Is deworming necessary for an indoor cat?

[terestrife]

I've read around the internet and have seen that some people deworm their cats 1-2 a year as a precaution. my cat is indoor only. but there are 2 dogs that are indoor/outdoor if that makes any difference. i have her on revolution which protects from heart worm, but i know there are other worms.

Her last fecal tests were on april. she had one at the shelter and one at the vet i took her too. both were negative for worms. so now im not sure if i should deworm her twice a year anyway, or is this unnecessary and can hurt her? or are there other preventatives measures i can take besides having her on revolution?

thanks!

 

[rawrmonster]

It won't hurt to deworm her every year or two just to be safe since your dogs do go in and out. Just the normal broad spectrum dewormer can be used. You can buy drontal from pet meds online pretty cheap.

 

[sugarcatmom]

I personally don't believe in adding chemicals to a cat's body if they don't need them. My almost 20 yr old mostly indoor cat hasn't been dewormed since he was a kitten. Me thinks the trend of automatically deworming even low risk cats was started by the manufacturers of the dewormers. 

 

[barbb]

I would not deworm them regularly, I think it is unnecessary and it would be very unlikely for your dogs to bring worms inside unless they are hunting prey themselves or eating lots of raw meat from outside, or unless you live around lots of livestock.

Even if you deworm your pet regularly, they can still have roundworms that are encysted in a dormant stage indefinitely. These too, are very rare.

I think your cats will be much better off if you do not deworm them. I am in rescue and have never heard of deworming regularly, especially not twice a year and not even once a year. At the shelter where I work, we deworm kitties who are brought in new, and we do not deworm them again unless they are exposed to another cat that is known to have worms. 

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe...animal-health/roundworm-infection-in-cats/336 

 

[StefanZ]

I either dont believe in dewormers for pure inside cats.  Using if needed, ie only If I see or suspect worms.

Which for most indoor cats means they never need to have dewormers, or very occasionally at most.

TS uses already Revolution, to protect from heartworm (and fleas I suppose) taken in by dogs. 

  This is more than enough as Revolution takes most sorts of both external and internal parasites. The big exception is  tape worms.

But the main source for tape worms is from prey. Which inside cats dont take.  And fleas. Which Revolution takes care off anyway, IF there are any...

So Terestrife  IS already at least double guarded. There is no need to guard thrice over, even if you have in- and out going dogs.

 

[just mike]

Just my experience here. I have 4 indoor only cats and 2 indoor dogs which go out in the back yard to do their business. My cats see the vet 2x a year and I always take stool samples to test for worms. I'm a big believer in the "less is more" motto when it comes to chemical treatments with my animals. That said; not once in the 15 years I've owned cats has any one of them had worms. I'd take a stool sample in to the vet to test before I'd give worming medications... but that's just my :2cts:

 

[andrya]

 l also agree with it not being necessary to deworm once they've been treated and are found to be worm-free as kittens.

l too have a dog that goes out for walks and is around my indoor cats, but l've never had a problem with worms on any of them.

l take samples to the vet every year too, rather than giving an unnecessary pill.

 

[terestrife]

I think your cats will be much better off if you do not deworm them. I am in rescue and have never heard of deworming regularly, especially not twice a year and not even once a year. At the shelter where I work, we deworm kitties who are brought in new, and we do not deworm them again unless they are exposed to another cat that is known to have worms. 

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe...animal-health/roundworm-infection-in-cats/336 

thanks for the advice and the link!

I either dont believe in dewormers for pure inside cats.  Using if needed, ie only If I see or suspect worms.

Which for most indoor cats means they never need to have dewormers, or very occasionally at most.

TS uses already Revolution, to protect from heartworm (and fleas I suppose) taken in by dogs. 

  This is more than enough as Revolution takes most sorts of both external and internal parasites. The big exception is  tape worms.

But the main source for tape worms is from prey. Which inside cats dont take.  And fleas. Which Revolution takes care off anyway, IF there are any...

So Terestrife  IS already at least double guarded. There is no need to guard thrice over, even if you have in- and out going dogs.

Should i worry about mice? we dont get mice often, but a couple of months ago, one got in and my cat was attacking it. i grabbed her and got rid of the mouse. but she is very much a hunter and hunts roaches and any bugs that move. lol i fumigate and there are less bugs. but some do get in every now and then. can she can worms from them?

thanks to everyone else! its my first cat so im not sure about the steps to take to keep her safe and healthy.
 

 

[orientalslave]

Yes, mice can bring worms.  Small rodents are part of the life-cycle of one kind of tapeworm, Taenia taeniaeformis.

I've also seen a post (can't remember if it was here or somewhere else) by someone with an 8yo purely indoor cat which produced a pile of worms.

 

[StefanZ]

thanks for the advice and the link!

Should i worry about mice? we dont get mice often, but a couple of months ago, one got in and my cat was attacking it.

I would say, take it as a calculated risk.  For a healthy cat small amounts of worms arent so dangerous.

Or if you want, healthy cats do usually manage to keep their worms down, even if they have them. For example successfull semiferales.

Of course, you do observe as always your households members. Cleaning their litter.  If you notice any signs of worms, you do of course act.

Take preventive chemical actions for a small risk for something not very dangerous...  Nay. 

 

[ritz]

Ritz was rescued from the streets and did have worms including giarda so then she was dewormed.  I don't deworm her any more.

But this year the first time in three years, she got fleas.  I guess they came through the window screens.  One course of Frontline (and LOTS of vacuuming and DE) cleared up the problem.

It should be obvious, but if you foster cats or rescue a stray cat, isolate them from your resident cat until you get the foster/stray cat tested for worms.  And note that there are a lot of false positives AND false negatives.  If a cat has been outdoor for any length of time--long enough to have eaten something--I assume it has worms and get a prescription de-wormer.

 

[GingersnapLiz]

Yes, mice can bring worms. Small rodents are part of the life-cycle of one kind of tapeworm, Taenia taeniaeformis.

I've also seen a post (can't remember if it was here or somewhere else) by someone with an 8yo purely indoor cat which produced a pile of worms.

Cats can also get roundworms from roaches that are carrying roundworm eggs. Indoor cats as well as outdoor cats. I always look at my (3) cats stools when I scoop their litter boxes because we have had round worms and all 3 are indoor only cats.

 

[stephanietx]

If you're treating with Revolution, you're also treating for intestinal parasites. That's one reason why most vets apply it when you take in a new cat for a wellness visit. I have never treated an indoor cat for worms after their fecal shows them parasite free, even after we've brought new kitties into our home.

 

[kashmir64]

I once watched a necropsy done on an 8 month old foal. When they cut him open, there were so many worms that they ate through his intestines. Granted, it was a horse, but you can't unsee that. What if I step in something, and didn't even know it. The dog or cat eats or lick it. I really don't like chemicals either, but i take worms very seriously.