Cat May Have Worms, Can't Go To The Vet Atm

LoserAndTheCat

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Hi, so we bought some dewormer (drontal) which will be coming in a few days (2-3). I haven't actually seen worms, but he has had some very wet poops (which do not smell good) and yesterday he was scooting his butt on the floor (left some lovely poop for me to clean up after!) so we're assuming he probably has some sort of worm because of how abnormal this is for him. I'm not sure if I should give him a whole tablet to get rid of the probable worms (last time he had them as a kitten, we couldn't see anything either), or if I should give him a half tablet for prevention and see if that helps. As it is, he is playful, active, he still eats, drinks, and uses his litter properly (apart from the aforementioned incident of butt scooting).

I understand the advice would be to take him to a vet, but that really isn't a possibility. We'll take him if things get worse/not better. My parents are from France where we tend to deal with things ourselves with our pets, so deworming never goes through a vet and it's not exactly my money to spend either.

For Information: The cat is about a year and some months and behaves very much like an average 1yo cat, even now. His belly doesn't seem big and firm, like I've seen with some kittens/cats when dealing with worms.
 

LTS3

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Butt scooting could indicate uncomfortably full anal glands. The glands would need to be manually expressed so the goo comes out. The vet can do this. Or if you really don't want to take the cat to the vet, attempt to express the glands yourself. There are online videos and articles on how to do this.

If expressing doesn't resolve the butt scootibg issue, a trip to the vet would be best than trying to treat the unknown cause of the butt scooting yourself.
 
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LoserAndTheCat

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Butt scooting could indicate uncomfortably full anal glands. The glands would need to be manually expressed so the goo comes out. The vet can do this. Or if you really don't want to take the cat to the vet, attempt to express the glands yourself. There are online videos and articles on how to do this.

If expressing doesn't resolve the butt scootibg issue, a trip to the vet would be best than trying to treat the unknown cause of the butt scooting yourself.
Thank you! I'll try the dewormer, and if that does nothing then I'll bring him in for a visit! That being said, is it normal for a young cat to get anal gland problems? I thought those were fairly rare in cats..?
 

amethyst

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I would give the cat the normal dose for it's weight not half, even for preventative you give the same dosage. You just don't repeat in 2 weeks like you would often do if know the cat has worms. Personally I don't agree with over the counter dewormer, they aren't all safe and without knowing the kind of worms you may not be treating for the right kind. If you get the wrong kind or one that isn't strong enough you could end up not killing any or killing just the weaker worms and leaving the stronger ones to breed, meaning you will need a different/stronger dewormer from vet. At the very least though make sure you weigh the cat before giving it dewormer, and make sure it's one for cats, not dogs and not one for dogs and cats, it's a poison so you don't want to give too much or the wrong one, cats have died from over dose and being given the wrong kind.
 
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LoserAndTheCat

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I would give the cat the normal dose for it's weight not half, even for preventative you give the same dosage. You just don't repeat in 2 weeks like you would often do if know the cat has worms. Personally I don't agree with over the counter dewormer, they aren't all safe and without knowing the kind of worms you may not be treating for the right kind. If you get the wrong kind or one that isn't strong enough you could end up not killing any or killing just the weaker worms and leaving the stronger ones to breed, meaning you will need a different/stronger dewormer from vet. At the very least though make sure you weigh the cat before giving it dewormer, and make sure it's one for cats, not dogs and not one for dogs and cats, it's a poison so you don't want to give too much or the wrong one, cats have died from over dose and being given the wrong kind.
I got drontal, which is often used by vets so I assume it's safe-ish and which will deal with tapeworms and roundworms, and will follow the weight restrictions. I'll be very careful to monitor my cat and bring him to the vet if anything happens. If the dewormer doesn't work, I'll bring him in anyway because I'm assuming it's either worms or anal glands (as LTS3 mentioned). If it were up to me I'd bring him in, but it's not, unfortunately.
 

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Drontal is fine. I'm not aware of any really toxic de-wormers, most have high safety margins. Although flea meds can get fairly nasty; you really have to careful with those. Of course you still want to follow proper dosing guidelines and never overdose.

Anyway, yes, give him the full dose. If you don't give enough that just kills the weak worms and lets the strong worms live, and that just makes it harder to get rid of them later.
 
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LTS3

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Some cats need a little help with their anal glands. Anal gland issues an occur at any age.
 

amethyst

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Drontal is fine. I'm not aware of any really toxic de-wormers, most have high safety margins. Although flea meds can get fairly nasty; you really have to careful with those. Of course you still want to follow proper dosing guidelines and never overdose.
I might be thinking of flea meds then. :think: I thought i read about someone getting cheap dewormer at one of those "dollar store" type places that made their cat sick though. :dunno: May have been an overdose issue though, or could be an old type they no longer sell (it was years ago).
 
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LoserAndTheCat

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Some cats need a little help with their anal glands. Anal gland issues an occur at any age.
Alright, good to know! My cat is due for a yearly checkup soon, so I'll ask them to check no matter what happens with the dewormer (as in, if it was worms and it works then great, but check up anyway, and if it's not worms then oh well, the check up will deal with that)
 
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