Is there an effective over the counter

[hissy]

wormer for cats? two of my cats have worms, which means the others probably do as well, and with my over-due vet bill, I won't be able to coerce my vet to release some Drontal for them. Is theres something that might be just as effective I could get?

 

[mr. cat]

I am so "Mr. Dumb Guy" on this one. Sorry!

=^..^=

 

[Anne]

I don't think there is really. From what I've read, the OTC drugs are useless for treating worms. You might as well try adding some garlic to their food. I have also read that unless the cats are weakm or the infestation very strong - cats can handle worms quite well. So, it may look gross but they probably don't mind as much.

I'll be moving this to the health forum to see if anyone else has an answer.

 

[sandie]

Hissy I havnt found a wormer over the counter that helps much. In CT I know you can't even buy the tapeworm medication over the counter. You may want to try www.kvvetsupply.com.

 

[tricia2skeptica]

Not all OTC wormers are created equal.

The type of wormer that you use should depend on the type of worm.

Common:

Round worms (also pin worms) are visible to the naked eye, are off white in color, have a slightly larger and flattened head and appear curly - like a pigs tail.
Any wormer containing piperazine salts as it's active ingredient will work on a number of the most commonly occuring intestional parasites found in cats and dogs. I have had success treating worms in cats with Earlyworm by St. John - usually found at Petsmart for between $4 to $8.

Less common:

Some intestinal parasites require prescription medications as they do not respond to piperazine salts, i.e. Flat worms and tape worms.


I strongly suggest

AVOIDING

Hartz

brand products!!!!!

(damn the lawyers full speed ahead

). I can't stress how strongly I dislike Hartz

. Some deaths have been reported with some OTC wormers, Hartz

in particular, and I have had some ER experience with wormer OD's. Some studies have suggested that Hartz

wormer does not contain a consistent percentage in the level of it's active ingredients.

I suggest that you buy your wormer of choice at Petsmart.

My experience with Petsmart

suggests that someone somewhere in the corporation really cares about the quality of the product lines carried buy the stores.

I hate to take up a position contradictory to Anne's since it's her site

, but worms can cause health problems such as intestinal blockages, weightloss, and lethargy. Cats can suffer from the complications caused by a depressed immune system that follow long term infestation (90 + days). A cat that would normally shrug off some lurking bacteria:evilalien: may become much more susceptible when infested with internal parasites. Healthy adult cats resist parasites and suffer less than very young cats, very old cats and cats who's immune systems are already weakened due to disease and/or stress.

Anyway...key word Piperazine Salts....follow dosing instructions with care.

 

[debby]

When I ended up with those two grey strays, and I think I mentioned in a thread, way back a couple months ago...that one of the strays had worms so bad I could see them hanging out of her...well, when I went to the vet, he said that I would have to treat ALL my cats, and my dogs....because if they had gotten anywhere near the "infested" cats poop, they would have the worms too, so he gave me some medicine...I just checked the bottle, cause I didn't use it all, so I saved it in the fridge....and it is called....Stronged Wormer.

I gave them all a dose of it, then two weeks later gave them all another dose, and that was it...no more worms. And it was fairly inexpensive too.