I'm having a parasite problem. Both of my cats have tested positive for Fluke Worms.
I'm a raw feeder & I'm pretty sure the parasite came from a batch of lamb brains that I ordered from Raw Feeding Miami. I'll never know for sure but that's my gut feeling. To be on the safe side, I have thrown out all of the homemade food in my freezer & have only been feeding commercial raw (Rad Cat, Oma's Purr, Answers Pet Food).
My vet said this specific parasite is tricky to get rid of. The sequence of events is as follows:
7/14 - Kali had loose, smelly stool which turned into full-blown diarrhea within a few days
7/17 - Vet found Fluke worm in stool sample, had me administer PANACUR for her & my kitten Odrick for 3 days (7/17-7/19) and again two weeks later (8/2-8/4). After the first round of medication, Kali's stool went right back to normal for several weeks.
7/18 - Odrick had not been showing symptoms until I started to worm him. His stool is now very smelly & loose as of 7/18
8/2-8/4 - Both cats had a second round of PANACUR during this time. Kali's stools are still normal but Odrick's are loose & horrid smelling
8/10 - Vet finds a Fluke Worm in Odrick's stool. He still has the parasite. We try a different wormer called Droncit (praziquantel). Both cats get 1 tablet on the evening of 8/10 with instructions to give a second tablet in two weeks
8/11 - Both cats have loose, horrendous smelling stool on the evening of 8/11. Kali's stool WAS fine for several weeks but now her stool is concerning again.
Of course, I'll be contacting my vet in the morning (she's closed today). I don't know if we're just not giving a strong enough dose or if the type of wormer is not right? Does anyone have experience with Fluke Worms? I've searched the forum & found another member who had some good information but I'm checking in with active members to see if you guys have any thoughts that I could share with my vet so we can nip this in the bud. I'm terrified of these parasites causing long term damage.
I'm a raw feeder & I'm pretty sure the parasite came from a batch of lamb brains that I ordered from Raw Feeding Miami. I'll never know for sure but that's my gut feeling. To be on the safe side, I have thrown out all of the homemade food in my freezer & have only been feeding commercial raw (Rad Cat, Oma's Purr, Answers Pet Food).
My vet said this specific parasite is tricky to get rid of. The sequence of events is as follows:
7/14 - Kali had loose, smelly stool which turned into full-blown diarrhea within a few days
7/17 - Vet found Fluke worm in stool sample, had me administer PANACUR for her & my kitten Odrick for 3 days (7/17-7/19) and again two weeks later (8/2-8/4). After the first round of medication, Kali's stool went right back to normal for several weeks.
7/18 - Odrick had not been showing symptoms until I started to worm him. His stool is now very smelly & loose as of 7/18
8/2-8/4 - Both cats had a second round of PANACUR during this time. Kali's stools are still normal but Odrick's are loose & horrid smelling
8/10 - Vet finds a Fluke Worm in Odrick's stool. He still has the parasite. We try a different wormer called Droncit (praziquantel). Both cats get 1 tablet on the evening of 8/10 with instructions to give a second tablet in two weeks
8/11 - Both cats have loose, horrendous smelling stool on the evening of 8/11. Kali's stool WAS fine for several weeks but now her stool is concerning again.
Of course, I'll be contacting my vet in the morning (she's closed today). I don't know if we're just not giving a strong enough dose or if the type of wormer is not right? Does anyone have experience with Fluke Worms? I've searched the forum & found another member who had some good information but I'm checking in with active members to see if you guys have any thoughts that I could share with my vet so we can nip this in the bud. I'm terrified of these parasites causing long term damage.
.
