Hey all! New here, but I’ve had cats pretty much my entire life.
Anyway, I have two orange tabbies. This concerns the younger of the two, Wicket. He’s just over 15 months, over 11 pounds, and indoor only. We had a flea infestation over the summer when we let a friend crash at our house with his cat. She’d gotten out not long before, and brought in fleas and kittens. Long story short, we’re still treating monthly with Vectra and did two rounds of Profender in November and December after Wicket had lovely rice pieces. I didn’t treat for worms in January since he was showing no signs of reinfestation.
Unfortunately they showed up again a few weeks ago. I decided against treating with Profender again because my other cat (Jethro) lost some fur at the site, and Wicket has had some irritation from scratching. It’s also a little pricy and can only be gotten from the vet. So I turned to Drontal since it’s less expensive and has been around a while. I’d previously given him a pill for an unrelated thing, and he took it well in a pill pocket. I figured he would be fine this time around. He actually took the Drontal in pill pockets straight out of my hand (two pill pockets for 1.5 pills)! No foaming or anything odd. I let him go on his way, and I guess he went straight for food and water. I walked through the living room a few minutes later to find fresh barf with pills in it. I tossed it all since I figured he wouldn’t take the pills again after throwing them up. It’s been over an hour, and he doesn’t seem to be feeling ill otherwise.
So obviously five minutes or so is not enough time for the dewormer to do its job. I got a second dose ahead of time, so I’m prepared to try again. I saw a suggestion on another site to wait at least 24 hours before redosing, and that makes sense. Should I withhold food after? That’s logistically awkward, having two cats and a small house. Do I try without the pill pockets? I have no idea if he would take pills solo, but he is rather naive and already experiments with eating non-food things (another long story). Maybe splitting up the whole and half pills into two doses within an hour or two? Crushing them? Money is tight right now, so I would love to not have to go and get Profender instead. Thanks, all.
Anyway, I have two orange tabbies. This concerns the younger of the two, Wicket. He’s just over 15 months, over 11 pounds, and indoor only. We had a flea infestation over the summer when we let a friend crash at our house with his cat. She’d gotten out not long before, and brought in fleas and kittens. Long story short, we’re still treating monthly with Vectra and did two rounds of Profender in November and December after Wicket had lovely rice pieces. I didn’t treat for worms in January since he was showing no signs of reinfestation.
Unfortunately they showed up again a few weeks ago. I decided against treating with Profender again because my other cat (Jethro) lost some fur at the site, and Wicket has had some irritation from scratching. It’s also a little pricy and can only be gotten from the vet. So I turned to Drontal since it’s less expensive and has been around a while. I’d previously given him a pill for an unrelated thing, and he took it well in a pill pocket. I figured he would be fine this time around. He actually took the Drontal in pill pockets straight out of my hand (two pill pockets for 1.5 pills)! No foaming or anything odd. I let him go on his way, and I guess he went straight for food and water. I walked through the living room a few minutes later to find fresh barf with pills in it. I tossed it all since I figured he wouldn’t take the pills again after throwing them up. It’s been over an hour, and he doesn’t seem to be feeling ill otherwise.
So obviously five minutes or so is not enough time for the dewormer to do its job. I got a second dose ahead of time, so I’m prepared to try again. I saw a suggestion on another site to wait at least 24 hours before redosing, and that makes sense. Should I withhold food after? That’s logistically awkward, having two cats and a small house. Do I try without the pill pockets? I have no idea if he would take pills solo, but he is rather naive and already experiments with eating non-food things (another long story). Maybe splitting up the whole and half pills into two doses within an hour or two? Crushing them? Money is tight right now, so I would love to not have to go and get Profender instead. Thanks, all.
