Stubborn tapeworms!

[BoaztheAdventureCat]

My Dad's cat Javier, a young adult neutered male tuxedo cat, has been battling tapeworms ALL SUMMER LONG! My Dad has tried giving him diatomaceous earth, ground-up pumpkin seeds, and an herbal deworming blend put out by a company called WRM CLEAR. According to WRM CLEAR, their product is supposed to cure cats of tapeworms, hookworms, and ring worms within about 3 weeks. Well, it DID NOT WORK for my Dad's cat!

My friend who is a retired veterinary technician recommended my Dad give Javier Drontal for the tapeworms. After researching the potential side effects of Drontal, we were scared away from trying it when we found out that Drontal has caused some cats to develop a condition called hyperataxia, a condition that causes them to be unsteady on their feet. Thus, we've gone the more natural route with Javier, but...THIS HAS TO STOP! I'm so worried that the humans and our other cats will soon contract tapeworms. (I don't let my cat Boaz and my Dad's cat Javier go into each other's litter boxes and I keep Javier out of my room to minimize as much as I can the risk that my cat and I will catch his tapeworms.) Any other suggestions of natural remedies OR conventional western medications (besides for Drontal)? What has worked for your cats?

 

[Alldara]

As far as I am aware, there are no natural remedies that have been proven to work (even DE, if you read studies, cattle and sheep given DE had no lower amounts of worms than the control group. DE works when dry, not wet like insides are )

A specific dewormer, or broad-spectrum dewormer from a veterinarian will be needed. Usually 2 or 3 doses each a month apart is needed. Tapeworm Infection in Cats | VCA Canada Animal Hospitals
Echinococcosis in Cats | VCA Animal Hospitals

ALL animals in the home need treated regardless of whether or not they have symptoms. Most animals are a-symptomatic until it's a severe problem in their digestive tract. The other pets probably already have them and they're probably re-infecting one another. I'm quite surprised that a retired vet tech didn't tell you this.

Most importantly, the cleaning to prevent re-infection needs to happen 24 to 48 hours after medication is given. ALL the litter boxes need fully dumped out and sanitized (non bleach cleaner like lysol). Bedding (human and cats) needs to be washed and put in the dryer at a high temperature.
All pet bowls and waterers need washed and sanitized and rinsed well afterwards to get the soap off.

Anywhere in your home that a cat-butt has been, needs cleaning. Cat-butts carry the eggs around and if they have poo remnants on their butt or paws, it could have worm eggs in it.

The floors need washed and sanitized. The furniture needs vacuumed. Things like seat cushions need treated like they are cat beds and tossed through the dryer for at least 20 minutes. Personally, I recommend a garment steamer that is certified to kill bed bugs as those are high enough temperature to kill eggs of fleas, worms etc. Then all the soft furniture can be done with the steamer and the cat trees as well. Otherwise you can put down some DE and then vacuum it up in about 20 minutes.

How to Clean House After Cat Has Tapeworms in 7 Simple Steps

If any pets go outside, you may also want to treat your yard for fleas.

Dewormer is pretty safe. Anywhere you look online you'll find the negative side effects. People that just use something regularly with no issues move on with their lives; they aren't regularly posting online about it. Thus, internet is skewed towards severe adverse reactions to medication for people and pets.
Because we have multiple cats and I do worry of them licking it off one another, I did opt for oral medication when I had to give it to our cats last week (roundworms).

This is what my vet gave us: Milbemax Flavor-Coated Tablets for Cats and Kittens (Canada) - Drugs.com
I gave it to all 3 of my cats. No adverse reactions and two have congenital heart conditions. They'll have it again in 3ish weeks.

 

[FriendofFerals]

Just went through the tapeworm ordeal with my *indoor only* former feral cat (5 yrs indoors, 18-20 yrs old). He must have eaten a cockroach or a house gecko with tapeworms. He also has hyperthyroidism, hypertension, IBD, Stage 2 CKD, allergies, asthma and sensitivities to carrageenan food thickener. So all of this causes the same kind of issues as a parasite with weight loss, poor coat, diarrhea, etc. When he dropped almost a pound in a month, I took him in early for his 3-month follow-up at the vet and they said bloodwork showed mild anemia. No stool test was done but based on logic it seemed like a parasite somehow. He got Drontal, did fine with it, and was also given Mirataz transdermal (mirtazapine gel) as an appetite stimulant. A month later, he's up nearly a pound and doing much better.

Is your cat going outside? The first thing is to eliminate the source of the tapeworms ait it seems that he's contracting it repeatedly through things he eats or if he's bitten by fleas that have tapeworms. The best idea is to treat fleas monthly, or regularly as the flea medication requires (some are 2-month or even 3-month doses). I've given Drontal to several cats, the most recent of which is very old, and there were no signs of ataxia at all. My understanding is that's a very rare side effect, but not fatal. If it occurs, you simply take note and use an alternate medicine, but Drontal is a veterinary standard medication for parasites.

Once the cat is parasite-free and flea-free, either you have to limit access to whatever is causing the re-infection, or just commit to a regular schedule of flea/parasite meds to keep him clear. I take care of several barn cats and they get regular deworming liquids in their food, as well as topical flea medication whenever they show signs of itching, weight loss, bald patches etc. Around here it is flea and parasite season year-round, even indoors.

Drontal is just Pyrantel Pamoate and Praziquantel. You can also get Praziquantel only in things like Elanco Tapeworm tablets which I've used on farm cats all the time. These are well-known medications used in dogs, cats, horses, and other farm animals. With all medications, there is always the possibility of rare side effects. Even Tylenol may have adverse effects for a small percentage of people, but the vast majority are fine and benefit from it.

Amazon.com

 

[FeebysOwner]

The above posters are on target and have given you the best advice possible. I agree wholeheartedly.

I will re-emphasize what has already been said, as it is very important and noteworthy - not just in this case but for your Dad's cat going forward as he ages, and possibly has health conditions that require medications. ALL medications have potential side effects, there is no getting around that. There would be no meds administered if only the side effects were used to determine their use.

All you can do when presented with a new medication/treatment is to research tons of reviews, scientific studies, and FDA records, to see the percentages of side effects and their frequency to help you understand the risks. But, most of the time the benefits outweigh the risks and enable a cat to recover from an affliction or at the very least, feel better.