Pregnant cat diarrhea/worms

[rockchick2325]

A couple weeks ago I trapped and took in a cat that showed up at my house and we named her Lily. We took her to the vet a couple weeks ago and found out she was pregnant. We believe Lily is due to have her babies in 3 weeks. She is small and the vet said she is maybe 2 years old. They had to sedate her at the vet because she "went crazy". We don't know how much human contact she has had. After a couple weeks, I can now pet her and she'll come snuggle up against my legs for love when I sit on the floor, but she is very skittish and doesn't completely trust me. Almost two weeks ago, she developed diarrhea. I thought it was from the food switch as I researched and found out giving them kitten food is advised. I thought maybe the milk in it was bothering her stomach so I switched her food and after a few days she still had diarrhea. She's always been ravenous and skinny, so after some research, I decided to try worming her with fenbendazole. I got the 1 gram packets for 10lbs and under(I haven't weighed her, since I can't pick her up, but I'd guess maybe 6lbs) and gave her those for the 3 days. She started to have some solid poop and pooped out a couple dead roundworms (have pics). That only lasted a day or two and now she is back to diarrhea. It's been about a week since I wormed her. I'm trying not to have her go through the stress of a vet visit again and having to possibly be sedated, etc. The wormer seemed to almost be working and then back to diarrhea. My cats have always been inside only, so I don't have any experience with worms or pregnant cats so I'd really appreciate some guidance. Should I try another round of fenbendazole or maybe try pyrantel pamoate? Or do I take her back to the vet? I feel like I'm failing this poor kitty and her babies.

 

[klunick]

I would try another round of dewormer. Sounds like it was working before. Just might have a worse case than one dose can cure.

 

[Sarthur2]

You’re doing great! I definitely suggest another round of the fenbendazole (it usually takes 2-3 times due to the life cycle of the worms), or you can use pyrantel pamoate. Both do a similar job. You’ll want to treat her with praziquantel also for tape worms (that’s 2x/ten days apart).

Does she have fleas? You can use Advantage II on her neck.

Thank you for taking her in and getting her healthy before the babies get here. Hopefully she will gain weight and the diarrhea will stop soon.

If she still has diarrhea after you complete the deworming, the vet can give you metronidazole for her. Also, having been a stray it may take her system a few weeks to adjust to a quality diet.

 

[rockchick2325]

Would Pyrantel pamoate possibly be more effective for roundworms? Nemex-2 (Pyrantel pamoate) says it's 4.54mg/ml and per the directions(5ml/10lb) she would get .5ml/lb and if she is 6lb (I'll have to try and weigh her) it would be a 3ml dose for a total of 13.62mg. That sound right?
Should I wait the 2 weeks before worming her again? Or just do it when I get the wormer? Saturday was the last dose of the fenbendazole and I would probably get the wormer this Saturday if I order it tonight, so it would be a week.

 

[Sarthur2]

Do it when you get the wormer. Then again in 10 days.