC dewormers though, I use Drontal, I can order it from vet catalogues Plus I can get bulk for the strays I take in too and rehome. I am pretty much switching over to doing everything on my own, deworming, vaccinating, everything but spaying and neutering

I know tapewoms and fleas go hand in hand, maybe I will just order Revolution for now.